Day to Day Politics: Leadership. What’s that?
Thursday 30 June 2016
1 As we reach the nitty-gritty end of a long and arduous election campaign it is time to reflect on what has been said, what has been offered and what has not.
Turnbull decided that in an 8 week passionless campaign he would be a small target with no policies (two in a row now) and a determination to focus his whole attention on blaming Labor for everything. It was a ‘don’t do anything that we can be criticised for‘ campaign that never once gave way to a narrative of how the Prime Minister pictured Australia in the future.
He said that Australia needed the stability his government had so ably demonstrated of its tenure. He was the only one who recognised it.
He said that Australia needed the ongoing successful economic management that the Coalition was able to exhibit, and we needed it for another three years.
Much to the disappointment of many said that there was absolutely nothing untoward about Tony Abbott’s policies. It was just his style of leadership that needed to be replaced.
The Coalition in opposition had for some time said that the budget was out of hand, a disaster waiting to happen. It was in crisis and required urgent attention before a catastrophic event of calamitous proportion took place.
When Labor left office the budget had a $30 billion dollar deficit. It is now in deficit to the tune of $48 billion yet they say they are the better economic managers.
It says it is performing miracles on the job front. When Labor left office unemployment was 5.8%. Now it is 6.2% and getting worse. Full time jobs are becoming a thing of the past.12% of young people cannot get a job unless it is part-time.
Growth was 2.5 % under Labor and 2% under the Coalition, and their growth forecasts are highly optimistic according to Treasury. Throw in the fact that the dollar has slipped from 92 cents to 70 and you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that their claim to be good economic managers is a lot of baloney.
Other than sprinkling dollars like confetti on a daily basis in tight electorates the Coalition has offered nothing on social policy other than a plan for jobs and growth that they say is working.
The plan is centered on tax cuts for the rich, paid for from the taxes of the ‘un-rich’ and later returned via the Margaret Thatcher theory of drip down economics.
When you look at the facts I have presented you could only conclude that they are rotten economic managers without a clue as to what they are doing.
When things of this nature were put to him by Leigh Sales on Tuesday night he more or less, despite her saying that she was “only quoting the facts”, told her she didn’t know what she was talking about. The truth is that he doesn’t have a clue as to whether he will have the $50 billion for tax cuts because he doesn’t know what the growth rate will be.
How on earth could you vote for morons like this?
2 The marriage equality plebiscite continues to fester inside the government with two Ministers openly declaring that they cannot say how they will vote. Others may abstain.
Conservatives of course want a plebiscite for two reasons. Firstly to delay in order to propagate more Far Right Evangelical Christian propaganda and secondly to gain access to half of the $150 million to support their cause.
It seems obscenely immoral to me to be spending that amount of money on something that surveys and polls have for a number of years shown overwhelming support for a ‘yes’ vote.
If politicians are not there to carry out or reflect the will of the people, what are they there for?
Having spent a major part of my life in the church environment I am fully conversant with the Biblical argument on this and other issues of social justice. They helped form my rejection of regressive religion.
Having said that, many surveys suggest that people of faith in main stream churches are in favour of marriage equality.
We should not underestimate just how influential Abbott, Andrews, Bernardi and others are in the Coalition parties.
As late as Tuesday it now seems that the plebiscite will be modelled on a referendum vote. Meaning that it will be compulsory. Turnbull even suggested that regardless of the outcome members would still have a free vote.
The whole thing is being set up for defeat. Turnbull knows it but is captive to the right.
It must be one of the worst examples of policy leadership in Australian political history.
Warren Entsch said: “It makes you wonder why we would spend millions of dollars on a plebiscite if you’re not going to respect the result. I find it rather bizarre.”
The $150 million would be better back in the program against domestic violence where it will probably came from.
My thought for the day.
“People often argue from within the limitations of their understanding and when their factual evidence is scant, they revert to an expression of their feelings”.
And one for our Prime Minister.
“We all have to make important decisions in our lives. None more important than the rejection of those things that tempt us into being somebody we are not”.
19 comments
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Möbius Ecko -
paul walter -
wam -
Paul Dawson -
jimhaz -
jim -
AngryAnt -
Bacchus -
AngryAnt -
jim -
win jeavons -
jim -
paul walter -
Dee -
Dee -
Bacchus -
Carol Taylor -
Carol Taylor -
John Lord
Return to home pageSo every media outlet I saw and heard this morning has Labor losing and a leadership spill being run in the background. This was being hammered hardest by the ABC on radio and TV. They all stated that Labor itself has given in and knows it will lose, it’s just a matter of by how much.
I’ve been off line and had to watch more teev.The ABC has been dismal at least in Adelaide. But then a lot of strange things have happened in politics of late..look at Britain.
Was it the Drum early this week where ALP Dep Leader Plibersek was shouted down or QA on TNC tax cuts?? May have been QA ..really shabby, really cowardly, really dishonest .
funny that turnball is the certain loser if labor wins and probable loser if he wins.
The measure of the ABC. I just saw a snippet of the spending on adverts where the libs ads got a run after the blackout ending with ‘labor no plan’ sadly unfair. The snippet finished with tony abbott telling us that the campaign didn’t focus on the important issues like budget repair and border control.
I got into a a discussion about choice of photos on the front page of the NTNews.
The turnball picture showed him with a happy beaming smile. The shorten picture showed a furrowed brow and a worried countenance.
When I challenged the fairness of the editor who chose the pictures for the front page I got the obtuse answer take it up with brutus he chose the pictures.
yes minister summed it up don’t have a ‘plebiscite’ unless you know the answer. The poms got it wrong and maybe, when the time comes, we will see through the mist of the religious homophobes.
It should by now be apparent to anyone with a modicum of intelligence that opinion polls can be used to provide any answer that the pollster (or his/her bosses) want. it’s called push polling – and is used to sway opinion – at least the opinion of those who believe such drivel.
I recommend that these polls and those who advocate their use should be ignored by the sensible voter.
[I recommend that these polls and those who advocate their use should be ignored by the sensible voter]
When Rudd and Gillard were around practically every day there was a poll that I ignored, but others did not being more prone to herd behaviour.
Where have all those polls gone now the cons are in power? Completely forgotten other than articles about odds (that support the LNP winning and people want to be on a winning side).
Abc,TV shame on your “balanced” or even None blacked out ads (propaganda dressed as news), the second News item on the news was Albo’s going to toss Bill Shorten out, Laabor party unrest, if this is balanced views I want my money back, seriously we should be in an outrage.ABC you must realize that half the people maybe more are very pissed off you mongrels we’re talking about our countries future here wake up to yourselves please ABC. Vote LNP LIARS OUT , Liberals get out of the way and let the Adults back in charge. Liberals your nastiness has gone too far.
Just to correct your statement. “When Labor left office unemployment was 5.8%. Now it is 6.2% and getting worse.” The unemployment rate for the last three months has been 5.7%. Incorrect statements such as these, sadly, undermine your credibility.
I repeat your thought for the day; “People often argue from within the limitations of their understanding and when their factual evidence is scant, they revert to an expression of their feelings”.
AngryAnt,
Yet over those three months, monthly hours worked in all jobs fell by 9.7 million hours…
During the last three months of the Labor government, monthly hours worked increased by 17.8 million hours…
During the first three months of the Liberal government, monthly hours worked fell by 11.9 million hours…
Raw unemployment figures are always misleading because of the definition of unemployment used by the ABS (and internationally).
G’day Bacchus,
Totally agree that hours worked is a much more accurate reflection of what is happening on the employment front; hope you’ve checked your figures. But a fact is a fact is a fact. John was using the misleading raw employment figures as a comparison and he got it wrong. He should have used the hours worked figures to bolster his argument.
Stuff me where’s this media blackout just now Thursday ch7 news feature ,no one turned up to the Labor party’s meeting, this is a blatant attempt to herd the voters is it not!. Stuff me.can we recall the election as this is a dog of a low low act. VOTE LNP OUT we must. I don’t think they even panned the camera WTF.
All unemployment statistics are worthless while they don’t refer to employment that pays enough to live on , A few hours a week don’t do that. When will we get honest numbers on such serious concerns ?
Yep the liberals have stuffed our ABS also thats how they like it.The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says Federal Government budget cuts are making it impossible for staff to do their jobs properly.
“Surveys have been cut altogether, we’ve seen changes to the methodology for doing surveys that really aren’t working properly,” said the CPSU’s deputy national president Alistair Waters.
“Moving to trying to collect data online, that’s just leading to an awful lot of workarounds being done and often that’s just leading to interviewers having to go back into the field and re-interview people,” he added.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-09/abs-staff-say-data-undermined-by-funding-cuts/5801844
Win Jeavons, you are the winner.. The fudging of unemployment figures is just one of several hoaxes perpetrated by the conservative machine.
Ironically, no government will ever have the courage to report the unemployment rate honestly. I suspect its closer to 20% who are working enough hours to live on. We need a complete upheaval of our political system as its so dishonest.
Am I the only person still fuming about the latest Leigh Sales interview with Bill. Having so obviously been cautioned, she worked herself up into an anti-Bill snark in a matter of minutes. She really needs to go!
Roy Morgan also disagrees with the ABS methodology, so puts out their own figures:
http://www.roymorgan.com/morganpoll/unemployment/underemployment-estimates
For the Jan-Mar period, they show unemployment at 10.4% and underemployment at 19.1%
Dee, I’ll join you in your fuming. What ever happened to impartiality? I noted a change in the entire msm around that time, instead of reporting eg Bill in Brisbane, all we got was a series of one-sided abrasive comments which chose to ignore things that people really want to know about – detail of Turnbull’s policies eg. where is the money coming from? Abbott used to answer ‘by cutting Labor’s waste’, but this time around the msm hasn’t even bothered to ask the question.
Bacchus, that sounds to be far more accurate..Morgan’s have been pushing this, and well they should. We know that underemployment is rising massively, and it simply does not show in the ABS figures. Part-time used to be what you did while looking for full time..used to…
Angry Ant. Appreciate your comments. I will be more careful in the future. As you say credibility is most important. Getting things wrong reflects on both me and THE AIMN. Having said that the methodology the ABS use is to say the least questionable. I tend to go with Morgan who have it at around 10% I think.