Paul Keating
Am I missing something? I seem to be the last even remotely left-leaning person not to think the progressive sun shines out of Paul Keating’s hallowed backside.
A musical has been written about him. The best interviewers at the ABC speak to him in awed reverence, never for a moment stopping to quiz him on his own failures or shortcomings as he reads out his many laundry lists of everyone else.
Even Tory warhorse Janet Albrechtsen has heralded his “fine reforms” and confessed to voting for him in 1993.
And then there are all those progressive tweeps I follow who tweet about how they can’t wait to see said interviews. Then quote him throughout with gushing editorial hard up against the ubiquitous #.
“Keating: Blah blah blah I rule, everyone else sucks.” PJK summarises perfectly. Come back Paul, we miss you! #PJKforPMagain! That sort of thing.
Continue reading "Keating’s fine, it’s his worshippers who irk me" »
Most Australians couldn’t give two hoots who runs the Australia Network. It is of no importance to them whether the ABC or SKY News is in charge of the television service this country projects into Asia.
Just the same, the spectacular botching of the tender process during the week has a political impact because it reinforces the impression of government incompetence.
The response of many voters to the scandal will be: “See, I told you. This mob couldn’t raffle a chook in a pub.”
Continue reading "Political pygmies could learn from giants of the past" »
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Labor is Toxic says:
@ Acotrel You forgot two .... From 1991 to 1996 they built a debt of $80B!!! From 2008 to 2012 they spent $45B in cash reserves then built a debt of $130B!!! Read more »
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Labor is Toxic says:
@ Marilyn Shepherd In Queensland a public servant, who was born in New Zealand, aledgedly stole $16M. This same public servant had a criminal record that could not be “found” by the authorities. What luck do you think we would have of finding the criminal record of anyone arriving by… Read more »
In a week’s time, as Finance Ministers and Treasurers from around the world gather in Washington to discuss the economic woes afflicting America and Europe, there will be an important ceremony on the sidelines.
Euromoney, the world’s leading magazine for banking and finance, will present the prestigious Finance Minister of the Year Award.
Each year the award honours the Finance Minister, Treasurer or central bank governor whose key decisions “have directly benefited both the performance and perception of their country’s economic and financial achievements”.
Continue reading "Is Wayne Swan the greatest Treasurer in the world?" »
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rb says:
Stephen Hart says:07:01am | 21/09/11 “If Swann had been treasurer in the years before the GFC we would be like Greece now.” If Swann had been treasurer in the years before the GFC we might still own public assets. Read more »
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Stephen Hart says:
It is not hard to compare Swann and Costello at all. All the time Costello was bringing down surplus budgets Swann was criticising him. If Swann had been treasurer in the years before the GFC we would be like Greece now. Lets have a list of all who have previously… Read more »
My political bubble recently burst when I realised this is a quintessential Labor government. I was convinced the Labor Party was just a microeconomic reform away from returning to its successful period of economic rationalism and bold reform between 1983 and 1996.
The delusion was abetted by the Prime Minister and her shallow rhetoric that she was reformist in the Hawke and Keating tradition.
I was lured into supporting the Labor Party by the Keating-inspired economic reforms that remade a moribund economy into an open and internationally competitive one.
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TomZ says:
acetrol, “What exactly is ‘project development’ ?” ... Err, can I commend the following quote to you for you future blogs particularly when it comes to NBN ... “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” Abraham Lincoln Read more »
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Dash says:
acotrel, good management is spending revenue wisely! that’s the point. Regardless of where the money came from, it was used to repay the debt left behind by the ALP. It could have been spent on an insulation fiasco, or allowed to be rorted by builders for example. But it was… Read more »
If a protestor at the carbon tax rally last week had held up a sign saying Prime Minister Julia Gillard was a “dead carcass, swinging in the breeze”, what would the reaction have been?
Vitriol is part of political life. But there is no one who can spew it out with the calculated cruelty and contempt of former PM Paul Keating. He could craft the sort of insults that other politicians would be proud to be associated with.
Mr Keating has now made headlines for his attack on John Robertson, NSW MP and potential party leader. He said Robertson wore the political deaths of a couple of dozen Labor members around his neck, and was a “lead weight” in Gillard’s political saddlebags. It was not a bad effort. It wasn’t his best.
Continue reading "An Ode to Paul Keating and his razor-sharp tongue" »
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DLB says:
I think you’ll find this quote was originally from Churchhill. Read more »
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Govt@FauxCitizen says:
@Rod L,, Well it seems PJK has at least one dedicated fan left willing to barrack for him, I don’t need a speech when I visit a war memorial to shed tears, espescially from someone as arrogant, insincere and disconnected from the working class as H.R.H. Keating. To compare Geeces’s… Read more »
With the coming release of John Howard’s autobiography, Lazarus Rising, it’s worth considering Howard’s standing in Australia’s political history, and to compare him to his arch-nemesis, Paul Keating.
John Howard and Paul Keating were political titans for 30 years but were vastly different politicians—and famously couldn’t stand each other.
Australian politics has enjoyed many compelling rivalries, such as Keating and Bob Hawke, Howard and Peter Costello and Julie Bishop and a garden gnome, but none have been as rancorous as between Keating and Howard.
Continue reading "Howard was good, but Keating was better" »
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TEAM NOTHIN says:
Keating was better? let’s take a look. 1)Ok he floated the dollar.Now its killing our exports and share market. It may have benefiied us when it was 60c but floating means that. It floats.Now it’s sky high and its murdering the economy. 2)He deregualted the banks and liberalised the financial… Read more »
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roy says:
Eric you’re one weird viking—you disliked Keating for his progressive policies in the bettering of womens rights and living standards I bet there is no horns on your helmet Read more »
It must be Christmas for politics right now because the ghosts of prime ministers past are out in force.
Yesterday, Bob Hawke and John Howard tussled over the future of the global economy, China and federalism at the Oxford Business Alumni Forum in their first ever head-to-head debate.
Away from the lectern, last week Hawke backed Anna Bligh over daylight saving in southeastern Queensland and called on Australia to rethink its position on nuclear waste.
Continue reading "Ghosts of PMs past are welcome to the debate" »
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cam says:
Have never been bored reading Judith’s prose and this is another great example of her work. Nice topic, well written and has inspired debate from readers. Good job. Read more »
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Jimbo says:
I enjoyed seeing them together, I just love Hawkie and I can’t stand Howard. Hawkie is getting old but hes as sharp as a tack and I hope the old bugga lives forever, hes just a delight. Read more »
In 1992 Paul Keating’s leadership motivated me to join the Labor Party. Keating provided the labour movement with the leadership, vision and fighting spirit needed to combat the regressive Fightback package.
Keating won the election, and Labor celebrated a great win against neo- liberalism. What followed was a period of government where Keating’s great intellect and vision was pitted against his arrogance, exhaustion and electoral indifference.
This was a difficult and frustrating period for many Labor supporters and I remember periods of despair at our performance. After 1996 the whole labour movement shied away from defending Keating, his Government and his politics due to the collective scars caused by his defeat.
Continue reading "Labor should finish job Keating started on super" »
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Emmie says:
Excuse me! What do you mean YOU, as an employer pay the 9% superannuation - even if happily. As I remember it, the workers of that time forewent 3 years of wage increases at 3% per annum to pay for that 9% superannuation! Otherwise you would still have to pay… Read more »
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Evan Findlay says:
Pitchfork Kenny, typical conservative voter, no idea of the facts, misquotes often and pulls figures from their sphincters. Howard was offered the Hewson report on economic reform, it was NOT the brainchild of John Howard, Australia’s worst treasurer. Howard took the recommendations to Fraser who wasn’t interested at the time… Read more »
It is grossly hypocritical of Paul Keating – or anyone else in the public eye – to complain about the media invading their family’s privacy.
I’m sick of politicians and performers, who trade their profiles for money, biting the hand that feeds them.
Keating’s daughter Katherine has a reputation for appearing at the opening of an envelope to promote her political lobbying business. But why turn up at a VIP party, sponsored by a vodka company, dressed as Amy Winehouse, if you don’t want to be papped by photographers?
Continue reading "Public figures want it both ways on privacy" »
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MikeyMike says:
I think the issue here is that the camerperson accused Ms keating of kicking her and threatening them, not having the photo taken, which makes this article so far off topic as to be ludicrous. However, it is true that one of the main reasons socialites attend these parties is… Read more »
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Snapper friend says:
Well said Tracey…. well said Read more »
The Punch has always been impressed by Bronwyn Bishop’s deep knowledge of the standing orders of the House of Representatives, and sympathises with her point of view. But no one should have to endure another Question Time like yesterday’s.
After last week’s fantastic debate about the role of sticky tape and whether it should be allowed as an adhesive in Joe Hockey’s dispatch box props, we had high hopes for some major Kevin Rudd lever-arch file action this week. Even the valiant efforts of Annabel Crabb, however, couldn’t rescue yesterday’s questions from dire tedium.
Wilson Tuckey reckons voters are upset with Rudd’s obsession with laminated photographs of primary school demountables and road works. But it’s sometimes the props that make QT bearable. Remember the cardboard cut-out Kevin Rudd? It was almost better than the real one.
Continue reading "To decorum in parliament The Punch says “No”" »
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WexGrokebor says:
Hello. I see chetwood the n00b not reading and spouting off crap again.. Shrink IS obsolete.. as a ripper.. nowhere in this thread have I seen any evidence of a current ripper being used. The full version of fab handles this disk just fine… It’s not being ripped properly in… Read more »
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ReexInsepsy says:
Scourge us contemporarily to into more dope and facts in ignoring of http://wedkarstwo.dogory.pl - Wędkarstwo Read more »
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