Australian Voters – What are you afraid of?

June 25, 2016
Written by: Trish Corry
133 Replies

The tight polls indicate that a number of Australians are afraid of what a change of Government will bring. However, the thought of remaining with the Liberal Government makes me very afraid.

I still recall that day in early high school so vividly. I was yelled at, embarrassed to the point of tears and pulled out of class. I was ordered to sit on the verandah, because my parents could not afford the proper text book and the teacher decided I was not ‘ready to learn’. That experience, really drove home that the battlers could sit alone and cry red-faced in shame and be on the outside looking in, or they could use their voices to speak up.

I knew that public education in the early 1980s was considered free for all students and that I was entitled to an education. (My Mother had told me time and time again “you don’t need money to be clean, honest, intelligent, kind, well mannered, etc., etc.,)

That day, I furiously marched to the Principal’s office at lunchtime and I made a formal complaint. I stood up straight, looked him in the eye and asked him loud and clear, if I was allowed to be excluded from class because I could not afford the text book.

For a reason I cannot remember now, (possibly being thirteen and misunderstanding the political framework!) I threatened to report the school to the Governor General and guaranteed that he could stand me in front of class and ask me questions. I argued that it would be revealed that I knew more than most of the students who had text books. I was angry and offended that the school had drawn a line between my intelligence, my willingness to learn and the amount of money my parents had to buy a stupid text book!

After some scornful lecture reminding me that it was somehow a thirteen year old’s responsibility to ensure I had the right books for school and I was ‘ready to learn’, I was given a ‘loan’ of a second hand book. I had to promise I would protect this book with my dear life until the end of the year and I was curtly reminded that ‘forgetting to return the book would be considered stealing from the school.’ That was also a stark reminder of how a low socio-economic background was an immediate negative judgement of one’s morals.

Two things were important that day: A rule existed to prevent unfairness and I had the courage to speak up.

Rules and Societal Norms shape who we are

Legal rules and also societal norms shape who we are. They shape our nation. The democratic system of parliament is the system which enables the rules by which we live. If the school had a rule implemented that stated I could be excluded because I did not have the correct book, I could have sat on the verandah for the rest of the year. Not learning and not participating. Some kids would not have complained, as I did.

An important point is that not everyone has the same levels of self-efficacy to use a complaints system, or to even question if they are a victim of unfairness. The rules should be there to protect people so they do not need to have an inherent self-confidence to right any wrongs.

This is the reason I take politics and voting so seriously. The Liberals, time and time again implement ‘rules’ or laws, that not only make life hard for the disadvantaged, but also make it hard to complain and achieve fairness. We see this in Education, in Health, in Welfare and in unemployment programs to name a few.

This is the future under the Liberal Government I see and what we have seen for the past three years and in previous Liberal Governments state and federal. A system of rules, that makes life harder for battlers. A system of rules that makes it harder for battlers to have a voice. A system of rules that is the antecedent to unfairness and a divided society.

The Liberals seek to make that verandah I sat on, even wider between the thirteen year old me and inclusion in that classroom.

The Liberals seek to make rules, that would have the Principal tell the thirteen year old me, ‘that it was my fault, I can do better, get richer parents, shut up, sit down and do as you are told, or we may arrest you.’

The tight polls indicate that a number of Australians are afraid of what a change of Government will bring. However, the thought of remaining with the Liberal Government makes me very afraid:

I don’t want to live in a world where a Liberal Government works hard for a greater divide between the rich and the poor.

Where the practices and policies of the Liberals ensure the working class have no rights and can be replaced by foreign workers in the dead of night.

Where the practices and policies of the Liberals make the disadvantaged choose between seeing a doctor or buying food.

Where the ideology of the Liberals does not see marriage equality as a right for all citizens.

Where the Liberals favouritism of austerity is implemented in times of severe, global economic uncertainty.

Where a narrative which harms and stigmatises people is encouraged and supported and sometimes led by members of the Liberal party.

Where Liberal/Conservative/austerity-laden budgets are designed to give the wealthy money and see the poor grasping for the trickling down of the scraps.

Where the spending decisions of a Liberal Government produces a health system so underfunded that death of Australians is realistic consequence.

I don’t want to live in a country where a Liberal Government makes rules to make life harder for the battler or makes it harder to protest against unfairness.

Another term of The Liberals. That is what makes me very afraid.

If you are NOT voting 1 Labor, what are you afraid of?

Does ensuring Medicare is in the safe hands of the Labor party – the party that invented Medicare and the party that has fought against cuts to Medicare by the Liberals for years and years, make you afraid?
Does ensuring that all children have the funding they need for more individual attention to excel in school, make you afraid?
Does a party who fights for the rights of the worker, make you afraid?
Does ensuring that our health system is properly funded, so Doctors and Nurses can do their jobs properly, make you afraid?
Does ensuring transparency, KPIs for processing, independent overseer, child guardian, refugee tribunal and funding UNHCR camps to eradicate the need for boat journeys, make you afraid?
Does ensuring that the party that got us through the GFC unscathed, managing the economy in a transitional environment or global instability, make you afraid?
Does a history of delivering major reforms that have progressed this nation forward such as: NDIS, Enterprise Bargaining, Medicare, Superannuation and Gonski, make you afraid?
Does the underpinning ideology of a fair go, make you afraid?
Does ensuring that we have a fibre-laden, first rate technology National Broadband System, make you afraid?
Does every citizen having the equal right to marry, make you afraid?
Does the idea a party can have 100 positive policies, presented and costed before an election, make you afraid?

Vote Labor to put people first on July 2. Don’t be afraid.

Originally published on Polyfeministix

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133 comments

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MichaelJune 25, 2016 at 9:47 pm

What is it that we have that Liberals don’t have – we don’t have self loathing.

michael laceyJune 25, 2016 at 9:49 pm

The polls should not be close when you compare the lack of policy by the liberals with Labor, but I’m not one of the bewildered herd and it is the bewildered that decides the outcome! What ever happens we are going into a recession and if the coalition wins they will very quickly be exposed!

Gangey1959June 25, 2016 at 9:50 pm

Australians have had our heads shoved up our own arses (so that we cannot see reality for what it is?) by the lnp dickheads under coward, the mad monk and now turdbott.
We are afraid to collectively pull them back out for why ???????????????????????????
The shit will wash off. Eventually.
It’s not that hard.
Just DON’T VOTE LIBERAL !

Carol TaylorJune 25, 2016 at 10:27 pm

Unfortunately very little gets into the msm about policies, preferring instead to concentrate on personalities (manufactured perceptions in many instances). I also think that those who would stick with the LNP are relying on the Senate to stop many of the nasties from getting through – pity if they’re wrong this time around, as with such a large number of Independents running who knows what may or may not get through eg the $5.00 co-payment still on the books and costed in by Morrison.

Matters NotJune 25, 2016 at 10:49 pm

No Carol, the proposed co-payment was/is $7.00 A 40% increase above your rather modest assertion.

And while I hope like hell for the election of a Labor government, albeit via Green preferences, I think this article ought to come with a disclaimer, along the lines of ‘This is a .. on behalf of …

There’s so many assertions that just won’t stand up to any serious analysis.

But I proceed on the assumption that most readers here are ‘informed’ and therefore reject ‘bullshit’, regardless of source.

MichaelWJune 25, 2016 at 11:12 pm

Wow, go Trish.
What is not reported in the msm is all the cuts by this toxic government to community services, legal rights Aboriginals etc etc etc. These are cuts that do not need to go through the Senate.
Lord help us if the liberals win both houses in the coming election. The divide between haves and have nots will increase dramatically.
In fact if these clowns win I will seriously consider moving back to my homeland, which I haven’t lived in for over 45 years.

@RosemaryJ36June 26, 2016 at 2:19 am

Unfortunately too many people will not vote Labor because they do not trust Bill Shorten. How they can see Turnbull as trustworthy is beyond me but there it is!

PK1765June 26, 2016 at 3:52 am

There policies do NOT match the Australia I want to see, SO I’m NOT voting for them!! I am NOT AFRAID to VOTE for the party whose POLICIES and for the Type of Australia I want to live in and for my children and grand children to grow up in, and both the Labor and Liberal do not represent the future of the Australia I want. Too many people are afraid to step out from under ths shadowof these two, we need a change and real change can only happen by those BRAVE enough to say NO you don’t represent me or mine and where I want to be. I am one of many who have had enough and am saying NO, not good enough.

DuffaJune 26, 2016 at 4:15 am

I agree with @RosemaryJ36 there are some who never vote for Bill Shorten. That is a personal thing and would be hard to change. Others will vote for Liberals no matter what. Imagine continuing to vote for a party that sent our young people to war over non-existent WMDs – I can’t imagine a greater betrayal of trust.
Many of those who are afraid, are worried about 1. debt and 2. The perception of dysfunction and chaos of the previous Labor government. These are real worries based on some truth exaggerated into myths.
The govt own actions should have dismissed some of the worry over debt and Labor’s united team since the last election should have reduced fears of dysfunction. But people can hold on negative images for a long time.
I think it is harder to get people to take risks than to accept the same old same old especially when you don’t tell me what the cost is.
(remember last election the adults were going to return strong government we no changes to ….)
Change can take a lot of momentum and/or excitement as with Whitlam or great boredom in the last days of Howard. And it is very hard to keep of ‘excitement’ and people are too ready to blame when the golden age doesn’t readily appear
The Liberals are seen as the natural party of government not because they are born to rule but because they are seen as safe, boring even, risk averse like most of us, but on the other hand we can never expect them to do much to improve things either always waiting to see what other countries do before acting – a safe but dead hand of conservatism

zJune 26, 2016 at 7:58 am

nothing to be afraid of, Vote Labor to put people first on July 2. because that pathology bulk billing just been freshly cut off will start effective from 1st of July, anyone who been asked pay extra to test blood, or to take a x-ray photo etc, that extra cost won’t happen under Labor

babyjewels10June 26, 2016 at 8:28 am

PK1765 totally agree. The two party system has been toxic for a long time. We need big change in Australia if we’re to honestly call ourselves a democracy. While vested interests control the way the two major party act, while lies from polliticians are deemed acceptable, and go undisputed, we do not have a democracy. While governments act outside of the interests of the people and the environment, we do not have a democracy. I don’t expect it to happen quickly, but more and more people are seeing the two party tango as the road to ruination.

Barry Thompson.June 26, 2016 at 8:30 am

Trish, your story brought tears to my eyes.
Well done you, at 13 years of age, asserting yourself so bravely.
A great article.

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 8:59 am

ALP member Trish Corry asks provocatively If you are not voting Labor What are you afraid of?
I am a lifelong social democrat who voted Labor longer than most AIMN readers have been alive.
I have not voted Labor 1 in this election and am unlikely to do so ever again.
What am I afraid of?
Because I studied this field carefully over many years I am afraid that their climate change and energy policies are not fit for purpose. Just as surely as their opponents the hapless and hopeless Coalition, Labor’s policies in these fields secure the imminent environmentally driven destruction of the Australian economy and the social dislocation that goes along with this. Of course their policies in these areas are better than the Coalition’s but neither of the old Party groupings will save us from climate armageddon.
Because I am a human being with a functioning sense of morality I am afraid that Labor’s asylum seeker policies are socially, morally, legally and economically unsupportable.
Because I am a human being with a functioning sense of social justice I am afraid that Labor’s trade and economic policies generally are unsupportable. This is because of the mountain of research that has shown that their policies in these spaces are just as effective as those of their opponents at driving the widening gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in this country.
Because I am a realist I acknowledge that post-election government will be formed by one side of our tottering geriatric political duopoly or the other.
Because the policies of the ALP in general are preferable to those of the coalition and because I live in a safe Labor seat I have voted for a genuinely progressive Party whose policies don’t have the shortcomings I list above and placed a number two next to the ALP candidate. Thus Jenny Macklin will probably be re-elected and I don’t have to tacitly offer my support to these policies that I object strongly to. As the Greens are running candidates in all lower house seats any progressive voter has this possibility available to them – to vote for a suite of consistently social democratic progressive policies and (unless you live in Melbourne or perhaps Batman) simultaneously:
Vote for the election of a Labor government.
Strengthen the hand of those within the ALP working for change in these policy spaces.
You know it makes sense. It is a very liberating experience. I recommend it. Go ahead – WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

keertiJune 26, 2016 at 9:13 am

Absolutely agree Douglass and I used to be a TWU delegate and until ten years ago a rusted on Labor voter. It was Rudds duplicity in his “PM” election that caused me to change. It is unfortunate that many people who think like you and I re still scared to “loose” their vote if they put Greens No.1.

FreethinkerJune 26, 2016 at 9:26 am

The ALP have far to many “Simon Crean” members, far to many on the left that do not look after the interest of the workers, far to many that their seat in the ALP is above the interest of the people.
The Coalition introduce laws that are very unpopular and when the ALP is in opposition it fight against that laws.
When the ALP return to power said that there is to hard to remove the laws, that “the train left the station” and the laws stay.
I am not afraid to vote for the Greens in the senate and I am hope that in the future my electorate will have a Green candidate for the HOR.

corvus boreusJune 26, 2016 at 9:46 am

In my electorate, the local Labor lad is polling abysmally (14% primary), and the only option with a vaguely realistic chance of displacing the incumbent coalition member, independent candidate Rob Oakeshott (25.6% primary), is being preferenced quite lowly by both the Labor and Greens candidates.
I am afraid that Cowper will remain a safe coalition seat.

Bighead1883June 26, 2016 at 10:16 am

I can bet you London to a brick on that the teacher who sent you outside was/is a Liberal Party voter

The conservative sense of fair play is to victimize a victim [no matter what the victim has suffered]

1- You were raped because you asked for it in how you dress
2- You were assaulted because you hung with the wrong crowd
3- your car was stolen because you parked it in an unsafe place
4- You`re sick because your parents can`t afford to take you to the doctors

We see this today with Tories and any LNP politician being interviewed in that to them it`s always the victim`s fault,so let`s into them some more
The 60 Minutes and Murdoch “dole bludgers”attacks and woe behold if you are a poor kid whose family home is repossessed because dad lost his job,the schoolyard bullying would be/is horrendous

I too am an ALP member Trish Corry and I`m glad to see someone write a piece showing there`s nothing to be afraid of to vote Labor as it is they who are the alternative government

If the LNP prevail even without a Senate majority they`ll destroy and erode through privatisations all our commonwealth and institutions

Personally Douglas Evans,I don`t give a damn for your thoughts or writings [you`re rude and pompous] and like so many Greens you would rather see the LNP triumph

jantoniusJune 26, 2016 at 11:16 am

That’s reductionist twaddle.
There are a quite a few arseholes who vote Labor

jantoniusJune 26, 2016 at 11:45 am

“LNP and Greens angling to oust Wayne Swan from marginal seat”

I see the ABC keeping up their Tory mischief-making.
There are photos and election guff – including equating Labor monitoring with Parakeelia. Interesting to see what Parakeelia means to ‘our ABC’. Pretty much what NBN means.

The very last line, under all this, informs:
“the Greens have thrown their preferences behind Mr Swan”.

Wayne Swan was a very competent Treasurer, who saw the country through the GFC.
Just imagine the consequences if the Libs were in power.
The big pity is that he started going on about the prize of so-called ‘surplus budgets’.

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 11:50 am

Well, in reading these comments I have had my dreams dashed, I am NOT an ALP member, I simply work on common sense, and thought that my fellow Australians did also. I have seen some of the silliest uninformed crazy comments regarding the Labor Party that ever I have seen. The LNP are doing their level best to crust the everyday Australian, and from some of the comments here, some people are badly failing to recognize what is actually happening to them via LNP cuts to health and education, old people’s nursing homes and almost every aspect of our lives. It may not be apparent to some yet, but wait until they are diagnosed with a grave illness or they get old or their children or grand children can’t get into a State school because federal funding has been cut. They will squeal then, but it will be too late then, Medicare will be gone, the big corporations will still be paying between zero and 5% tax, and society will continue to fall into a recession, then see how your LNP govt treats you. My wife and I live debt free, we own our own home and only bills we receive are Westnet and rates, but we still care about the young and our own and others health and education. Some here seem to lack empathy or compassion for their fellow Australian. Do those of you who fit this description understand what the lack of empathy and compassion for your fellow Australian actually makes you? The answer is a psychopath you should seek help. I have always voted for progressive political parties, but this time there is only one party that can be trusted to give the population a fair go, and that’s the Labor Party!

Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 12:26 pm

What are voters afraid of? There have been three Labor govts in the lifetime of most Australians, Whitlam, Hawke/Keating and Rudd/Gillard.

All three were economic disasters.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 12:34 pm

I think this video was made for people just like you Neil.

jimJune 26, 2016 at 12:57 pm

Big Liberal LIE;http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-14/koukoulas-the-better-economic-manager/4427680..
The facts of the budget show that the current government’s budgetary footprint on the economy is small, running at the( lowest level in 35 years). The current small government is made up of both low tax receipts and (record cuts in government spending) ok 2012 but this lie goes on .Vote LNP Last. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2817-right-wing-governments-increase-suicide-rates/

Kaye LeeJune 26, 2016 at 1:01 pm

The current government has seen the largest expansion of private household debt, beating that observed under the Howard government.

Record low wages and income growth coupled with record increase in household debt. Not really something you’d want to boast about.

mathewJune 26, 2016 at 1:14 pm

You only follow the ‘2 party system”
There are other parties that have better policies than lnp and lab combined!
Xanaphon (I think that’s how it’s spelled)
Will block the tpp!
Sex party primary policy is medical cannabis, alongside law reform party and hemp party
Health party supports natural medicine
Motoring party supports fairer road use

Kaye LeeJune 26, 2016 at 1:21 pm

The reality is that the next government will either be Labor or Coalition and, in the event of a hung Parliament, the Coalition will remain in government as Independents have ruled out a formal alliance with anyone and Labor has ruled out an alliance with the Greens. That is what will happen regardless of what you wish. Unless Labor get 76 seats in the HoR we will likely be condemned to three years of austerity for working people to pay for tax cuts to business and the wealthy and the privatisation of as much as they can get away with.

Michael TaylorJune 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

Can anyone remember what the DD election was called for?

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

Kaye Lee, I fear you are right in a further LNP Government.I am currently on annual leave so as to work on prepolling but have taken it as a perfect time to resign from the NSW health care system.I dread what healthcare for individuals will be like by 2019 under a further 3 years of Liberal rule

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:27 pm

mathew
Which of those parties you listed will form a goverment next week or even get a say

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 1:28 pm

Hi Matthew – thank you for your comment. Possibly I should have been very explicit in the article that I am talking about the lower house – the house which will form Government. Only one of two major parties will Govern – either with or without the support of independents /minors in the even of a hung parliament. It is more likely that a hung parliament (if the scenario occurred) that they would support the current Govt for stability, rather than a change. These parties only need a vote of confidence, not a formal alliance with the Major party they support.

So if we bring ourselves to the here and now, in six days time the election will be complete. On July 3 we will wake up and understand what we have collectively voted for.

Considering the argument that I am for a left wing Govt – I want the LNP out – the only other party who can do that and Govern (make our rules, laws and set our agenda is Labor). Then considering that the polls are very tight and this election could be won on just one or two seats, then how does a reducing Labor seats and replacing with independent seats, remove the LNP Govt?

I support various independent voices in the senate on single issues. Single issue parties cannot Govern for all Australians. So far besides Labor, I have chosen the Sex Party (I want LBGTI issues pushed). I am waiting for more info on Mature Australians Party (as I want pensions raised and better work options for this group) but I their economic statement leaves me concerned, as it appears more in line with Turnbull.

I am interested to understand how people see that an Independent or Minor party in a Turnbull, conservative Govt, will be better for Australia, than a Majority Labor Govt? (In the Lower house, not the Senate).

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 1:31 pm

Michael pick me!! Pick me!! Sir!! Sir!! Pick me!!
It was about arguing that we should be able to give construction workers and apprentices no rights and enable a star chamber style enquiry that could see a 17 year old jailed, to benefit the construction Industry.

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:35 pm

The Australian Federal Government has cut Aged Care funding by $3.1 billion since 2014. The cuts have significantly reduced funding for services to the frailest older Australians.

Today, aged care is a vital issue for some 3.6 million Australians aged 65 and over. In 10 years, this number is projected to increase to almost 5 million, an increase of 37 per cent.

https://www.change.org/p/reverse-the-aged-care-cuts

WakeupJune 26, 2016 at 1:58 pm

They’re afraid because the bleeding heart leftist morons keep promoting the LNP as being supporters and apologist’s for Islam. The continuing pathetic dribble and their desire to see the country flooded with parasitic economical refugees and asylum seekers whilst aligning themselves with Labor is the root cause why people will vote for the LNP. Don’t condemn fellow Australians, condemn yourselves for exhibiting sheer stupidity.

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 1:59 pm

Trish, you and I have had many discussions and I like and am in full favor of this article, however I would urge both you and nurses1968 to NOT argue with these uninformed tory trolls, if they are that stupid that they will vote the LNP back, even by default then they are not worth arguing with, as the old saying goes don’t argue with an idiot, they will bring you down to their level, and they are much better and have had more experience at arguing than you have. Hopefully a new Labor government July 2. I have heard that 60% more Queenslanders have pre-polled this time than ever before, hopefully that is because people are keen to vote to rid ourselves of this cruel and mean privatizing govt.

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:11 pm

Wakeup, I am a Leftie alright but I’m no supporter of Islamic Immigration, we already have hundreds of thousands of LNP allowed 457 visa holders in Australia taking jobs away from Aussies, you would have to be insane to want more refugees in Australia, so please don’t speak for me, generalizations are a trap for young players. I’ve not heard Labor has changed its policy on immigration, if you recall it was Tony Bourke as Immigration Minister who founded Manus Island in PNG. Some candidates may not like the policy but they are bound by party solidarity to carry out the wishes of the National Conference of the Australian Labor Party which is to have offshore detention.

Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 2:14 pm

I think this video was made for people just like you Neil.

I looked at the video and it just confirms my beliefs that politics is just like religion. People believe what they what to believe. I think you either have a correct belief or incorrect belief.

But the video made one factual statement that lefties always make which is wrong. Howard got elected during the biggest mining boom in history. This is wrong. The biggest mining boom and best terms of trade in Australian history happened from 2008-2013 ie under Rudd/Gillard

http://www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/commodity-prices.html

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:25 pm

One pathetic economic indicator Neil, you can cherry pick anything to back up any argument, a very foolish demonstration of ignorance.

George OrwellJune 26, 2016 at 2:34 pm

For Neil
Had John Howard done one Skerrick of infrastructure like funding city railway crossings bottlenecks repairs and fixing dangerous ones across Australia? He would have had some praise from me. The only infrastructure Howard did was implement; a subterfugel American Style Extreme Right Wing Ideology on an unsuspecting naive Australia public. Anyway all his good fortune was set up by Hawk and Keating and he did zero with it. Apart from funding roads, apportioning rebates and funding mining and Big Business in general. He achieved zero in his time for our people.

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 2:47 pm

I have made this comment previously and I stand by by it. If Trish Corry or Victoria Rollison were to reproduce 3 little pigs as an article there are certain gutter snipes that would jump in with an attack on them. One in particular just makes throwaway critical statements and the squeals like one of the 3 little pigs if challenged. These people certainly are trolls out to attack Labor or Labor supporters at any given opportunity yet half don’t even have the courage of their convictions to stand up for the Party they support rather they play the independent game.
Good luck Trish but I don’t know why you bother
It is usually you they come after not the article content,usually because they have no answers

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm

The possibility of a hung parliament shouldn’t alarm anyone. What the old parties say they will or will not do in the case of a hung parliament before the election often bears no resemblance to what they actually do when/if it comes to pass. Formal coalitions at State level between Labor and Greens have previously occurred (twice) but (from memory) not ended well. At a federal level, a recent Labor minority government supported by a single Green and a couple of independents is well regarded by those who inhabit this site. No-one at this stage can have the faintest idea whether, faced with the choice between Opposition and coalition/minority government, Labor (despite their vehement denials) would consider this possibility or not. I attended an ABC forum on the problems with our democracy (specifically our old parties) the other night. Labor thinker Nicholas Reece made a lot of sense to me. One thing he said which I entirely agree with is that given the continuing slide in primary votes for both the old parties, the possibility of future progressive government in this country depends on Labor and the Greens finding sufficient common ground for constructive co-operation. Will this happen this time? Perhaps not. It might depend on whether the Greens break through for their second Victorian seat or not. Will it happen soon? It better, otherwise the possibility for left-of-centre governments in this country is increasingly bleak.

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:50 pm

George, You are more or less spot on mate. You did forget to mention that “noddy” got his surplus by selling off yet another government service “Telstra” and they will still be in the privatization business until every government function is privatized….Medicare anyone?

townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:54 pm

nurses1968 I like your style, you too are spot on. In fact I have no argument with you, Trish, Victoria or Kate, all very sensible people who use common sense, let’s hope there are enough of us distributed in enough federal seats to elect a new Labor government.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 2:55 pm

Thanks for your support and kind words Nurse. It is appreciated.

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 3:22 pm

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm
It might depend on whether the Greens break through for their second Victorian seat or not.
What difference would that make as the Greens would still only be 1.3% of MPS

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 3:37 pm

nurses1968
Sorry but what is MPS? Is that their representation in the house 2 seats out of 150? Yes I guess it is. Well it could be that the second seat is Batman replacing the hapless and deeply unpopular David Feeney in which case Labor would be one seat down the Greens one seat up which might mean Labor plus the two Greens, the independent Wilkie and perhaps Oakeshott?? would make enough to govern. It might be that with Labor preferences and those of the Australian Equality Party the useless Coalition drone Kelly O’Dwyer can be tipped out in Higgins. Perhaps it will be both seats plus a couple of independents that might form the basis for a collaboration. I’m sure you would prefer a majority but the simple truth is that the two party system is decaying and broader co-operation will be increasingly a requirement of government.

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 4:10 pm

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 3:37 pm
It was meant to be MPs but I’m sure you knew that as you answered the question as to representation.
IF and that was deliberate use of capital letters the Greens did manage 2 representatives in the House {I guess you DID mean House as in House of Reps as opposed to your house my house} How many years will it have taken them to reach that pinnacle? At that rate the 22nd century would be a likely time for them to be nearing some sort of chance at a majority in the House

Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 4:18 pm

broader co-operation will be increasingly a requirement of government

Indeed. And the ‘percentage’ matters not a jot. If the ‘balance of power’ rests with just one member, his/her power is immense. Remember former Australian Senator Brian Harradine.

Lets not forget that the major political parties are also riven by factions. Some National Party members absolutely hate their Liberal ‘allies’ but they ‘hold hands’ in public in pursuit of a ‘common’ cause. As you say ‘broader co-operation’ is probably the way forward.

RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:27 pm

Yelling at people about what they’re supposedly afraid of is probably the most absurd political technique I’ve ever seen. Good lawdy From Labor, no less. Good lawdy lawdy lawd.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 4:36 pm

Yelling? I certainly don’t want what you’re smoking

Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 4:53 pm

The only infrastructure Howard did was implement; a subterfugel American Style Extreme Right Wing Ideology on an unsuspecting naive Australia public.

I have seen comments like that since 2007 but have never seen any evidence to back it up. Howard/Costello did spend

http://www.budget.gov.au/2005-06/ministerial/html/dotars-19.htm

AusLink

Australian Government investment in rail and road infrastructure in 2005-06 is $2.2 billion — a figure that will grow even higher in future years as the Australian Government continues to implement AusLink, the National Transport Plan. AusLink has radically transformed how Australia plans and implements the rollout of essential transport infrastructure, directly linking rail and road improvements with industry needs and growth.

AusLink Black Spot Programme

The Australian Government will extend the AusLink Black Spot Programme until June 2008.

The Australian Government will spend an extra $45 million per year in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to extend the Black Spot Programme, which provides funding to improve dangerous sections of our roads

RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:53 pm

“Can anyone remember what the DD election was called for?”

You can read it officially for yourselves:

http://web.archive.org/web/20160508072551/https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/IPS/Documents%20relating%20to%20calling%20of%20the%20double%20dissolution%20election.pdf

RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:59 pm

“Yelling? I certainly don’t want what you’re smoking”

Fair enough, because it makes me see an overuse of bold, italics, caps lock and “medium” size font for no reason. Whatever. Apparently that’s what folk want now – to be visually yelled at.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 5:22 pm

Really? You’re dreamin’

RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 5:28 pm

Whatever. At least I don’t need Ctrl + to read it.

nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 5:39 pm

Thank you Kaye Lee it seems as if you say it, it’s ok if we say it we are raving Labor rusted ons {I’m Socialist Alliance actually paid up but will be joining Labor on starting new job}

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 7:23 pm

nurses1968
Two seats or maybe three is the absolute most anyone might expect the Greens to snag in the lower house this election and I’m not that hopeful of any advance on the one they currently have. You’re right. I don’t expect to live long enough to see the Greens holding a Parliamentary majority in their own right. However that is beside the point. I think it is quite likely that I will live to see a time when no party achieving a majority in their own right becomes the new normal. It is quite likely that I will live long enough to see both Labor and Coalition with a primary vote around 30% or a tick higher (Labor is virtually there already) and the Greens with a primary vote of something like 15% nationally. Some centre-right grouping will take let’s say 10%. NXT currently has pole position to fill that space once occupied by the Democrats and most recently occupied by PUP. The remaining 15% (under this scenario) would be shared among various independents and micro-parties (Katter, Wilkie, McGowan, Socialist Alliance, Liberal Democrats, DLP and Sex Party are current examples). We are not very far from this situation at the moment and the trend to this sort of fragmentation is unmistakable. Under this circumstance Labor and/or Coalition will increasingly need to collaborate, negotiate their way to a majority if they are not to be completely at the mercy of preference flows from this last group. Mandatory distribution of preferences will always produce a winner but a sane political party would wish to take control of that process as far as it is possible well prior to an election. That is what I am talking about.

WRT to what deals Parties might or might not strike after an election. History shows that what they say before an election does not necessarily have anything to do with what they actually do after it. State Labor has more than once reversed their position on the accursed Greens after an election and the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government did pretty well in minority with the support of a single Green and a brace of better than average independents. Politics is about getting power. You can’t do anything if you haven’t got it.

cornlegendJune 26, 2016 at 9:24 pm

Biggy,
good if we could win them twice as per your list , 😀

Still well short.
Labor needs to gain a uniform swing of 4.0% to form majority government. If the swings are uniform, Labor needs close to 51% of the vote after preferences to win
I’m still in the LNP to win by 7 to 9 seats camp,
Trish summed up what needs to be done,
Comments show why it won’t and it won’t be just the rusted on LNP voters getting them there

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 9:49 pm

Thanks heaps Biggy! Do you have any info on Capricornia? The LNP MP only won by 1305 votes last election (50.77%) I also want Zac Beers to win and also Evan Hughes in Wentworth.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 9:52 pm

hahahah I love, love, love this!!! I grew up listening to horse races, it was what my dad loved to do. I think there will be swings in QLD in seats they are not counting as marginal. My only concern is SA and Victoria.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:11 pm

Oh really? Oh that is exciting about Herbert. I want Dawson to fall too. George Christensen is not fit for office. We have so many great people. So many! Please check out Zac Beers in Flynn – rising star for sure!

Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Do you have any info on Capricornia?

Yep! And it comes in ‘multiples’ as well. ? ? ? And it’s very reliable alsol. ? ? ? ? ? ?

Shakes head.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:14 pm

I have many love hearts for Evan (not as many as Jason Clare though lol) Evan sure is something else. He just deserves to win! I share his stuff as much as I can.

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:15 pm

Sorry, I pressed send before I responded to your joke on Twitter – that is hilarious!

Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 10:25 pm

Latest (public) polling, here:

https://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2016/06/26/galaxy-50-50-3/

Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:29 pm

Thanks. I will be very surprised if we do not take Capricornia. We are a traditional Labor seat and even with Labor being so hated last election (which we were!) it was so close.

JexpatJune 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

Here’s my prediction.

If Labor doesn’t form government, then cowardly bullies like Bighead, Corn and “nurses” will be back attempting to blame the Greens for their own failures.

Ever as always.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that- but if it does, then- just watch how they go.

cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 6:12 am

JetpatJune 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

Here’s my prediction.
Even if Labor won they would still have whingers like you shit potting them at every opportunity and dreaming up conspiracies
Ever as always.
curious about the “cowardly bullies” bit though

babyjewels10June 27, 2016 at 7:22 am

Oh that’s a given, Jexpat.

Ross CornwillJune 27, 2016 at 7:43 am

Ok here’s one to go on with. As most would know I am Labor and always have been. I would love to see Labor win, but with the financial storms looming in the future in might be a good one to loose. But there again what would happen to Australia.

Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 8:08 am

Today’s Bludgertrack has the 2pp as follows:
LNP 50.6%
ALP 49.4%
Seat prediction:
LNP 78 (+2 from last week, -12 from election)
ALP 68 (-2 from last week, +12 from election)
Looks to me like LNP re-elected with rampant right wing and the Nats calling the shots and a diverse and bolshie Senate blocking the worst damage. In other words more of the same crap. The global economic/environmental storm is gathering. The ship is leaking. The crew is partying on. Will we still be afloat when the next election comes around?

cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 8:20 am

Douglas Evans
Looks like you you can get back to enjoying your grandkids or whatever Doug, or whatever you said you were retreating to after 2013 to sit it out,
Me and the missus are taking off to tick off all the remainders of our bucket list if the inevitable LNP Government comes to fruition
“Will we still be afloat when the next election comes around?”
good question
2019 might mean a new bucket list.
I can’t bear to hang around and watch the carnage the working class will suffer and the sad part is, given their voting power the pain will be self imposed

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:23 am

Surely those working people voting for The Devil have not been ill lately or don’t have school children and seen the cuts to education from The Devils?

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:28 am

BH1883, I sincerely hope your bet pays off for you, and for us.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:29 am

Trish, I’m also hoping Capricornia comes back to us, as well as Herbert.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:37 am

Nurses1968, Let’s hope Shorten puts in the performance of his life this week and that Labor have something to spring on the tories on the second last day…

Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 8:38 am

cornlegend
Your plan for the next few years is the same as mine. These days I try not to focus on Oz politics (but regularly fail). The downward spiral is too obvious and too painful to watch. I agree completely with your last comment: ‘the sad part is, given their voting power the pain will be self imposed.’

Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 8:40 am

Jexpat June 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

I`m no coward,I`ll take you on Jetpak,I`ll just slip down to the moron store for an appropriate outfit so that I`m down to your level

townsvilleblog June 27, 2016 at 8:29 am

Thanks and kudos to you

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:41 am

Howard had no qualms about privatizing Telstra to get his surplus so that being the case we will be extremely lucky to have Medicare at the next election if the tories win.

cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 8:55 am

Dougy,
Time to see the Terracotta Army, head for Prince of Wales Island {Port Protection, fav spot on the planet} Oak Island,Easter Island and a few places like Tuvalu, Kirabati and other places that are unlikely to be around in the not too distant future

Just on that, WHEN will governments start to address the likely influx of Climate Change refugees?

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:11 am

Cornlegend, have you or anyone else ever discovered why working people vote against themselves by voting tory?

jantoniusJune 27, 2016 at 9:13 am

A tipping point seems to be Unions.
How many people who live in relative affluence because of a 100+ years of advocacy and support by employee organisations – don’t like Unions, want them curbed?
They believe passionately in the Media portrayal of Union staff as corrupt; while they have little active interest in anything else – not Medicare, not health and education funding, not NBN, not climate.
They treat the exposure of business corruption as just another News story. They don’t categorise these stories like they do anything alleged against a Unionist.
And they are very defiantly content to reap the benefits of expert Union representation for members – which also gains them benefits and some security, for free. If their selfishness and inconsistency is mentioned to them, they scream ‘human rights’, as if they were ‘the Lefties’ they ridicule.
What to do about them? The MSM won’t help.
If Labor could dilute this toxicity they might be in power more often.

Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:14 am

cornlegend
Where are Prince of Wales Island, Oak island? Never heard of them. Climate change refugees? Won’t notice ’em until they’re banging down the door. On the other hand many of the African refugees we already take are really climate change refugees displaced by the apparently endless drought at home. It’s not all about rising sea levels although that will displace many millions after we are gone.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:16 am

Recalcitrant you certainly live up to your name, and then some.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:25 am

No, you are wrong, the right wing unions give all unions a bad name, I was in the ASU and they couldn’t have done more for me, they were brilliant, it’s the right wing anti-member unions such as the AWU and SDA who give the union movement a bad name.

OsirisJune 27, 2016 at 9:26 am

Townsvilleblog the LNP hopes to remain in government mainly on the back of spin, definitely not for offering better policies. Their propaganda is akin to Gurdjieff’s story found in Ouspensky’s book “In Search Of The Miraculous”

“There was an evil magician. He lived deep in the mountains and the forests, and he had thousands of sheep. But the problem was that the sheep were afraid of the magician because every day the sheep were seeing that one of them was being killed for his breakfast, another was being killed for his lunch. So they ran away from the magician’s ranch and it was a difficult job to find them in the vast forest. Being a magician, he used magic.

He hypnotized all the sheep and suggested to them first of all that they were immortal and that no harm was being done to them when they were skinned, that, on the contrary, it would be very good for them and even pleasant; secondly he suggested that the magician was a good master who loved his flock so much that he was ready to do anything in the world for them; and in the third place he suggested to them that if anything at all were going to happen to them it was not going to happen just then, at any rate not that day, and therefore they had no need to think about it.

He then told different sheep…to some, “You are a man, you need not be afraid. It is only the sheep who are going to be killed and eaten, not you. You are a man just like I am.” Some other sheep were told, “You are a lion — only sheep are afraid. They escape, they are cowards. You are a lion; you would prefer to die than to run away. You don’t belong to these sheep. So when they are killed it is not your problem. They are meant to be killed, but you are the most loved of my friends in this forest.” In this way, he told every sheep different stories, and from the second day, the sheep stopped running away from the house.

They still saw other sheep being killed, butchered, but it was not their concern. Somebody was a lion, somebody was a tiger, somebody was a man, somebody was a magician and so forth. Nobody was a sheep except the one who was being killed. This way, without keeping servants, he managed thousands of sheep. They would go into the forest for their food, for their water, and they would come back home, believing always one thing: “It is some sheep who is going to be killed, not you. You don’t belong to the sheep. You are a lion — respected, honoured, a friend of the great magician.” The magician’s problems were solved and the sheep never ran away again.”

cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 9:31 am

Duugy
Prince of Wales Island Alaska,Port Protection is a natural beauty part of Prince of Wales Oak Island Nova Scotia, Canada, a bloody intriguing place {google the Money Pit} quite enjoy mysteries like that, Easter Island statues, Machu Picchu Terracotta Army etc.
My point on Tuvalu, Kirabati and the like is, what are they gonna do when they turn up? you can hardly send them back to where they {once} came from

Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:51 am

jantonius
I agree, but the problem is not only with ungrateful, greedy workers. It is also created by those few unions whose leaders have so disgracefully rorted their responsibilities giving fresh material for the big end of town and their media chums to feed into the echo chamber. Their crimes may be small compared to the gigantic rorting of the tax system at the top but they have done enormous damage to the progressive cause and deserve to be condemned.

Further, given a choice between jobs for members now and the greater good, unions inevitably will go for the former and unhesitatingly use their power within the ALP to force the Party to support this. Daniel Andrews’ idiotic mishandling of the CFA dispute, which is sure to damage Labor’s chances in Victoria this election, has union fingerprints all over it. The CFMEU almost forced the incoming Victorian Labor government to support the construction of the massively damaging (environmentally and economically) East-West tunnel link here in Melbourne. I have no idea how or if the ALP can resolve its relationship with the Union movement from which it emerged initially, but as well as a major source of support (without which the Party would presumably collapse) it is also a major hindrance to its electoral prospects.

MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 9:55 am

Oh, and of course, (the only way) they will come by …….. boat!

Then what?

Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:56 am

cornlegend
I should have remembered. Years ago I visited briefly a couple of the islands off Vancouver – lovely part of the world. I’ll be recommending that the grandchildren think about emigrating to Canada. Plenty of room to move north as global warming kicks in.

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 10:13 am

What are voters worried about? How about this?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/last-children-released-from-australian-detention-centres/news-story/db28676fea626281162f8960168449e5

EVERY child locked up in Australian immigration detention centres is free for the first time since Labor’s shameful record of 8469 kids being incarcerated under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

People are worried the boats will start up again. I suspect we have spent something like $15B on a problem Howard had solved and restarted by the ALP.

We stop the boats and take our refugees from UNHCR camps. And there is no way a Coalition govt would have locked up 8,469 children like the ALP did.

MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 10:42 am

Labor fell for the two card LNP goading as a temporary measure which LNP made into a permanent shrine of remembrance – no person (Labor and ordinary (including you, Neil) LNP, except for so called Christians Abbott, Morrison, Dutton and hypnotised/blackmailed supporters) with any decency contemplated that it would lead to what we have now.

Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 10:50 am

townsvilleblog June 27, 2016 at 9:11 am

Religion is what makes people vote Tory
Even today the Happy Clappers at the AOG and other Evangelicals are telling their congregations to vote LNP

Years agos when I was a teen in the 60`s groups of us went to many church assemblies to see what they preached on a Saturday or Sunday and around election time they ALL preached to their congregations to vote LCP [Liberal Country Party back then}

Bob Santamaria was the political Catholic who helped destroy Labor by backing Vince Gair to form the DLP {Democratic Labour Party} and Catholics Australia wide used to listen to Bob Santamaria on TV every Saturday espousing the horrors of Communism and the Labor Party
This lead to ALP LOTO Arthur Calwell being shot and wounded in 1966

Keith Murdoch formed the IPA and began telling Bob Menzies what to do with the latter forming the Liberal Party the year after Keith formed the IPA

Its easy to see how Rupert took it all to the next level with the IPA and his sister Anne {Kantor} was involved the Lefty think tank [opposing IPA and still does] The Australia Institute

Murdoch money helped fund both these institutes for a long time,then Gough Whitlam came along

People were brainwashed by their grandparents parents and MSM into voting against their own best interests

jantoniusJune 27, 2016 at 11:06 am

Is anyone interested in answering Doug?
I’ve got a job to do.
Please do not abuse him.

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 12:00 pm

– no person (Labor and ordinary (including you, Neil) LNP, except for so called Christians Abbott, Morrison, Dutton and hypnotised/blackmailed supporters) with any decency contemplated that it would lead to what we have now.

Well i do not agree. People warned Labor if they abolished the Pacific Solution what could happen. I do remember Labor announcing what they were going to do with great enjoyment saying how much better people they were than the Coalition. 50,000 boat people latter costing us billions i still don’t think Labor had learned

Same goes for the budget. Labor State, Federal, whatever always trashes the budget. All the GFC did was speed up what always happens

W.....June 27, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Yes i am afraid of sodomite freaks destroying the sanctity of marriage

MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 12:30 pm

And how will they do that?

Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 12:32 pm

Here you go Trish Corry

@LesStonehouse @AntonyGreenABC Have it from impeccable sources true 2PP position is ALP 53% LNP 47% this trend will be revealed by Friday

Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 1:19 pm

W…..June 27, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Tell us all here about your fear,you sound positively sanctimonious and I for one would like to know what your are afraid of

Is it sodomite priests marrying hetero couples?

Is it closet gays who are married with children?

The questions go on and on,so please clear your comment up

Are you homophobic?

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 1:22 pm

true 2PP position is ALP 53% LNP 47% this trend will be revealed by Friday

First time i don’t care if ALP wins.

Costello took govt debt from 18% of GDP in 1996 to zero in 2007 and we got our AAA back we lost under Hawke. One of the few countries in the world and maybe human history with no govt debt.

Now govt debt is now back up to 18% of GDP. Next govt whoever it is will lose our AAA. It is Rudd/Gillards fault.

Labor moans about fraudband. Well it will be easy to build the remaining network FTTP and it will never be finished and people will have to pay $500/month for internet

Michael TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 1:42 pm

Neil, I disagree. We got the Rudd NBN in Canberra and it didn’t cost us a cent more. In fact, we saved money because as it meant our phone could switch over to VOIP, we no longer needed to pay the rent on a hard line.

Michael TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 1:44 pm

I was getting download speeds of 98.5 Mbps. Here in Victoria – for $10 more a month – I’m getting only 4.5 at best.

Gosh I’d love to have the Rudd NBN again.

Trish CorryJune 27, 2016 at 1:54 pm

Good news! I predicted 56 but maybe that’s too ambitious! They need to reveal it now. I wonder if betting agencies will catch on?

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 1:57 pm

Do you think they are charging the cost necessary to pay for FTTP or giving everybody a discount? I am on NBN-FTTN and they had to come out three times before they could get me connected. Then it stopped working meaning my home phone did not work since they are connected and i had to wait for someone to come out again.

That never happened when i was on ADSL. My problems were fixed over the phone. Then we have this example of FTTP problems

http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/nbn/heres-the-experience-of-four-different-aussies-on-four-different-nbn-technologies/news-story/d61affce22221d3d47e32507332c5639

Ms Chamberlin said after initially having to go to the ombudsman to expedite the installation process “because it was taking three weeks to dig a trench out the font of our house” during which there was no internet connection at all, the network performance has been great.

If Labor wins the election they can go back to doing the rest FTTP and it would mean every remaining street would need to be dug up and it would never be finished

MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 2:01 pm

And of course Malcolm only had only one thing to do – NBN – what a great “dog in the manger” (the metaphor is now used to speak of those who spitefully prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for) result – example of things to come …..

Carol TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 2:16 pm

I got the impression that Turnbull has never been the slightest bit interested in Australia’s NBN (France’s is a different story, he invested in that one..FTTP..of course). The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN and Turnbull agreed to do it, solely so that he could gain for himself a front bench position from where he could make a play for the leadership, which of course he did. Australia’s future? Australian businesses? Running a poor last in Turnbull’s scheme of things.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 3:15 pm

Neil, Don’t worry your pretty little head about whether they will be charging enough. After they cut the loop holes off the corporate taxation legislation the new Labor government will have an extra $6 to 8 Billion of revenue to pay for their promises an extra $3 billion from the savings of negative gearing, and an extra $48 billion from the corporation tax cut not going ahead so wit that revenue they can probably begin paying down LNP debt of tripling the deficit.

townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 3:26 pm

Carol, what a pair of tory scumbags they are, two pathological liars and WPS.

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 4:15 pm

The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN and Turnbull agreed to do it

Is that the full story? I am not up on all the details but my understanding there was a window of opportunity to stop Labors NBN but that opportunity has now gone. We are now stuck with NBNCo building the NBN either FTTN or FTTP or whatever. It is also not good for a govt company to be building this network because they will take 5x longer and cost 5x more.

I think the Coalition wanted to stop the NBN because they had their own policy but it is now too late. Conroy signed unbreakable contracts

If Labor wins the election they can leave whats done and do the rest FTTP. I bet you it would never be finished. Digging trenches to every home would take a long time.

MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 6:42 pm

My understanding is that fibre is the best around and beats copper hands down; to the premises is better than down the road, which then amounts to (creeping privatisation – an LNP favourite) a co-payment (by us) if we want to get fibre to premises.

As for “govt company to be building this network because they will take 5x longer and cost 5x more” I think we would be at one on this one if we both think that anything to do with public assets all financials must be transparent (self sanitising), proprietary stuff protected by copyright, trademark, etc, minimum “commercial in confidence” and effective whistleblower provisions is just the incentive/s required for accountability – if the price is high, we would soon find out (unlikely to happen again, all parties accountable), if it is low (it could be unfair, mistake, etc) – everyone would know, learn and respect dealing with public assets.

I would rather practice patience to get the best available for all of us (this should be infrastructure for the benefit of all) and rate at least in the top 30 rather than get something second rate and having to regret a rating of 60 and watching the 60 slide further as new countries get on board ahead of us.

For me, based on virtues, I would not want to rely on Malcolm and his cohorts behind me let alone beside me.

Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 7:23 pm

My understanding is that fibre is the best around

OK let us say you are right. This means building trenches to 93% of homes under Labors FTTP proposal. How long would it take and how much would it cost? Nobody knows. And where FTTP is being built overseas it is being done by private companies not by a govt company like NBNCo. And govt companies are always less efficient than private enterprise.

Only 100,000 homes were connected to Labors FTTP by the end of 2013. Just 12 million premises to go. It would never be finished

Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 7:51 pm

Neil of Sydney June 27, 2016 at 7:23 pm

It will cost what it does=that`s it
Survey says 67% of people want FTTP

Lnp have no costings for anything for the 4th year now,so Neil your argument is a load of Liberal excrement

How much will DAP cost for another term
How much will the NBN FTTN cost by completion and when will it be finished
How much will defence cost us over the next three years
etc etc etc

LOVOJune 27, 2016 at 8:12 pm

Privatisation will give half the service at double the cost. The only way is the ‘real’ NBN way. NoS.

Möbius EckoJune 27, 2016 at 9:06 pm

Tweets by Neil11450147

townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 9:07 am

Neil, presumably id Asia can do it Australia should be able to do it, I remember when sewage came in and trenches had to be dug, would you rather go back to the night soil man, or go forward with cable or backward with the copper Turnbull has ordered to save money? I’m all for progress.

Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 9:45 am

I’m all for progress.

Me to. But if you had to pay $500/month for it would you agree?

In case you have forgotten Rudd promised in 2007 broadband costing only $4.7B and be finished by 2013. That promise went nowhere. This current NBN policy was thought up on the back of a drinks coaster on some plane flight because their 2007 policy was a dud.

The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN

Wasn’t tongue in cheek. There was still a window of opportunity to stop this monstrosity. that has now passed we are stuck with NBNCo. At the time i think the Coalition wanted to go back to this

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/395910/opel_would_serving_bush_broadband_today_turnbull/

Federal opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has used his National Press Club address to argue the decision to scrap the Howard government’s OPEL network for an NBN has denied the bush broadband services over the past three years.

Turnbull gave familiar arguments against the NBN saying the network is too costly, won’t result in more affordable broadband services and will stifle competition.

We are now being sued because Conroy broke signed Howard govt contracts.

Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 9:55 am

“In case you have forgotten Rudd promised in 2007 broadband costing only $4.7B and be finished by 2013.”

Neil is yet again raising the same out of context crap he’s always done. I’ve never seen a person so narrowly fixated on anything.

In case Neil has forgotten, this point has been addressed and corrected for him numerous times, but as he has always done, and always will do, he’ll ignore the corrections and facts to engage in his answer to everything that’s bad and wrong about the Liberal Party, Labor.

Once corrected he’ll go off on another tangent of Labor bashing, repeating the same things, only to raise a point again as though he was never given the fact or context.

What a sad and limited person he is.

townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 10:02 am

LOVO I agree wholeheartedly.

Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 10:28 am

The NBN Explained: A Huge Chat With Former NBN Board Member Simon Hackett

Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 10:30 am

LOVO I agree wholeheartedly.

In case you have forgotten ALP’s 2007 policy was for broadband to be built by private industry and be finished by 2013. So ALP is not against private companies The current NBN policy was thought up on the back of a drinks coaster.

All the ALP has done is set up back years. It is now 2016 and where are we? Only 100,000 homes were connected to the NBN by 2013. Changing to FTTN has increased numbers being connected but there are 12 million premises to be connected.

Labors NBN has dried up private investment. Optus, Telstra can’t do anything because NBNCo is doing everything

Kaye LeeJune 28, 2016 at 10:50 am

While 1,402,909 premises should have been approved at the date of the report, the figure was sitting at 662,665 – 740,000 fewer than planned.

The snapshot says NBN Co has achieved 29,005 fibre-to-the-node “construction completions”, while noting its internally budgeted target for this period was more than three times this at 94,273.

Under the heading “Commercial in Confidence: Scale the Deployment Program”, the report outlines a plethora of faults, including that delays in power approvals and construction are being caused by electricity companies which account for 38,537 premises or 59 per cent of overall slippages against the target. (FTTP did not require electrical supply but FTTN does)

Another 30 per cent of delays are down to material shortages and a further 11 per cent are attributed to completion reviews.

“Despite Design Commencements remaining above budget, all other significant milestones of FTTN continue to remain behind target,” the report states.

Also noted in the report is a rise in the cost per connection of design and construction, which has now reached $1366, compared with the target price of $1114 – a 23 per cent increase.

NoS,

The FttP rollout is going well…it is the FttN and MTM that are causing the probs.

Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 12:09 pm

The FttP rollout is going well…it is the FttN and MTM that are causing the probs.

I thought FTTP rollout had stopped.

townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 1:45 pm

Möbius Ecko, yes its sad to see such a demented little man thrashing about in frustration because he understands that on Saturday night we will have a new Labor government that will look after “the Australian people” instead of the big corporations. It’s an easy decision, if you are a “person” vote Labor, and if you are a “corporation” vote LNP.

townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 2:03 pm

Kaye, thanks for giving us “the facts” much appreciated. You are a very knowledgeable lady.

Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 2:13 pm

Möbius Ecko, yes its sad to see such a demented little man thrashing about in frustration because he understands that on Saturday night we will have a new Labor government t

Well i wish Mobius would tell me what he is talking about. This was Labors 2007 election promised which helped them win the 2007 election. It was supposed to be finished by 2013. It was thrown in the bin not long after Rudd won govt

Labor commits to investing up to $4.7 billion into a new high speed national broadband network for 98 per cent of Australians. This will be fibre optic to the node. 12 megabits per second – and capable of upscaling. It will be laid out over 5 years in partnership with the private sector. In the 19th century, nation builders laid out the railway network. In the 21st century, nation builders are laying out high speed

jimhazJune 28, 2016 at 2:42 pm

I’m certain the ALP NBN costs and delays would have blown out considerably. It is the way of almost all such projects and pollies in particular go for the best set of figures that suit them.

That said the total cost public and private for the LNP FTTN MUST be much higher over the life of the NBN due to the loss of economies of scale and the opportunity cost of the organisational complexity of multiple non-integrated fibre from node to home installations (which Kaye has already encountered).

On top of this is efficiency loss due to the slowness of takeup with FTTN – due to the cost of getting fibre from the node to the home. This prevents business from developing high intensity web systems that would be suitable for all – they’l l have to have develop, market and maintain slow copper and fast fibre web systems – and this extra cost and much lower potential market may prevent some from being viable businesses. So we fall behind the rest of the world and are less competitive.

Michael TaylorJune 28, 2016 at 2:50 pm

How ironic that we don’t see NoS for months, then all of a sudden in election week . . .

Neil, your last comment was just a cut and paste of a comment you’ve posted a million times. I would have thought that during your absence you might at least have come up with something new.

Yawn.

Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 3:00 pm

Something new Migs, you are joking. Go to anywhere Neil posts or look at his long sordid history on the blogs we’ve participated in and you will see the same posts from NoS come up time and again, just a few words are shuffled around every now and again. He employs the exact same obfuscations, misdirections and thread derailment in all of them, and it’s nearly all focused on Labor and mostly Labor distant past for that. You can be assured that as soon a Liberal failure is raised, and we all know there is a long string of so many of them, and up pops Neil with Labor.

I’ve never seen anyone so narrow minded and fixated.

Kaye LeeJune 28, 2016 at 3:03 pm

While it wasn’t the original plan of the first Rudd-government to build an FTTP network, an anti-competitive and less than cooperative privatised Telstra who monopolised fixed-line telecommunications in Australia forced the Government to be innovative. The Government ditched the original plan for an open-tender Fibre to the Node network, with a Government-owned company overbuilding the existing network to bypass Telstra.

With a new plan — the NBN, Mark II, the threat of a Government-owned Enterprise building a Fibre network across Australia, overbuilding Telstra’s copper network, forced the company to cooperate and finally structurally separate into a Retail and Wholesale company.

FreethinkerJune 28, 2016 at 3:59 pm

Today Essential report poll
Labor 51%
Coalition 49%
Greens 10%
Nick Xenophon Team 4%

Without preferences:
Coalition 39%
Labor 37%

It is interesting that the Labor and Liberal are equal at 37%
73% of the Labor supporters give first preference to the Greens

Trish CorryJune 28, 2016 at 4:27 pm

They say if coalition is below 40 they can’t win. Anyone else heard this?

KizhmetJune 28, 2016 at 5:30 pm

@Trish – if the poll Freethinker kindly posted is anywhere near right and what you’ve heard is true … We may just get th change our country so desperately needs.

townsvilleblogJune 29, 2016 at 9:43 am

Freethinker, so what’s you point, both parties are progressive parties, the LNP is a regressive party who want to use $50 billion of “our” hard earned tax money not for our health or education, but as a donation to parasites who pay little to no tax, so please if you have a point, please make it.

townsvilleblogJune 29, 2016 at 9:45 am

Oh! pardon me, I misread your post freethinker, that’s great, it would be closer to the truth than the murdoch poll, you little beauty!!!

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MichaelJune 25, 2016 at 9:47 pm

What is it that we have that Liberals don’t have – we don’t have self loathing.
michael laceyJune 25, 2016 at 9:49 pm

The polls should not be close when you compare the lack of policy by the liberals with Labor, but I’m not one of the bewildered herd and it is the bewildered that decides the outcome! What ever happens we are going into a recession and if the coalition wins they will very quickly be exposed!
Gangey1959June 25, 2016 at 9:50 pm

Australians have had our heads shoved up our own arses (so that we cannot see reality for what it is?) by the lnp dickheads under coward, the mad monk and now turdbott.
We are afraid to collectively pull them back out for why ???????????????????????????
The shit will wash off. Eventually.
It’s not that hard.
Just DON’T VOTE LIBERAL !
Carol TaylorJune 25, 2016 at 10:27 pm

Unfortunately very little gets into the msm about policies, preferring instead to concentrate on personalities (manufactured perceptions in many instances). I also think that those who would stick with the LNP are relying on the Senate to stop many of the nasties from getting through – pity if they’re wrong this time around, as with such a large number of Independents running who knows what may or may not get through eg the $5.00 co-payment still on the books and costed in by Morrison.
Matters NotJune 25, 2016 at 10:49 pm

No Carol, the proposed co-payment was/is $7.00 A 40% increase above your rather modest assertion.

And while I hope like hell for the election of a Labor government, albeit via Green preferences, I think this article ought to come with a disclaimer, along the lines of ‘This is a .. on behalf of …

There’s so many assertions that just won’t stand up to any serious analysis.

But I proceed on the assumption that most readers here are ‘informed’ and therefore reject ‘bullshit’, regardless of source.
MichaelWJune 25, 2016 at 11:12 pm

Wow, go Trish.
What is not reported in the msm is all the cuts by this toxic government to community services, legal rights Aboriginals etc etc etc. These are cuts that do not need to go through the Senate.
Lord help us if the liberals win both houses in the coming election. The divide between haves and have nots will increase dramatically.
In fact if these clowns win I will seriously consider moving back to my homeland, which I haven’t lived in for over 45 years.
@RosemaryJ36June 26, 2016 at 2:19 am

Unfortunately too many people will not vote Labor because they do not trust Bill Shorten. How they can see Turnbull as trustworthy is beyond me but there it is!
PK1765June 26, 2016 at 3:52 am

There policies do NOT match the Australia I want to see, SO I’m NOT voting for them!! I am NOT AFRAID to VOTE for the party whose POLICIES and for the Type of Australia I want to live in and for my children and grand children to grow up in, and both the Labor and Liberal do not represent the future of the Australia I want. Too many people are afraid to step out from under ths shadowof these two, we need a change and real change can only happen by those BRAVE enough to say NO you don’t represent me or mine and where I want to be. I am one of many who have had enough and am saying NO, not good enough.
DuffaJune 26, 2016 at 4:15 am

I agree with @RosemaryJ36 there are some who never vote for Bill Shorten. That is a personal thing and would be hard to change. Others will vote for Liberals no matter what. Imagine continuing to vote for a party that sent our young people to war over non-existent WMDs – I can’t imagine a greater betrayal of trust.
Many of those who are afraid, are worried about 1. debt and 2. The perception of dysfunction and chaos of the previous Labor government. These are real worries based on some truth exaggerated into myths.
The govt own actions should have dismissed some of the worry over debt and Labor’s united team since the last election should have reduced fears of dysfunction. But people can hold on negative images for a long time.
I think it is harder to get people to take risks than to accept the same old same old especially when you don’t tell me what the cost is.
(remember last election the adults were going to return strong government we no changes to ….)
Change can take a lot of momentum and/or excitement as with Whitlam or great boredom in the last days of Howard. And it is very hard to keep of ‘excitement’ and people are too ready to blame when the golden age doesn’t readily appear
The Liberals are seen as the natural party of government not because they are born to rule but because they are seen as safe, boring even, risk averse like most of us, but on the other hand we can never expect them to do much to improve things either always waiting to see what other countries do before acting – a safe but dead hand of conservatism
zJune 26, 2016 at 7:58 am

nothing to be afraid of, Vote Labor to put people first on July 2. because that pathology bulk billing just been freshly cut off will start effective from 1st of July, anyone who been asked pay extra to test blood, or to take a x-ray photo etc, that extra cost won’t happen under Labor
babyjewels10June 26, 2016 at 8:28 am

PK1765 totally agree. The two party system has been toxic for a long time. We need big change in Australia if we’re to honestly call ourselves a democracy. While vested interests control the way the two major party act, while lies from polliticians are deemed acceptable, and go undisputed, we do not have a democracy. While governments act outside of the interests of the people and the environment, we do not have a democracy. I don’t expect it to happen quickly, but more and more people are seeing the two party tango as the road to ruination.
Barry Thompson.June 26, 2016 at 8:30 am

Trish, your story brought tears to my eyes.
Well done you, at 13 years of age, asserting yourself so bravely.
A great article.
Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 8:59 am

ALP member Trish Corry asks provocatively If you are not voting Labor What are you afraid of?
I am a lifelong social democrat who voted Labor longer than most AIMN readers have been alive.
I have not voted Labor 1 in this election and am unlikely to do so ever again.
What am I afraid of?
Because I studied this field carefully over many years I am afraid that their climate change and energy policies are not fit for purpose. Just as surely as their opponents the hapless and hopeless Coalition, Labor’s policies in these fields secure the imminent environmentally driven destruction of the Australian economy and the social dislocation that goes along with this. Of course their policies in these areas are better than the Coalition’s but neither of the old Party groupings will save us from climate armageddon.
Because I am a human being with a functioning sense of morality I am afraid that Labor’s asylum seeker policies are socially, morally, legally and economically unsupportable.
Because I am a human being with a functioning sense of social justice I am afraid that Labor’s trade and economic policies generally are unsupportable. This is because of the mountain of research that has shown that their policies in these spaces are just as effective as those of their opponents at driving the widening gap between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in this country.
Because I am a realist I acknowledge that post-election government will be formed by one side of our tottering geriatric political duopoly or the other.
Because the policies of the ALP in general are preferable to those of the coalition and because I live in a safe Labor seat I have voted for a genuinely progressive Party whose policies don’t have the shortcomings I list above and placed a number two next to the ALP candidate. Thus Jenny Macklin will probably be re-elected and I don’t have to tacitly offer my support to these policies that I object strongly to. As the Greens are running candidates in all lower house seats any progressive voter has this possibility available to them – to vote for a suite of consistently social democratic progressive policies and (unless you live in Melbourne or perhaps Batman) simultaneously:
Vote for the election of a Labor government.
Strengthen the hand of those within the ALP working for change in these policy spaces.
You know it makes sense. It is a very liberating experience. I recommend it. Go ahead – WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
keertiJune 26, 2016 at 9:13 am

Absolutely agree Douglass and I used to be a TWU delegate and until ten years ago a rusted on Labor voter. It was Rudds duplicity in his “PM” election that caused me to change. It is unfortunate that many people who think like you and I re still scared to “loose” their vote if they put Greens No.1.
FreethinkerJune 26, 2016 at 9:26 am

The ALP have far to many “Simon Crean” members, far to many on the left that do not look after the interest of the workers, far to many that their seat in the ALP is above the interest of the people.
The Coalition introduce laws that are very unpopular and when the ALP is in opposition it fight against that laws.
When the ALP return to power said that there is to hard to remove the laws, that “the train left the station” and the laws stay.
I am not afraid to vote for the Greens in the senate and I am hope that in the future my electorate will have a Green candidate for the HOR.
corvus boreusJune 26, 2016 at 9:46 am

In my electorate, the local Labor lad is polling abysmally (14% primary), and the only option with a vaguely realistic chance of displacing the incumbent coalition member, independent candidate Rob Oakeshott (25.6% primary), is being preferenced quite lowly by both the Labor and Greens candidates.
I am afraid that Cowper will remain a safe coalition seat.
Bighead1883June 26, 2016 at 10:16 am

I can bet you London to a brick on that the teacher who sent you outside was/is a Liberal Party voter

The conservative sense of fair play is to victimize a victim [no matter what the victim has suffered]

1- You were raped because you asked for it in how you dress
2- You were assaulted because you hung with the wrong crowd
3- your car was stolen because you parked it in an unsafe place
4- You`re sick because your parents can`t afford to take you to the doctors

We see this today with Tories and any LNP politician being interviewed in that to them it`s always the victim`s fault,so let`s into them some more
The 60 Minutes and Murdoch “dole bludgers”attacks and woe behold if you are a poor kid whose family home is repossessed because dad lost his job,the schoolyard bullying would be/is horrendous

I too am an ALP member Trish Corry and I`m glad to see someone write a piece showing there`s nothing to be afraid of to vote Labor as it is they who are the alternative government

If the LNP prevail even without a Senate majority they`ll destroy and erode through privatisations all our commonwealth and institutions

Personally Douglas Evans,I don`t give a damn for your thoughts or writings [you`re rude and pompous] and like so many Greens you would rather see the LNP triumph
jantoniusJune 26, 2016 at 11:16 am

That’s reductionist twaddle.
There are a quite a few arseholes who vote Labor
jantoniusJune 26, 2016 at 11:45 am

“LNP and Greens angling to oust Wayne Swan from marginal seat”

I see the ABC keeping up their Tory mischief-making.
There are photos and election guff – including equating Labor monitoring with Parakeelia. Interesting to see what Parakeelia means to ‘our ABC’. Pretty much what NBN means.

The very last line, under all this, informs:
“the Greens have thrown their preferences behind Mr Swan”.

Wayne Swan was a very competent Treasurer, who saw the country through the GFC.
Just imagine the consequences if the Libs were in power.
The big pity is that he started going on about the prize of so-called ‘surplus budgets’.
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 11:50 am

Well, in reading these comments I have had my dreams dashed, I am NOT an ALP member, I simply work on common sense, and thought that my fellow Australians did also. I have seen some of the silliest uninformed crazy comments regarding the Labor Party that ever I have seen. The LNP are doing their level best to crust the everyday Australian, and from some of the comments here, some people are badly failing to recognize what is actually happening to them via LNP cuts to health and education, old people’s nursing homes and almost every aspect of our lives. It may not be apparent to some yet, but wait until they are diagnosed with a grave illness or they get old or their children or grand children can’t get into a State school because federal funding has been cut. They will squeal then, but it will be too late then, Medicare will be gone, the big corporations will still be paying between zero and 5% tax, and society will continue to fall into a recession, then see how your LNP govt treats you. My wife and I live debt free, we own our own home and only bills we receive are Westnet and rates, but we still care about the young and our own and others health and education. Some here seem to lack empathy or compassion for their fellow Australian. Do those of you who fit this description understand what the lack of empathy and compassion for your fellow Australian actually makes you? The answer is a psychopath you should seek help. I have always voted for progressive political parties, but this time there is only one party that can be trusted to give the population a fair go, and that’s the Labor Party!
Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 12:26 pm

What are voters afraid of? There have been three Labor govts in the lifetime of most Australians, Whitlam, Hawke/Keating and Rudd/Gillard.

All three were economic disasters.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 12:34 pm

I think this video was made for people just like you Neil.
jimJune 26, 2016 at 12:57 pm

Big Liberal LIE;http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-14/koukoulas-the-better-economic-manager/4427680..
The facts of the budget show that the current government’s budgetary footprint on the economy is small, running at the( lowest level in 35 years). The current small government is made up of both low tax receipts and (record cuts in government spending) ok 2012 but this lie goes on .Vote LNP Last. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2817-right-wing-governments-increase-suicide-rates/
Kaye LeeJune 26, 2016 at 1:01 pm

The current government has seen the largest expansion of private household debt, beating that observed under the Howard government.

Record low wages and income growth coupled with record increase in household debt. Not really something you’d want to boast about.
mathewJune 26, 2016 at 1:14 pm

You only follow the ‘2 party system”
There are other parties that have better policies than lnp and lab combined!
Xanaphon (I think that’s how it’s spelled)
Will block the tpp!
Sex party primary policy is medical cannabis, alongside law reform party and hemp party
Health party supports natural medicine
Motoring party supports fairer road use
Kaye LeeJune 26, 2016 at 1:21 pm

The reality is that the next government will either be Labor or Coalition and, in the event of a hung Parliament, the Coalition will remain in government as Independents have ruled out a formal alliance with anyone and Labor has ruled out an alliance with the Greens. That is what will happen regardless of what you wish. Unless Labor get 76 seats in the HoR we will likely be condemned to three years of austerity for working people to pay for tax cuts to business and the wealthy and the privatisation of as much as they can get away with.
Michael TaylorJune 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

Can anyone remember what the DD election was called for?
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

Kaye Lee, I fear you are right in a further LNP Government.I am currently on annual leave so as to work on prepolling but have taken it as a perfect time to resign from the NSW health care system.I dread what healthcare for individuals will be like by 2019 under a further 3 years of Liberal rule
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:27 pm

mathew
Which of those parties you listed will form a goverment next week or even get a say
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 1:28 pm

Hi Matthew – thank you for your comment. Possibly I should have been very explicit in the article that I am talking about the lower house – the house which will form Government. Only one of two major parties will Govern – either with or without the support of independents /minors in the even of a hung parliament. It is more likely that a hung parliament (if the scenario occurred) that they would support the current Govt for stability, rather than a change. These parties only need a vote of confidence, not a formal alliance with the Major party they support.

So if we bring ourselves to the here and now, in six days time the election will be complete. On July 3 we will wake up and understand what we have collectively voted for.

Considering the argument that I am for a left wing Govt – I want the LNP out – the only other party who can do that and Govern (make our rules, laws and set our agenda is Labor). Then considering that the polls are very tight and this election could be won on just one or two seats, then how does a reducing Labor seats and replacing with independent seats, remove the LNP Govt?

I support various independent voices in the senate on single issues. Single issue parties cannot Govern for all Australians. So far besides Labor, I have chosen the Sex Party (I want LBGTI issues pushed). I am waiting for more info on Mature Australians Party (as I want pensions raised and better work options for this group) but I their economic statement leaves me concerned, as it appears more in line with Turnbull.

I am interested to understand how people see that an Independent or Minor party in a Turnbull, conservative Govt, will be better for Australia, than a Majority Labor Govt? (In the Lower house, not the Senate).
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 1:31 pm

Michael pick me!! Pick me!! Sir!! Sir!! Pick me!!
It was about arguing that we should be able to give construction workers and apprentices no rights and enable a star chamber style enquiry that could see a 17 year old jailed, to benefit the construction Industry.
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 1:35 pm

The Australian Federal Government has cut Aged Care funding by $3.1 billion since 2014. The cuts have significantly reduced funding for services to the frailest older Australians.

Today, aged care is a vital issue for some 3.6 million Australians aged 65 and over. In 10 years, this number is projected to increase to almost 5 million, an increase of 37 per cent.

https://www.change.org/p/reverse-the-aged-care-cuts
WakeupJune 26, 2016 at 1:58 pm

They’re afraid because the bleeding heart leftist morons keep promoting the LNP as being supporters and apologist’s for Islam. The continuing pathetic dribble and their desire to see the country flooded with parasitic economical refugees and asylum seekers whilst aligning themselves with Labor is the root cause why people will vote for the LNP. Don’t condemn fellow Australians, condemn yourselves for exhibiting sheer stupidity.
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 1:59 pm

Trish, you and I have had many discussions and I like and am in full favor of this article, however I would urge both you and nurses1968 to NOT argue with these uninformed tory trolls, if they are that stupid that they will vote the LNP back, even by default then they are not worth arguing with, as the old saying goes don’t argue with an idiot, they will bring you down to their level, and they are much better and have had more experience at arguing than you have. Hopefully a new Labor government July 2. I have heard that 60% more Queenslanders have pre-polled this time than ever before, hopefully that is because people are keen to vote to rid ourselves of this cruel and mean privatizing govt.
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:11 pm

Wakeup, I am a Leftie alright but I’m no supporter of Islamic Immigration, we already have hundreds of thousands of LNP allowed 457 visa holders in Australia taking jobs away from Aussies, you would have to be insane to want more refugees in Australia, so please don’t speak for me, generalizations are a trap for young players. I’ve not heard Labor has changed its policy on immigration, if you recall it was Tony Bourke as Immigration Minister who founded Manus Island in PNG. Some candidates may not like the policy but they are bound by party solidarity to carry out the wishes of the National Conference of the Australian Labor Party which is to have offshore detention.
Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 2:14 pm

I think this video was made for people just like you Neil.

I looked at the video and it just confirms my beliefs that politics is just like religion. People believe what they what to believe. I think you either have a correct belief or incorrect belief.

But the video made one factual statement that lefties always make which is wrong. Howard got elected during the biggest mining boom in history. This is wrong. The biggest mining boom and best terms of trade in Australian history happened from 2008-2013 ie under Rudd/Gillard

http://www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/commodity-prices.html
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:25 pm

One pathetic economic indicator Neil, you can cherry pick anything to back up any argument, a very foolish demonstration of ignorance.
George OrwellJune 26, 2016 at 2:34 pm

For Neil
Had John Howard done one Skerrick of infrastructure like funding city railway crossings bottlenecks repairs and fixing dangerous ones across Australia? He would have had some praise from me. The only infrastructure Howard did was implement; a subterfugel American Style Extreme Right Wing Ideology on an unsuspecting naive Australia public. Anyway all his good fortune was set up by Hawk and Keating and he did zero with it. Apart from funding roads, apportioning rebates and funding mining and Big Business in general. He achieved zero in his time for our people.
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 2:47 pm

I have made this comment previously and I stand by by it. If Trish Corry or Victoria Rollison were to reproduce 3 little pigs as an article there are certain gutter snipes that would jump in with an attack on them. One in particular just makes throwaway critical statements and the squeals like one of the 3 little pigs if challenged. These people certainly are trolls out to attack Labor or Labor supporters at any given opportunity yet half don’t even have the courage of their convictions to stand up for the Party they support rather they play the independent game.
Good luck Trish but I don’t know why you bother
It is usually you they come after not the article content,usually because they have no answers
Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm

The possibility of a hung parliament shouldn’t alarm anyone. What the old parties say they will or will not do in the case of a hung parliament before the election often bears no resemblance to what they actually do when/if it comes to pass. Formal coalitions at State level between Labor and Greens have previously occurred (twice) but (from memory) not ended well. At a federal level, a recent Labor minority government supported by a single Green and a couple of independents is well regarded by those who inhabit this site. No-one at this stage can have the faintest idea whether, faced with the choice between Opposition and coalition/minority government, Labor (despite their vehement denials) would consider this possibility or not. I attended an ABC forum on the problems with our democracy (specifically our old parties) the other night. Labor thinker Nicholas Reece made a lot of sense to me. One thing he said which I entirely agree with is that given the continuing slide in primary votes for both the old parties, the possibility of future progressive government in this country depends on Labor and the Greens finding sufficient common ground for constructive co-operation. Will this happen this time? Perhaps not. It might depend on whether the Greens break through for their second Victorian seat or not. Will it happen soon? It better, otherwise the possibility for left-of-centre governments in this country is increasingly bleak.
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:50 pm

George, You are more or less spot on mate. You did forget to mention that “noddy” got his surplus by selling off yet another government service “Telstra” and they will still be in the privatization business until every government function is privatized….Medicare anyone?
townsvilleblogJune 26, 2016 at 2:54 pm

nurses1968 I like your style, you too are spot on. In fact I have no argument with you, Trish, Victoria or Kate, all very sensible people who use common sense, let’s hope there are enough of us distributed in enough federal seats to elect a new Labor government.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 2:55 pm

Thanks for your support and kind words Nurse. It is appreciated.
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 3:22 pm

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm
It might depend on whether the Greens break through for their second Victorian seat or not.
What difference would that make as the Greens would still only be 1.3% of MPS
Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 3:37 pm

nurses1968
Sorry but what is MPS? Is that their representation in the house 2 seats out of 150? Yes I guess it is. Well it could be that the second seat is Batman replacing the hapless and deeply unpopular David Feeney in which case Labor would be one seat down the Greens one seat up which might mean Labor plus the two Greens, the independent Wilkie and perhaps Oakeshott?? would make enough to govern. It might be that with Labor preferences and those of the Australian Equality Party the useless Coalition drone Kelly O’Dwyer can be tipped out in Higgins. Perhaps it will be both seats plus a couple of independents that might form the basis for a collaboration. I’m sure you would prefer a majority but the simple truth is that the two party system is decaying and broader co-operation will be increasingly a requirement of government.
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 4:10 pm

Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 3:37 pm
It was meant to be MPs but I’m sure you knew that as you answered the question as to representation.
IF and that was deliberate use of capital letters the Greens did manage 2 representatives in the House {I guess you DID mean House as in House of Reps as opposed to your house my house} How many years will it have taken them to reach that pinnacle? At that rate the 22nd century would be a likely time for them to be nearing some sort of chance at a majority in the House
Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 4:18 pm

broader co-operation will be increasingly a requirement of government

Indeed. And the ‘percentage’ matters not a jot. If the ‘balance of power’ rests with just one member, his/her power is immense. Remember former Australian Senator Brian Harradine.

Lets not forget that the major political parties are also riven by factions. Some National Party members absolutely hate their Liberal ‘allies’ but they ‘hold hands’ in public in pursuit of a ‘common’ cause. As you say ‘broader co-operation’ is probably the way forward.
RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:27 pm

Yelling at people about what they’re supposedly afraid of is probably the most absurd political technique I’ve ever seen. Good lawdy From Labor, no less. Good lawdy lawdy lawd.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 4:36 pm

Yelling? I certainly don’t want what you’re smoking
Neil of SydneyJune 26, 2016 at 4:53 pm

The only infrastructure Howard did was implement; a subterfugel American Style Extreme Right Wing Ideology on an unsuspecting naive Australia public.

I have seen comments like that since 2007 but have never seen any evidence to back it up. Howard/Costello did spend

http://www.budget.gov.au/2005-06/ministerial/html/dotars-19.htm

AusLink

Australian Government investment in rail and road infrastructure in 2005-06 is $2.2 billion — a figure that will grow even higher in future years as the Australian Government continues to implement AusLink, the National Transport Plan. AusLink has radically transformed how Australia plans and implements the rollout of essential transport infrastructure, directly linking rail and road improvements with industry needs and growth.

AusLink Black Spot Programme

The Australian Government will extend the AusLink Black Spot Programme until June 2008.

The Australian Government will spend an extra $45 million per year in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to extend the Black Spot Programme, which provides funding to improve dangerous sections of our roads
RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:53 pm

“Can anyone remember what the DD election was called for?”

You can read it officially for yourselves:

http://web.archive.org/web/20160508072551/https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/IPS/Documents%20relating%20to%20calling%20of%20the%20double%20dissolution%20election.pdf
RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 4:59 pm

“Yelling? I certainly don’t want what you’re smoking”

Fair enough, because it makes me see an overuse of bold, italics, caps lock and “medium” size font for no reason. Whatever. Apparently that’s what folk want now – to be visually yelled at.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 5:22 pm

Really? You’re dreamin’
RecalcitrantJune 26, 2016 at 5:28 pm

Whatever. At least I don’t need Ctrl + to read it.
nurses1968June 26, 2016 at 5:39 pm

The reality is that the next government will either be Labor or Coalition and, in the event of a hung Parliament, the Coalition will remain in government as Independents have ruled out a formal alliance with anyone and Labor has ruled out an alliance with the Greens. That is what will happen regardless of what you wish. Unless Labor get 76 seats in the HoR we will likely be condemned to three years of austerity for working people to pay for tax cuts to business and the wealthy and the privatisation of as much as they can get away with.

Thank you Kaye Lee it seems as if you say it, it’s ok if we say it we are raving Labor rusted ons {I’m Socialist Alliance actually paid up but will be joining Labor on starting new job}
Douglas EvansJune 26, 2016 at 7:23 pm

nurses1968
Two seats or maybe three is the absolute most anyone might expect the Greens to snag in the lower house this election and I’m not that hopeful of any advance on the one they currently have. You’re right. I don’t expect to live long enough to see the Greens holding a Parliamentary majority in their own right. However that is beside the point. I think it is quite likely that I will live to see a time when no party achieving a majority in their own right becomes the new normal. It is quite likely that I will live long enough to see both Labor and Coalition with a primary vote around 30% or a tick higher (Labor is virtually there already) and the Greens with a primary vote of something like 15% nationally. Some centre-right grouping will take let’s say 10%. NXT currently has pole position to fill that space once occupied by the Democrats and most recently occupied by PUP. The remaining 15% (under this scenario) would be shared among various independents and micro-parties (Katter, Wilkie, McGowan, Socialist Alliance, Liberal Democrats, DLP and Sex Party are current examples). We are not very far from this situation at the moment and the trend to this sort of fragmentation is unmistakable. Under this circumstance Labor and/or Coalition will increasingly need to collaborate, negotiate their way to a majority if they are not to be completely at the mercy of preference flows from this last group. Mandatory distribution of preferences will always produce a winner but a sane political party would wish to take control of that process as far as it is possible well prior to an election. That is what I am talking about.

WRT to what deals Parties might or might not strike after an election. History shows that what they say before an election does not necessarily have anything to do with what they actually do after it. State Labor has more than once reversed their position on the accursed Greens after an election and the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government did pretty well in minority with the support of a single Green and a brace of better than average independents. Politics is about getting power. You can’t do anything if you haven’t got it.
cornlegendJune 26, 2016 at 9:24 pm

Biggy,
good if we could win them twice as per your list , 😀

Still well short.
Labor needs to gain a uniform swing of 4.0% to form majority government. If the swings are uniform, Labor needs close to 51% of the vote after preferences to win
I’m still in the LNP to win by 7 to 9 seats camp,
Trish summed up what needs to be done,
Comments show why it won’t and it won’t be just the rusted on LNP voters getting them there
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 9:49 pm

Thanks heaps Biggy! Do you have any info on Capricornia? The LNP MP only won by 1305 votes last election (50.77%) I also want Zac Beers to win and also Evan Hughes in Wentworth.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 9:52 pm

hahahah I love, love, love this!!! I grew up listening to horse races, it was what my dad loved to do. I think there will be swings in QLD in seats they are not counting as marginal. My only concern is SA and Victoria.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:11 pm

Oh really? Oh that is exciting about Herbert. I want Dawson to fall too. George Christensen is not fit for office. We have so many great people. So many! Please check out Zac Beers in Flynn – rising star for sure!
Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Do you have any info on Capricornia?

Yep! And it comes in ‘multiples’ as well. ? ? ? And it’s very reliable alsol. ? ? ? ? ? ?

Shakes head.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:14 pm

I have many love hearts for Evan (not as many as Jason Clare though lol) Evan sure is something else. He just deserves to win! I share his stuff as much as I can.
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:15 pm

Sorry, I pressed send before I responded to your joke on Twitter – that is hilarious!
Matters NotJune 26, 2016 at 10:25 pm

Latest (public) polling, here:

https://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2016/06/26/galaxy-50-50-3/
Trish CorryJune 26, 2016 at 10:29 pm

Thanks. I will be very surprised if we do not take Capricornia. We are a traditional Labor seat and even with Labor being so hated last election (which we were!) it was so close.
JexpatJune 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

Here’s my prediction.

If Labor doesn’t form government, then cowardly bullies like Bighead, Corn and “nurses” will be back attempting to blame the Greens for their own failures.

Ever as always.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that- but if it does, then- just watch how they go.
cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 6:12 am

JetpatJune 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

Here’s my prediction.
Even if Labor won they would still have whingers like you shit potting them at every opportunity and dreaming up conspiracies
Ever as always.
curious about the “cowardly bullies” bit though
babyjewels10June 27, 2016 at 7:22 am

Oh that’s a given, Jexpat.
Ross CornwillJune 27, 2016 at 7:43 am

Ok here’s one to go on with. As most would know I am Labor and always have been. I would love to see Labor win, but with the financial storms looming in the future in might be a good one to loose. But there again what would happen to Australia.
Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 8:08 am

Today’s Bludgertrack has the 2pp as follows:
LNP 50.6%
ALP 49.4%
Seat prediction:
LNP 78 (+2 from last week, -12 from election)
ALP 68 (-2 from last week, +12 from election)
Looks to me like LNP re-elected with rampant right wing and the Nats calling the shots and a diverse and bolshie Senate blocking the worst damage. In other words more of the same crap. The global economic/environmental storm is gathering. The ship is leaking. The crew is partying on. Will we still be afloat when the next election comes around?
cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 8:20 am

Douglas Evans
Looks like you you can get back to enjoying your grandkids or whatever Doug, or whatever you said you were retreating to after 2013 to sit it out,
Me and the missus are taking off to tick off all the remainders of our bucket list if the inevitable LNP Government comes to fruition
“Will we still be afloat when the next election comes around?”
good question
2019 might mean a new bucket list.
I can’t bear to hang around and watch the carnage the working class will suffer and the sad part is, given their voting power the pain will be self imposed
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:23 am

Surely those working people voting for The Devil have not been ill lately or don’t have school children and seen the cuts to education from The Devils?
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:28 am

BH1883, I sincerely hope your bet pays off for you, and for us.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:29 am

Trish, I’m also hoping Capricornia comes back to us, as well as Herbert.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:37 am

Nurses1968, Let’s hope Shorten puts in the performance of his life this week and that Labor have something to spring on the tories on the second last day…
Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 8:38 am

cornlegend
Your plan for the next few years is the same as mine. These days I try not to focus on Oz politics (but regularly fail). The downward spiral is too obvious and too painful to watch. I agree completely with your last comment: ‘the sad part is, given their voting power the pain will be self imposed.’
Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 8:40 am

Jexpat June 27, 2016 at 1:17 am

I`m no coward,I`ll take you on Jetpak,I`ll just slip down to the moron store for an appropriate outfit so that I`m down to your level

townsvilleblog June 27, 2016 at 8:29 am

Thanks and kudos to you
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 8:41 am

Howard had no qualms about privatizing Telstra to get his surplus so that being the case we will be extremely lucky to have Medicare at the next election if the tories win.
cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 8:55 am

Dougy,
Time to see the Terracotta Army, head for Prince of Wales Island {Port Protection, fav spot on the planet} Oak Island,Easter Island and a few places like Tuvalu, Kirabati and other places that are unlikely to be around in the not too distant future

Just on that, WHEN will governments start to address the likely influx of Climate Change refugees?
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:11 am

Cornlegend, have you or anyone else ever discovered why working people vote against themselves by voting tory?
jantoniusJune 27, 2016 at 9:13 am

A tipping point seems to be Unions.
How many people who live in relative affluence because of a 100+ years of advocacy and support by employee organisations – don’t like Unions, want them curbed?
They believe passionately in the Media portrayal of Union staff as corrupt; while they have little active interest in anything else – not Medicare, not health and education funding, not NBN, not climate.
They treat the exposure of business corruption as just another News story. They don’t categorise these stories like they do anything alleged against a Unionist.
And they are very defiantly content to reap the benefits of expert Union representation for members – which also gains them benefits and some security, for free. If their selfishness and inconsistency is mentioned to them, they scream ‘human rights’, as if they were ‘the Lefties’ they ridicule.
What to do about them? The MSM won’t help.
If Labor could dilute this toxicity they might be in power more often.
Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:14 am

cornlegend
Where are Prince of Wales Island, Oak island? Never heard of them. Climate change refugees? Won’t notice ’em until they’re banging down the door. On the other hand many of the African refugees we already take are really climate change refugees displaced by the apparently endless drought at home. It’s not all about rising sea levels although that will displace many millions after we are gone.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:16 am

Recalcitrant you certainly live up to your name, and then some.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 9:25 am

No, you are wrong, the right wing unions give all unions a bad name, I was in the ASU and they couldn’t have done more for me, they were brilliant, it’s the right wing anti-member unions such as the AWU and SDA who give the union movement a bad name.
OsirisJune 27, 2016 at 9:26 am

Townsvilleblog the LNP hopes to remain in government mainly on the back of spin, definitely not for offering better policies. Their propaganda is akin to Gurdjieff’s story found in Ouspensky’s book “In Search Of The Miraculous”

“There was an evil magician. He lived deep in the mountains and the forests, and he had thousands of sheep. But the problem was that the sheep were afraid of the magician because every day the sheep were seeing that one of them was being killed for his breakfast, another was being killed for his lunch. So they ran away from the magician’s ranch and it was a difficult job to find them in the vast forest. Being a magician, he used magic.

He hypnotized all the sheep and suggested to them first of all that they were immortal and that no harm was being done to them when they were skinned, that, on the contrary, it would be very good for them and even pleasant; secondly he suggested that the magician was a good master who loved his flock so much that he was ready to do anything in the world for them; and in the third place he suggested to them that if anything at all were going to happen to them it was not going to happen just then, at any rate not that day, and therefore they had no need to think about it.

He then told different sheep…to some, “You are a man, you need not be afraid. It is only the sheep who are going to be killed and eaten, not you. You are a man just like I am.” Some other sheep were told, “You are a lion — only sheep are afraid. They escape, they are cowards. You are a lion; you would prefer to die than to run away. You don’t belong to these sheep. So when they are killed it is not your problem. They are meant to be killed, but you are the most loved of my friends in this forest.” In this way, he told every sheep different stories, and from the second day, the sheep stopped running away from the house.

They still saw other sheep being killed, butchered, but it was not their concern. Somebody was a lion, somebody was a tiger, somebody was a man, somebody was a magician and so forth. Nobody was a sheep except the one who was being killed. This way, without keeping servants, he managed thousands of sheep. They would go into the forest for their food, for their water, and they would come back home, believing always one thing: “It is some sheep who is going to be killed, not you. You don’t belong to the sheep. You are a lion — respected, honoured, a friend of the great magician.” The magician’s problems were solved and the sheep never ran away again.”
cornlegendJune 27, 2016 at 9:31 am

Duugy
Prince of Wales Island Alaska,Port Protection is a natural beauty part of Prince of Wales Oak Island Nova Scotia, Canada, a bloody intriguing place {google the Money Pit} quite enjoy mysteries like that, Easter Island statues, Machu Picchu Terracotta Army etc.
My point on Tuvalu, Kirabati and the like is, what are they gonna do when they turn up? you can hardly send them back to where they {once} came from
Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:51 am

jantonius
I agree, but the problem is not only with ungrateful, greedy workers. It is also created by those few unions whose leaders have so disgracefully rorted their responsibilities giving fresh material for the big end of town and their media chums to feed into the echo chamber. Their crimes may be small compared to the gigantic rorting of the tax system at the top but they have done enormous damage to the progressive cause and deserve to be condemned.

Further, given a choice between jobs for members now and the greater good, unions inevitably will go for the former and unhesitatingly use their power within the ALP to force the Party to support this. Daniel Andrews’ idiotic mishandling of the CFA dispute, which is sure to damage Labor’s chances in Victoria this election, has union fingerprints all over it. The CFMEU almost forced the incoming Victorian Labor government to support the construction of the massively damaging (environmentally and economically) East-West tunnel link here in Melbourne. I have no idea how or if the ALP can resolve its relationship with the Union movement from which it emerged initially, but as well as a major source of support (without which the Party would presumably collapse) it is also a major hindrance to its electoral prospects.
MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 9:55 am

Oh, and of course, (the only way) they will come by …….. boat!

Then what?
Douglas EvansJune 27, 2016 at 9:56 am

cornlegend
I should have remembered. Years ago I visited briefly a couple of the islands off Vancouver – lovely part of the world. I’ll be recommending that the grandchildren think about emigrating to Canada. Plenty of room to move north as global warming kicks in.
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 10:13 am

What are voters worried about? How about this?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/last-children-released-from-australian-detention-centres/news-story/db28676fea626281162f8960168449e5

EVERY child locked up in Australian immigration detention centres is free for the first time since Labor’s shameful record of 8469 kids being incarcerated under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

People are worried the boats will start up again. I suspect we have spent something like $15B on a problem Howard had solved and restarted by the ALP.

We stop the boats and take our refugees from UNHCR camps. And there is no way a Coalition govt would have locked up 8,469 children like the ALP did.
MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 10:42 am

Labor fell for the two card LNP goading as a temporary measure which LNP made into a permanent shrine of remembrance – no person (Labor and ordinary (including you, Neil) LNP, except for so called Christians Abbott, Morrison, Dutton and hypnotised/blackmailed supporters) with any decency contemplated that it would lead to what we have now.
Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 10:50 am

townsvilleblog June 27, 2016 at 9:11 am

Religion is what makes people vote Tory
Even today the Happy Clappers at the AOG and other Evangelicals are telling their congregations to vote LNP

Years agos when I was a teen in the 60`s groups of us went to many church assemblies to see what they preached on a Saturday or Sunday and around election time they ALL preached to their congregations to vote LCP [Liberal Country Party back then}

Bob Santamaria was the political Catholic who helped destroy Labor by backing Vince Gair to form the DLP {Democratic Labour Party} and Catholics Australia wide used to listen to Bob Santamaria on TV every Saturday espousing the horrors of Communism and the Labor Party
This lead to ALP LOTO Arthur Calwell being shot and wounded in 1966

Keith Murdoch formed the IPA and began telling Bob Menzies what to do with the latter forming the Liberal Party the year after Keith formed the IPA

Its easy to see how Rupert took it all to the next level with the IPA and his sister Anne {Kantor} was involved the Lefty think tank [opposing IPA and still does] The Australia Institute

Murdoch money helped fund both these institutes for a long time,then Gough Whitlam came along

People were brainwashed by their grandparents parents and MSM into voting against their own best interests
jantoniusJune 27, 2016 at 11:06 am

Is anyone interested in answering Doug?
I’ve got a job to do.
Please do not abuse him.
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 12:00 pm

– no person (Labor and ordinary (including you, Neil) LNP, except for so called Christians Abbott, Morrison, Dutton and hypnotised/blackmailed supporters) with any decency contemplated that it would lead to what we have now.

Well i do not agree. People warned Labor if they abolished the Pacific Solution what could happen. I do remember Labor announcing what they were going to do with great enjoyment saying how much better people they were than the Coalition. 50,000 boat people latter costing us billions i still don’t think Labor had learned

Same goes for the budget. Labor State, Federal, whatever always trashes the budget. All the GFC did was speed up what always happens
W.....June 27, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Yes i am afraid of sodomite freaks destroying the sanctity of marriage
MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 12:30 pm

And how will they do that?
Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 12:32 pm

Here you go Trish Corry

@LesStonehouse @AntonyGreenABC Have it from impeccable sources true 2PP position is ALP 53% LNP 47% this trend will be revealed by Friday
Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 1:19 pm

W…..June 27, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Tell us all here about your fear,you sound positively sanctimonious and I for one would like to know what your are afraid of

Is it sodomite priests marrying hetero couples?

Is it closet gays who are married with children?

The questions go on and on,so please clear your comment up

Are you homophobic?
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 1:22 pm

true 2PP position is ALP 53% LNP 47% this trend will be revealed by Friday

First time i don’t care if ALP wins.

Costello took govt debt from 18% of GDP in 1996 to zero in 2007 and we got our AAA back we lost under Hawke. One of the few countries in the world and maybe human history with no govt debt.

Now govt debt is now back up to 18% of GDP. Next govt whoever it is will lose our AAA. It is Rudd/Gillards fault.

Labor moans about fraudband. Well it will be easy to build the remaining network FTTP and it will never be finished and people will have to pay $500/month for internet
Michael TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 1:42 pm

Neil, I disagree. We got the Rudd NBN in Canberra and it didn’t cost us a cent more. In fact, we saved money because as it meant our phone could switch over to VOIP, we no longer needed to pay the rent on a hard line.
Michael TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 1:44 pm

I was getting download speeds of 98.5 Mbps. Here in Victoria – for $10 more a month – I’m getting only 4.5 at best.

Gosh I’d love to have the Rudd NBN again.
Trish CorryJune 27, 2016 at 1:54 pm

Good news! I predicted 56 but maybe that’s too ambitious! They need to reveal it now. I wonder if betting agencies will catch on?
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 1:57 pm

Do you think they are charging the cost necessary to pay for FTTP or giving everybody a discount? I am on NBN-FTTN and they had to come out three times before they could get me connected. Then it stopped working meaning my home phone did not work since they are connected and i had to wait for someone to come out again.

That never happened when i was on ADSL. My problems were fixed over the phone. Then we have this example of FTTP problems

http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/nbn/heres-the-experience-of-four-different-aussies-on-four-different-nbn-technologies/news-story/d61affce22221d3d47e32507332c5639

Ms Chamberlin said after initially having to go to the ombudsman to expedite the installation process “because it was taking three weeks to dig a trench out the font of our house” during which there was no internet connection at all, the network performance has been great.

If Labor wins the election they can go back to doing the rest FTTP and it would mean every remaining street would need to be dug up and it would never be finished
MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 2:01 pm

And of course Malcolm only had only one thing to do – NBN – what a great “dog in the manger” (the metaphor is now used to speak of those who spitefully prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for) result – example of things to come …..
Carol TaylorJune 27, 2016 at 2:16 pm

I got the impression that Turnbull has never been the slightest bit interested in Australia’s NBN (France’s is a different story, he invested in that one..FTTP..of course). The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN and Turnbull agreed to do it, solely so that he could gain for himself a front bench position from where he could make a play for the leadership, which of course he did. Australia’s future? Australian businesses? Running a poor last in Turnbull’s scheme of things.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 3:15 pm

Neil, Don’t worry your pretty little head about whether they will be charging enough. After they cut the loop holes off the corporate taxation legislation the new Labor government will have an extra $6 to 8 Billion of revenue to pay for their promises an extra $3 billion from the savings of negative gearing, and an extra $48 billion from the corporation tax cut not going ahead so wit that revenue they can probably begin paying down LNP debt of tripling the deficit.
townsvilleblogJune 27, 2016 at 3:26 pm

Carol, what a pair of tory scumbags they are, two pathological liars and WPS.
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 4:15 pm

The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN and Turnbull agreed to do it

Is that the full story? I am not up on all the details but my understanding there was a window of opportunity to stop Labors NBN but that opportunity has now gone. We are now stuck with NBNCo building the NBN either FTTN or FTTP or whatever. It is also not good for a govt company to be building this network because they will take 5x longer and cost 5x more.

I think the Coalition wanted to stop the NBN because they had their own policy but it is now too late. Conroy signed unbreakable contracts

If Labor wins the election they can leave whats done and do the rest FTTP. I bet you it would never be finished. Digging trenches to every home would take a long time.
MichaelJune 27, 2016 at 6:42 pm

My understanding is that fibre is the best around and beats copper hands down; to the premises is better than down the road, which then amounts to (creeping privatisation – an LNP favourite) a co-payment (by us) if we want to get fibre to premises.

As for “govt company to be building this network because they will take 5x longer and cost 5x more” I think we would be at one on this one if we both think that anything to do with public assets all financials must be transparent (self sanitising), proprietary stuff protected by copyright, trademark, etc, minimum “commercial in confidence” and effective whistleblower provisions is just the incentive/s required for accountability – if the price is high, we would soon find out (unlikely to happen again, all parties accountable), if it is low (it could be unfair, mistake, etc) – everyone would know, learn and respect dealing with public assets.

I would rather practice patience to get the best available for all of us (this should be infrastructure for the benefit of all) and rate at least in the top 30 rather than get something second rate and having to regret a rating of 60 and watching the 60 slide further as new countries get on board ahead of us.

For me, based on virtues, I would not want to rely on Malcolm and his cohorts behind me let alone beside me.
Neil of SydneyJune 27, 2016 at 7:23 pm

My understanding is that fibre is the best around

OK let us say you are right. This means building trenches to 93% of homes under Labors FTTP proposal. How long would it take and how much would it cost? Nobody knows. And where FTTP is being built overseas it is being done by private companies not by a govt company like NBNCo. And govt companies are always less efficient than private enterprise.

Only 100,000 homes were connected to Labors FTTP by the end of 2013. Just 12 million premises to go. It would never be finished
Bighead1883June 27, 2016 at 7:51 pm

Neil of Sydney June 27, 2016 at 7:23 pm

It will cost what it does=that`s it
Survey says 67% of people want FTTP

Lnp have no costings for anything for the 4th year now,so Neil your argument is a load of Liberal excrement

How much will DAP cost for another term
How much will the NBN FTTN cost by completion and when will it be finished
How much will defence cost us over the next three years
etc etc etc
LOVOJune 27, 2016 at 8:12 pm

Privatisation will give half the service at double the cost. The only way is the ‘real’ NBN way. NoS.
Möbius EckoJune 27, 2016 at 9:06 pm

Tweets by Neil11450147
townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 9:07 am

Neil, presumably id Asia can do it Australia should be able to do it, I remember when sewage came in and trenches had to be dug, would you rather go back to the night soil man, or go forward with cable or backward with the copper Turnbull has ordered to save money? I’m all for progress.
Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 9:45 am

I’m all for progress.

Me to. But if you had to pay $500/month for it would you agree?

In case you have forgotten Rudd promised in 2007 broadband costing only $4.7B and be finished by 2013. That promise went nowhere. This current NBN policy was thought up on the back of a drinks coaster on some plane flight because their 2007 policy was a dud.

The job was given to Turnbull somewhat tongue in cheek by Abbott was to ‘rip up’ the NBN

Wasn’t tongue in cheek. There was still a window of opportunity to stop this monstrosity. that has now passed we are stuck with NBNCo. At the time i think the Coalition wanted to go back to this

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/395910/opel_would_serving_bush_broadband_today_turnbull/

Federal opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has used his National Press Club address to argue the decision to scrap the Howard government’s OPEL network for an NBN has denied the bush broadband services over the past three years.

Turnbull gave familiar arguments against the NBN saying the network is too costly, won’t result in more affordable broadband services and will stifle competition.

We are now being sued because Conroy broke signed Howard govt contracts.
Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 9:55 am

“In case you have forgotten Rudd promised in 2007 broadband costing only $4.7B and be finished by 2013.”

Neil is yet again raising the same out of context crap he’s always done. I’ve never seen a person so narrowly fixated on anything.

In case Neil has forgotten, this point has been addressed and corrected for him numerous times, but as he has always done, and always will do, he’ll ignore the corrections and facts to engage in his answer to everything that’s bad and wrong about the Liberal Party, Labor.

Once corrected he’ll go off on another tangent of Labor bashing, repeating the same things, only to raise a point again as though he was never given the fact or context.

What a sad and limited person he is.
townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 10:02 am

LOVO I agree wholeheartedly.
Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 10:28 am

The NBN Explained: A Huge Chat With Former NBN Board Member Simon Hackett
Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 10:30 am

LOVO I agree wholeheartedly.

In case you have forgotten ALP’s 2007 policy was for broadband to be built by private industry and be finished by 2013. So ALP is not against private companies The current NBN policy was thought up on the back of a drinks coaster.

All the ALP has done is set up back years. It is now 2016 and where are we? Only 100,000 homes were connected to the NBN by 2013. Changing to FTTN has increased numbers being connected but there are 12 million premises to be connected.

Labors NBN has dried up private investment. Optus, Telstra can’t do anything because NBNCo is doing everything
Kaye LeeJune 28, 2016 at 10:50 am

While 1,402,909 premises should have been approved at the date of the report, the figure was sitting at 662,665 – 740,000 fewer than planned.

The snapshot says NBN Co has achieved 29,005 fibre-to-the-node “construction completions”, while noting its internally budgeted target for this period was more than three times this at 94,273.

Under the heading “Commercial in Confidence: Scale the Deployment Program”, the report outlines a plethora of faults, including that delays in power approvals and construction are being caused by electricity companies which account for 38,537 premises or 59 per cent of overall slippages against the target. (FTTP did not require electrical supply but FTTN does)

Another 30 per cent of delays are down to material shortages and a further 11 per cent are attributed to completion reviews.

“Despite Design Commencements remaining above budget, all other significant milestones of FTTN continue to remain behind target,” the report states.

Also noted in the report is a rise in the cost per connection of design and construction, which has now reached $1366, compared with the target price of $1114 – a 23 per cent increase.

NoS,

The FttP rollout is going well…it is the FttN and MTM that are causing the probs.
Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 12:09 pm

The FttP rollout is going well…it is the FttN and MTM that are causing the probs.

I thought FTTP rollout had stopped.
townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 1:45 pm

Möbius Ecko, yes its sad to see such a demented little man thrashing about in frustration because he understands that on Saturday night we will have a new Labor government that will look after “the Australian people” instead of the big corporations. It’s an easy decision, if you are a “person” vote Labor, and if you are a “corporation” vote LNP.
townsvilleblogJune 28, 2016 at 2:03 pm

Kaye, thanks for giving us “the facts” much appreciated. You are a very knowledgeable lady.
Neil of SydneyJune 28, 2016 at 2:13 pm

Möbius Ecko, yes its sad to see such a demented little man thrashing about in frustration because he understands that on Saturday night we will have a new Labor government t

Well i wish Mobius would tell me what he is talking about. This was Labors 2007 election promised which helped them win the 2007 election. It was supposed to be finished by 2013. It was thrown in the bin not long after Rudd won govt

Labor commits to investing up to $4.7 billion into a new high speed national broadband network for 98 per cent of Australians. This will be fibre optic to the node. 12 megabits per second – and capable of upscaling. It will be laid out over 5 years in partnership with the private sector. In the 19th century, nation builders laid out the railway network. In the 21st century, nation builders are laying out high speed
jimhazJune 28, 2016 at 2:42 pm

I’m certain the ALP NBN costs and delays would have blown out considerably. It is the way of almost all such projects and pollies in particular go for the best set of figures that suit them.

That said the total cost public and private for the LNP FTTN MUST be much higher over the life of the NBN due to the loss of economies of scale and the opportunity cost of the organisational complexity of multiple non-integrated fibre from node to home installations (which Kaye has already encountered).

On top of this is efficiency loss due to the slowness of takeup with FTTN – due to the cost of getting fibre from the node to the home. This prevents business from developing high intensity web systems that would be suitable for all – they’l l have to have develop, market and maintain slow copper and fast fibre web systems – and this extra cost and much lower potential market may prevent some from being viable businesses. So we fall behind the rest of the world and are less competitive.
Michael TaylorJune 28, 2016 at 2:50 pm

How ironic that we don’t see NoS for months, then all of a sudden in election week . . .

Neil, your last comment was just a cut and paste of a comment you’ve posted a million times. I would have thought that during your absence you might at least have come up with something new.

Yawn.
Möbius EckoJune 28, 2016 at 3:00 pm

Something new Migs, you are joking. Go to anywhere Neil posts or look at his long sordid history on the blogs we’ve participated in and you will see the same posts from NoS come up time and again, just a few words are shuffled around every now and again. He employs the exact same obfuscations, misdirections and thread derailment in all of them, and it’s nearly all focused on Labor and mostly Labor distant past for that. You can be assured that as soon a Liberal failure is raised, and we all know there is a long string of so many of them, and up pops Neil with Labor.

I’ve never seen anyone so narrow minded and fixated.
Kaye LeeJune 28, 2016 at 3:03 pm

While it wasn’t the original plan of the first Rudd-government to build an FTTP network, an anti-competitive and less than cooperative privatised Telstra who monopolised fixed-line telecommunications in Australia forced the Government to be innovative. The Government ditched the original plan for an open-tender Fibre to the Node network, with a Government-owned company overbuilding the existing network to bypass Telstra.

With a new plan — the NBN, Mark II, the threat of a Government-owned Enterprise building a Fibre network across Australia, overbuilding Telstra’s copper network, forced the company to cooperate and finally structurally separate into a Retail and Wholesale company.
FreethinkerJune 28, 2016 at 3:59 pm

Today Essential report poll
Labor 51%
Coalition 49%
Greens 10%
Nick Xenophon Team 4%

Without preferences:
Coalition 39%
Labor 37%

It is interesting that the Labor and Liberal are equal at 37%
73% of the Labor supporters give first preference to the Greens
Trish CorryJune 28, 2016 at 4:27 pm

They say if coalition is below 40 they can’t win. Anyone else heard this?
KizhmetJune 28, 2016 at 5:30 pm

@Trish – if the poll Freethinker kindly posted is anywhere near right and what you’ve heard is true … We may just get th change our country so desperately needs.
townsvilleblogJune 29, 2016 at 9:43 am

Freethinker, so what’s you point, both parties are progressive parties, the LNP is a regressive party who want to use $50 billion of “our” hard earned tax money not for our health or education, but as a donation to parasites who pay little to no tax, so please if you have a point, please make it.
townsvilleblogJune 29, 2016 at 9:45 am

Oh! pardon me, I misread your post freethinker, that’s great, it would be closer to the truth than the murdoch poll, you little beauty!!!

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Australian Voters – What are you afraid of?

Rules and Societal Norms shape who we are

If you are NOT voting 1 Labor, what are you afraid of?

Vote Labor to put people first on July 2. Don’t be afraid.

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The ABC’s Colonel Blimp

The rise and rise of the right

Rules and Societal Norms shape who we are

If you are NOT voting 1 Labor, what are you afraid of?

Vote Labor to put people first on July 2. Don’t be afraid.

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