ELECTIONS - Labor or Liberal

[2020hindsight]

ROTFLMFAO, That just gave me a spitting coffee on my keyboard moment.

I do it all the time m8, especially looking at pollies in action lol

I find best thing is turn keyboard upside down and let the worst of the coffee drain out - but then I've train these ants to be addicted to coffee, and they finish the cleaning process for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTr5_XOUaks Hockey vs Gillard

strange that he and Rudd were mates - Sunrise program etc - outside of parliment

 

[2020hindsight]

George W Bush - Give War a Chance

 

[The Mint Man]

Not sure where you're going there Mint Man
Are you saying it is wrong to be a union member?

no thats not what I was saying.....

 

[Sprinter79]

This is an interesting read:

http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=273969

Revealed: the taxpayer-financed propaganda machine helping fund the Coalition's re-election plan. By Chris Hammer.
Last Wednesday, on a bitterly cold Canberra morning, two events unfolded at Parliament House. Taken together, they give a rare insight into how this year's election will really be fought and won - out there in the marginal seats...

 

[2020hindsight]

Sprinter, are you suggesting that Honest John's halo is slipping a bit?

Anyone remember Ted Mack?
Here's a copy of something I posted on "IR laws" thread

Does anyone remember Ted Mack - now there was a man of principle. Retired two days before he was entitled to what he considered to be overgenerous superannuation payout - what a man !!

Quote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Mack_(politician) Mack began to take an interest in politics in 1970 after the North Sydney Council approved construction of a 17-storey office block against his back fence. He subsequently ran for election to the council in 1974 and was successful, serving until 1988. He was elected Mayor of North Sydney in 1980, holding the position until his retirement from council in 1988. During his term as mayor, Mack sold the mayoral Mercedes-Benz car, buying buses instead and instituting reforms to improve accountability.

In 1981, Mack decided to shift into state politics, and ran as an independent for the recently created New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of North Shore.[1] He was successful in what would normally have been a safe Liberal seat, and served as a state MP until 1988, when he retired two days before he was due to qualify for his parliamentary pension entitlements, as a statement against the excesses of public political office.

After two years of being out of politics, Mack achieved even broader fame by winning the federal seat of North Sydney in 1990, defeating incumbent Liberal MP John Spender. During his time in federal politics, Mack opposed the unilateral removal of tariffs, privatisation, Australian involvement in the Gulf War and the appointment of an Indonesian General as Ambassor to Australia. Mack retired at the 1996 election for the same reasons he had quit state politics eight years previously.

Mack was elected as an independent Republican delegate to the 1998 Constitutional Convention. He opposed the model favoured by the Australian Republican Movement. Along with Clem Jones, he is a director of Real Republic, and is known to be a proponent of Citizen Initiated Referenda.

Despite living nearby, for a time he refused to travel across the Sydney Harbour Bridge or through the harbour tunnel in protest at the secret contract and awarding of all tolls to Kumagai Transfield for 30 years.[2]

 

[trinity]

Hi,

I just got my citizenship lately, meaning, I am now obligated to vote. I have only been in sydney for 3 years. I have been asking colleagues about their perferences, and most of them are going to vote for labor. What would a win by labor do to the stockmarket? Would there be any effect at all? I started trading asx last week.

So far, the IR laws have affected my husband's wages, so that is a minus for the liberal party for me.

On the drought, I would have thought that with the drought happening for years, and Mr. Howard being in power for 10 years, they would have done somthing sooner about it?

But, I haven't quite made up my mind yet... leaning towards labor, but what i want to know is how a labor win would affect the economy?

btw, during my citizenship ceremony, there were heaps of people there... so, they are "building up" the number of "newbies" who will participate in the coming elections. I wonder if most of them are thinking about who they will vote for as much as I am thinking about it ...

Appreciate your views...

 

[moXJO]

Hi,

I just got my citizenship lately, meaning, I am now obligated to vote. I have only been in sydney for 3 years. I have been asking colleagues about their perferences, and most of them are going to vote for labor. What would a win by labor do to the stockmarket? Would there be any effect at all? I started trading asx last week.

So far, the IR laws have affected my husband's wages, so that is a minus for the liberal party for me.

On the drought, I would have thought that with the drought happening for years, and Mr. Howard being in power for 10 years, they would have done somthing sooner about it?

But, I haven't quite made up my mind yet... leaning towards labor, but what i want to know is how a labor win would affect the economy?

btw, during my citizenship ceremony, there were heaps of people there... so, they are "building up" the number of "newbies" who will participate in the coming elections. I wonder if most of them are thinking about who they will vote for as much as I am thinking about it ...

Appreciate your views...

Look for policys that will directly affect you ,your family ,and your values.ATM its all spec how a labor government will affect the economy if it all.

 

[arminius]

the election that will affect the aussie economy the most is the chinese one...

actually, as anyone who has read something other than the daily terrorist can attest, the global economy is on thinning ice, with hyper debt, currency issues with the US, opec, euro etc, and a plethora of nasties not too far around the corner.

might i suggest you gather your information from primary sources and beware of govt propaganda- they spin to win.

personally, if howard gets back in, im gonna 1) puke, 2) get very angry and probably do something rash 3) emigrate to NZ.

btw where you from?

 

[wayneL]

the daily terrorist

So true. LOL

 

[2020hindsight]

as far as the graph goes , lol - wouldn't you think that the HQ's of the lib and lab parties would each be busy branch-stacking the membership of ASF ?? - guess the branch-stacking in real life is keeping em too busy

 

[trinity]

the election that will affect the aussie economy the most is the chinese one...
btw where you from?

I actually have chinese heritage but i grew up in south east asia. Wish I paid more attention in my chinese classes since I dont speak mandarin fluently.

might i suggest you gather your information from primary sources and beware of govt propaganda- they spin to win.

Thanks for the tip. But where do we get reliable sources? Politicians are out to make themselves look good ...

 

[2020hindsight]

Thanks for the tip. But where do we get reliable sources? ...

I always get soy sauce from Dixon St - the best by far

hey trinity, I once heard som e aussie tourists in Hong Kong ... " these restaurants are ok, but they're not as good as the REAL chinese restaurants - like the ones back home in Dixon St ."

 

[trinity]

hey trinity, I once heard som e aussie tourists in Hong Kong ... " these restaurants are ok, but they're not as good as the REAL chinese restaurants - like the ones back home in Dixon St ."

I've only ever been to Hong Kong airport, thrice I think, only as a stopover. Once I had a five hour stopover, as much as the duty free was big, I was bored to my wits. I dont really find shopping all that fun ( yeah, my hubby is so lucky ).


How come I dont hear any Liberal votes voicing out?

 

[2020hindsight]

How come I dont hear any Liberal votes voicing out?

ahh - we did all that 11 years ago

hey - you do what you like lol.
go with whichever way your bread is buttered.
In the end , as they say, it doesn't much matter in Aus which side your bread is buttered, - since you eat the same bread either which way

in which case - go with the way where the butter is the least bitter.

 

[2020hindsight]

Down here in this down under, vote with head or vote with heart
or wallet praps? hip pocket nerve? or who you think is smart?
if global warming turns you on, (another place to start)
or global wars, or reasoning a child could take apart.

or whether things in down town Aus could do with something new
or whether things are fine as is (entirely up to you)
or whether you can trust them when they read from measured scripts -
but you'll know which ones are lying ....
....... they're the ones with moving lips

 

[2020hindsight]

recent cartoons from the Australian

 

[trinity]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/saving-scheme-for-firsthome-buyers/2007/07/01/1183228964816.html

started my monday right with those news. i think it's a way better idea than a handout of 7K (?) for First Home Buyers. The handout just gave developers a way to raise property prices, IMHO. Teaching and helping people to save for the deposit is a better idea.

I think I am tilting towards Labor ...

 

[greggy]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/saving-scheme-for-firsthome-buyers/2007/07/01/1183228964816.html

started my monday right with those news. i think it's a way better idea than a handout of 7K (?) for First Home Buyers. The handout just gave developers a way to raise property prices, IMHO. Teaching and helping people to save for the deposit is a better idea.

I think I am tilting towards Labor ...

Hi Trinity,

I think a combination of both would be a preferable option. Interest rates are still pretty low. I still remember people taking out mortgages back in 1989 under the Hawke Labor Government (Keating was the Treasurer) when the interest rate for home loan borrowing was 17%. For business loans the rate was 20%. The economy went into a recession.
All of your posts thus far have been pro-Labor, fair enough, yet you say that you're still swinging towards Labor. I think that you've already made up your mind.
For me, take a look at my posting history. I've been in the middle and am a swinging voter.
Last time I voted for Howard for 2 main reasons:
1. I thought Australia was doing pretty well economically at the time
2. The ALP Leader, Mark Latham, put me off voting for him with his style which I found to be too aggressive IMO.
At the last Vic State Election I voted for Steve Bracks, ALP.
This time I haven't decided as yet.
I feel that Howard has gone too far with his IR Laws. The main problem I find is that good employers reward their staff whilst bad employers have been exploiting the legislation. Howard's reforms have had unintentional consequences. And believe it or not I'm a union member of the CPSU. At the last election a significant number of union members voted for Howard as they've done since 1996.
I'm also worried about the Iraq issue. I'm pro -American but firmly believe that we should gradually pull out of Iraq. We should remain committed to our involvement in Afghanistan where progress is being made. The Hicks issue was also of concern.
Australia is still doing well economically. The resource boom has played a major role, but surely credit should also go to the Howard Government. I think privately Rudd would acknowledge this as he now labels himself a fiscal conservative. Over the past 11 years I feel that the Howard Government has understood the needs of families better than the previous government.
The Howard Governemnt is looking tired and perhaps a ministerial reshuffle is required. From looking at opinion polls, it seems that Labor is still clearly ahead and many voters are no longer listening to the government. Maybe a large number of voters have become complacent. Maybe the only thing that will save Howard is to focus on Rudd's lack of any ministerial experience and hyprocisy in relation to Rudd's stance on IR. Don't forget that Mrs Rudd has taken advantage of the government's IR Laws (she is one tough boss as employees are expected to work unpaid overtime). Rudd however has a good looking resume.
Either way the next election is going to be strongly fought. IMO I'm still sitting on the fence.
Trinity, I enjoy reading your posts as I love talking about politics (I was lucky to major in it at uni).

Regards,

Greggy

 

[Julia]

Greggy,

I appreciate your very balanced comments and agree with most of what you say.

However, at this stage I'm definitely going for Liberal. There's something of the "cardboard cut out" with Kevin Rudd, I have no confidence in Wayne Swan's abilities as Treasurer (also find his political arguments very unimpressive), and, although she's doing her best to cover it up at present, I think Julia Gillard will be very pro-union if they are elected, to the detriment of business. Additionally, I simply don't like the woman, especially her voice.

A good deal of the poll result at present probably just represents a certain boredom with the current government in terms of their long tenure. Damn silly reason for making a change imo.

 

[trinity]

Hi Greggy,

I appreciate your inputs, thanks. I haven't made up my mind 100% yet. Only because I have been in Australia for only 3 years, so, history-wise, I say I do not know much. What is affecting my status is what is happening at the moment. Of course, it is so easy to look back and say, e.g. why didn't Howard do anything about the welfare/aboriginal issues when it has been there since who knows when. I admit, that is quite unfair for me to judge. Ok, look at this in a bigger scale, when I took my citizenship ceremonies a few months back, who among those people with me are actually discussing politics? If I am narrowminded, then I would shut the door and just do my obligation and vote. I did put out a question on in an earlier post that, how come I haven't heard from a liberal? So, I appreciate some history lessons and inputs

And yeah, I do not know much of Mr. Rudd's credentials, but I do admit he has some ideas up his sleeves, such as the "first home buyers" savings fund. I don't believe the government should just throw money around. As being here for only 3 years, I really want to stop renting and have our own property and start a family. Since moving to our current dwelling, the landlord has raised our rent 3 times

Anyways, what affected me most actually is, (this is a migrant's life I suppose) my husband, when he first came over, had to work night shifts and weekends, because he was not given any other option, and, there was definitely no additional compensation. Say, why doesn't he look for another job? He applied to over 100 companies (yeah, he kept a spreadsheet of all those applications he sent). My husband had it tough when he first came here. And, I do think a lot of it is because of the IR laws. But please do enlighten me in this respect. I do not think of the total abolition of the IR laws is the answer. But, as you have said, bad employers have taken advantage of it. What therefore is the balance?

Thanks And also, Julia, how do you rate Wayne Swan against Peter Costello?