I thought Tony Abbott's delivery of his speech and answers to subsequent questions at the Press Club today was quite good. I missed the earlier part, but the part I saw made him look PM material. None of the "A A A A" before each answer.
I only saw the tail end of the speech and the questions that followed. I thought he got a warmer applause to his speech than Julia Gillard yesterday, but one does not know the political structure of the audience, as noted by one of the questioning media.I thought Tony Abbott's delivery of his speech and answers to subsequent questions at the Press Club today was quite good. I missed the earlier part, but the part I saw made him look PM material. None of the "A A A A" before each answer.
I only saw the tail end of the speech and the questions that followed. I thought he got a warmer applause to his speech than Julia Gillard yesterday, but one does not know the political structure of the audience, as noted by one of the questioning media.
He's backpeddled on removing Labor's means test on the Private Health Insurance rebate.
Given it's the Press Club, wouldn't the bias, if any, be more toward Labor?I only saw the tail end of the speech and the questions that followed. I thought he got a warmer applause to his speech than Julia Gillard yesterday, but one does not know the political structure of the audience, as noted by one of the questioning media.
He did say that the means testing would be revised when the fiscal timing was right. Given the fact that Labor has dug such deep debts it will take time to unwind the damage done. He said he was committed to private health for all Australians unlike Labor who want everyone on the public system.
Agree. Tony Abbott made a good start in being honest with the electorate by including in his speech today to the Press Club the reality that if the Libs win government they will wipe the School Kids Bonus. His reason: we would need to make savings, and this has nothing to do with education.Wouldn't it be great is politicians would make conditional statements such as this, rather than insulting our intelligence by making absolutes set in concrete.
We are intelligent enough to understand that everything can't be implemented on day 1, or even term 1. Set the goals and give the conditions under which the goals will be achieved. Voters will, IMO, be more understanding if the goals aren't achieved because the conditions for those goals weren't in place through no fault of the government. Contrast this with Labor's talk of achieving a current account surplus this year. It was not phrased in terms of "if the conditions are right" or "subject to mining revenue not falling", but they used terms like "we guarantee the surplus" and "not having a surplus is not an option".
It is their use of absolutes and then subsequent backtracking when the absolutes cannot be achieved that makes the populace so cynical about anything said by a politician.
Agree. Tony Abbott made a good start in being honest with the electorate by including in his speech today to the Press Club the reality that if the Libs win government they will wipe the School Kids Bonus. His reason: we would need to make savings, and this has nothing to do with education.
Only thing I can say is that with the piggy bank empty both sides are now finally forced into tackling a lot of the middle class welfare that has bloated the budget.
Now to see if they have the stones to actually follow through. Populism is an addictive drug that both major parties have succumbed to
It is their use of absolutes and then subsequent backtracking when the absolutes cannot be achieved that makes the populace so cynical about anything said by a politician.
An aknowledgement of how rotten to the core Labor in its current form is seen to be ?There are enough issues that can surface in the next 7 months that will make it impossible for a Gillard government to win, particularly the Wilson/AWU issue which is gaining traction.
Governments can wreck an economy.At the end of the day no one can manage an economy.
Governments can wreck an economy.
I reckon we will see a Rudd challenge within a month at this rate......
But do we want that
The Libs sound so confident of going straight into surplus, it makes me very suspicious. I think we're in for some draconian measures. Quite a few Commonwealth public servants will be scouring the want ads....He's backpeddled on removing Labor's means test on the Private Health Insurance rebate.
The Libs sound so confident of going straight into surplus, it makes me very suspicious. I think we're in for some draconian measures. Quite a few Commonwealth public servants will be scouring the want ads.
There'll be a dose of harsh reality (although parental leave will be quarantined) for those living the culture of entitlement. But never fear 'Working Familees', dollar bills will rain down on you like confetti during the campaign, just put it all by.
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