The Gillard Government

[sails]

I don't think many in the Labor party actually see Rudd as much more than a stop-gap measure to ensure that unloseable seats in Western Sydney are not lost. IMO, the basis for Rudd coming back is to make sure these heartland seats aren't lost. How electorates like Werriwa could possibly be falling to the Libs shows just how dire the ALP's position is.

So you reckon they would just use him to save some furniture then dump him? You would think he would be smart enough to know that Shorten is in his shadow and his time as PM is just as likely to be short lived after the election.

 

[sptrawler]

Amanda Vanstone sums it up perfectly and she isn't being nasty about, just sums up the problem well.IMO

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/polit...ers-contempt-upon-herself-20130616-2ocfn.html

No one to blame but herself, she is going to be hammered.

 

[bigdog]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ize-files-on-awu/story-fng5kxvh-1226664754177

Victoria Police seize files on AWU

by: Hedley Thomas
From: The Australian
June 17, 2013 12:00AM

POLICE from the Victorian Fraud Squad have seized boxes of legal documents from Julia Gillard's former employer, Slater & Gordon lawyers, as part of an ongoing probe into the AWU slush fund scandal.

The documents were removed from the firm's Melbourne offices after the execution of a search warrant and co-operation between the firm and detectives, sources told The Australian yesterday.

Fraud Squad detectives want to examine all legal files related to controversial legal work done by Ms Gillard and the firm for her then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson, the allegedly corrupt Australian Workers Union senior official, and his union sidekick, Ralph Blewitt, in the 1990s.

The legal files are subject to confidentiality provisions.

Mr Blewitt has previously waived confidentiality and has admitted to police his role in what he has described as a major fraud with Mr Wilson.

Mr Wilson and Ms Gillard, whose relationship ended over the AWU scandal in 1995, have repeatedly and strenuously denied any wrongdoing, and accused Mr Blewitt of being unreliable and a liar.

It is understood that while Mr Blewitt wants police to examine all AWU-related legal documents held by Slater & Gordon, Mr Wilson will seek to prevent police from examining the files that are relevant to him.

Slater & Gordon, which has pledged to co-operate with Victoria Police and any other investigating authorities, including a possible royal commission into unions foreshadowed by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, has not represented the men for almost 17 years.

A spokesman for Slater & Gordon said yesterday: "We are not commenting on police matters."

Victoria Police, which has had a taskforce of detectives working on the AWU investigation since late 2012, have repeatedly declined to comment on their most sensitive probe. Police last month sought documents from the archives of the AWU's West Australian and Victorian branches, in which Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt worked in the 1990s during the alleged fraud.

The legal work done at Slater & Gordon for the two men includes the Prime Minister's role in helping Mr Wilson establish the AWU Workplace Reform Association.

Ms Gillard says she provided legal advice to help set up the AWU Workplace Reform Association, which Mr Wilson later used to carry out the alleged fraud. She later described the association as a "slush fund" for the re-election of union officials, but said she had no knowledge of its operations.

The slush fund was used by Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt to bill building company, Thiess, for hundreds of thousands of dollars for work that was not performed.

The union was not aware of the existence of the slush fund. Slater & Gordon was the law firm for the AWU at the time.

Money was withdrawn from the slush fund to purchase a $230,000 Fitzroy terrace house in Mr Blewitt's name at a 1993 auction Ms Gillard attended with Mr Wilson, who subsequently lived in the property. Slater & Gordon handled the conveyancing and helped provide finance.

Ms Gillard's work in helping establish the slush fund, leading to her abrupt departure as a salaried partner amid a breakdown in trust at the law firm, was revealed in The Australian last year with leaked letters and a transcript of the firm's tape-recorded September, 1995 interview with her.

 

[sptrawler]

I love this statement by Rudd "I will do anything to stop Tony Abbott becoming P.M.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...to-julia-gillard/story-fnho52jo-1226664874768

It begs the question,"why didn't you or Gillard do a better job"?

Then you wouldn't be in this position, what a dick.

 

[Julia]

So you reckon they would just use him to save some furniture then dump him? You would think he would be smart enough to know that Shorten is in his shadow and his time as PM is just as likely to be short lived after the election.

Agree, sails. It's unimaginable that Mr Rudd, especially after having been so shafted by the Labor Party, would agree to returning to the leadership without some built in guarantee of tenure well beyond the September election.

And, McLovin, is it really possible that - given the well documented comments of Labor ministers about how impossible he was to work with, how dysfunctional his government, etc - Labor would really expose itself just prior to the election to the inevitable and completely justified repetition of all this, no doubt well coloured, as advertising by the Coalition? They will already have their advertising agency with the ads ready to go imo.

 

[MrBurns]

If they brought Rudd back the Libs would have so much against him, so much they could throw at him that the advantage Labor would think they're getting would be greatly diminished by the time Sept 14th came around.

 

[waza1960]

If they brought Rudd back the Libs would have so much against him, so much they could throw at him that the advantage Labor would think they're getting would be greatly diminished by the time Sept 14th came around.

Agreed but what choice do Labor MPs have. Their situation is desperate and you have got to admit Rudd is good at campaigning.

Agree, sails. It's unimaginable that Mr Rudd, especially after having been so shafted by the Labor Party, would agree to returning to the leadership without some built in guarantee of tenure well beyond the September election.

I disagree I doubt if he is interested in leadership after the election it will be enough for him to unseat Gillard
and have all the labor people bowing to him. He is more likely to position himself for a UN job after the election IMO.

 

[Julia]

I disagree I doubt if he is interested in leadership after the election it will be enough for him to unseat Gillard
and have all the labor people bowing to him. He is more likely to position himself for a UN job after the election IMO.

You might be right. He is, after all, just about revenge.

 

[jank]

So abbot will probably be PM in a few months but I think he leaves a lot to be desired. I think people will quickly tire of him and give the ALP a shot at power in three years.

 

[waza1960]

So abbot will probably be PM in a few months but I think he leaves a lot to be desired. I think people will quickly tire of him and give the ALP a shot at power in three years.

Your POV is delusional IMO.
I think Abbott will surprise a lot of people with his competence in the top job.
Labor is gone for years = good for Australia

 

[qldfrog]

Hopefully, the libs will have more brain than Labor and replace TA after a while by someone who can unite this country and not loose the next (after this one) election..But I would not bet on this....
After all, TA is the only reason we have Julia at the head now..but it seems it is not PC to tell that
As you can read above, not a fan of tony

 

[Tink]

The gender card should never have been played.
I cant see Rudd coming back in, the party is too divided.
Either way, they will lose the election dramatically.

The public have had enough, any mention of the Labor party when out and about and people get angry.
Tells me it will be a wipe out.

This has been handed to Abbott on a silver platter.

 

[Aussiejeff]

The gender card should never have been played.
I cant see Rudd coming back in, the party is too divided.
Either way, they will lose the election dramatically.

The public have had enough, any mention of the Labor party when out and about and people get angry.
Tells me it will be a wipe out.

This has been handed to Abbott on a silver platter.

Yup. L**** has become it's own 4 letter word...and rightly so.

*Only* 88 days to go to finally get some reveng...errrr....relief.....

 

[Judd]

snip. I think Abbott will surprise a lot of people with his competence in the top job.

Just an observation but I get the impression that Mr Abbott is more astute than most think. He seems to be able to focus when needs be. I could be wrong. Neither Ms Gillard not Mr Abbott are stupid individuals, quite the opposite. However, Ms Gillard appears to have been poorly advised and allowed to become distracted and irritated by valid criticisms while Mr Abbott, appears more focused - although that could be a function of being in opposition and not currently responsible for programme outcomes.

 

[db94]

So abbot will probably be PM in a few months but I think he leaves a lot to be desired. I think people will quickly tire of him and give the ALP a shot at power in three years.

No way, Abbott is more clever than others think. He has after all been smart enough to keep quiet while the Labor party continually shoots itself in the foot. However I think we need to look at the party rather than just the leader, and from that the Libs will stay in for a long time.

 

[gordon2007]

I had the chance to meet with abbott personally a few weeks ago. I was quite surprised as he seemed quite personable. Nowhere near as standoffish or gruff as the press makes him out to be.

Just an observation but I get the impression that Mr Abbott is more astute than most think.

 

[Calliope]

Some good news for Julia at last. A survey conducted by the Australian Readers Digest on trust shows the Prime Minister ranks above politicians facing potential jail time, a sexist shock jock and troubled actor Matthew Newton in a survey of who Australians trust most.

Julia Gillard is 95th, followed only by Kyle Sandilands, Edie Obeid, Craig Thomson, Peter Slipper and Newton, in the Australian Readers Digest Trust Survey.

LEAST TRUSTED

100 Matthew Newton, actor

99 Peter Slipper, politician

98 Craig Thomson, politician

97 Eddie Obeid, former politician

96 Kyle Sandilands, radio announcer

95 Julia Gillard, prime minister

94 Christine Milne, Greens leader

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/sp...trust-these-days/story-fnho52jj-1226665249514

 

[Julia]

Just an observation but I get the impression that Mr Abbott is more astute than most think. He seems to be able to focus when needs be. I could be wrong. Neither Ms Gillard not Mr Abbott are stupid individuals, quite the opposite. However, Ms Gillard appears to have been poorly advised and allowed to become distracted and irritated by valid criticisms while Mr Abbott, appears more focused - although that could be a function of being in opposition and not currently responsible for programme outcomes.

I tend to agree, Judd. We'll only know when we see Mr Abbott actually as leader, but I suspect he has more integrity and basic decency than has been suggested. And, as a Rhodes scholar, he's no intellectual slouch either.
I hope when he is elected, people will give him a fair go, and not just regard him as some sort of temporary fill in for the self-interested Malcolm Turnbull. I think he does need to be very careful not to allow any of his personal religious stuff to affect policy.

I'd have more faith in the Liberal advisers and mentors than those apparently available to Labor.

 

[McLovin]

So you reckon they would just use him to save some furniture then dump him? You would think he would be smart enough to know that Shorten is in his shadow and his time as PM is just as likely to be short lived after the election.

I don't think they are expecting him to win the election, just to put in a better loss than Gillard will. It's about containing a loss, not playing for a win. If he did win then the ALP would be nuts to remove him. I don't think Rudd is all that interested in being opposition leader either. He wants to show just how popular he is. After that, he is probably more interested in being made ambassador to the UN.

 

[MrBurns]

If Rudd came back by the time the Libs had finished with him he'd be no more popular than Gillard, election result much the same.