Australia General Discussion

[Barnes]

Thanks for pointing those out! I knew there were pretty clear divisions between the Bob Brown generation and the newer inner city greenies, but it's nice to see them laid out factionally.

[Ebowed]

Bandt's faction got rolled.

You'll have to let the rank and file Greens around here know that...

The explanation re: Bandt from the Greens leadership seemed pretty believable to me.

[Knives]

lol I was joking guys.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Thanks for pointing those out! I knew there were pretty clear divisions between the Bob Brown generation and the newer inner city greenies, but it's nice to see them laid out factionally.

I think there were a number of reasons - not the least of which I think there's a clear determination to return to the quieter more professorial approach, which Di Natale has, as there was under Bob Brown. If the allegation is true that Ludlam and Di Natale were told about Milne's departure but SHY and Bandt weren't... then it does suggest a clear divide in the party and Milne making clear that she was going to make sure she had a say in who succeeded her.

[Ebowed]

Hope you're all excited for the budget this week!  A few things we already know:
- A new tax on Netflix and other streaming services
- Huge cuts to existing parental leave benefits, and lost tax credits for stay-at-home parents, in order to pay for investments in childcare;
- Cuts to pharmacies (particularly loss of subsidies for over-the-counter medications).

[Knives]

Hope you're all excited for the budget this week!  A few things we already know:
- A new tax on Netflix and other streaming services
- Huge cuts to existing parental leave benefits, and lost tax credits for stay-at-home parents, in order to pay for investments in childcare;
- Cuts to pharmacies (particularly loss of subsidies for over-the-counter medications).

I wonder what lesson they supposedly learnt? Ugh, they're so ing useless this government. Can't wait to vote them out.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

The media really does seem to be building up to declare it a dud.

Mind you, this is also designed to try to stir up new leadership tensions ... "Dud Budget!! Knives out for Hockey and Abbott!!!!"

[BaconBacon96]

If this budget does go down as poor as the first and Abbott's polling crashes, expect renewed leadership tensions. This time they may actually lead to something happening.

[BaconBacon96]

Well that was a lot of fluff.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Well that was a lot of fluff.

It was useless and completely undermines their own rhetoric... and Leigh Sales ripped Hockey a new one.

[Knives]

Watched it in a pub with a bunch of people, we were shocked at how short the speech was and how little detail he went into. Not surprising considering the health cuts, the Victorian cuts, the welfare cuts ect...

[Knives]

Budget aside perhaps the most interesting thing for me is ALP membership is up 10 000 since 2012, the highest since the 90s while Liberal membership is slipping.

[Ebowed]

Well that was a lot of fluff.

It was useless and completely undermines their own rhetoric... and Leigh Sales ripped Hockey a new one.

He was awful.  What is he, some poor victim of a media witch hunt?  "Please, Leigh, please" he keeps insisting, hoping to answer the questions as slowly as possible.  For someone who doesn't see anything wrong with huge cuts to services, he sure is a sensitive fella.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Well that was a lot of fluff.

It was useless and completely undermines their own rhetoric... and Leigh Sales ripped Hockey a new one.

He was awful.  What is he, some poor victim of a media witch hunt?  "Please, Leigh, please" he keeps insisting, hoping to answer the questions as slowly as possible.  For someone who doesn't see anything wrong with huge cuts to services, he sure is a sensitive fella.

I was in the Budget lock up and all you could hear was a torrent of "wow, there's NO-THING here" (except for small business... who were floored).

[Ebowed]

I was in the Budget lock up and all you could hear was a torrent of "wow, there's NO-THING here" (except for small business... who were floored).

Yeah.  It's being slammed by the Greens (and Labor, I presume) for having no vision.

I'm more intrigued by a statement from Chris Bowen last night, which was that save the 6-month wait for assistance for job-seekers under 30 and the Medicare co-payment, all of the other regressive cuts from last year made it into this year's budget, including university fee deregulation.  If that's true, how exactly did Chris Pyne "fix" the education budget in order to save funding for researchers?  Is this a tacit admission that the money really was there after all, regardless of fee deregulation?  Either way, I don't see why the outcome on these policies would be any different.  Why should the Senate pass this year what they wouldn't last year?

[Ebowed]

And the answer to the above question.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The research program held hostage earlier in the year by Pyne over deregulation only costs $150 million, but it sounds like they slashed the entire $263 million budget for this program to pay for it and additionally are now demanding, once again, fee deregulation.  I'm not impressed.

[BaconBacon96]

What is the actual point of tuition deregulation, besides causing needless suffering to those who pay the fees? Does it save the government money or something?

[Ebowed]

What is the actual point of tuition deregulation, besides causing needless suffering to those who pay the fees? Does it save the government money or something?

The rationale is that if the universities can charge higher tuition, they will make up the shortfall in government funding - some of which appears to be going ahead regardless of whether or not the deregulation passes.  As to the students who have to pay the fees, it should be pretty clear how this government feels about them.

[MaxQue]

What is the actual point of tuition deregulation, besides causing needless suffering to those who pay the fees? Does it save the government money or something?

It's obvious. Keeping working-class scum at their rightful place of slave labour and making sure university is only for the wealthy elites.

[BaconBacon96]

Abbott's gaining ground in the polls.

God knows why.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Abbott's gaining ground in the polls.

God knows why.

Boredom - he's wearing people down, lol.

But you've got 50-50 in Ipsos and 47-53 in Newspoll, so something for everyone. But it's pretty clear Abbott's position has strengthened a little, whereas Shorten's has weakened significantly.

[Talleyrand]

Labor can attempt to rebuild with a new leader after 2016. Hopefully it's Albanese or at the very least someone not as horrible as Shorten.

Speaking of that, can't we get a federal election thread up now? There was already one before this point in the last parliament.

[Ebsy]

Are Australians by and large nincompoops?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Labor can attempt to rebuild with a new leader after 2016. Hopefully it's Albanese or at the very least someone not as horrible as Shorten.

Speaking of that, can't we get a federal election thread up now? There was already one before this point in the last parliament.

Oh calm down

Shorten is still one of the strongest opposition leaders polling-wise.

It is also important to note that Ipsos has virtually all of the LNP recovery coming off a massive swing to them in NSW, with the LNP up 57-43 and the ALP on a 28% primary. No one seriously believes that number.

Also consider that this poll has a month-long cycle that has included the ANZAC Centenary and a relatively inoffensive Budget... and the BEST they can do, in a poll with a pretty pro-LNP house bias is a tie. This Government still hasn't led any opinion polls since Nov 2013.

[morgieb]

I know why Abbott has rebounded somewhat, but what's the main reason for Shorten's approvals plummenting? Was he just only popular because he wasn't Abbott?