Australia General Discussion

[Ebowed]

Any thoughts on Rudd's war on binge drinking?

I find it depressing that the government appears to think that the dangers of binge drinking will be reduced by encouraging young people to buy larger quantities of straight spirits.

[Ebowed]

Which is the problem... the public like him... but don't know him - his colleagues know him, and hate him.

I hate to use anecdotal evidence, but I've got a friend whose mother worked for him and he was allegedly a highly abusive, profane, and unsympathetic boss.

[Ebowed]

I was one of those people who thought it would be incredibly unlikely for the government to lose power after one term. Except now it looks like they're falling apart already, much sooner than Labor did.

Yes, at first I thought they'd win re-election.  Then when his government was actually as stupid as I'd .. maybe hoped for, I figured they'd get all of the crazy out before the next election.  But it just seems like constant gaffes and bad news with these guys.

It's just too bad that Bill Shorten is in charge of Labor.  Not selecting Anthony Albanese remains a missed opportunity indeed.

[Ebowed]

These Abbott morning show interviews I'm seeing lately are hilarious.  From today.

[Ebowed]

* Scott Morrison "promoted" to Social Services. So he can focus all his wrath (formerly focused on asylum seekers) on pensioners etc. That should maintain his popularity!

How much damage could he do over there?  We learned from his stint at immigration that he lacks empathy, so which screwball thought this was a good idea?

[Ebowed]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/22/top-achievement-minister-women-was-carbon-tax-repeal-pm-says

...

You can't make this stuff up.  Amazing.

[Ebowed]

are they really reviving the debate over industrial relations? Seeing as it completely sunk a pretty competent Liberal leader, I don't see why Abbott thinks he can do any better...?

This Government has utterly lost the plot. You have to wonder, with all these self-inflicted wounds, if they actually want to win.

No, but they have reached their goal, changing the country. They know ALP is too cowardly to go back on those changes.

The problem with Labor is more when it has a mandate than when it is in opposition.  When they take over from Tony, they will have no problem gutting the very small things he has actually managed to do.

[Ebowed]

Jane Prentice all but said that Tony's time is ticking refusing to deny there would be a challenge.

Yeah, that sort of went over my head at the time having watched hours of Wayne and Nicholls giving their thoughts (a thoroughly enjoyable evening).  It's everywhere now.  This little speech tomorrow is going to be some of Abbott's most highly anticipated remarks yet.  Oh, the excitement!

[Ebowed]

Lol - Giles stays with his usurper as Deputy lol

It also appears that momentum for the LibSpill is growing ... but it's coming from the back-bench, none in the front bench want to touch it.

Yeah Jensen is going to bring it up next week apparently.  With three backbenchers blasting Tony in quick succession last night, wonder if there will be more.

[Ebowed]

Moving the spill forward like this seems like a Campbell Newman style sort of move.  Poor form.  Or as Turnbull would call it, a 'captain's call.'

[Ebowed]

Annastacia Palaszczuk has been commissioned by the QLD Governor to form government.

But... what about caretaker Springboard?

[Ebowed]

Abbott: Because we gave you $1bn after the tsunami, you shouldn't carry out the death sentence on two Australian drug smugglers.

Even a stopped clock ...

I can only disagree insofar as it would be quite silly to expect the sentences commuted for two Australians when other victims of Indonesia's system, largely from other countries, see no improvement.

[Ebowed]

Abbott: Because we gave you $1bn after the tsunami, you shouldn't carry out the death sentence on two Australian drug smugglers.

Even a stopped clock ...

I can only disagree insofar as it would be quite silly to expect the sentences commuted for two Australians when other victims of Indonesia's system, largely from other countries, see no improvement.

I have to recant this, both due to the arrogant nature of Abbott's remarks and my own flawed perspective - it was perhaps sort of nice to see such a conservative figure being so forceful in opposition to capital punishment - but even in this instance his advocacy is a hindrance.

[Ebowed]

I'm on my phone - but look into Abbott's discussions with military re: ISIS.

Nuts.

It's incredible.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

source

[Ebowed]

I've been thinking since the first spill motion that another one this year (probably sooner than later) is inevitable given the intrinsic rascally nature of Abbott and his fundamental inability to change or adapt to changing circumstances.  I would sort of prefer this because I think a Labor victory next year is more legitimate if it is won on the policies rather than on the abysmal personality of Tony Abbott.

Also, the damage that Tony Abbott is doing to Australia's interests abroad is ghastly even if it provides for amusing polling numbers.

[Ebowed]

A recent focus back on national security and foreign affairs is the reason. This is a flash in the pan.

Man, this sort of nonsense actually works?  I guess if it didn't, they wouldn't do it... :-/

[Ebowed]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/politics-news/liberals-may-back-kevin-rudd-for-un-secretary-general-role/story-fn59nqld-1227241427503

o_o

Apparently Rudd is considering running for UN Secretary General.

Ugh, no thanks.  Can't he just retire already?  He is an embarrassment.

Helen Clark would be an excellent choice.

[Ebowed]

The Senate censured the Attorney General, Senator George Brandis, by a vote of 35 to 32 earlier today over the Gillian Triggs affair.

Good!

[Ebowed]

Surely if he was fighting against ISIS, he gets a medal rather than a jail term?

Any fighting overseas unauthorised by the government is illegal, although I'm surprised they are actually going through with threatening jail time.

[Ebowed]

I'm expecting the ALP to conduct a major push for Bandt's seat, from the people I've spoken to they don't expect to win but if they're ever going to win it back 2016 is a pretty good environment to try.

2013 was probably a better environment for them to have won, I'd think.

[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.

[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).

[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.

[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.