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The Abbott Government

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It would help if the media tried asking some intelligent questions instead of taking every opportunity to bore us with questions about the Liberal party leadership.
 
Bintang said:
Orr posted a link in the Abbott is Gorne thread to an interesting article which might find a better context here:



I've read it but still thinking about it. Might read it a second time before daring to comment. It's definitely interesting.
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Thanks for that, and to orr as the original poster.

The article pretty much sums up my feelings about politics and what can be done about the vacuum of policy and decision making ability.

Maybe a first step is to reform the Senate election process so small party and individual drongos can't get in on a donkey vote.

Next step is to publicly fund parties and individuals with outside donations either banned or severely capped. We need these people top work for us, not someone else.

Neither of the major parties will do this, maybe the Greens would do some, but I think it needs a new broad based party, led by someone like Nick Xenophon who can capture the centre vote.

I hope I live long enough to see it happen.
 
It was a very interesting article Orr.

I suppose from my perspective I have become very disillusioned with the political/economic system. it certainly makes sense to develop thoughtful, constructive ways of dealing with our needs and bigger problems.

But frankly I'm politics as a mechanism to enhance and protect the very wealthy in our society at the expense of everyone and everything else. In my view the advancement of the super rich and very rich has become a self fueling fire.
 
Knobby22 said:
Some in the party align themselves with the Republicans who are libertarians. As does that Liberal Democrat guy. I completely along with many of the public reject this philosophy.
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I imagine you're referring here to David Leyonjhelm.

When you refer above to "Republicans who are libertarians", what do you mean? Are you talking about US Republicans (who would surely be essentially aligned with our notion of Conservatives) or people in Australia who want a Republic?

If they want to be voted back in they better act like Conservatives.
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I'm now completely confused about what you want. A typical Conservative is Cory Bernadi? Is he the sort of role model you want? Conservatives in Australia tend to be sexist, prefer the monarchy to a Republic, abhor abortion, and absolutely do not want such as gay marriage.

Is that in line with your thinking? I wouldn't have thought so from your past comments.


Er, explod, Mr Abbott was interviewed in New Zealand, presumably largely for a NZ audience. Why would they have any particular interest in any detail about various policies that relate only to Australia. Their only vague interest, if any, would be along the lines "oh, so the Australian PM is visiting for 24 hours. Yawn, yawn!

Agree, Smurf. A very good summary of what many of us feel.

Bintang said:
It would help if the media tried asking some intelligent questions instead of taking every opportunity to bore us with questions about the Liberal party leadership.
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There are all sorts of things happening in the world, yet the news bulletins are being led by excited announcement of "the Liberal Party speculation continues to escalate". But it's followed by no evidence to that effect at all. No ministers or even back benchers are named. Mr Turnbull gives no indication he will challenge Mr Abbott. All they have is "sources have told......."
For god's sake, just shut up about it unless and until there is actually something to report.
 

Exactly. I finally got so fed up with the cr@p this week that I cancelled my online newspaper subscriptions. I have donated 30% of my savings in annual subscriptions to the anti-halal movement and will find some other worthy causes for the rest - preferably any persons or organisations who are attempting to disseminate information that the mainstream media will not handle because of self-imposed political correctness type constraints.

Besides, there are plenty of alternatives for free news on the internet and I realised that my paid subscriptions were a 'habit' I can do without.
 
1st dog sums up here pretty well

http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...w-to-make-it-the-report-not-the-abuse-go-away

Just a couple of questions

Anyone actually know how the children are going in detention ?

You do know Triggs criticised Labor more than the rabble now in government in her report?

You do know human rights is about treating kids good?

You do know we treat kids in detention inhumanly by any measure?

We do have a government don't we?

Or do we have a bloke who stands in as many flags as possible to get the polls up?

As to the timing of the report it was a perfect opportunity for Abbott to point out the differences between Labor and Coalition policy's and how he fixed the boat problem.......wouldn't it?

Any way how are the children in detention going?

Any one here going to put there hand up and start clapping about our high standard of morals in this regard?

Last question a really hard tricky one how did Abbott become a Rhodes Scholar?
 

It's generally all about paandering to the party base. Keeping them on side. We're lucky that compulsory voting means the various parties don't have to get too extreme. I fear we'll end up like the USA where small extremes in the parties force potential candidates each election cycle to move further and further away from the centre. It's practically impossible for a Republican to be voted in who believes in evolution. Heck nearly 1 in 4 Americans think Jesus will come back during their life time.

I thoroughly recommend macrobusiness.com.au

Seems to be one of the few centrist economically focused sites, and I like they praise good policy and condemn bad policy with little bias I can see. They've been scathing of Abbott lately, but are equally calling for Shorten to step up with some viable policy alternatives. That they were explaining what was going to happen with the economy 2-3 years in advance has been an added boon for restructuring my finances to better take advantage of the changing economics here.

I also find the comments sections there quite interesting. There's a lot of discussion over the various issues we're facing, with people adding external links to a wealth of information. It's certainly changed my views on a number of issues.

One thing they're asking at present is what's the case for the building of new submarines. The biggest single spending initiative and it seems that there's been no questioning as to do we need them or could that kind of money be spent on other hardware to provide a better security outcome. With climate change going to have increasing impacts in the area are submarines and new armoured troop carriers really the kinds of expensive military hardware we need to be buying? Should we stop using military spending as make work programs bribes for votes?
 


Good onya Bintang
 
Yet we're still told we don't need an RC into the financial services industry

During a dramatic week, ASIC revisited its sweep of 10 institutions, including NAB's Meritum which offered complex financial advice to customers.

That sweep had found that a staggering 50 per cent of files it reviewed had "insufficient evidence of compliance", including inadequate consideration of the client's needs, unsuitable gearing recommendations, misrepresentation of the products and risk and lack of transparency on fees charged. It also found instances of "boilerplate" statements of advice.

In Meritum's case, it found systemic breaches by two unnamed advisers, and the company subsequently "terminated" them.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/bank...regulation-20150227-13qd3n.html#ixzz3T1Q3Ipn8

Sadly Labor is helping with the intransigent denial within the Govt that there's systemic issues that need to be resolved.

I bet an RC would find a lot more financial terrorists than the data retention policy ever will.
 

The reality is with the financial adviser industry the economics of well qualified people giving advice to ordinary couples doesn't add if it's done on a fee for service basis.
 
sydboy007 said:
Yet we're still told we don't need an RC into the financial services industry

[I
I bet an RC would find a lot more financial terrorists than the data retention policy ever will.
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Don't tell me! Another glaring systemic failure of our current political 'dynamic' ...when will Adele Ferguson be dame'd rather than damned??... Corrected me if I'm wrong, But is it the fees and kick backs on $24 odd billion these shonks have embezzled and vaporised from investors. $24 Billion.

Thanks to those who've read 'fixing politics'
 
banco said:
The reality is with the financial adviser industry the economics of well qualified people giving advice to ordinary couples doesn't add if it's done on a fee for service basis.
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I'm not 100% sure I agree on that. Financial advice is not that expensive, though I'd argue very very difficult to get any good advice. My last experience was paying $450 for a plan I never received. I gave up chasing the guy for it, and told myself from now I I learn what I need to know and to not rely on an industry that is unfortunately full of mostly parasites.

The current system is not providing even a basic service to a majority of people. If this was any other industry it would be unacceptable. The way the banks are following the catholic Church method of moving the problem along is sickening. ASIC wasn't even aware of the majority of those NAB planners that have been sacked. If you read the SMH article you'd see how one planner Alfie Chong moved to NEO Financial Solutions and when they did background checks with NAB they were not made aware of any of the issues that were becoming known about him. How NAB can argue they're being open and transparent about the issues is beyond me.

If the Govt think it's money well spent dredging up union corruption and pink bats, which deal with many less billions that the financial services industry, then I don't know what argument they can use to deny an RC is required. The fact ASIC is blissfully unaware of the issues is as much a failing on their part as a system of coverup and moving the problem advisors to avoid a PR issue.

With a super industry moving towards $2T, and I have no idea how much investible assets are outside super, it's about time something was done to protect people, partly from themselves, but more so from far too many within the financial services industry who are all about making a profit for themselves and where the outcome for the client is not particularly relevant.
 
Practically the entire economy has been financialised with a transfer of power and influence away from the productive parts of the economy and toward the financial sector.

There was a time when finance was a means of facilitating the physical production of goods and services. But it was those doing physical things who had the influence and made things happen. These days, the reverse is true, the physical dances to the tune of finance.

Hence we end up with all sorts of inquiries into physical things - construction unions, roof insulation and so on but hardly a word is said about things financial. In 2015 we regulate everything physical from pubs to tradesmen to an almost ridiculous extent but there are very few barriers in the way of the financial industry.
 
SirRumpole said:
The article pretty much sums up my feelings about politics and what can be done about the vacuum of policy and decision making ability.
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Current mainstream political thinking essentially outsources policy to the market. That goes for everything from health to energy, the idea that governments would lead has given way to simply following the market. Trouble is, the what's good for private profit and markets isn't necessarily what's good for the country or society as a whole.
 

+100
 
I seem to recall you recently saying something about acknowledging the success of the current government's border protection policies with your gripe being about the secrecy that effectively removed the shipping news service to people smugglers on the success or otherwise of their ventures.

I see though now that it's back to being about the kiddies.

IFocus said:
Anyone actually know how the children are going in detention ?
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They're coming out of detention and they're now mostly out of detention because this government has stopped Labor's boats.
 
The Bolta was very chummy with Julie "class act" Bishop this morning on his program.

We know he likes Scott Morrison too, but lately seems to have gone off Malcolm Turnbull.
 
Logique said:
The Bolta was very chummy with Julie "class act" Bishop this morning on his program.

We know he likes Scott Morrison too, but lately seems to have gone off Malcolm Turnbull.
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Unlike when Barrie Cassidy got the inside tip on Kevin Rudd's toppling of Julia Gillard beforehand, Insiders was essentially guesswork discussion about the Lib leadership today.

It did however show a small segment of footage where Tony Abbott cracked a joke about his own leadership problems when doing a media presentation with his NZ counterpart. That in itself might be interesting.
 

There was 123 children in detention as of the 16 February...Probably been halved again since then.
 
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