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Fed-up voters have every right to “confuse” the issues

David Penberthy

by David Penberthy

19 Aug 05:55am

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Filed under: Election 2010, Julia Gillard, Nsw Labor, Nsw Right

112 comments

Writing more in sorrow than anger, a web reader going by the pseudonym Denny Crane, after the politically incorrect anti-hero of the brilliant program Boston Legal, posted a comment this week which epitomised the sense of despair which many in Sydney feel about the management of this town.

Another view of Sydney, from the M5 East tunnel.

“You know, ten years ago we had the 2000 Olympics. The best Olympics ever. A world class performance by a State at the top of its game. Sydney in that first week was magic and the second was not far behind. The world looked at Sydney and NSW and applauded. And who gave it to us, apart from ourselves? NSW State Labor. And now look at NSW Labor. If you want to know how far NSW Labor and the infrastructure of this State have destructed, just compare 2000 with 2010. God, we were good then, but now… “

This fair and balanced comment rung true with me, having moved to Sydney in 1999 to cover NSW state politics, and still being able to feel a buzz at remembering the euphoria and joy and pride of being a resident of one the greatest cities on earth, at one of the greatest moments in its history.

But as Denny Crane says, what a contrast the past decade provides. In the space of 10 years Sydney has gone from a time when it was in unstoppable can-do mode, to being paralysed by indecision and incompetence under a largely dysfunctional government.

With the benefit of hindsight Bob Carr’s Government is now criticised for failing to invest in infrastructure, which itself stemmed in part from Carr and former Treasurer Michael Egan’s obsession with paying off state debt, keen to show that after the disasters of the Cain Government in Victoria and the Bannon Government in SA that Labor could deliver sound economic management at the state level.

Despite their rationale, the infrastructure criticism is a valid one, and the voters have every right to trace the neglect of transport services in particular back to his tenure.

But whatever his faults Bob Carr presided over a government which was mature and orderly. He did this in large part by resisting demands from the factions to promote flawed personnel. People such as Craig Knowles, Andrew Refshauge, John Della Bosca, Michael Egan and Morris Iemma made for a capable frontbench; certainly a frontbench which by today’s woeful standards was first-rate in comparison to some of the amateurs and branch-stackers who now populate the ministerial ranks.

One of the best recent examples came from Verity Firth who, despite being regarded (rightly) as one of the better performers in this hapless team, still made a total hash of what should have been a positive announcement about school air conditioners, by going public without having sought Cabinet approval.

It’s against this backdrop that we are having a federal election.

There is a long-standing argument – usually made in the form of an admonition by the parties to voters, pour souls, who are accused of confusing the issues – that state issues should play no part in the federal campaign.

It’s a patronising line of argument in that it denies voters the right to cast their vote on whatever basis they wish. It is also an especially thin argument, in this state in 2010, as state issues and federal issues have become so intertwined in this election campaign, that voters should be easily forgiven for approaching the polling booth on Saturday with the performance of the NSW Government in their minds.

Federal Labor has been blind-sided by the extent of the state-based hostility towards the ALP in NSW. The Liberals had underestimated it and only really started cranking it up as an issue late in the campaign, off the back of last week’s western Sydney rail announcement, and with Tony Abbott’s flying tour of five Sydney seats on this Monday.

There are a couple of reasons that state and federal issues are now being seen as interchangeable in NSW. The first goes to people, the second goes to policy.

Julia Gillard’s prime ministership owes itself in large part to the same factional operators who subjected NSW to three premiers in 12 months. The same people who turned on Nathan Rees and knifed him for having the temerity to take on factional control over Cabinet appointments are the same people who stuck the knife into Rudd when he was making a hash of the mining tax, and indeed pretty much everything else at the time.

Equally, the number of MPs, advisors and staffers in the Federal Labor Government who cut their teeth at the State level means that some of the more unpleasant characteristics of the State regime – chiefly an increasing reliance on gimmicky spin over hard policy work – have infected federal Labor. 

The second issue is one of policy. The fact that federal Transport and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese had to stand up last week and announce the $2.1 billion Parramatta to Epping rail link is of itself a testament to the failure of successive State Labor Governments. Having lived here for more than a decade my reaction to the announcement was the same as pretty much everybody else’s – yeah right, that sounds familiar. If I lived in another part of Australia I would probably be wondering why the taxpayers of Burnie, Broome or Broken Hill were being enlisted to fund a state project that any decent state government should have identified as vital and delivered some years ago.

When he was Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made no secret of his antipathy towards the NSW ALP. In the end it was his candid disgust at their performance and culture which helped cost the factionally-unaligned prime minister his job.

The NSW Right might have got Julia Gillard the job but it’s the performance of the state government it controls which could cost her the job is Labor seats in Sydney start shearing away on Saturday.
If these are the issues which are affecting the minds of Sydney-siders ahead of polling day, Labor should shelve its patronising assertion that the silly voters are just confusing state and federal issues, and be honest enough to admit that it only has itself to blame.

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112 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Eric says:

      06:09am | 19/08/10

      The State Labor government of NSW has been using taxpayers’ money to fund Labor’s federal election campaign for many months. I’m specifically referring to the “health and safety” ads that tout BER, but I’m sure there are others.

      If the NSW government can spend voters’ money to promote the federal ALP, then voters are certainly entitled to judge the federal government’s performance based on State failures.

      Reply

    • Peter Leotta says:

      06:39am | 19/08/10

      There is no confusion here in country NSW. For many years we have stood in silence and allowed successive governments to erode essential services with barely a whimper.
      Well, that all changed last Monday when some 3000 people from Gulgong and the surrounding area rallied in protest at the closure of the Gulgong Hospital.
      The removal of this essential and vital facility is a reminder of the hypocrisy of both State and Federal Labor who insisted that NO HOSPITALS WOULD CLOSE UNDER A LABOR GOVERNMENT.
      The reason given, that it is an OH&S related issue, is viewed by the community as the excuse the Greater Western Area Health Service was seeking to force a closure.
      The absurdity of the decision to leave a growing, thriving community without a hospital that is able to provide around the clock Emergency care defies logic.
      The establishment of several new coal mines in close proximity to Gulgong makes this decision even more ludicrous.
      People are understandably frustrated when they see money being poured into less important projects, yet none can be found for essential services.
      Had Gulgong been in a marginal seat, I’m sure the decision would have been a different one.

      Reply

    • Annie says:

      09:30am | 19/08/10

      This is part of a News Article in the Telegraph last week

      GIVING birth in the bush involves more than a quick trip to hospital.

      Country women are being forced to drive hundreds of kilometres to have their babies because of the closure of rural maternity services.

      Almost 50 services have shut down across the state with more - including Tumut, Katoomba and Cooma - facing an uncertain future.

      Nine months after The Daily Telegraph highlighted the problem, Bourke and Byron Bay hospitals have closed their maternity sections.

      Women not only have to travel huge distances to give birth, they must pay for accommodation and are faced with the stress of being separated from their families.

      Cassandra Bartlett had to drive from her home in Cobar to Broken Hill on Saturday - a 450km trip - when she started to feel pains during her second pregnancy.

      Would appear this is happening right across the Board

    • david says:

      10:54am | 19/08/10

      So what is the problem? The birth will be assisted by an NBN edoctor. He can watch on his computer monitor in Sydney and encourage the new mum to push. Problem solved.

    • James1 says:

      01:19pm | 19/08/10

      And, of course, these country women are forced to live in the country, and are not able to make the choice to relocate.  Ms Bartlett could choose instead not to live in Cobar if she hates it so much.

      I mean really, if you hate the country so much, leave.  It is that simple.  If you want the access to services that come with living in a city, then live in a city.  Country people complain so much - more even than rusted-on Liberal voters.

    • James1 says:

      04:22pm | 19/08/10

      In the interests of balance, rusted-on ALP voters complained just as much under Howard.  I was just using a contemporary example.

    • Kim says:

      05:30pm | 19/08/10

      The absurdity of the decision to leave a growing, thriving community without a hospital that is able to provide around the clock Emergency care defies logic.

      Umm, since when have politicians used logic?  Just using the words politics and logic together in one sentence is illogical.

    • Front Row says:

      07:30pm | 19/08/10

      James1 -
      And how much money do you think our cities would actually generate if they weren’t attached to the actual country. Eh, lad?

    • James1 says:

      01:16pm | 20/08/10

      I have nothing against the country, Front Row.  I grew up there myself, in fact.  I am just sick of hearing country people whine about how awful the country is.  See the end of this thread if you can’t understand.

    • Tarzan says:

      07:25am | 19/08/10

      It worries me that that Abbott also has an obsession to pay back the debt. Australia is in a terrific position, we are way down the bottom of the ladder when we talk public debt. And we are positioned to continue for good growth. I don’t see any point not to spend more money on infrastructure now. Paying back the debt is not a key issue. We need to spend responsibly.

      Reply

    • MarK says:

      08:14am | 19/08/10

      Just Tony?

      You sure?

    • Rosie says:

      08:18am | 19/08/10

      Tarzan who are you trying to fool? “It worries me that Abbott also has an obsession to pay back the debt.”

      Paying off the debt quickly is saving on interest which then makes it much easier to spend responsibly. Anyone with half an ounce of intelligence will know that is exactly what one does when paying off a mortgage.

      Too late now to be playing games, just tell us that you are going to vote Labor instead of undermining our intelligence.

    • Carter says:

      08:27am | 19/08/10

      Well said @Tarzan.

      NSW’s main problem (other than a state government that has gone downhill, it that it spent stupid amounts of money paying off the Olympic debt without investing in infratrature (as Penbo mentions).

      Debt is, more often than not, necessary for any Government, and we should not be afraid of it (how many of us are afraid of household debt?)

      Let’s pay it off, responsibly - over the next few years, while at the same time using revenue to invest in vital infrastructure - hospitals (without just cramming more beds into existing spaces), schools, roads, rail and broadband.

    • Ripa says:

      08:36am | 19/08/10

      Spend responsibly? and Labor has a track record in spending responsibly? I think not. Short term memory.

    • Super D says:

      08:54am | 19/08/10

      @Carter - you seem to be overlooking the fact that the debt was incurred in building the infrastructure for the Olympics.

      While the no debt bias in Australia is taking things a bit far it certainly beats continuinally putting everything on credit.  I would rather we had our level of debt or even less than say that of Greece’s.  I think its far better for the population to see debt at low levels as a problem then debt at high levels as not a problem.

    • Oliphaunt says:

      09:02am | 19/08/10

      @Tarzan

      To add to your point and something that Penbo missed:

      The elephant in the room is the GST. After 2000 we were lumped with this new funding deal that instead of favouring the more populated states just doled out money to the other states that didn’t earn the revenue (until the mining boom but who still get more than a reasonable share of the pie).

      NSW has been constrained in it’s ability to raise revenue because while most econmic activity occurred in NSW the money went to the other states. A gun was held to the head of NSW (then Bob Carr) to agree to this deal or else Howard would start a smear campaign to paint NSW as being elitist.

      Thus while NSW did focus on the useless concept of paying back debt at the expense of current and future investment it was also hamstrung by an unjustifiable federal funding deal that saw us having money torn out of us and given to our poorer cousins (who aren’t so poor now thanks to minerals and China).

      The other elephant in the room is the simple existence of the states. They should be abolished. It is now a global economy and we should be globally focused. Having states is an anachronism from self-interested people over 110 years ago.

    • Biteme says:

      10:27am | 19/08/10

      Rosie may I please respond to you. I have voted Liberal since Bob Hawke was in power. Please read up on Public Debt. We are in a fantastic position. There is a fear campaign about our level of debt. I just wish people would look into things a little bit before just accepting the common themes. It’s the same with the boat people. We need to stop them only because they are costing us a fortune to process them. When if we took refugees from camps that would all be done and we could just settle them without all these Billions on the refugee industry. People you are being conned.

    • Biteme says:

      10:35am | 19/08/10

      Rosie, what you want, put all your income into paying off the mortgage while the toilet is leaking, live wires hanging from the ceiling and you still don’t have a lawnmower? Gee’s let’s get real!

    • Chewy says:

      11:37am | 19/08/10

      “We need to spend responsibly”
      @Tarzan I wish someone would of given Rudd that advise.

    • sal says:

      12:21pm | 19/08/10

      Rosie,
      Remember it is a “BIG” economy.  Whilst $100 million a day sounds scary and bad, to use your mortgage analogy, it would translate into an extra couple of hundred a year.  If you focused on essential household infrastructure during this time, you would still be much better off in the long term.

    • Reg says:

      12:26pm | 19/08/10

      Rosie your intelligence does not need undermining. Now is the time while world prices are low and while costs are minimum, to invest in infrastructure.  Hopefully before they explode and leave us stuck in the infrastructure hole dug by the venerable John Howard and his henchmen.

    • James1 says:

      01:23pm | 19/08/10

      Rosie,

      As pointed out on the Chaser last night, most Australians seem to be entirely lacking in common sense, in that case.  The debt-to-income ratio of most Australians is the thing that really undermines their intelligence.  Tony Abbott included, apparently, given that his debt levels are almost 300 percent of his GDP.  Not the best analogy to make.

    • Biteme says:

      02:11pm | 19/08/10

      I think of it like this: Build a railway line today for $100 at 10% interest.
      In 5 years it would cost about $139 with 5 years use in hand. However build a railway in 5 years from savings and the new cost could be $300 to build because of inflationary pressures. Not to mention the loss of benefits of use during that 5 years of public misery.

    • mintxx says:

      02:16pm | 19/08/10

      “Anyone with half an ounce of intelligence will know that is exactly what one does when paying off a mortgage.”

      Anybody with half an ounce of intelligence wouldn’t equate a mortgage repayment to national debt. Luckily for the Libnatcons, there you all are.

    • Gregg says:

      01:21am | 20/08/10

      Bite Me,
      I’ll take a bloody big chunk of your backside for first off, there’s no comparison with paying of your mortage while the wiring is arcing and keeping you awake at night with borrowing like Labor are and pouring Billions into an NBN that is hardly essential in the form they propose and no real detail on final total costing and then at the same time there’s hospital services being closed up left right and centre.

      Sure a little debt that is manageable is not so bad but still to be avoided where possible.
      But here we have a government with no form whatsoever in controlling spending and we are supposed to believe that they will have the budget back in surplus within a few years.
      And this same government had the most rubbery figures to base their budget on for this year we need to remember.

      Come on now and then you throw the boat people in there as some kind of costing red herring when it’s all about the principle of not having so called asylum seekers who have access to plenty of money displacing genuinely desperate refugees eligible to be sponsored.
      And we do not want to have hundreds dying at sea.
      So go bite yor own backside

    • Despair. says:

      07:30am | 19/08/10

      I join the writer in despair. Last night outside the Brisbane leaders’ “forum” Matthew Fuller’s uncle implored Australians to rid this country of the government his and our other three families sorrowfully and shockingly came to understand. 

      Matthew Fuller was one of the four Australians killed through the ill-conceived, ill-managed Rudd Gillard Garrett pink batt program.

      To hear Matthew’s uncle describe the present government as “catastrophic” struck me as a sad, rarely acknowledged (media and political) commentary on the most fatal black mark in Labor’s history.  Catastrophic.  No wnder those wrecked families are hoping Australia will deliver a resounding, respectful verdict. 

      We are hearing blithering unseemly justifications for stimulus waste from every Labor politician deemed by their machine as safe to be seen.  Gillard has offered brief, flippant replies to far too few media questions about her role in their despicable mess, and Garrett has conveniently been disappeared. 
      Matthew Fuller’s uncle asked, “Why wasn’t the pink batt project suspended after the first electrocution, when the first house burned down?” 

      We have heard more concerns about boat arrivals deliberately placing themselves in physical danger and burning themselves on boats that they choose to self-destruct, and the obligation to protect smuggled foreigners from themselves - than we have ever heard in one or two breaths from anyone in this damned - yes, catastrophic - so-called government.

      On Saturday, we are going to learn something about how Australians think.  Are we going to vote for more of the same, are they going to lodge their verdict on the Rudd-Gillard outfit’s hideous and shoved under the carpet failings, or are they going to say:

      “No you can not.  You can not, and will not be smugly returned after all that you have done.”

      Sometimes there are greater, more decent loyalties than what’s in it for me and us. 

      Sometimes there are families in far greater need of fellow Australians’ validation than issues like how many billions can be sunk into broadband, or which promised railway line will purchase most political power. 

      At stake on Saturday is the integrity of Australians who, to use Miss Gillard’s repetitive language, may or may not “understand” exactly how profligate government incompetence killed four of our own.

      Reply

    • Paul says:

      08:17am | 19/08/10

      Had this been a fair election, the result would have been a coalition victory. However with the prospect that disenchanted voters will be voting for the lunatic left (the Greens) and those preferences flowing to Labor, I fear that we are in for another three years of incompetence, mismanagement and lies.
      I would strongly urge my fellow Australians to consider how they want to allocate preferences and not blindly follow the “how to vote"cards with the shady back room preference deals brokered by the Parties.
      I intend to, as I always have, VOTE BELOW THE LINE in the Senate, so that my preferences are allocated according to my wishes and I wish the majority of voters do as well.

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      08:47am | 19/08/10

      In all State OHS Acts it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure a safe working environment. Not the Federal Government. Not the State Government. But then it is never about responsibility. Everyone these days expects the government to be their fairy godmother, wave the wand and everything will be alright with bucketloads of cash. It doesn’t matter who Australians vote for, because it will be the same old crap.

    • Tim says:

      09:10am | 19/08/10

      Puhhhllleeeeaasssee,
      You want us to vote out a government simply based on an OHS issue and a dodgy company?
      You cannot blame the government for individual companies breaking their OHS requirements.
      If you want to go down that road, no government would ever do anything simply in case someone died.

      There are strong OHS laws in this country and unless you want the government to nationalise every industry, then they cannot be blamed when individual contractors breach their duty of care to their employees.

      I too despair that people like you get a vote.

    • Smack says:

      09:22am | 19/08/10

      Paul,
      How is it an unfair election? How is the deal brokered between the Greens and Labor unfair? Is it not within the rules of the electoral system that we live under? And how is it a shady back room preference deal? Given that we have known about it for more or less the entire election campaign?

      The hysteria shown by LNP supporters here is, in the least, entertaining.

    • Annie says:

      09:23am | 19/08/10

      The names of all the young men are here
      More important than tonight’s forum is that you remember the names of Matthew Fuller aged 25, Rueben Barnes, 16, Marcus Wilson 19 and Mitchell Sweeney aged 22, when you vote on Saturday. These young Australians tragically died because the Federal Labor Government was incompetent at managing a simple home insulation program. We don’t need more tragic outcomes from this incompetent government. They have a record of failure. Don’t be conned by slick talk and election promises they will never keep. Australia deserves better than a con artist as PM. Been there, done that now lets get the country back on track! This government does not deserve a second term.

    • Babs of Sydney says:

      09:49am | 19/08/10

      To Despair - I have tears in my eyes reading your comment.  I have often thought of these four young men and their bereaved families as the final condemnation of this appalling government.  I am ashamed that the Labor Party did not offer any form of condolence until forced to and I am disgusted that these poor excuses for human beings could arrogantly expect to be re-elected on Saturday and more importantly, that fellow Australians could be so blind to their indifference that they would actually be happy to have them returned.

    • Despair. says:

      10:26am | 19/08/10

      Bob Brown in pursuit of senate control, and an unhealthy belief that his minor party policies should be imposed on the majority of our population, represents a risk to our Australian way of life and to our country’s financial stability.

      Bob Brown’s prematurely excited language suggests he has already factored in Green senate control and is sufficiently secure to talk even bigger - bigger tax, bigger Greens policies, bigger imposts. 
      Labor, if elected,  would rue the day they self-servingly aligned with Greens.

    • Barbara says:

      10:31am | 19/08/10

      Just because companies are suppose to operate under State OH&S standards doesn’t negate the Governments obligations under Duty of Care to ensure that those companies are complying with said Standards.  Because the Government rushed this program through, we are now faced with millions of dollars in inspections and insulation replacements along with the potential of more deaths or roof fires.  Name another Government program as bad as this one.  The Government had an obligation to lay down ground rules (type of insulation, minimum requirements etc) before dishing out the money.  If I hire someone to do work on my home, I am obliged to check that they are licensed, are using safe practices and the correct materials and that they are following local authority guidelines and permits.  Ignorance is not a defence, and the Government knows this very well.

    • The Scarlet Pimpernel says:

      10:42am | 19/08/10

      Shane from Melbourne

      The problem is a lot of the companies rorting the Pink Batts Scheme were not real companies ie they were not registered to do business in the various states, so there is no way the state bodies could have been aware of them.

      Please - do some research. You will find that some of these shonky concerns also imported insulation direct from China; insulation that didn’t meet our strict safety standards and will cost tens of millions to replace, using reputable Australian companies.

      You will also find that there were invoices issued and paid for insulation that was never even installed.

      The whole scheme was shamefully mismanaged by Labor

    • Tim says:

      10:44am | 19/08/10

      Barbara Says:
      “The Government had an obligation to lay down ground rules (type of insulation, minimum requirements etc) before dishing out the money.  If I hire someone to do work on my home, I am obliged to check that they are licensed, are using safe practices and the correct materials and that they are following local authority guidelines and permits. “

      And which of those things did the government fail to do Barbara? All installers were registered, licensed and trained.
      The scheme was poorly run but the ultimate blame for the deaths can only be laid at the feet of the individual companies breaching their OHS responsibilities. The government is not responsible for individual companies actions and to claim they are is ridiculous in the extreme. 

      There are plenty of reasons to vote out Labor at this election but this is not one of the good ones.

    • Despair. says:

      11:18am | 19/08/10

      Annie,  we should add to the list of pink batt names the young woman who was in the roof when Matthew died:  Matthew’s girlfriend Monique Pridmore,  who spent five weeks in the RBH, and left with a severely disfigured leg. Although Monique survived, her real life will never be the same.
      These families’ memories will all be impacted by past, current and future occasions,  like the Brisbane Prime Minister Gillard appearance yesterday.

    • Barbara says:

      11:58am | 19/08/10

      @ Tim – I certainly didn’t accuse the Government of pre meditated murder or suggest they should be kicked out of office over this one issue, that was someone’s else’s suggestion.  What I did want to point out was that there were no checks and balances in this scheme.  I know because I spoke to an overnight operator doing the neighbours roof when the scheme was underway.  He said they only had to be a registered business (ABN) and that customers had to then submit proof of the installation with a receipt.  There were no audits done by any level of Government.  He said that some operators had even issued receipts for work that had been carried prior to the initial start date of the scheme so that people wouldn’t miss out.  What is really at the core of the issue is the incompetence factor.  It might have been a great idea to get money into the community but it was very poorly executed.  And people wonder why Governments normally take so long to get anything done, that’s because a lot of work goes into any scheme to ensure that money is not wasted.  The five P’s should have applied in this case; Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

    • Anne71 says:

      12:38pm | 19/08/10

      @Paul, the Family First preferences will be flowing to the Coalition. So why is it only unfair when the Greens give their preferences to Labor? Also, how many times do people like you need to be told that a vote for the Greens is not necessarily a vote for Labor? It all comes down to how the voter allocates their preferences. Or is that getting too complicated for you? Honestly, I’m really starting to think that compulsory voting is not such a great idea after all.

    • Reg says:

      12:45pm | 19/08/10

      Barbara I hear your plea for greater regulation and more government interference in small business, the ones who continually show how untrustworthy and inept they are. Sadly I need to point out to you that such regulation is anathema to the Liberal and National Party Coalition.

      I agree with you, more regulation is required right across the board but I hear nothing of the sort coming from the Liberal Nationals, nor has there ever been such a demand, quite the contrary.

      Small Business is amongst the loudest whingers in the community and they must therefore be held largely responsible for the diminution of government interference in their attempts to inveigle the customer to part with more for less.

    • dom says:

      12:49pm | 19/08/10

      I find it disrespectful and cheap to list these people by name for political gain.  That is what this is.  71 people lost their lives in the workplace during this period.  If it is genuine remorse and a need to highlight dangerous OHS practices and shonky’ unregulated operators, as opposed to political smear tactics, who are the other 67 individuals?  Do they (and their grieving families) not matter, or are they simply not part of the “insulation outrage”?

    • Gregg says:

      02:40am | 20/08/10

      Shane and Tim,
      It is true that there are OH7S obligations but the insulation scheme was rushed out with haste and without it having been pushed from the top or more so with it, there would have been and should have been much greater scrutiny of procedures.
      It was a top down program as a result of a Knee Jerk reaction and then rather than direct that a proper assessment be made of all contractors so those doing work with safe procedures, the government just pulled the pin to leave many disadvantaged sound contractors and their employees out in the cold.

    • Super D says:

      07:34am | 19/08/10

      I think the most foolish aspect of the epping-parramatta rail announcement was that it demonstrated to NSW voters that Federal Labor and NSW Labor are two arms of the same beast. 

      For the record I think its an affront to our democracy to have joint state/federal announcements during the election campaign.  The caretaker conventions discourage joint announcements with foreign governments and I believe this convention should be extended to state governments.

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      07:35am | 19/08/10

      Well said David. I voted for Bob Carr & Labor in 2003. I’ve regretted it ever since. You’re right about him at least keeping the government in line though. The second he bailed off the sinking ship, NSW Labor has gotten abysmally worse. I’m still having trouble believing the majority of my fellow New South Welshmen gave them another chance in 2007.

      Federal Labor has all the hallmarks of NSW Labor, knifings and incompetence all. As goes this state, so too will go the country- if we give Federal Labor another chance.

      I hope the country learns from our mistake.

      Reply

    • Stewart Henstock says:

      07:42am | 19/08/10

      Spot on!
      It’s looking like Labor will win the Federal election but as night becomes day the Labor Party in NSW are gone….buried…...cremated.

      Reply

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      07:48am | 19/08/10

      Those who rembember your editorials recommending the re-election of successive failing Labor Governments regard you as part of the problem, not part of the solution.

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      08:01am | 19/08/10

      Hey, Pembo, is the Punch going to do an Election Editorial?

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      08:14am | 19/08/10

      Carr developed the announcement of the same thing several times to an art form.  I don’t think he was a graet premier.  He developed the modern political style of all surface and no substance.  I think the last decent premier NSW had was Nick Greiner.

      There is also a theory that the Olympics were the beginning of NSW’s fiscal woes.

      Reply

    • Chewy says:

      11:33am | 19/08/10

      Carr was such a master of spin he practically invented the hard hat pose for the 6pm news story. A complete masterstroke the way he exited the back door before anyone realized the building was on fire.

    • MarK says:

      12:48pm | 19/08/10

      Agree with Greiner.

      Carr ran the most secretive and media manipulative government of all time. Rudd close 2nd. Carr spoilt it for him because the msm whilst slow eventually wake up to a similar con job.

      Gillard will be the same.

    • MarK says:

      08:22am | 19/08/10

      The similarities between state and federal Labor are too many to ignore.

      There is the obsession with the 24 hour news cycle, the continual promise/backflip cycle, the “doing it later” promises, one could go on.

      Then of course we have the kicker. The arrogance the machine displays in decideing who is to lead to “win”. Not to govern. Just to win. There is no vision, no plan. They say there is but look closely. There is nothing at the core.

      The government had “gone off the rails” a few weeks ago.

      What has changed? The “future promise” (classic NSW Labor) to build a center off shore to house asylum seekers - the “lurch to the right” - and of course that was shown to be a lie with the country in question not even consulted. Also note that a functioning one is available now…..but that is ignored.

      We have the spin and the lies - notes on the lecturn during the off the cuff speech. Such a simple thing. Such a blatant lie. All to gain a media advantage. And just like NSW Labor we have denial in the face of irrefutable evidence.

      Arrogance describes this lot.

      Be warned Gillard is a caretaker. The machine will cast her aside at the first sign of poll trouble or non compliance with it’s collective wish.

      Ask Iemma and Rees. You will not get a glowing endorsement.

      Reply

    • Mhoram says:

      09:10am | 19/08/10

      Gee MarK, replace “Labor” with “Liberal/National Coalition” when they were in government and it still rings just as true. A sad indictment on the state of our political parties.

      Penbo and Denny Crane’s comments ring very true with me, but we also have to shoulder much of the responsibility for continuing to endorse the actions of these jokers of all political parties. We validate pollies chasing the 24 hour soundbite to sell “policies” (what a joke that word has turned into), we don’t take the time to challenge and understand what is being put to us and we keep voting mediocrity into office.
      The hope for the future has shown by the insight, interest and keen questioning the public showed, for example, last night at the second town hall meeting in Brisbane. Light years ahead of the first effort at Rooty Hill, this one showed that the people do cut through the bull and can focus on what’s importanat to them. The Q&A shows in the ABC also showed that the younger generation are asking the better, more important questions focussed on the future and social equality, whereas we oldies are asking more of the silly, selfish “what about me?” questions.
      The knee-jerk criticisms many people post here based on a perceived “left” or “right” bias, rather than arguing the merits, don’t do that younger generation justice and show we still have a long way to go.

    • MarK says:

      10:43am | 19/08/10

      I would have to disagree entirely at the state level. The Libs were nothing Labor.

      Youth idealism is refreshing and I remember it vaguely and fondly myself.

    • Nicole says:

      08:23am | 19/08/10

      Labor, both State and Federal, are toxic. You only have to look at our health system to realise this and that’s just one of many screw-ups created by Labor. The NSW Government are finished come the next election and it really can’t come fast enough. I’m just hoping that people open their eyes to what a pitiful bunch of rabble the Gillard Government are, and send them packing on Saturday. If Labor are re elected, we’re stuffed.

      Reply

    • Michael says:

      04:53pm | 19/08/10

      You’re right. On another note, I am unhappy with the crappy job done on my leaky pipes by my plumber. So…I’m going to sack my electrician. That’ll show ‘em.

    • Reg says:

      05:11pm | 19/08/10

      Your big brothers will look after you pet. smile

    • Nicole says:

      05:44pm | 19/08/10

      @Michael, I reckon you should get a bricklayer to fix em!
      @Reg, no they won’t, I’m too bossy.

    • Nicole says:

      06:46pm | 19/08/10

      Michael, I’ve got a better idea. If Queen Jooolya wins, then you can cash in on her NBN. You could get an E-Carpenter to fix them over the Internet. You wouldn’t have to pay a call out fee then.

    • Michael says:

      12:46am | 20/08/10

      And if the E-carpenter is found wanting, I’ll get myself a new mechanic.

    • Bob H says:

      08:31am | 19/08/10

      Cities always suffer after the Olympics, sure its a nice party but the next day you have to pay it all off and maintain it.  The only way they could have been of use for Australians after the Olympics was if they were designed to be turned into shopping malls or fast food outlets.

      Reply

    • I wonder? says:

      12:35pm | 19/08/10

      One thing that will never leave my mind from the 2000 Olympics was the sudden departure of Marie Jose Perac. She now lives in a very wealthy home in the South of France and rarely talks to the media. For the national interest?

    • Hmmmm very interesting says:

      02:12pm | 19/08/10

      @I wonder? - Perec was volatile but what a great conspiracy story.  I’ll be pushing this one at work and in the pub.

    • Ty Gould says:

      08:58am | 19/08/10

      I really resent this cheap 40 electorates in 40 hours stunt that Tony Abbot is trying to pull. He is obviously a man big on stunts but short on policy. I am glad he has showed his true colours and he certainly has lost my vote!!

      Reply

    • Babs of Sydney says:

      09:55am | 19/08/10

      Ty Gould - I would say he never had your vote in the first place.  40 electorates in 40 hours is very do-able to action man Tony.  Meanwhile Queen Julia has chosen to sit on her expanding duff and drone on to every FM radio station as her plan of “action”.  I will be cancelling out your vote on Saturday.

    • MarK says:

      03:56pm | 19/08/10

      And I present to Ty the Parramatta to Epping rail link.

      What was that about stunts and lack of policy?

    • Phil says:

      09:06am | 19/08/10

      I don’t understand the argument about judging the performance of state and federal government separately.  Although the major parties often attempt to cover up their hard edges to appeal to swinging voters, there are still genuine differences in their priorities, their beliefs and the characteristics of their representatives. 

      State governments are a reasonable test of how a party will perform in government. There may be differences from the federal arena, but the performances of state governments do provide relevant information; e.g., attitudes towards money, which issues are a priority, whether their ideas work in practice.

      Reply

    • Tony says:

      09:08am | 19/08/10

      At the heart of the problem for Sydney is the poor infrastructure. Sydney has simply grown too large for the poorly planned and ad-hoc transport system to cope, and is why the city lacks cohesion.

      At some point the price for bad urban planning has to be paid, and the cost is that Sydney is reaching the upper bounds of it’s capacity to grow given the landscape and legacy street plan. This is creating enormous and increasing overhead for the local economy and is prohibitively expensive to fix.

      The Olympics will probably be remembered as the high water mark in the history of Sydney.

      Reply

    • Mouse says:

      11:48am | 19/08/10

      Isn’t that one of Labors catch cries “Liberals may have had a good surplus BUT they had let infrastructure go for the 11 years they were in”? Gillard & Swan scream that from every stage they get on. It seems every Labor state has the same complaint - poor infrastructure. How can the federal Libs be blamed for that? Methinks that Labor is good at blaming others for their mismanagement, take people’s mind’s off of Labor’s stuff ups and waste.

    • Denny Crane says:

      09:12am | 19/08/10

      The ongoning issue in respect to NSW has been successive labor governments, but what hurt the state was also the incompentence within the opposition, it has always been said a strong government is because the opposition hold you accountable.

      One can only hope for the sake of NSW that should Liberal be elected that they do work hard, and decide what is right for NSW, you would hope so considering the time they have waited to govern.

      On the Federal side, Labor in one term have caused enough damage, that they should not be given a 2nd chance, everyone accepts governments will get things wrong, but not too the degree that the current government has got it wrong.

      Tony Abbott deserves his chance, and if he does get elected you would expect that he works to benefit the country, as he would have seen that even a 1 term governemnt if they get it wrong will be turfed out

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      09:33am | 19/08/10

      There is a little bit of history being forgotten here.  NSW labor were gone for all money at the last election.  The only reason they got across the line was that people woke up at the last minute that the religious right had take over the State Liberal party and the electorate suspected there was a hidden agenda to turn NSW into another Alabama.

      From this unlikely and narrow victory came inaction.  Inaction born from the fear of the inevitable loss that will be witnessed at the upcoming election. 

      The problem I have is that the media have not been critical enough of the opposition in NSW.  What are their policies?  Who holds the strings?

      Labor deserves to go in NSW, but the media must hold the opposition to some standard or we will end up with the same financial problems, but with a government with an agenda we definitely don’t want.

      Reply

    • Kelvin says:

      09:59am | 19/08/10

      Excellent article. Do the same analysis in Queensland with Toxic Anna Bligh and her government and you will find the same level of neglect, incompetence and manipulation by non elected faction heads.

      It, along with economics of largess leading to governments being thrown out with the finances in complete disarray are the hallmarks of Labour governments - state and federal.

      Queensland, NSW and Rudd/Gillard’s federal Labour do not deserve any further chances and should all be removed from office at the earliest possible opportunity. We get our first chance this Saturday - don’t let it pass you by.

      Reply

    • Sally says:

      10:07am | 19/08/10

      Many of us felt that having the Federal and State government being the same political party problems would be sorted out in a efficient and timely manner. Labor deserves to go both at state and federal level. They have let down Australians and we have had enough of their excuses.

      Reply

    • Rosie says:

      10:49am | 19/08/10

      Confusion in this election is caused by the Labor Party and the strong hold the FACTIONAL OPERATORS have on the Party. The Libs had no choice but to be lumped in by Labor supporters and the media with all the atrocities caused by the Labor Party.

      It all started when the polling results weren’t in their favour so knifed the nation’s elected PM, then the leaks, fake Julia to the real Julia, Mark Latham Labor leader in 2004 election that could have been the nation’s PM if Howard hadn’t won, the guessing game with the ousted PM. I said before Julia Gillard’s rise to power could make an excellent movie.

      I wonder what sort of election it would have been without all the shenanigans????

      While being interested for the first in this election campaign I have come to realize whether I like it or not I have to accept the facts that Australia could have its first atheist PM who will be living in a de facto relationship with a man who was once married with children of his own. That our appointed PM had an affair with a married man in Craig Emerson, also a Labor man. I found out that Penny Wong is gay and to my amazement only found out this morning while reading the Australian that Greens leader Bob Browne is also gay. I still can’t understand why Julia Gillard & Penny Wong aren’t with the Greens in allowing “gay marriages”

      My wishes to have Tony Abbott as the next PM, a happily married man with children and a past that I can be proud of here in Australia and internationally may not be granted on Saturday it will however, not make any difference to the lifestyle I enjoy and am blessed with in this wonderful land of ours.

      Reply

    • The Badger says:

      11:25am | 19/08/10

      Rosie

      You don’t get out of your hobbit hole much do you?
      You just found out Penny and Bob are gay?
      I must say this contributes much to understanding from whence your posts come. They call to a bygone era when things were less confusing and all you needed to know was what came forth from the pulpit.
      How simple now to accept Abbott as your savior and keep to the well worn path of morally superiority and intolerance.

      Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet.
      Mae West

    • James1 says:

      04:40pm | 19/08/10

      If it makes no difference to your lifestyle Rosie, why get worked up about them being gay or unmarried to begin with?

    • Robert S McCormick says:

      11:01am | 19/08/10

      If I believed in a god I would be on my knees thanking it that this farce of the “This is for ME, not Australia, Julia Gillard, Federal Election” is almost over.
      No new policies, no new faces, no progress, nothing except ever-increasing debt!
      Over the last 40 days of this election campaign the Rudd/Gillard/Swan Federal Government’s debt has, @ $100million per day, risen by another $4,000,000,000.00 to now stand at, at least, $94 billion. Gillard & Swan simply don’t give a damn.
      It’s all about Ms Gillard & her over-riding ambition. He quest for legitimacy in the political arena. Should she win, hideous thought, 10 Federal Elections this she will NEVER, EVER have.

      Reply

    • Michael says:

      11:11am | 19/08/10

      Well, then, David, if you believe people are right to confuse State and Federal issues, perhaps you’ll welcome a backlash against the Liberal Party in WA? Oh, that’s right, you haven’t heard about the massive utility cost rises, the IR review by Steven Amendola that the government’s been sitting on for 10 months or more and refuses to release because it’s Workchoices for WA, a Liberal Treasurer who literally was in bed with the Greens, a government that refused to negotiate point-blank with its own staff and forced the matter to go to arbitration, and a government that now wants to privatise the health services of our newest and best WA hospitals.  Thank you for the justification to now put those issues to voters as a Federal issue in WA!

      Reply

    • Rosie says:

      11:32am | 19/08/10

      The confusion keeps on going on! After last night’s forum the debate issue was laid to rest. Now we have Wayne Swann running around like a chook with its head cut off complaining about the Lib’s costing when he should just leave that trust to the public. I say again the Libs have out smart Wayne Swann, the cause of the problem in the first place.

      Labor have under estimated Tony Abbott who is giving them a bloody good run for their money! Labor thought that “Work Choices” was going to do it for them - Failed! then the economy - Failed and more failures. This personal attack on Tony Abbott came about because the Rudd/Gillard Govt had no record good enough to defend. If Labor wins we can say that it was a novelty win because silly females were in awe of having our first female PM who no doubt charmed her way through this election campaign.

      Reply

    • Cameron says:

      11:51am | 19/08/10

      There is no confusing the issues for me. Tony Abbott is the issue. For his part in knifing the best prime ministerial candidate we have had in my lifetime in Malcolm Turnbull, he certainly won’t get my vote.  I want no part in helping to advance Abbott’s career any further! Turnbull has what it takes to make the Liberals a party worth voting for

      Reply

    • PJP says:

      12:25pm | 19/08/10

      Cameron

      Forget Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott’s is the man of the moment!

      How you wished it was Turnbull so Julia Gillard could sail into calm waters and straight into high office! It is not happening, much to your disappointment. Too late to worry now your anxiety will be relieved on Sat night.

    • Anne71 says:

      12:32pm | 19/08/10

      You have a point there, Cameron. Successive polls have shown that while the 2-party-preferred vote is close, Gillard remains well ahead in the preferred PM stakes. This suggests that while many people out there may want to vote Liberal, they do NOT want Tony Abbott as PM. Unfortunately, when the Libs chose Abbott as leader, Rudd was still riding high in the polls. They would never have imagined that they would be in with a very real chance at the next election. If they knew then what they know now, I don’t think Abbott would have been allowed anywhere near the leadership. They would have kept Turnbull or chosen Hockey instead. If either of those two was leading the Liberals right now, I honestly think the polls would be telling a much different story.

    • Chris says:

      12:52pm | 19/08/10

      I agree completely, Turnbull was the best thing that ever happened to the Libs and they stuffed it up. Abbott will not win.

    • TimB says:

      01:09pm | 19/08/10

      Anne, you’re wrong. If Turnbull had stayed in place we would have had an ETS.  No pressure would have been placed on Rudd, and his popularity would have stayed where it was.

      It was Tony Abbott who helped bring Rudd down. Without his leadership the Liberals wouldn’t have had a chance.

    • Gregg says:

      02:52am | 20/08/10

      Exactly Tim and if Turnbull had even been up against Gillard, he would have been too much of a soft touch to get in and fight as Tony has done.
      All credit to him and people need to get over their prejudice, take the blinkers off and see him for what he is.

    • Peter Oataway, Hay, NSW says:

      12:13pm | 19/08/10

      I think the NSW government in an austerity move has secretly moved the state border to somewhere along the Great Dividing Range, and areas West of it such as Hay and most of the Riverina are in a stateless wasteland running on auto-pilot..but still paying NSW taxes wink

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      12:16pm | 19/08/10

      He didn’t knife Turnbull. What the? He (and as it later was proven) like the majority of the coalition were against Tunbull’s support of Rudd’s ETS. He launched a leadership challenge on that basis and was democratically elected by the members of his party. Just like what happened when Turnbull took over from Nelson. When Latham took over from Beasley. When Rudd took over from god I can’t even remember. Turnbull is still a member of the party and will be following the election.

      That is not spin, that is not political crap - it is fact that there is legitimate difference between the way that Turnbull and Rudd were deposed.

      The thing I am having trouble with is Labor’s spruiking the whole “a vote for Howard is a vote for Costello” in 2007. The subtext was - don’t vote for them because you are not guaranteed the same prime minister for the whole term. Well looky looky….

      Reply

    • Diamantina Dick says:

      12:50pm | 19/08/10

      And Gillard lambasting Abbott for not releasing the budget details personnally when Rudd did not do it in 2007, leaving it to Swann. Swann when questioned on this faigned memory loss, like Bondy.

    • fairsfair says:

      01:20pm | 19/08/10

      And how hardly any of Kevvie’s were even costed as they submitted most of them on the final day of the campaign.

      The whole system is a joke. Information like this should be released, along with the campaign LAUNCH at the LAUNCH of the campaign - ie the week an election is announced.

      I don’t think for a minute that the coalition would not do the same if the shoe was on the other foot - but I am over all the deception from both sides. We are all mushrooms. Best get used to it I suppose. Shitake.

    • Holly says:

      12:16pm | 19/08/10

      So now we find that the Coalitions costings were not just rushed to the WA accounting firm in the last few days because of the Treasury leak, but have in fact been with company since June.  Now we understand all the false outrage and blustering on the part of Tony and Joe.  Their new figures do not show the correction identified in the treasury leak.  Why not?.  Savings are to be clawed back in petty savings for example - $1billion in the Pharmaceutical Benefits scheme - somehow miraculously without us paying more for our necessary medications. How?
      The caveat from the accounting firm says it all - as always - these figures can only be accurate as the information provided to us.  That is junk in = junk out.  Not to be trusted.

      Abbott is also pursuing the furphy that coalition does not strike preference deals - how disingenuous - Tony Abbott walked off and refused to comment on a question about this at the news conference.  All party’s have to provide preference arrangements for the senate.

      24 hour campaigning - definitely starting to sound unhinged.  Maybe we should bring in compulsory brain scans for politicians.

      Reply

    • watchingwithinterest says:

      01:00pm | 19/08/10

      Well perhaps Wayne Swan should have thought twice before he made the Treasury a pawn in his political game.  The labor party didn’t submit their’s last time and the liberal’s didn’t submit their’s this time.  The whole process is a joke and I am sure regardless of who wins on Saturday the opposition won’t submit them next time either.  Get off your high horse both parties are as bad as one another

    • watchingwithinterest says:

      12:29pm | 19/08/10

      Where is the vision.  Sydney is almost choking to death but what are labor doing about it.  Newcastle and Wollongong are both large cities within 2 hrs drive of Sydney and have plenty to offer.  But unfortunately they both comprise many safe labor seats so neither state labor or the federal government seem to think that they should spend any money on them in an attempt to ease pressure on Sydney.  The fact is that migrants don’t want to live in far north queensland when they arrive in Australia. They want to live in Sydney.  I would have thought that a more sensible approach to easing congestion in our capital cities and encouraging people to move to regional areas would be to start close to home and then move further afield.  But no money for developing affordable housing in Newcastle or completing the internal city by-pass to ensure that Newcastle could become a sustainable city and cope with population growth in the future.  No Newcastle is not marginal like Townsville and as a result Labor take it for granted and the liberals think that it is so safe that they have no hope. 
      Developing cities like Newcastle and Wollongong require vision. It requires government at both a state and federal level to lead by example.  The first step is to start investing in infrastructure and the next step is to start saving the state goverment money by moving government departs out of the centre of sydney where they are required to pay huge rents.
      If either party at state or federal level had a vision for the future state of our country as a whole then I would feel so much better about lodging my vote on Saturday.  How depressing that when we vote it will be for the best of the worst instead of the best of the best

      Reply

    • nosthow says:

      12:35pm | 19/08/10

      2 days to go and Tony Abbott is history ! Looks like the poor little bugger is panicking as he says he wont sleep for 48 hours whilst he campaigns ! Now what on earth could Tony have to tell the public that he couldnt do it in 10, maybe 15 minutes. He has no policies and no vision for Australia. Goodbye Tony !

      Reply

    • Joolz says:

      01:27pm | 19/08/10

      Applause, Penbo. I agree with everything you wrote. I’d only change a few words, and that would be Petrie to Kippa ring rail link.

      Labor is the master of cookie cutter politics. I hope they lose. They’ll be unbearable if they win.

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      02:20pm | 19/08/10

      No they won’t Joolz, as Rosie says back there, she doesn’t expect to have her comfortable status disrupted either. Besides Labor does govern for all, whether you like it or not.

      Personally I find it very depressing to see this premature Liberal collapse but it is in accord with the whole negative Liberal campaign I suppose. Hopefully on Saturday we can be thankful not to have such a group of negative defeatist depresives at our helm.

    • James says:

      01:52pm | 19/08/10

      No mercy for state Labour the stench of corruption is overpowering it is horrifying to see that the Brumby government is going the way of NSW.
      Federal Labour hasn’t been too contaminated yet by the NSW right, but it should be on its guard.  The sooner the NSW labour right cancer is cut from the Labour party, and thrown into the bin of electoral irrelevance, the better.

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      04:16pm | 19/08/10

      Colourful rhetoric James without a smidgen of objectivity. You must be a whizz at a wake.

    • Wilma J Craig says:

      02:28pm | 19/08/10

      Don’t you just love the way people twist things to suit their desired outcomes?
      Last night there were 200 at Brisbane’s Red Hill Public Forum.When it was all over someone polled the attendees, asking them who they would now vote for (no,that’s not verbatim but what the question boiled down to!).
      83 or 41.5%  said they would vote for the ALP.
      75 or 37.5% said they would vote for the Coalition
      42 or 21% gave no answer or were ‘undecided’
      The pro-Labor media screamed that Gillard had won.
      What had she won? It wasn’t a contest! It was a public meeting at which, for possibly the first time in 100 years, members of the public were given a chance to actually come face-to-face with a politician. Any politician & in particular the Leaders of the two main Parties ( I am surprised that the ‘leader’ of that tiny minority party, the Greens, Bob Brown did not, totally unjustifiably, demand to be part of the event.
      This meeting, just as the Rooty Hill meeting in NSW the week before was “The People’s Meeting”.
      They were both held to force, if you will, the leaders of the two main parties, face up to, possibly hostile, members of the public. Not a spin doctor in sight. Not a phony set of questions as were presented at that silly Great Big Non-Event called “The Debate”.
      These two meetings were a real novelty in modern politics!
      For all my years of voting, there are many,many of them, the nearest I, & I suspect the rest of us, have gotten to any of our politicians, Federal, State or Territory, at Election Time has been expensive, glossy brochures in our letter boxes. The incumbent we can recognise but those wishing to oust the incumbent are nowhere. Once upon a time, when most of us were apathetic to the point of ignoring the issue altogether, politicians in situ & those aspiring to be could get away with ignoring us & assuming we would simply vote for them because we had to vote for someone. Now we have become more savvy, aware, less apathetic.
      Hopefully when the next Election, Fed or State, comes along the political parties will have gotten the message:
      We, the People, want to see,hear,listen &, most importantly, speak to/with the candidates. We want to do so not just during the run-up to an election but a number of times over the next 3 or 4 years.
      Trucking Magnate, Lindsay Fox, has been reported (hopefully accurately) as saying that he is not advocating people vote for any particular party but that he does urge people not to give the Balance of Power to the largely unrepresentative Greens. Based on their very small voter-base of around 12% as opposed to the voter-base of the remaining 88% the Greens are, to quote Paul Keating when in reference to the Senate, “Unrepresentative Swill.”

      Reply

    • Micko says:

      02:59pm | 19/08/10

      I noticed that the crowd at both the Brisbane and Sydney forums was very Anglo-Saxon.  I suspect Gillards win would have been even greater has the mix of people been more representative of the population in gerneral.

    • Reg says:

      04:32pm | 19/08/10

      Wilma J Craig, I’m still trying to find a representative of the National Party within cooee of any of these meetings. Considering the importance of their role in a Liberal and National Party Coalition, they are conspicuous by their absence, think you not?

      I can only suppose they are part of the faceless ones the Liberals keep referring to. I propose NO-ONE vote for the National Party as a protest against their anonymity.

      By the way, should not their representative, ...the Nationals… have been entitled to half of Tony’s time on the platform?

    • Peter says:

      05:53pm | 19/08/10

      Micko are you suggesting that ethnic groups are more gullible and easier to fool?
      Well, that’s what I deduce from your statement.

    • Power drunk. says:

      05:58pm | 19/08/10

      If you listened to Brown’s dictatorial, overpowering tone during ABC news radio interview today, you might have felt as fearful as I did.

    • Julie Coker-Godson says:

      11:23pm | 19/08/10

      @Micko:  What have you got against Anglo-Saxons?  That remark sounds racist.

    • Reg says:

      06:58am | 20/08/10

      It’s all in the mind Julie.

    • Paul says:

      03:40pm | 19/08/10

      Janes1 your ignorance is only surpassed by the stupidity of your comment.
      You really haven’t got a clue have you? Just think for a moment. What would happen if all country people migrated to the city? You haven’t thought that one through, have you? As you undoubtedly know, it doesn’t take people to produce food, it magically appears in the supermarket. Right? Thank you Labor for giving our city cousins such a great education.

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      04:02pm | 19/08/10

      Paul,
      James’ point was that if you want to live in the country then you can’t expect to get the same level of services as that afforded to city dwellers.  You know, economies of scale and all that.
      If you can’t accept this you always have the choice of moving.
      Even a country bumpkin should be able to grasp that surely.

    • James1 says:

      04:48pm | 19/08/10

      Good job on totally missing my point Paul.  Kudos to you, sir.  Perhaps you should look to your own “country-style” education and its obvious shortcomings.  By the way, I grew up in that massive city called Toowoomba.

      Tim is correct about what I was saying - why make a choice and then spend so much time complaining about the choice you make?  I have no problem with people choosing to live in the country - they should just shut up with all the whining about how terrible it is to live in the country is all.  You don’t hear me complain about living in Canberra - I accept that it comes with both costs and benefits.

    • James1 says:

      04:49pm | 19/08/10

      Thinking on it, I can not let such an insult pass without response.

      I hope this will not get canned by the mods, but if they let Paul call me ignorant on the basis that he does not comprehend basic English, then they must let this through - it seems your own inability to comprehend an argument is only surpassed by your inability to type properly.

    • Reg says:

      05:30pm | 19/08/10

      Kudos is not given James, “it falls like the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath.” You have been seduced by the illiteracy of our American cousins James. 

      I must object at your whimsical treatment of out country people James. They shall remain to me amongst the most admirable people in Australia, which is why the deserve better than the National Party.

    • James1 says:

      10:47am | 20/08/10

      I guess that is where we differ then Reg.  I too admire the stoic country types, but find it very hard to admire people who whinge and complain and expect subsidies to support their lifestyle choices.  And that lack of admiration extends to other areas as well - dole bludgers, small business, many parents, many singles and the childfree - I could go on for quite a while with this list, in fact.

      Please excuse my Americanised English, BTW.  I have studied extensively under and with Americans, and it seems to have had an effect on my own use of language.

      Final thing - it is good to know I have your admiration, in any case, being a country boy myself.  I can almost feel the kudos falling like gentle rain…

    • David V. says:

      07:40pm | 19/08/10

      Of course, we need major infrastructural development but also solve this country’s ethnic problems, preferably something akin to Guatemala’s “scorched earth” policy towards Indians.

      Reply

    • sunderlandgrl says:

      07:51pm | 18/10/10

      thanks!

      Reply
 
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