The Australian politics thread

[NZTailender]

Hope the Liberal party gets all that they deserve tbh.

[Mister Wright]

Originally Posted by NZTailender

Hope the Liberal party gets all that they deserve tbh.

Yeah. Kick 'em out with a massive margin.

[Matt79]

See Swann came out and labelled the PM's comments re: people saying they'll vote Labour must be having a joke, and then "annihilation" as "bizarre".

Once you start getting called 'bizarre' and nobody rushes to defend you, you're number might be coming up fairly quickly...

[Burgey]

So, how will this thing with Rudd's wife play out?

Embarassing imo, but thought he defused it pretty well yesterday. Abbott & Howard did themselves no favours making snide, veiled comments in question time about it.

Did Rudd offend any stay-at-home mums? Some idiot has said the comment about not being an appendage to a middle aged man was directed at Jeanette "Grange Hermitage" Howard. I don't think it was really, because:
1. Jeanette Howard was the last thing on Rudd's mind yesterday.
2. Howard can hardly be classed as "middle aged" any more.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Clapo

Nearly had a kineption this morning when i read in the courier mail that the QLD Government has poured more than $1million wages, rebates etc. into Big ****ing Brother this season. You can subsidise some ****ed up television show, but refuse to subsidise plenty of others who are in desperate need for help, and will actually produce something of use for the State, and the economy as a whole. How about spending that money on fixing the ambo's system that you've subsequently screwed up, despite the fact that we're paying the the highest Ambulance levy we've ever paid. Such a gun way to run the place, get more money out of people, then let most of it go into thin air, and give us back a health & ambulance system that is in far worse condition now, than it was 7/8 years ago.

FFS Peter Beattie, you are the most dire of all dire people there has even been on the face of this earth. Put you and your government in charge of the Sahara Desert and i'd almost guarantee you'd need to import sand after 6 months.

:

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Burgey

So, how will this thing with Rudd's wife play out?

Embarassing imo, but thought he defused it pretty well yesterday. Abbott & Howard did themselves no favours making snide, veiled comments in question time about it.

Did Rudd offend any stay-at-home mums? Some idiot has said the comment about not being an appendage to a middle aged man was directed at Jeanette "Grange Hermitage" Howard. I don't think it was really, because:
1. Jeanette Howard was the last thing on Rudd's mind yesterday.
2. Howard can hardly be classed as "middle aged" any more.

It was pretty bizarre of Rudd to say that women are no longer appendages to middle aged men. Who actually thinks that they are? I think, in the 21st Century, that's sort of a given - not something that you actually need to say.

[Matt79]

Some people in parliament and the media seem to still believe that any woman who's husband is in politics should do nothing but stay at home baking scones and popping out kids. Shades of that attitude has been fairly apparent in the presumption by some commentators and pollies that Rein should automatically divest herself of her business interests because they might be at odds with her husbands career.

[howardj]

I don't think that, if he became PM, that her divesting herself of at least the domestic arm of her business is such a bizarre call. The Australian arm of her business (which is an employment agency) depends very heavily on Government contracts and funds. That conflict, and the possible resolution of it, has nothing to do with her sex.

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Burgey

Recent experience tells me you're spot on. It's easier, but no less bitter, if you can see the whammy coming.

Oh, for sure.

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Burgey

So, how will this thing with Rudd's wife play out?
.

Pretty embarrassingly, I'd suggest. As emerged yesterday, her firm didn't inherit the common law contracts which stripped away conditions in return for an extra 45cents per hour. Rather, they were moved to these common law contracts after she acquired the company. Seems Labor are very quick to give the benefit of the doubt here, but not for other small businesses that they've slandered during the past year or so. I wonder if they'll attack her firm when Parliament resumes tomorrow.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by howardj

Pretty embarrassingly, I'd suggest. As emerged yesterday, her firm didn't inherit the common law contracts which stripped away conditions in return for an extra 45cents per hour. Rather, they were moved to these common law contracts after she acquired the company. Seems Labor are very quick to give the benefit of the doubt here, but not for other small businesses that they've slandered during the past year or so. I wonder if they'll attack her firm when Parliament resumes tomorrow.

Do you think they (small business operators or the Coalition) will and if so would it make much of a difference. Did you see Glenn Milne's comment in the Sunday Mail today (assuming you would read it of course)?

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Craig

Do you think they (small business operators or the Coalition) will and if so would it make much of a difference. Did you see Glenn Milne's comment in the Sunday Mail today (assuming you would read it of course)?

I think the Coalition should take it up tomorrow for sure. Rudd's wife, who seems a nice lady, is not the issue. It's about Labor's hypocrisy. The Labor Party either care about the 'workers' (in which case they'll be equally outraged for the workers in this firm and try to roast the Government) or they care only when it suits them.

[howardj]

Originally Posted by Craig

Do you think they (small business operators or the Coalition) will and if so would it make much of a difference. Did you see Glenn Milne's comment in the Sunday Mail today (assuming you would read it of course)?

And yeah, I don't rate Milne to be honest. He just goes whichever way the wind blows. I rate myself though.

[Burgey]

Originally Posted by howardj

And yeah, I don't rate Milne to be honest. He just goes whichever way the wind blows. I rate myself though.

And your name sake

60/40?

Unbelieveable. Now they're doing another investigation into his wife's company. They need to be very careful to avoid making it look like some kind of witch hunt (not saying it is, but they really don't need to have it look like that).

[Craig]

Dire week for the ALP it must be said.