Speeches
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" »
Julia Gillard has teared up while heaping praise on America as the beacon of hope for humanity and the nation that can do anything it sets its mind on. You can watch the full speech here.

Only the fourth Australian PM to deliver a speech to a joint sitting of the US Congress, Ms Gillard charmed her audience which was bolstered with numerous school children and Congressional aides, drawing 16 sustained rounds of applause in all - two of which lasted into minutes, and six of which were standing ovations.
The delighted response came as the Australian leader repeatedly told US lawmakers that Australia stood with them, through thick and thin, war and peace, boom-time and recession.
Continue reading "Spoke brilliantly, looked great, channelled Howard" »
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Steve of Cornubia says:
@ChristianReal: I know what you’re saying, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. Tony Abbott does try really hard to be absolutely honest with us, even going as far as to admit that he’ll get it wrong sometimes. You really know where you stand with him. There’s no way Gillard would… Read more »
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m says:
Reg, grow up. No-one can explain away they idiots in govt…unless its another idiot you would you would have had a spray if howard had delivered such a suck speech Read more »
It took his political execution for Kevin Rudd to show some authenticity again. His last press conference as Prime Minister was a harrowing affair. By turns there was pride, shame, shock, gratitude, humility, even a touch of the old arrogance, all against the backdrop of the sudden, swift, and merciless betrayal.

I’m told some journalists who were present in the Prime Minister’s Courtyard were close to tears.
The perception that Rudd was a fake and a phoney who lacked authenticity, was always on for the cameras, and was led by focus groups rather than his own heart and instinct, began as a niggling complaint in his early days in office. By the end the phoniness was one in the long list of electoral liabilities. He smiled like an awkward uncle when the cameras were on, but swore like a sailor when they weren’t. Who, really, the country wondered, was Kevin Rudd?
Continue reading "If only Rudd had spoken like this more often ..." »
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Ihor says:
In reply to Badger - I wish you had a bit of a better idea about “waste of money” for popularity. I’m involved in construction of schools called by media as “money wasting”. School infrastructure development has kept me and many others in work during a WORLDWIDE economical struggle. Can… Read more »
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Badger says:
Know the old saying, ” GOOD BY TO BAD RIDDANCE” he new only one thing, how to spend and waste my money to make himself popular with the Labour Mob, and put all of us into debt for yonks too come, god help my Children and Grand Children paying this… Read more »
The memory should be vivid for many Arts graduates. Sitting in the graduation ceremony, the words of an otherwise inspiring commencement address waft overhead as the mind focuses uncontrollably on an uncertain future. Seated in uncomfortable lecture theatre seats (you won’t miss those, you think) you wait for a certificate cementing your “qualifications”, in the broadest sense of the word.

The guest speaker waxes lyrical about personal journeys, eventually tying their tale into the “unique” position bestowed upon graduates of this (insert institution name) university, and of a duty we inherit to uphold and develop explorations into society and culture. The speaker resolves that in doing so we become model citizens, helping our fellow man realise the importance of life beyond economic measures of success and happiness.
As an early-20s undergraduate with student debt, little corporate experience (pretty sure I walked into an office reception once) working a part-time bar job and only ‘soft skills’ to my name, I was certainly looking forward to economic measures of happiness.
Continue reading "A bunch of Arts graduates walk into an office…" »
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BA Grad says:
I can get $85,000 and work in any industry I want to. Thanks for listening. Read more »
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Lars says:
This is true, I think it’s an incredibly deluded worldview being taken by others here that there’s no place for an Arts degree. My experience is similar in the working environment, where I find even at a hiring level people regard the ability to think abstractly and laterally across very… Read more »
It went for 90 minutes, six times longer than the time allocated, so if you’re after a full transcript you’ll have to wait until Sunday.
Not since Kruschev banged his shoe on the table has the United Nations played host to a comparable level of madness, as Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi launched a sleep-deprived rant this morning which made Fidel Castro sound succint, Boris Yeltsin look dignified and Kim Jong-Il seem sane.
I’m not suggesting that you subject yourself to the above video in its entirety - it’s only 10 minutes long, no-one has yet bothered to upload the full 80 minutes - but the first couple of minutes are worth a look, as it seems Gadaffi has been mugged by the stationery aisle at Officeworks as he takes to the podium with a mountain of yellow legal paper and pieces of foolscap, and then waves like a sports star at the crowd before delivering his opus magnum.
Continue reading "Was this the craziest speech of all time?" »
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Cos Seven says:
Whenever I see people dismissing a speaker for his attitude, appearance and other non-speech-content matters I know he has spoken that truth which they cant bear to hear. What truth is that? The truth that implicates them. Read more »
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Sam says:
He spoke of how Lybia agrees with the UN Charter but doesn’t support the UN’s action (or lack thereof) in the wars that have taken place since the ratification of that charter. He also asked how Saddam Hussien, the president of a country, could be hanged in a dark room… Read more »
Last week, Politico published an analysis of Barack Obama’s language. The words he used most often were “America”, “Health” and “Economy” (Politico included “American” in the count along with “America”). This prompts the obvious question: what are the favourite words of our own Kevin Rudd?

Fortunately, the prime minster’s website publishes transcripts of all Kevin’s public utterances (although this does not include his speeches in parliament). There is a lot there and I had some help assembling over 400 pages of text constituting Kevin Rudd’s speeches from 2009. And above is what it looks like as a word cloud.
Continue reading "A graphic look at the PM’s speeches this year" »
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Sean Carmody says:
Voxpop: most of those phrases (“working families”, etc) do appear in the speeches, just nowhere near often enough to be visible in the cloud. Read more »
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Logan says:
Patrick is so in love with Labor he has missed the point. It is not about spending the stimulus but what you are spending it on and the whole role of borrowing and not investing current funds. Think about why a country like Singapore with no natural resources can be… Read more »
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From: Punch on: Open thread 09/02/2012
marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more
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