The final countdown: is Gillard panicking?

Amanda says:

05:58pm | 20/08/10

I would have to agree Mrs Gillard hasnt done enough to lose. Workchoices is a little old but I think the ALP still got some leverage with it.  I just hope the Green dont get to much of a say in the ALP the last thing Australia needs is a ALP being puppet to the Greens.

MarK says:

05:59pm | 20/08/10

There there.

You can call us all idiots for voting for Tony tomorrow.

nosthow says:

06:08pm | 20/08/10

@MarK - Marky old buddy i would never call you an idiot. I would however feel sorry for you tomorrow night with nothing to celebrate when Tony fails to win! Its going to be a sad Saturday night for Coalition supporters.

Mark from Sydney's North says:

06:35pm | 20/08/10

Its what I love about this country, we can be complacent at times, but when push comes to shove we are not all stupid. In other words, sanity is awaking from its 3 year sleep. I expect KRUDD will be the new opposition leader by mid September and Joolya will be looking for a gig as a Union Lawyer or the next Victorian Premier.

MarK says:

06:44pm | 20/08/10

Nothing to celebrate?

Every day is a celebration that I wake up to. Really you think I will be sad?

You misunderstand me

TimB says:

07:04pm | 20/08/10

Out of interest where DO you sit Nosthow? My guess would be the magical land of OZ

If Tony doesnt get up tomorrow I will be disappointed yes, but I will take solace in the fact that he’s likely to be PM in 2013 instead.
Oh and the big “I told you so” I get to save for when Gillard screws us all. (Just like I dished out recently to the people who thought Kevin07 was wonderful)

The rusted-on Labor supporters here on the other hand…I dont see you guys handling defeat well at all.
Notshow, you might survive by sinking deeper into the fantasy land you inhabit, but the likes of Rob R are so full of bile and hate…it won’t be pretty.

nosthow says:

08:34pm | 20/08/10

@TimB - Timmy I have lost count of the number of elections I have voted in now but Australia no matter who wins an election has always been governed reasonably well - nothings perfect. I have to say in fairness Abbott has done well given he has no policies or vision for Australia. Anyway Tim am glad you are not sad and I will spare you a thought on election night as Champagne corks pop in our house !

MDMConnell says:

09:28pm | 20/08/10

Anyone else think nosthow, Brian and Badger are starting to sound increasingly desperate???

Front Row says:

10:52pm | 20/08/10

Abbott has already won, in an important sense.
Doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow.  The Labor Decade is now ‘finito.  Julia is a really nice, intelligent person, but there is no way she has the authority to control what’s about to happen in Caucus.
Abbott should be praying to lose this, by not too much.
That’s going to be the end for Julia as PM, just a matter of time, and “time” in this case is less than 12 months.  I see her in 2012 as Minister for Industrial Relations and Education.  Kevin will be Special Minister of State (International Relations), Bill Shorten will be PM, Wayne Swan, Finance… Treasurer? Thoughts?
You bet you know.

Al says:

12:22am | 21/08/10

Hmmm, what an interesting statement. It’s that kind of approach that got Labor into trouble in the first place. They didn’t take Abbott seriously when it was clear even before he became Opposition leader that he could talk to Australians in a language they could understand while Rudd mumbled on with a mouthful of stones.
I can’t believe Labor voters are still making this mistake.
Abbott is a genuine chance.
Even if Labor wins it will almost be a Pyrric (check the spelling on that one for me editor) victory. Abbott will look stronger than ever for bringing the Coalition so close to a win.
He will be around at the next election and with even more swagger.
Meanwhile if Labor scrapes through there will be no honeymoon period at all. They will be under major attack - particularly from those media outlets that called for their removal.
Win or lose, Labor needs to sack its advisers and get some people into their offices who live or work in the suburbs. Using bright new university grads to run a university style election is as dumb as it gets.
Hey, and I’m a voter who thinks Labor policies have more merit than the Libs. Wake up.

Jason CR says:

01:04pm | 21/08/10

nosthow
Surely you don’t really pop champagne because of an election win…Do you??  quite sad if its true. 
Sure, I’d like a Coalition victory but I’ll save the champers for something worthwhile.

Billy B says:

09:31am | 22/08/10

nosthow - Those corks still popping are they?

papachango says:

06:04pm | 20/08/10

fair point. desperation from both sides as it gown down to the wire…

I still would prefer the Libs, but only as the best of a bad lot.

Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

07:12pm | 20/08/10

I guess if this LIE & others are told often enough, Julia might slither back into power, but you’ll be sorry! ! ! !

acotrel says:

05:15pm | 21/08/10

Abbott is telling potential coalition supporters what they want hear.  It’s stuff w hich appeals to the lowest common denominator!

Paul says:

06:31pm | 20/08/10

Great point Chris but I’m still hoping that the Greens don’t get control of the Senate.
Labor is desperate, knowing there is a real possibility that the electorate has woken up to their lies and woeful performance over the past three years.
I hope the people of NSW and Qld send a clear message that we’ve had enough.

Vote Quimby says:

08:14pm | 20/08/10

Nope, he will be off to the UN with a big smile on his face! oh wait, is it true that only an incumbent government appoint him?? If that is the case and he is the opposition leader, let’s hope so, then the Australian people will get the opportunity to tell him what they really though of him!

Scott says:

06:25pm | 20/08/10

She would also be known as the longest-serving unelected female prime minister of Australia.

Barbara says:

08:17pm | 20/08/10

Absolutely true too Scott.  Well spotted.  Though it won’t be what ends up in the history books.

Freeman says:

10:02am | 21/08/10

She has also been our first Bogan prime minister, I’m sure the cath’s and kim’s in melbourne will be backing gillard

mervyn ford says:

06:31pm | 20/08/10

i watched it too, it was a disgrace (emailed sky news to ask why I am paying for bias,,,why can’t he, speers and gilbert just be neutral)
Almost threw a brick at the telly watching gillard during her gosford stop today. Didn’t matter what question she got she just repeated her mantra, must have been the old julia, or a third desperate julia

Nicole says:

06:54pm | 20/08/10

WTF is a ‘Taiabada’ ?

Vote Quimby says:

08:18pm | 20/08/10

The person who’s comment was the originator Nicole

dwgw says:

09:04pm | 20/08/10

I have never seen anything as one-sided and biased as both Sky News programs today. They trotted out the bullish Paul Howe (I’m really not running for PM…yet) to rant and rave over the top of an ex- Liberal leader who happens to have no ability to reach the ordinary person and who couldn’t tell whether a cake had GST on it or not.

Joolz says:

09:41pm | 20/08/10

Tors: nominative determinism!!!

Taiabada says:

12:34am | 21/08/10

Nicole, you have to live a long time in PNG to know it means “Big Ears” but I couldn’t use that could I.  You might think I was Tony Abbott!

tony says:

12:00pm | 21/08/10

Peter Van Onselens is a labor plant.  Who releases a unauthorised biography bagging a PM on the eve of an election.  A liberal supporter my arse.  He’s like that other ‘liberal’ Turnbull.  They should both join the labor party.

Amazed says:

06:20pm | 20/08/10

Do you remember Howard’s core and non-core promises, GST, the Identity card (which has re-appeared today), Weapons of Mass Destruction, the AWB?

... the ghost of WorkChoices perhaps not so stupid?

Vote Quimby says:

08:32pm | 20/08/10

Someone said on Andrew Bolt’s blog today that the Labor party hacks are everywhere in the blogosphere today. they weren’t wrong seeing Amazed here!

Ben81 says:

09:11pm | 20/08/10

“Amazed” I know what all those things are, catchphrases that people parrot when they have no real answers, just like what Andrew was talking about.  Thanks for illustrating his point.

mervyn ford says:

06:34pm | 20/08/10

she could become the Bogan Queen

Keith hammersmith says:

06:37pm | 20/08/10

Holly you talk about the Libs changing unfair dismissal rules?  Like dismissing a sitting prime minister with no notice?  would that count as unfair dismissal?

mervyn ford says:

06:45pm | 20/08/10

And if julia wins on green preferences, what sort of crazy policies will be inflicted on us then.

Chris Topher says:

06:47pm | 20/08/10

Ok, then how would the Liberals get this “tweaked” legislation throught the Senate? The ALP or the Greens?

lv says:

07:30pm | 20/08/10

I wouldn’t describe Labor Party Staffers as ‘low income earners’.
Real low income earners and unskilled workers have far more to fear from Labors extra 3% superannuation than anything in workchoices.  At least they still had a job.
I run a business in the service industry, so my biggest expense is wages.  This will add $25,000 to my overhead.  So either I take a $25,000 paycut and earn less than I would working for someone else (thats my reward for creating a job for 10 people) or someone has to go.  I’ll bet the one who ends up with the cut in the thousands of similar businesses would have much preferred to wake up to Mr Abbott as PM on Sunday.

Mal says:

07:49pm | 20/08/10

Holly, you must have a magic ball.  Aren’t the ALP paying you much?

Aitch B says:

07:49pm | 20/08/10

I’m glad she’s highlighting the issue, too, Holly. Makes her look and sound even more pathetic and desperate.

gavin says:

08:21pm | 20/08/10

Tony Abbott also said that Tony Abbott lies, or was he lying about that too?

dwgw says:

09:23pm | 20/08/10

Holly can I ask how fair Fair Work Australia was for those school children who lost their jobs?
As to mining companies, I’m sure the big miners are laughing on the other side of their face. If Labor gets in the big miners will just bill up all their expenses to their Australian sections of their business so they dont make a profit here, hence they wont pay any tax, but we will be supporting all their purchases for their worldwide operations. You might think this is greedy, but they have a legal responsibily to make the best deals for their shareholders or risk prosecution. Then they will just mine in other countries where they are paying less tax on their mining.
And please remember these three miners who did the deal do not represent the smaller Australian miners who will then be at a disadvantage to the big three, as they will have to pay tax. That flows on to their ability to attract Bank Loans.
Its convenient to say they dont pay enough tax, but what about their GST, their company tax, their royalties (which are based on what is dug up..not profit) and the salary taxes of all their employees.I was just a little bookshop operator, but I could work out how toget a paper loss to minmise tax, and I am sure those big miners have clever acountants who could work that out.

Peter says:

06:41pm | 20/08/10

Simple answer to the push polling question “If Tony Abbott is Prime Minister on Monday morning…..” Australia will be a much nicer place in which to live.

Laura says:

06:42pm | 20/08/10

Every time I hear her say that Tony Abbott would be Prime Minister I laugh, that’s exactly what a lot of us want. Tony Abbott for Prime Minister!
How arrogant to think we all want her as Prime Minister.

gavin says:

08:19pm | 20/08/10

Sure does. Let’s not even bother with elections, let’s just have internet polls and the like, where Liberal worker bees can queue to click the buttons.

Vote Quimby says:

08:45pm | 20/08/10

Gavin, Mate, you have to at least *try* to look objective!

dwgw says:

09:31pm | 20/08/10

Gavin, you need to become informed. Most internet polls can only be hit onec. You would have to find thousands of different computers at different addresses. Maybe the people have spoken!
I remember how heavily Australia voted against debt and mismanagement last time. If Australians have to live within their budgets, they expect their politicians to do so as well.

keith hammersmith says:

09:57pm | 20/08/10

there is a difference gavin, between informed voters (minority in this country - most countries actually) and the people that are forced to vote and vote because Julia seemed nice in womans day or the like.
I personally am against compulsary voting for the simple reason, - if you dont care, and arent informed, done feel like you have to vote.
I think then the political landscape would be very different and we might not have the shambles of nothingness that this campaign really was.

gavin says:

10:14am | 21/08/10

dwgw, how ironic.

You cannot prevent multiple voting on internet polls. You cannot limit votes to IP addresses because so much traffic is routed through proxies. Even if it does it’s very easy to acquire a different address. Other schemes involve trying to sniff unique aspects of your browser, all of which are easily broken. Most polls can be subverted quite easily by simply clearing your browser cookies or prevent flash storage.

Who’s uninformed again?

Barbara says:

08:26pm | 20/08/10

It will come down to how she is portrayed in the 6pm news slot.  Most people at work only have news sites or this blog to go by.  If she gets a favourable look in this evening, she will scrape in tomorrow.

BobM says:

08:53pm | 20/08/10

I’m surprised Gillard even lasted this long with the Australian people. It goes to show that a PM has to be really bad for voters to throw them out - and it is looking more and more likely that this is what will happen tomorrow. Tony Abbott has done an amazing campaign, staying on message and who knows, come Sunday morning, he could just be the new PM.

Freeman says:

11:35pm | 20/08/10

MarK,
I think what Gillard is scared of is the prospect of a hung parliment

gavin says:

08:17pm | 20/08/10

Mate, you have to at least *try* to look objective.

A matter of integrity says:

08:48pm | 20/08/10

Like many others, I was objective when my vote went to Kevin 07.  Look how that small contribution was trashed.
AND I’m female.

gaving says:

08:16pm | 20/08/10

The nature of television is that people will look for the things in the candidate that will confirm their preconceived bias. A labor voter would probably watch the same event and come to opposite conclusions. In other words, your opinions on her performance are worth bupkiss.

Keith hammersmith says:

08:06pm | 20/08/10

haha, i was thinking the same thing the other day.

Jo says:

03:29am | 21/08/10

Ha Ha Ha me too think Julia has him locked in a cuboard somewhere!!!

gavin says:

08:13pm | 20/08/10

So… do they pay well?

Nicole says:

08:38pm | 20/08/10

If I reveal that, you will have to disappear!

Vote Quimby says:

08:55pm | 20/08/10

Pay more than than Labor would I’d say Gavin, how much do Labor pay? you are all over this thread like a wet towel

gavin says:

10:27am | 21/08/10

No more than you. Double standards Quimby?

gavin says:

08:12pm | 20/08/10

So how do you feel that the previously beloved Liberal party leader and prime minister Malcom Fraser has disowned Tony Abbott? The Liberal party of today will have been discarded as an detestable ultra right wing fringe group back in the 1970’s.

mervyn ford says:

09:08pm | 20/08/10

@gavin. and you could say the same thing in reverse about Latham.
Fraser was an arrogant tool in govt and I for one voted against him. Trouble is he still thinks he knows best

gavin says:

10:25am | 21/08/10

Avoiding the point? Latham never became prime minister and was never held in the same regard by the population generally.  Makes me wonder how much further we will drift to the right, perhaps in another 30 years Liberals will be calling Abbott an arrogant tool?

gavin says:

08:09pm | 20/08/10

There can be no doubt that Abbott likes workchoices. Sure he has discarded it for convenience in this campaign, but he’ll find some soft backdoor way of bringing it back.

JK says:

02:15am | 21/08/10

Hi Gavin - maybe you would be a little less transparent as a labour hack if you didnt challenge EVERYONE else as having a Libs bias….looks to me like the only paid hack here is yourself

ALP has been disgraceful in government and in its campaign. PM Julia is a wreck after a campaign - imagine if she actually has to lead the country during any time of national emergency, be it economic, security or otherwise.

Hopefully, Australia will wake up to this circus tommorrow, and get rid of them

Luke says:

08:01pm | 20/08/10

It’s typical arrogance by Gillard and her Labor Party.  I can’t believe she keeps trotting out that line either.

Gavin says:

08:07pm | 20/08/10

I want another drink too, doesn’t mean I won’t wake up with a cracking headache the next day wondering what the hell I’ve done. If Australia elects Abbott out of perversity, I have no doubt several million people will wake up to the reality of Sunday wondering how in god’s name they made such a stupid mistake.

Petra says:

08:32pm | 20/08/10

Wow Gavin, you’ve been busy.  As I look back up through this blog…..

LOL says:

09:26pm | 20/08/10

Gavin, the country is sober. The relief of a Gillard-less Australia will be a head-ache free ectasy that will live for years.

Go back to your chip-board mini-desk with pencil sharpener.

keith hammersmith says:

11:16pm | 20/08/10

*

      gavin says:

      07:17pm | 20/08/10

      Mate, you have to at least *try* to look objective.

no seriously gavin,  do ‘they’ pay well?

Leigh says:

02:20am | 21/08/10

You sure are busy tonight gavin, are you getting double time?

Billy B says:

09:49am | 22/08/10

Holly you really are a sarcastic piece of work.

jg says:

11:04am | 21/08/10

bullshit. simple as that.

A hostile senate. Do you really think the greens will vote for workchoices.

You are seriously deluded

Keith hammersmith says:

12:32pm | 21/08/10

perhaps you should ask yourself why you are low paid?  is it the current IR laws having an effect perhaps?

Workchoices = the lowest unemployment this country has ever seen,  As an employer I was forced to pay my good workers more simply because I could not afford to lose them, and I knew that they could go find jobs else where easy.  The power really was in their hands,

3 years later, labor removes work choices, and my business goes from employing 8 Australiand to 3 Australians and out sourcing the other work over seas.

I KNOW I am not alone in this, as many business owners I know either employ less people or at the very least pay them less now.

It is extremely short sighted to think other wise,  you just have ot have a basic understanding of markets to see that full employment is good for hte employee as it drives wages higher.
Liberal did an excellent job of making it easier for business to hire people, and thats what you want, it stimulates growth and gets more people working.

BarbaraT says:

04:26pm | 21/08/10

Labor (Unions) just want to take away the ability of workers to negotiate their salaries and work conditions.  It was the loss of their power base and the major reforms on the waterfront that had then running scared and rallied them against WorkChoices.  Now, did WorkChoices have problems? You bet.  Were they fixable?  You bet.  Does Labor’s FairWork have problems? You bet.  Have they been working to fix them up?  You bet.  For a party about Moving Forward, all their current FairWork policy has done is take us back to the good old days of the 70’s and 80’s.  We are back to a time where it is preferable to take strike action than to negotiate.

MarK says:

10:28am | 21/08/10

“Juli will be around no matter what happens. “

for a very short time…yes :D (just check with Bill for the timeline)

Billy B says:

09:53am | 22/08/10

Brian - Careful what you say - it ain’t over yet.

Sam says:

11:59am | 21/08/10

Not all refugees came by boat.  Did this one?  I have been unable to find the story you mentioned.
This isn’t a late “tampa” on your initiative, is it?

Kev says:

01:37pm | 21/08/10

Stewart, as a trainee redneck, I was very interested in your post. My problem is, I can’t find the article anywhere. Could you supply a source?  maybe a link?.
I did a search, but the only instances I could find was an case in Australia where 2 teens killed a Sudanese refugee, and a 14 year old Sudanese refugee who murdered a guy in Chicago. They taught him not to do it again though, they gave him 35 years.
My missus recons you are a liberal staffer ‘Tampa’ring with facts to muddy the waters for voters, but I assured her she is wrong. Libbers never lie. Gotta run now, gotta go vote for Cardinal Pell’s boy.

Stewart Henstock says:

01:42pm | 21/08/10

1. I never said the refugee came by boat
2. It was Sky News
3. Boat people aren’t an issue for me because after spending hours stuck in traffic on the M4 in Sydney’s west looking for them…i have found none.

Sam says:

03:31pm | 21/08/10

Stewart Henstock says:08:21am | 21/08/10

With “boat people” being a factor in this election it wont help Labor when voters turn on the news this morning and hear a Sudanese refugee was arrested for murder.

and then

Stewart Henstock says:12:42pm | 21/08/10
1. I never said the refugee came by boat

No Stewart? You dropped a pretty broad hint to that effect.

Why would you spend hours in traffic looking for boat people? They aren’t even an issue with you.

Sam says:

05:24pm | 21/08/10

Me again. I don’t have sky tv, so I perused the skynews.com.au site. Nothing. Nada. Nowhere can I find the news item that you mentioned.

I did find this gem though, it gave me a good laugh.

Abbott rues dirty tactics
Updated: 16:06, Saturday August 21, 2010
“Earlier, a verbal stoush had broken out over a Labor supporter who was handing out how-to-vote cards and wearing a T-shirt of a similar colour to those of the Liberal camp.

He was later told to remove it.

Mr Abbott rued the tactics, telling Ms Scott: ‘I think they’re scared of their own brand.’

Do the libs own the colour blue?.  If so, I need to burn about 5 T-shirts of my own.

Louisa says:

01:32pm | 21/08/10

Gary, these women pay HIGHER taxes and are likely to continue to hay HIGHER taxes. Get it?

Stewart Henstock says:

01:45pm | 21/08/10

And what the mining tax wont…lol

Graham says:

05:11pm | 21/08/10

Jooliaaas staff are already on the same Maternity Leave system as Abbott is introducing I believe.So is it OK for Jooliaaas staff but not OK for the rest of Australia women?

BarbaraT says:

05:12pm | 21/08/10

Interestingly Gary, all the women you used as an example contribute far more to the Australian economy than some of the audience members of Q&A or those sitting at home bleating about this scheme.  How do you think they would feel if after getting off the backsides and getting a decent job that when they then have a baby they find that they receive minimum wage for just 18 weeks instead of their salary for 6 months.  Putting it into perspective and using just the maximums available under the scheme (these women could be earning far more). Woman A on $150,000 pays $43,500 in tax a year, while Woman B on $50,000 pays $8,500.  Now after applying the scheme, Women A receives $6916 per month while Women B receives $3691 per month.  In short, Women A earns 3 times women B but pays 5 times the income tax of B to the government, and when Women B has a baby she receives over half of what women B receives from the scheme.  Still unfair to the lower wage earner you think?

Sam says:

05:13pm | 21/08/10

When asked if his PPL was middle class welfare, Abbott replied that his PPL wasn’t welfare, it was an employment entitlement. Therefore, shouldn’t the taxpayer also fund their annual leave, sick leave, their superannuation contributions, maybe even any employment related ‘bonuses’?