The Gillard Government

Logique said:

....and Big Unions?

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By far the largest and most powerful 'union' in the country is the ACCI, which is a largely right-wing employer group.

They represent more than 350,000 'members.'

Anyone who watched the 7.30 Report with Stephen Smith's interview on the ADFA/Skype affair and Smith's refusal to apologise or declare confidence in the ADFA Commandant, would have to teach the conclusion that the "nice" Mr Smith is as slippery, slimy and evasive as Gillard and Swan.

THE head of the Australian Defence Force Academy has been cleared over the so-called Skype sex scandal, as a report on past sexual abuse in the military today flagged a possible royal commission and national apology to up to 775 victims spanning 60 years.

Commandant Bruce Kafer, who was stood down almost a year ago, will return to work this week after the Kirkham inquiry into the Skype incident found he made no error of judgment in his treatment of a female cadet at the centre of the scandal.

However, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said he stood by his original criticism of Commodore Kafer and his decision to conclude unrelated disciplinary proceedings against the woman, who was filmed having sex with a male colleague while four other cadets watched in another room.

The results of the inquiry appear to vindicate the views of senior officers who believed Commodore Kafer was made a scapegoat for the scandal.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...-may-get-apology/story-e6frg8yo-1226292092451

Comment from Ross Greenwood of Money News


"Never in the history of the world has there been a situation so bad that a government couldn't make it worse."



Quoted by: Ross Greenwood of Money News..

Right now the Federal Government is at pains to tell everyone - including us

mug-punters and the International Monetary Fund, that it will not exceed

its own, self-imposed, borrowing limits.

How much? $200 billion. And here's a worry.

If you work in a bank's money market operation; or if you are a politician;

the millions turn into billions and it rolls off the tip of the tongue a bit

too easily. but every dollar that is borrowed, some time, has to be repaid.

By you, by me and by the rest of the country.

Just after 5 o'clock tonight I did a bit of math for Jason Morrison ( Sydney

radio presenter). But it's so staggering its worth repeating now.

First though; here's what Ex-P.M. Rudd has been saying about - what he calls

- these temporary borrowings

Remember Those Words : Temporary Deficit.

The total country debt could end up around $200 billion.

So here's a very basic calculation .. I used a home loan calculator to work

it out..... it's that simple.. $200 billion is $200,000 million.

The current 10 year Government bond rate is 4.67 per cent. I worked the loan

out over a period of 20 years. Now here's where it gets scary .... really

scary.

The repayments on $200 billion, come to more than one and a quarter billion

dollars - every month - for 20 years. It works out we - as taxpayers - will

be repaying $15.4 billion in interest and principal every year .. $733 for

every man woman and child - every year.

The total interest bill over the 20 years is - get this - $108 billion.

Remember, this is a country, that just 4 years ago, had NO debt. NO debt.

In fact it had enough money to create the Future Fund, to pay the future

liabilities of public servants' superannuation, and it had enough to stick

$20 billion into the Building Australia Fund .......

He continues... a note that was sent to me which explains that the six

leading members of the Government, from Gillard down, the top six have a

collective work experience of 181 years, but only 13 in the private sector.

If you take out of those 13 years the number that were spent as trade union

lawyers, that total 11, of the 181 years, only two years were spent in the

private sector.

So out of those 181 years:

- no years spent running their own business

- no years spent starting their own business

- no years spent as a director of a family business or a company

- no years as a director of a public company

- no years in a senior position in a public company

- no years in a senior position in a private company

- no years working in corporate finance

- no years in corporate or business restructuring

- no years working in or with a bank

- no years of experience in the capital markets

- no years in a stock-broking firm

- no years in negotiating debt facilities with banks

- no years running a small business

- no years at the World Bank or IMF or OECD

- no years in Treasury or Finance.

But these people have plunged Australia into unprecedented debt, and now

threaten to torpedo employee share schemes, which they plainly don't

understand.

Well, in a way you can't blame them.

It's clear the electorate did not do their homework, because the Gov't is

there by right.

Ah, but they are Labor and people vote for them because Labor is good for

the working family right??? Ha!

Calliope said:

Anyone who watched the 7.30 Report with Stephen Smith's interview on the ADFA/Skype affair and Smith's refusal to apologise or declare confidence in the ADFA Commandant, would have to teach the conclusion that the "nice" Mr Smith is as slippery, slimy and evasive as Gillard and Swan.



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...-may-get-apology/story-e6frg8yo-1226292092451

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Had some time for Smith but he has disappointed recently and have to agree with Calliope.

Pity.

Glen48 said:

Comment from Ross Greenwood of Money News
Quoted by: Ross Greenwood of Money News.

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Why don't you just provide a link?

dutchie said:

Had some time for Smith but he has disappointed recently and have to agree with Calliope.
Pity.

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Agree exactly. Very disappointing to see Stephen Smith turn out to be cut of the same cloth as his colleagues.

Glen48 said:

...Ah, but they are Labor and people vote for them because Labor is good for

the working family right??? Ha!

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This last sentence says it so well.

I wish all you Liberal supporters would give our PM a break, she said many times MOVING FORWARD, we are moving forward, in to deep poo .

pilots said:

I wish all you Liberal supporters would give our PM a break, she said many times MOVING FORWARD, we are moving forward, in to deep poo .

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So maybe she should be saying - "Moving forward and sinking"

Here's the alternate Liberal leader in action:
A failure to defend liberty -Financial Review -by John Roskam, executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs - 9 March 2012 http://afr.com/p/opinion/failure_to_defend_liberty_wAJSn9pqMROKLz9sLhFrbM

"..Meanwhile Turnbull issued a meandering and mealy-mouthed statement that left open the possibility of the Coalition supporting some or all of Finkelstein’s recommendations. Turnbull said the report “deserves careful study and community discussion”. No it does not.
The report is bad from beginning to end and should be completely and unambiguously rejected by the Coalition....Turnbull baulked at upholding a core liberal (and Liberal Party) value.."

dutchie said:

So maybe she should be saying - "Moving forward and sinking"

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Moving backwards together.

It is obvious now why Stephen Smith wanted to leave the Defence portfolio and scuttle back to Foreign Affairs.

He had shat in his own nest.:fan

Logique said:

....The report is bad from beginning to end and should be completely and unambiguously rejected by the Coalition....Turnbull baulked at upholding a core liberal (and Liberal Party) value.." [/I]

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To be fair to Malcolm Turnbull, he was on Lateline last night and firmly rejected John Roskam's claims, stating unequivocal Coalition rejection of the Finkelstein media council proposals.

Patrick Cooke's latest caustic observations.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/counterpoint/patrick-cook/3857558

Then, also from "Counterpoint" yesterday, an interview with Mark Steyn.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/counterpoint/mark-steyn/3857566

Mr Steyn's theme is "Well, it's a free country, isn't it?" and goes to the point that it is becoming less and less free.

Logique said:

To be fair to Malcolm Turnbull, he was on Lateline last night and firmly rejected John Roskam's claims, stating unequivocal Coalition rejection of the Finkelstein media council proposals.

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So what does he believe? Did he mean what he said on Lateline or did he mean what he said to the AFR? Personally, I don't trust him with his support for the clear money grab of pricing carbon and the economic damage that is likely to do to this country.

No wonder lefties want him as coalition leader. Surely, that would really weaken the coalition as they need to provide an alternative to the unwanted policies including media control.

Turnbull doesn't impress me at all. Abbott has his problems, however, he has pulled the party together since Turnbull's leadership.

sails said:

So what does he believe? Did he mean what he said on Lateline or did he mean what he said to the AFR? Personally, I don't trust him with his support for the clear money grab of pricing carbon and the economic damage that is likely to do to this country.

No wonder lefties want him as coalition leader. Surely, that would really weaken the coalition as they need to provide an alternative to the unwanted policies including media control.

Turnbull doesn't impress me at all. Abbott has his problems, however, he has pulled the party together since Turnbull's leadership.

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+1. Malcolm Turnbull is all about Malcolm Turnbull, not the Liberal Party or the people of Australia imo.

Julia said:

+1. Malcolm Turnbull is all about Malcolm Turnbull, not the Liberal Party or the people of Australia imo.

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So Malcolm and Julia make a good pair.

sails said:

So what does he believe? Did he mean what he said on Lateline or did he mean what he said to the AFR? Personally, I don't trust him with his support for the clear money grab of pricing carbon and the economic damage that is likely to do to this country.

No wonder lefties want him as coalition leader. Surely, that would really weaken the coalition as they need to provide an alternative to the unwanted policies including media control.

Turnbull doesn't impress me at all. Abbott has his problems, however, he has pulled the party together since Turnbull's leadership.

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I agree with you 100% sails, the only position he could be seen as an asset to the libs is as treasurer. That is only due to his financial credibility and even then he could quite easily become a liability, with his conflicting views.

The thing with Abbott, he defiinately appears to be genuine, what you see is what you get. Like it or not.

sptrawler said:

I agree with you 100% sails, the only position he could be seen as an asset to the libs is as treasurer. That is only due to his financial credibility and even then he could quite easily become a liability, with his conflicting views.

The thing with Abbott, he defiinately appears to be genuine, what you see is what you get. Like it or not.

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Agree - I think Turnbull could do well as treasurer. But would he use that position of power to keep promoting his seeming personal agenda of pricing carbon and nipping at the heels of any lib leader? If so, it would be quite counter productive, imo.