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Since when is an ALP crisis a national emergency?

Bronwyn Bishop

by Bronwyn Bishop

01 Jun 05:30am

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Filed under: Election 2010, Government Advertising, Mining Tax, Politics

57 comments

Isn’t it amazing Mr Rudd has a get out clause to allow him to run an advertising campaign worth $38 million of tax payer’s money without any scrutiny at all. How pathetic!

That canary's not the only sick one. Illustration: Jon Kudelka

A ‘cancer in our democracy’ his words for tax payer funded government advertising, when done by someone other than him and his government, suddenly turns into a national emergency to tell porkies about his opponents.

A quick analysis of the so called implementation of his promise to have the Auditor-General be used to give his campaigns legitimacy is interesting.

First the Department of Finance sets up guidelines for all major advertising. These allow the Auditor-General to comment on a campaign after inquiry (not audit) and say whether or not the guidelines were met.

The Secretary of the relevant department proposing the campaign could then determine whether the campaigning went ahead, even if the campaign did not comply. The Auditor-General had no power of veto only moral assuaging.

On the basis of inquiry by the Public Accounts and Audit Committee into how the Auditor-General carried out his work of which I was part, some campaigns did not go ahead because of the Auditor-General’s comments.

Enter three former departmental heads – headed up by former Defence Secretary and High Commissioner to New Zealand, one Alan Hawke (He recommends Auditor General gets sacked because he was undercutting the authority of departmental secretaries and he gets the job).

Finance then prepares new but watered down guidelines.

But note both the original and watered down guidelines have “get out clauses”. That is the Cabinet Secretary can exempt a campaign from compliance with the guidelines, on the basis, in the case of the Auditor-General guidelines, of national emergency, extreme urgency or other extraordinary reason the Cabinet Secretary thinks appropriate.

And in the Hawke guidelines in the case of “national emergency, extreme urgency or other compelling reason”.

Obviously the Treasurer thought he could not get his proposed super tax campaign through even when watered down guidelines which require that campaigns must be “presented in objective language and be free from political argument.”

The guidelines also state that a campaign must not try to foster a positive impression of a particular party or promote political interests.

That it must not directly attack or scorn the views, policies or actions of others such as the policies and opinions of opposition parties or groups.

And it must not be designed to influence public support for a political party, a candidate for election, a Minister or a Member of Parliament.

No wonder Treasurer Swan (the con) sought an exemption, and Cabinet Secretary Senator Ludwig granted it. There’s no way in the world the Treasurer’s anti mining company campaign masquerading as an information campaign would get through those guidelines!

But to add insult to injury a quick look at the old previous government guidelines which operated under the MCGC system, had no get out clause. No matter what, all major or sensitive advertising campaigns had to comply with the then guidelines. And all three sets of guidelines were overseen by the Department of Finance.

So where does this leave us. Rudd has spent some $115 million under his first two sets of guidelines, but is now spending $38 million to promote a tax for which there is no legislation, nor will there be before the next election.

There is no national emergency, only an ALP crisis.

Cabinet Secretary Ludwig hid his decision from the Senate Estimate Committee process by announcing his exemption after his part in estimates ended and the ads were made and away. Was he ashamed of his decision or just fearful of being questioned on the legitimacy of his role in this fraud upon the nation?

Was the real reason for the $38 million campaign panic – to combat a campaign by an industry exposing a tax gouge that will penalise shareholders (including mum and dads) superannuation funds and future investment in mining and the wealth it brings the nation.

Mr Rudd’s greatest hypocrisy is that he proffered up the Auditor-General to be his seal of sanctity. He betrayed the Auditor-General by manufacturing his sacking from his watch dog role and now exempts his most political advertising from the guidelines just to ensure it will be political.

He promised a system of integrity – he has failed again.

The Australian people gave you a go MR Rudd, now its time to go.

And a P.S for Senator Brown of the Greens (now there is a contradiction in terms). It’s no good crying out about how bad the government is if you simply remain the conduit for delivering your preference votes to Labor.

People would take you more seriously if you adopted the Democrat’s position of not directing your preferences but letting the voter decide. By all means put on your how-to-vote, a how to preference Labor, but add how to preference the Coalition.

Most commented

57 comments

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    • Christian Real says:

      07:10am | 01/06/10

      Brownyn
      You have the audacity to attack Labor over this $38.5 million advertising campaign, how about taking a look at a couple of things that cost the taxpayers under the former Liberal government that you were a Minister off.
      $420 million of taxpayers money spent of advertising the G.S.T, the tax policy that John Howard claimed was “Dead and buried”
      $120 million of taxpayers money used to advertise “WorkChoices”, in just these two policies John Howard wasted $540 million of taxpayers money.
      Bronwyn, lets have a look at Tony Abbott, the man who wants to be Prime Minister but was caught out lying on ABC National Television, on the 7.30 Report and he was also caught out lying on ABC National Television Four Corners in August 1998
      http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/27/1061663854618.html
      So twice as far a known, Tony Abbott has lied on ABC National Television, and most likely has not yet been caught out for other lies as yet.
      As a Minister for Workplace Relations, in the former Howard Government, Tony Abbott breached the ‘Code Of Conduct, when he set up a $100,000 trust fund to bankroll legal action against Pauline Hanson and One Nation,and did not seek Prime Minister Howard’s approval for the fund raising activities.
      Abbott set up the fund in late August 1998 did he declare the trust fund on the “register of interests”, until December 3rd,1998.
      If it was good enough for Joel Fitzgibbon to lose his portfolio for failing to make a declaration on the “register of Interests”, then by the same token Tony Abbott should have lost his portfolio as Workplace Minister in 1998.
      It appears Bronwyn, that the Liberals believe that there is one set of rules and standards for the Liberal party and another set of rules and standards for the ALP, in regards to declaring “interests” on the register of interests, in Parliament.
      And from Wikipedia, comes the revelation by Tony Abbott, that “Despite his right-wing leanings,Abbott acknowledged he voted for Labor in the 1998 state election as he thought “Barrie Unsworth was the best deal Premier that New South wales had ever had.” Nevertheless,Abbott then clarified that he has never voted for Labor in a federal election.”
      The fact is Bronwyn, Tony Abbott was a Minister in the former Howard Government, and yet he voted for the Opposition.
      The questions are, is Tony Abbott really Loyal to the Liberal Party?, is Tony really trustworthy after being caught out telling lies on the 7.30 Report and a Four corners program?
      Bronwyn, whether it is written or unwritten, the fact is Tony Abbott has lied on ABC National Television, and how many other times has Tony Abbott lied and not been caught out.?

      Reply

    • thinktank says:

      07:46am | 01/06/10

      These ads should have been paid for by the Labor party, plain and simple.  Once passed into law, then the $38m that was included in the budget for advertising could have rightfully been used.

      The Howard government did spend too much on advertising to be sure.  And if they similarly used taxpayer money before the legislation was passed into law then that is equally not good.

      p.s. Does anyone read comments that are more than a few paragraphs?

    • steve says:

      08:04am | 01/06/10

      G’day CR
      Seems the more you write indicates the more desperate you are
      Sorry but peoples eyes glaze over and they just move on
      Let me put it simply for you, We would agree that Pollies are human and humans tell untruths (hold the phone!)
      The Liberals were wrong to waste our money advertising what had passed into law
      Krudd is worse; he is spending our money advertising arguments for his policies.
      Seems having a view that disagrees with labor is now a national emergency?
      All this advertising is for stuff that has not even gone to parliament yet.
      Yesterday Kevie told the parliament that the mining industry was a threat to the economy??? If you have got Superannuation mate you should be worried

      This Government has totally lost control of itself…

    • T.Chong says:

      08:10am | 01/06/10

      Yes ThinkTank, many do read all the paras of all the comments,specially if youve penned them.
      Keep up the good work.

    • antiperspirant says:

      08:13am | 01/06/10

      I read all of Christians comments. It is like a civic duty to support the mentally incompetent.

      Oh and it is always good for a laugh.

      I love the convolutions he goes to in justifying the lies of Labor by the basic and Krudd abhorred (snicker) of blame game politics.

      He wins my lightweight of the year award hands down.

    • Peter says:

      08:37am | 01/06/10

      Well said Christian. Bronwyn is hardly the model of integrity.
      And Bronwyn: How much of taxpayers money did you spend with conspiracy theorist John Howard (imaginary Weapons of Mass destruction) on the War on Terror to make Halliburton and others of Bush’s mates record profits in the tens of billions of dollars? We have been spending a billion dollars a year for several years as a result of your hypocritical and deadly (to the families that have lost diggers for no reason) legacy Bronwyn.

      That’s money you have heartlessly ripped out of education, aged care and mental illness and all the other “optional” government programs.

      The only crisis, is in your mind Bronwyn, about whose country and interests you are representing. And how hypocritical, unAustralian and narcissistic you can continue to be.

    • Christian Real says:

      08:52am | 01/06/10

      Antiperspirant,
      Have you got your mummy’s permission to go out and play, with your imbecile online comments, it shows how uneducated, childish and how un-grown up your really are.

    • Aitch B says:

      10:23am | 01/06/10

      @Christian

      Sure the Howard government probably overspent on the advertising campaign for the GST and Work Choices but you appear to fail to understand that both of those had already passed through parliament and were in fact law rather than a governmental proposal. Both advertising campaigns were quite legitimate in that they were informing the electorate of the new legislation, how it affected them and in the case of Work Choices, their rights and obligations.

      It also seems you fail to recognise the fact that the Howard government went to an election with the GST as a major component of its policies (in spite of the “never ever” stuff) and in fact were returned to office. That says that the electorate had a choice and voted accordingly.

      Give up on the “Abbot lies” theme, mate. They all do it… it’s not just a Liberal trait. “By 1990 no Australian child will be living in poverty” springs to mind. Remember that one?

    • Tim says:

      11:10am | 01/06/10

      @ Christian Real, you should go double-check to see if you have your own mother’s permission to be fiddling with her computer. Your “arguments” boil down to “Well THEY did it so it’s ok if WE do it.” nothing more than a childish “Two wrongs make a right”.

      Guess what? They don’t.  You’re defending the indefensible.

    • Ryan says:

      11:29am | 01/06/10

      @Christian Real: This hardly has anything to do with anything the previous governments, this has EVERYTHING to do with the FACT that Rudd said he would never do this and yet went out and did it anyway. What a big fat LIER!

    • Keith says:

      01:25pm | 01/06/10

      At least there was no debt when Howard used money for advertising.

    • antiperspirant says:

      02:13pm | 01/06/10

      Yes CR.

      Mummy said I could.

      She also said to point out irrelevant and pointless posts wherever I find them.

      She said for the good of the people without one eye the frauds and intellectually deprived should not be allowed to go unpunished.

      Thanks for asking and all.

      Soooooo…..have you come up with a point? I am sure Howard would be heartened that he still gives fanatics like you the shivers.

      Let go son. It is all ok. The 2007 saw him out. He won’t be back. There there. You can sleep easy now.

      Tell us when you join us in the present. I can’t wait to see you try new material. Bagging the same crap you serve up constantly gets sorta ho hum you know. And with pers on the slide god knows we need a person from the left with a brain. I mean really. Howard Howard Howard is sort of meh.

      Blame game…......snoooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee

    • Against the Man says:

      07:42am | 01/06/10

      Well the fact is this country made a fatal flaw voting in Rudd. Look at the mess we are in. Rudd must be kidding himself everytime he wakes up in the morning and thinks he is gonna have a great legacy. His legacy is ruined and nothing he can do or say now will save it. Win or lose the next election, Rudd will go done in history as an incompetent boob. And that is the satisfaction the minority of smart voters will get. He has no one to blame but himself.

      Reply

    • Shifter says:

      02:18pm | 01/06/10

      Unfortunately, given the quality of choice on the opposition, we’re not left with a really good alternative.

      From what I can see our choice of leader boils down to a liar who wastes government money, and a liar who will probably waste government money if he gets there.

      I’d really like to vote for Obama, or the Queen, or that solider who won the VC recently than any of the current offerings.

    • Jan says:

      05:29pm | 01/06/10

      No Shifter, vote Libs, it will send a powerful message that a popular 1st term PM can be displaced if he doesn’t perform. Abbott will be forced to deliver us results because his party will force him to.

    • DC says:

      12:09pm | 03/06/10

      @Jan:  Why on earth would anyone in their right mind want to vote for someone who is as flaky as Tony Abbott is?

      Abbott earned his nickname the “weathervane” from his own party for a good reason.

      Why would anyone want to vote for someone who in one breath claims that they support climate change, then in his second breath claims that climate change is crap, only to say in his third breath that he believes in it again.

      It’s the same with Workchoices - Abbott claims he doesn’t support it and won’t bring it back, but at the same time he’s telling industry he will bring back key elements of it - only to tell the Australian public that Workchoices is dead and buried.  I guess that’s where the scripted vs gospel truth comes into it.

      But they aren’t the only policies Abbott is flaky on - there are plenty more.

      Why would anyone vote for someone who can’t make up their own mind where they stand on key policies?

    • thinktank says:

      07:54am | 01/06/10

      Bronwyn, there’s really no need for this kind of article when everyone else is making your political points for you.  Just stay out of the media when the other blokes are in trouble.  It’s the Coalition’s inability to follow this simple rule that has both parties’ support dropping in the polls - both by making your own mistakes or by coming across as too negative all the time.  Sometimes silence is golden.

      Reply

    • John A Neve says:

      08:00am | 01/06/10

      Bronwyn,

      Are you still in parliament?  The reason I ask is todays article, you say “Isn’t it amazing Mr Rudd has a get out clause”!!!

      Don’t you know what legistlation you people pass in the parliament? Why are you amazed, weren’t you in the house that day?
      Not another sicky surely?

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      08:08am | 01/06/10

      You are perfectly correct, Bronwyn.  We believe you.  And we believe what the ALP says about the coalition. And both sides are dragged into the slime.

      You might read Mr Penberthy’s piece today on the rise of the Greens.  There is probably a connection between the sort of thing you identify in this piece and the rise of a party that, so far, at least, still seems to be connected to some principles.

      Reply

    • centurion48 says:

      08:13am | 01/06/10

      Do these Liberal parliamentarians really write the stuff that is served up in Punch every day? I really feel that the Liberal and National party hacks write it and just assign names on a rotational basis.
      What new information is contained in this piece? Absolutely nothing. Come on Bronnie, if you are going to write an opinion piece then at least have an opinion.
      I have just two questions:
      1.  can Bronwyn Bishop point to where she ever spoke out about the excessive spending by the previous Coalition trying to save their own political hides, and
      2.  what core promise will the Coalition make to ensure that taxpayers’ money spent on advertising does not continue to be rorted to promote party politics?
      Don’t worry about my politics either. Rudd is wrong on this advertising backflip, just as he has been wrong on many core policies. He is headed for extinction along with his sycophantic brethren but I do not think that the current Opposition is a viable alternative.
      Lastly, I am struggling with Bronnie’s little ‘joke’ about Senator Brown of the Greens. If my grandson came up with that then I might think him clever but a senior parliamentarian? The joke’s on you Bronnie. Time to retire.

      Reply

    • T.Chong says:

      08:15am | 01/06/10

      How much money did Howard, Abbott and Hockey waste on telling people that Workchoices - stripping away of wage earners rights, was good for them?  120+ million?

      Reply

    • Sherlock says:

      09:38am | 01/06/10

      Aren’t you really missing the point here? It’s not all about money.

      I have no real problem with government advertising no matter who is the government of the day. When the government enacts new programs the public needs to be informed and an advertising program is the best way to do it.

      That said, I do agree the advertising by the Howard government towards the end of 2007 was way over the top and should never have been allowed. However, there is the defence, as thin as it may be, that the Howard government was advertising government programs that had passed through both houses of parliament and had been enacted and directly affected the majority of Australians who needed to be informed about the changes.

      Now remember I did say it wasn’t right and the above was a very thin defence liable to crack at the lightest scrutiny. Now the problems with this government.

      1. The hypocrisy of Rudd launching an advertising campaign after what Rudd said in 2007.

      2. The smokescreen of calling this a “national emergency” has made the Labor party a complete laughing stock. I think it’s so risible that most people are amazed they took this route. How well funded does a lobby group attacking government policy need to be before it’s declared a “national emergency”?

      3. This is a government policy that hasn’t even been introduced into the lower house much less enacted. Even if it had been passed by parliament it doesn’t start until 2012. It doesn’t affect the public so they don;t need to be told about it especially this close to an election.

      I watched for over two years as this government has proved it’s incompetence. They are so useless it’s hard deciding what they can stuff up next. However, they had missed out on being called the worst government since federation because the Whitlam government wasn’t just incompetent it was corrupt..

      Until now I had seen lot’s of incompetence in the Rudd government but nothing I could really say was corrupt. The way they have enacted this advertising campaign has crossed that line for me. In my opinion, using legislation designed for use during a national emergency to pay for a campaign that simply pushes a party political line is out and out corruption and there should be consequences.

    • fehowarth says:

      11:16am | 01/06/10

      We should recall the miners opinions on workchoice.  They did not appear to care about the workers then. The miners now want us to save them.

    • over it says:

      05:10pm | 01/06/10

      The major point that has been missed here in all the back and forth about the $38m advertising spend is the spurious justification that the govt have used.  It has been made known over the last couple of days that Wayne Swan briefed the advertising agencies on this on April 20th, well before the proposal was aired in the budget speech and therefore, obviously, well before any advertising campaign was mounted by the mining interests.  They also budgeted for the $38m.  The fact that the mining industry is using its own (shareholdes) money to fund this and the govt is using public money is another issue.  The fact that the mining industry, or any other group, hold an opinion that differs from that of this government and opposes their proposals does NOT equal a campaign of “misinformation”.  This has been framed by the govt as a class war between “big nasty foreign owned mining companies” and “working families” and “small businesses” and it has blown up in the govt’s face to a large extent.  This ad campaign is just a way of them clawing back some of the damage done.  Before Messrs Rudd, Swan, Tanner etc.declare a state of emergency and appropriate public funds for their party political advertising, they could perhaps try using some free media and getting out there and selling it.

    • Old Clive says:

      08:20am | 01/06/10

      A lot of the ALP politicians must have been lousy lawyers, that goes for the coalition as well, from what I see in life they could have made a fortune out of law in the private arena. Apart from that lets kick all Parliamentarians out after two terms and save a fortune in pensions.

      Reply

    • Aussie Joe says:

      01:27pm | 01/06/10

      Most of the ALP are arts students or people with political studies diplomas or union reps. No education at all.

    • Super D says:

      08:29am | 01/06/10

      The weasel words of the liar in chief are worthless.  Indigenous Australians should demand a new apology from someone who’s word can be trusted.

      Reply

    • persephone says:

      08:29am | 01/06/10

      Um, Bronwyn, isn’t this article scrutiny? Aren’t all the media articles on this scrutiny? Weren’t the questions in Parliament yesterday scrutiny?

      It’s not like the advertising has suddenly appeared without anyone knowing how much it cost or who approved it.

      By putting in stricter rules, Rudd created a situation where, as soon as he broke them, it became an issue.

      I’m not justifying the rule breaking, but just pointing out that having the rules in place to begin with has improved the transparency of the process.

      None of Howard’s multi million dollar advertising campaigns received this level of scrutiny, because he never put in place the triggers which would make sure it would happen.

      And Rudd has not evoked a ‘national emergency’. There are other grounds in the guidelines beside this, and he has evoked one of them - compelling reasons.

      The ‘compelling reasons’ are that cashed up multi national companies are interferring in our domestic poltics.

      Who do you want running the country - foreign companies, intent on maximising their profits, or the democratically elected government of the day?

      Oh, sorry, I forgot - those foreign companies are bankrolling your party.

      If the government loses this argument, we will become like the US, where big companies bankroll the government and dominate the decision making process.

      Reply

    • Pete from Sydney says:

      08:41am | 01/06/10

      Persephone, you have a point…what are the Liberals getting from big mining in funding for the next election….we won’t find out because I believe legislation that would have forced parties to reveal this information to the public was stopped in the senate by the Libs and the redoubtable Steve Fielding….just another example of transperency from the Libs.

      And i still maintain the big mining banding together to tell how hard done they are is like smoking companies doing the same.

      PS Bronnie, when are you going to give it away?

    • Sam says:

      09:24am | 01/06/10

      I think it is very out of the ordinary that relevant stakeholdes, have an opinion on an issue. I think that it is compelling that the reason these companies have foreign investment, is becasue Australia does not have enough Capital to support the mining companies, therefore we need Foreign Investment, and I am sure that we all realise that we don’t invest in companies without wanting to have shares.
      There is nothing out of the ordinary, or Compelling.
      It goes deeper than that, Kevin Rudd lied to parliament, saying that there was no effect on Markets, while Wayne Swan saying it will. This shows either incompetance, or misleading Parliament.

    • Evan Findlay says:

      10:08am | 01/06/10

      Not only are they bankrolling the Liberal party’s election campaign and bombarding the electorate with all their mistruths and misleading propaganda but they will declare all their advertising as a tax deduction.

    • David C says:

      11:10am | 01/06/10

      The Liberals are no longer in power, they were voted out at the last election. The new govt vowed to change the advertising rules and they havent and have now spectacularly backed down on another issue. The public are upset ....... seems perfectly understandable and if I was a Labor apologist I would just cop it.

    • fehowarth says:

      11:24am | 01/06/10

      When the so-called new miner is super tax was released, did not all the leading miners head to Canberra to consult with Mr. Abbott?  Mr. Abbott left that meeting, with a smile like a Cheshire cat.  At the same time, Mr Rudd headed for the west coast.  He only has to speak to minor players.  So much for the miners wanting to consult.

    • Nathan Clarke says:

      02:35pm | 01/06/10

      Evan Findlay, Sounds a bit like the unions and Workchoices doesn’t it, Doesn’t feel so good with the shoe on the other foot.

    • Bc says:

      08:50am | 01/06/10

      How long does the previous Coalition government need to be out-of-office before people stop comparing them to current political parties? Regardless of the money Howard spent during his term on political advertising, it has no bearing on the facts of this (current) ALP scandal, and needs to stop being trumpeted by every labour hack. The ‘we did because he did it’ is frankly, pathetic.

      I did love Maxine try and justify the advertising spending on Q&A last night though. It was a thorough squirm by anyone’s standards

      Reply

    • Fily says:

      09:35am | 01/06/10

      But Labor has no other choice but to keep spinning that old if Howard did it so can we line because they have no credibility. I feel sick when people try to compare Rudd to Howard. Mr Howard may not have been perfect but he is far more superior as a dignified and high achieving PM when compared to the bad tempered, achieve nothing, always on TV for attention Ruddy.

    • Rocket Surgeon says:

      02:01pm | 01/06/10

      From past experience I’d say 11 years.

    • iansand says:

      02:37pm | 01/06/10

      Longer than 11 years.  Remember the Whitlam bogeyman being resurrected in the last campaign?  He was last in office in 1975.  It seems 30+ years is the current record holder.

    • Joe says:

      08:51am | 01/06/10

      This is yet ANOTHER backflip by Rudd who has no credability left.

      Reply

    • Darren says:

      09:03am | 01/06/10

      Hi Bronny - when are you going to let that nice Jim Longley have your seat?

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      10:10am | 01/06/10

      LOL!! You gotta love the Libs bleating crap like this and then doing their level best to ignore the facts that they spent exponentially ‘shit tins’ more pimping their own policies and vote buying grabs only a short time ago when they held the reigns of power.

      Alzheimers kicking in Bronnie? At your age you want to watch that one love.

      And then their hacks and shills get on here and want you to forget that as well. Can anyone remind me again how much ‘Honest’ John and his cronies spent advertising the GST? WorkChoices? Border Protection? Meaningless Terrorism scare campaigns??

      Give me a break cretins. Amoeba’s have more backbone.

      Reply

    • AC says:

      11:09am | 01/06/10

      The issue is not how much the Libs spent when in government so get over it. IT seems to be the excuse for everything with this government. GET OVER IT. The issue is what Krudd has promised and subsequently broken yet another promise. Hold him accountable by his own words.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m2c9f2tT1A

    • Hip O Crit says:

      11:20am | 01/06/10

      Good one Dave-well put and spot on! Your third paragraph is a gem…Bronwyn and her hack mates do give me a giggle at times.. This spend by the Gov. is miniscule compered to the massive amounts wasted by Brons.outfit..The pot is much blacker than the kettle!!!!

    • OldGirl says:

      10:22am | 01/06/10

      Bronwyn I have voted for many years and it seems every political party including yours has used our money to flog their wares. Its a case of the pot calling the kettle black with your party even talking about this. The truth is, their are many Australians who are confused about this mining tax including myself. I come from The Hunter Valley ,as you know its all coal mines. The mines are making our people sick. There is little or no infustructure built and I really think sharing the money around Australia is probably the right thing to do. We could not get lucky enough for the mines not to survive. Good soil is being torn out and people are getting very sick, but no one in your party ever cared.

      Reply

    • James D says:

      11:45am | 01/06/10

      I will NOT be voting Liberal Bronwyn, I consider Julia Bishop to be a traitor and the money Rudd has spent on advertising is definatly no more than the Liberals spent pushing workchoices none of us wanted

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      12:01pm | 01/06/10

      If Labor responds to a campaign by the Mining Lobby (or anyone else for that matter), and can explain the inconsistences in an opposing campaign, then that is not advertizing, but information.
      Labor does not have to, then, justify its expense in putting forward to the electorate reasons why it will insist on Miners paying a reasonable tax-rate.
      All these arguements and statements from the Coalition, then, are bogus.
      Get on with it Kevin.

      Reply

    • Eye4anEye says:

      12:54pm | 01/06/10

      the horse is dead stop flogging it - as thinktank said earlier best thing Liberal party can do is stay quiet. Everyone knows what Labors doing in regards to the advertising is BS so stop trying to score political points off it - it kinda comes accross as tacky people are smart enough to figure out 100% guarentee I won’t do it + oops I just did it = lieing hypocrite PM.

      PS Labor please get rid of Rudd - if you installed Lindsay Tanner as leader I’d give serious thought to voting Labor (sorry Gillard and Combet not a fan of your socialist ways).

      Reply

    • Willy_K says:

      01:24pm | 01/06/10

      Spot on Bronwyn.  The deceit and hypocrisy of Rudd and the ALP beggars belief.

      Almost as much as the Kevin07 zombies who relentlessly defend the indefensible day in day out.  I guess they are getting paid but they would want hot showers and scrubbing brushes after what they write here.  Whatever it takes I guess to hold power for power’s sake.

      Thankfully Rudd ALP is deep into its end days.

      Reply

    • Average Joe says:

      01:57pm | 01/06/10

      Hard core ALP supporters won’t change nor will hard core Liberal supporters - and there’s plenty of both on these pages expressing their views to convince the other…akin to bashing one’s own head against a brick wall I suspect.
      But you won’t decide the outcome of the next election.

      The Howard Goverment did wrong on a number of issues over a decade and finally got tossed out because the swinging voters had enough of them and just needed a change to a new face with bright ideas.
      The Rudd Government appears to have done many things wrong over the space of a couple of years and is currently wallowing in a tsunami of failures, backflips disasters and a loss of trust.

      I wonder what the swinging voters will do to this government?

      Howard & Costello are gone and the swingers really don’t give a toss about who spent what when back then - they’re worried about today and tomorrow, not yesterday….but ALP strategists and supporters can’t see that and their defence against criticism is very often backward-looking.
      On the other hand, the Liberals seem to put their foot in their mouth too often, but can’t help themselves and keep opening their mouth and stuffing said body part into it. This behaviour isn’t filling the swinging voter with a great deal of confidence that they have the ability to govern.

      I’m sure those swinging voters are not as politically passionate as the erudite contributors to The Punch, but on that election day their one vote is going to be just as powerful as anyone’s here.

      Reply

    • luke09 says:

      05:32pm | 01/06/10

      The labor party should rename itself the contradiction party.

      Last week Rudd told us because of the miners misinformation ad campaign he needs to urgently spend 38 million to counter this campaign.

      Today Rudd tells us that on april 20th he had budgeted this 38 million for future ad campaign, yet the miners only heard about the RSPT in May.

      How can a national emergency fund of 38 million be in place before any announcement was even announced?

      I think Kevin is making it up as he goes along and he is losing all credibility in the process.

      Reply

    • Shelley says:

      06:12pm | 01/06/10

      Punters will not be voting in the coming election on who did what under Howard. Howard is not our PM.  And frankly I find it insulting that the PM, his government, and their supporters use the Howard did this, that. or the other argument to silence any legitimate questions posed to them about their deeds while governing Australia. By their reckoning all can go to strip clubs and get so smashed they cannot remember what happened because once upon a time Rudd did it! The issues voted on will be the words and deeds by Rudd and his government in their term of office. And their record isn’t a bright shiny example to be proud of.

      Reply

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      09:23pm | 01/06/10

      Shelley says:06:12pm; but it is ok for Abbott to harp on about previous ALP governments, all’s fair in love and war. And there is nothing wrong with strip clubs. And not a great record for the current alternative in opposition, in fact pretty woeful really oppose oppose oppose with no policy policy policy…. geeeeezzz I’m even starting to sound like him, Slap!!!!

    • DC says:

      12:22pm | 03/06/10

      Wow - hypocrisy at it’s best.

      How many times has the Liberal party mentioned Whitlam recently?

      Believe it or not, it’s actually quite relevant for anyone to raise anything that the Howard Government has done.  Why?  If you haven’t noticed, most of Abbots shadow ministry are former Howard ministers (and that includes Bronwyn Bishop).  They are the people who called the shots under the Howard Government - and they are the people who will call the shots if Abbott is elected as PM.

      And on the subject of it, if you want to call into question Rudds record, what about Abbotts record as Health Minister?  What did he do?  Not much.  He failed to act on PET Scanners (Howard had to kick him to do anything), he allowed Health Services in Public Hospitals to slide while providing more money and benefits to those who wouldn’t use Public Hospitals anyway, and he also held back on the Gardasil vaccine until Howard once again forced him into action.

      Not a very good record - especially from someone who wants to be the next PM.

    • Rob r Charteris says:

      09:18pm | 01/06/10

      Bronny Bronny Bronny, you know your almost a national treasure. After reading your article I’d have to say hypocrisy is the only policy you chaps and chapettes have put forward. None the less it’s apolicy all the same.

      Reply

    • Against the Man says:

      10:06pm | 01/06/10

      It really is simple. Rudd can win the election if he can tell us what he did right. Or he can lose the election if the opposition or anti-Labor elements run a few choice ads, such as insulation = death or liar rudd the liar or rudd’s version of the truth (i’m a fiscal conservative, yeah right) or ETS what is that some kind of fish or that tax we didn’t want but will be getting .........Rudd you are one slick dude.

      Reply

    • DC says:

      12:12pm | 03/06/10

      Is Bronwyn Bishop commenting on TV ads that she hasn’t even seen yet?

      Reply

    • DC says:

      12:27pm | 03/06/10

      You’ve gotta love Bronwyn Bishop - she has the gall to call other people names (Swan the con) and then to have a go at the Greens for their preference deals, and yet she completely forgets that her own Party has been guilty of the very same thing with One Nation.

      Hypocritical to the end.

      Reply
 
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