What Abbott Taught Us

May 31, 2014
Written by: Dr Victoria Fielding
83 Replies

I know it’s going to be really hard for most of Australia to be convinced that Tony Abbott has done us a favour, because everything so far that he has done for Australia since becoming Prime Minister has been the opposite of a favour. However, it has occurred to me that Abbott, unbeknownst to himself, has, through being the worst Prime Minister we have ever had, done us the favour of teaching us some lessons that I hope are taught well enough that we won’t forget. So that we don’t go and make the same mistake twice in 2016. Here are some of the key lessons Abbott has imparted so far in his first shambolic, chaotic term:

Conservative Liberals are conservative Liberals.

If it walks like a conservative Liberal, talks like a conservative Liberal and quacks like a conservative Liberal, I hope we have all learned that it’s a duck. Seriously folks, I know you all feel like there’s not much point us all saying this over and over again, but sometimes I feel I need to say it just a few more times quietly to myself to keep from going insane and screaming from the roof tops with the scale of my ‘I told you so’ impulse. But yeah, I did tell everyone and not enough of the people who needed to listen listened. Yet, perhaps they are listening now?

Abbott has always been a conservative. No matter what way you ‘spin’ it, none of his behaviour whilst in Howard’s government for all those years told us anything more than we already knew about how right-wing-fanatical-conservative Liberals behave. It has always be thus.

You only have to know their two favourite words to understand Abbott and his government’s entire ideology, which drives their entire raison d’être. User pays. The likes of Abbott’s have a subconscious thought process that goes something like this: those who are born poor and haven’t worked hard enough are too lazy to stop being poor and are lazy and dependant on hard working rich people who pay taxes. Rich people who pay taxes shouldn’t be relied on to fund the lives of lazy, immoral poor people who are too lazy to get rich and pay taxes. It’s immoral to let people be dependent on the government and a big government encourages people to be lazy and to depend on the government. Big government should be destroyed in preference for a small, useless, and not able to be dependable government. Users should pay their way, so user pays is the best system for funding everything including health, education, infrastructure, community, everything. If user can’t afford to pay, user doesn’t get and user should stop being so lazy and hungry and in need of shelter and should go and get rich so they’re not reliant on the rich people who have to pay tax to support them.

Get it? This is the way conservative Liberals like Abbott have always seen the world, and always will see the world. Once you recognise this mentality, you can see it in everything Abbott does and in all his policies and of course all over his budget. We should never ever forget this. Abbott and his ilk will always be this way. A fair chunk of the voting public also think like this. But those who don’t share this attitude shouldn’t vote for Abbott, and if they do vote for Abbott and they’re surprised that they get a duck for a Prime Minister, they should learn from their mistake and never do it again.

Running the country takes more than a 3 word slogan.

You know how it was really fashionable and mainstream over the last six years to run with the line that the Labor government was chaotic and dysfunctional and needed to be voted out for this reason, especially after Labor formed a minority government in 2010? Abbott’s government has proven, through a continuous barrage of chaotic mistakes, missteps, scandals, embarrassments, tragedies, ships pinging themselves, diplomatic rows with Indonesia, a murdered asylum seeker, lobbyist chiefs of staff, expense scandals, a biased Speaker, back-bench revolts, the c-bomb in Parliament, the shutting down of an industry, scholarship nepotism, senior leaders not knowing details about the budget, wink gaffes, that it’s not as easy as it looks to run a country. Note that this list is long enough, without also including two nationwide marches of tens of thousands disgruntled voters, or any of the policy horror stories included in the most unpopular budget of all time. So we have learned that three word slogans count for less than nothing. And the outcome of this is that Abbott’s government has shown the previous Labor government to be the policy-successful, cohesive, on-message, highly professional and well-oiled machine that I always said they were, despite Rudd’s white-anting. I told you so. Oops, another one slipped out.

The mainstream media is terrible at reporting politics and covering political campaigns.

I’m clearly not the only person at the moment who has noticed that the mainstream media isn’t wearing any clothes. Not only did they completely fail to scrutinise Abbott’s character and policy plans before the election, but now they are floundering around, failing to adequately explain what it is that Abbott is trying to do to the country. How many times do we have to hear a political journalist say that Abbott needs to ‘improve his message’ before these so-called professional journalists understand that you can’t just spit on and polish this turd of a budget?

Abbott’s polling problems have nothing to do with ‘message’ or the ‘sales job’ and everything to do with the actual policies contained within the budget papers. Policies. You know, those things that decide how the wealth of the country will be distributed, who will pay what tax, who will receive what services and who has access to what support? This is seriously important stuff for political journalists to be looking at, but every time they get paid to open their mouths or to put pen to paper, all we hear commentary about is Abbott’s spin-job. It’s a disgrace. And it’s this disgrace that enabled Abbott to get the job in the first place. Shame on you all.

Here’s a couple of tips for journalists who are trying to work out where they’ve gone wrong at doing their really important jobs. The first thing they need to understand is that Australians didn’t need to hear them discuss how Hockey sold the budget, because we were listening to Hockey and we heard exactly what he said. We speak English just as well as journalists do, and our ears and eyes function in exactly the same way. The second thing they need to know is that the Liberal government’s polls are bad because the budget is a horror movie for the Australian community. Not because it was sold badly. How about putting that objective perspective out there, just for a change? This is not a two-horse spin race. This is people’s lives. This is everyone’s lives.

There were more than one or two progressive policies worth defending in the election.

Enough said.

The fate of our community is our own fate.

Abbott’s budget proved that the community does care about the community. And isn’t that what being a progressive is all about?

Sometimes it’s not until the values of a community are so blatantly threatened like they have been by Abbott’s budget that people realise even if these policies aren’t going to be personally detrimental to them, they are going to be detrimental to lots of other people in the community and that this is not fair. When voters start to think about what is fair and how they want their country to be fairer, progressives are bred in huge numbers. So perhaps the community has learned that they do care about their community. And perhaps this is Abbott’s most important legacy that we should be most grateful for. Abbott is breeding progressives. And progressives don’t vote for Abbott.

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Jeff MarshMay 31, 2014 at 10:38 am

We will forgive them, Vic. We will continue to love them as we would our sisters and brothers. And if they do it again: we will beat them with watermelons!

M-RMay 31, 2014 at 10:50 am

Well said, O SA mouthpiece for we silent ones ! Keep at it mate ! Lots more foaming at the mouth, PLEASE ! I don’t have your arena to do my own foaming, so you’ll just have to do it for me, OK ? 🙂 Oh, and btw: I haven’t shown your restraint in the ‘ITYS !’ stakes …

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 10:53 am

Nup I not so forgiving
People that voted for this mob, friends , co workers
I say to them now
“Suffer in you jocks” when they complain now
“The me only theory hasn’t worked out for you lot now hey
So piss off and tell someone that cares”

Vasilios MavropoulosMay 31, 2014 at 10:59 am

I hope so. Their is great need for them!

Met AL MikeMay 31, 2014 at 11:01 am

Very well done article Vic going to heart of the mater the thought in the minds of all sane minded Australians. I will also forgive them as of course I can’t do much else as much as I would like to choke them.

flrpwllMay 31, 2014 at 11:07 am

Yeaaah, not so much with all the forgiving on my end.

ONE of them I will forgive because she genuinely thought it would make everyones lives easier, because “economy” blah blah.

Everyone else I know? Actually voted for that shit specifically because they liked him. I have an extended family full of Thatcherites. We all knew what was going to happen and they are *happy!* about it.

mars08May 31, 2014 at 11:17 am

What Abbott taught us?

“….politicians are gonna be judged on everything they say, but sometimes, in the heat of discussion, you go a little bit further than you would if it was an absolutely calm, considered, prepared, scripted remark, which is one of the reasons why the statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth is those carefully prepared scripted remarks.”

Abbott taught us that even his absolute “gospel truth” is self-serving bullshit!!!

flohri1754May 31, 2014 at 11:21 am

A rough ride in the immediate future … what I want to hear from both Labor and the Greens is “we will reverse any of these changes that stagger through the Senate when next in government”

June M Bullivant OamMay 31, 2014 at 11:22 am

Yesterday I watched a speech by Clive Palmer who spoke in plain English, who actually answered the question, he looked people in the eye. He was a breath of fresh air to listen to, no evading the question and putting his spin on it, didn’t blame, didn’t shame’ didn’t call anyone names, had no three word slogans, didn’t repeat himself over and over. The only problem is that Clive is being treated like Pauline Hanson, will he survive the onslaught and the dirty tricks from the major parties.

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 11:28 am

Yep I will Clive that
Just an old fashioned bloke
That tells it how it is, answers questions, no spin, no blame, no debt
And dosnt say Labor 50 faaarkin times like those Liarbils
Yes it was refreshing, but I wouldn’t vote for Clive
He is millionaire just like the rest of the fat cats in libs

JohnMay 31, 2014 at 11:46 am

Reblogged this on jpratt27 and commented:
It’s an important lesson Abbott has taught us.

bobraftoMay 31, 2014 at 11:57 am

, they should learn from their mistake and never do it again.

Do it once and call it a mistake, do it twice and call it choice.

Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 11:58 am

Great article Victoria however I knew Abbott was a lying deceiving elitist during the Howard years and what the hell changed. Absolutely nothing. People don’t remember the past and the media just let it roll by like so much water of a ducks back. Abbott was an appalling unethical elitist back then but who remembers?

Labor and the media were remiss in reminding the electorate of Howard and the complicity of Abbott in profligate giving to the middle and upper echelons while winding back worker protections wherever possible. Abbott as health minister was a firgin disaster.

The wealthy have the upper hand because they own stuff that you and I cannot access like the media and they can pick and chose journalists and the political leaning of their media. When things are going well forget the progressives and when the crap hits the fan we have to drag ourselves out kicking and fighting into the fray.

We all knew what the hell was going to happen but how to keep peoples eyes open. You raise and important issue and maybe, just maybe, this time we can keep the focus upon the immortality of conservative politics in the long term.

lefturnaheadMay 31, 2014 at 12:05 pm

This is a very good article and i agree with you about some journalist. I will sit there and listen to a politicians answer and will take it all in then form my own opinion about that answer,but then the commentator journalist will then explain to me what the politicians answer meant,””WTF”’ I dont need some 3rd rate partisan hack to explain to me what i just spent 5 minutes listenening to,and what the hack is saying to me is ;;; now dont you worry your tiny little brain trying to decipher what was just said,i will translate it for you and you will feel all warm and fuzzy now that the complicated answer has been explained to you by a ” professional” journalist. And they wonder why most of us regard them with utter contempt. Thanks again for your writing i really enjoy it.

mars08May 31, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Stephen Tardrew:

We all knew what the hell was going to happen but how to keep peoples eyes open…

That’s an interesting point. There were many reasons to… ah…. errrr… ah… um… ehhh…. HEY!!!! Shane Warne has a new girlfriend!!! Masterchef rocks!!!! Wasn’t the State of Origin awesome!!!! What’s with Miranda Kerr????? WAIT!!! Oh, have you seen Angelina Jolie’s new movie????

We get the kind of government we deserve!

Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 12:17 pm

I certainly agree that it is not selling the budget that is a failure – it is the budget itself is a failure. Any trying to sell this budget is just lipstick on a pig – it is still a partner I would not want to go out with.

To some extent I disagree with the progressive/conservative duality. Sometimes being concerned with the community means being progressive, sometimes conservative. Thus I disagree with simplistic Left/Right labels – it is doing the right thing that counts. After all don’t we want to conserve the Tasmanian forests, the Great Barrier Reef, and the people of Windsor their heritage town against so-called progress?

I certainly think that those who consider themselves conservatives and thus vote Liberal should be forgiven. What they must realise is that Abbott and the Liberals do not represent their conservative values. Abbott and the current Liberals are not conservatives – they are destructives. The Liberals represent the worst of capitalist values (not that everything about capitalism is bad, it just needs the right constraints to not descend into a criminal society). As Victoria says the Liberals represent the most extreme side of the ‘user pays’ principle.

And like Victoria says the Liberals feed the belief that those who are rich have worked extremely hard to get it and those who are poor are lazy bludgers. In reality, life is a statistical gamble and hard work is no guarantee of financial success and lack of financial success is no indication of laziness. In fact, we must tolerate and accept failure if we are to progress – for every successful idea there must be many failures which prove the successful path.

That is evolution and to make this system work we need to keep it in good health, provided with the right nutrients and energy. That is the purpose of government, but right now, Abbott is starving the system of nutrients and energy. Abbott crushes the energy by making people feel bad about Australia, how the economy is in a mess, etc. His message is all negative and what we need is positive spiritual energy to progress in the right ways.

I certainly hope that Abbott has taught us these lessons by showing how bad the extreme opposite is.

hemingway13May 31, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Our debt of gratitude for the perspicacity and lucidity of Ms Rollison continues to grow in yet another brilliant article of hers.

Linda KouvarasMay 31, 2014 at 12:24 pm

Hear, hear! this is the most despicable, short-sighted, narrow-visioned, vindictive, slug-thug Govt I’ve seen in this country and I thought Howard was bad!!

All ye who think Clive is our shining knight in white armour, be wary – he’s also capable of *not* being straight and of galling shonkiness… I dread to think his power base might grow, even tho I do of course like that he’s going to block some of the thug cuts Rabid wants to bring in (and let’s watch that space closely – what kind of deals is he cooking up w/ Shlocky et al so they get his support…??)

DavidMay 31, 2014 at 12:31 pm

Its time for a political revolution in this country. We need a far left party to get up, and win. The neo-cons of this world need their nose bloodied like its never been bloodied before. I never thought I’d say this, but I hate the capitalism system that we now have, it serves no-one except corporate conglomerates, psychopathic lying politicians with ego’s as big as Uranus and selfish consumers who have too much money. The entire monetary, social, political and corporate landscape needs a massive overhaul.
How? is a damn good question. It will be forced upon us one day by the environment (Climate change, species loss, loss of habitat, peak-oil and a host of others).

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 12:34 pm

It all depends on the peking duck, and banana split
with coconut ice cream, but then you throw some chopstick diplomacy in
and who knows what Clive and Turnbull are bloody up too,
I smell a rat yep, or a few rats even

I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them
and that would not be far,
they are all overweight, white anglo saxon males
who think they can run he country from a Chinese restaurant
on the taxpayers expense?
Martin Parkinson is the elephant in the room though

Denisio FabulosoMay 31, 2014 at 12:36 pm

OK you Abbott voters… pay attention. Can I say I think the lady with the yellow sign is far too nice? You helped elect one of the most self interested, incompetent, dishonest Governments in our history. Manifest social/policy chaos in less than a year. (Classic Dunning/Kruger outcome!) I think you’re dumb arse suckers… and it was more than obvious BEFORE the election. Nice going. I really hope you stand to feel some pain. You handsomely deserve it. Sheesh.

hemingway13May 31, 2014 at 12:38 pm

“Shane Warne has a new girlfriend!!! Masterchef rocks!!!! Wasn’t the State of Origin awesome!!!! What’s with Miranda Kerr????? WAIT!!! Oh, have you seen Angelina Jolie’s new movie????”

Hey, those are their only stories which have a bit of factual content taken from real events like a footy game. They write about politics what ever fairydust they’re ordered by their mega-corporation moguls to sprinkle upon we benighted audiences and readers. “The Insiders” on ABC TV is their celebrity journo fun-fest where they sit on nice cushy furniture wallowing in their smug political attitudes, which are part of their fringe benefits of their big-paying cushy jobs.

RobMay 31, 2014 at 12:40 pm

To swing their vote they need forgiveness. But boy it is hard.

Proposed T shirt.

WHO
HERE
VOTED
FOR
THIS?
Step forward, we need to talk.

RobMay 31, 2014 at 12:45 pm

Which is the better reason to break a promise?
Total global irreversible environmental destruction,
or
a budget deficit in ten years time?

bjkelly1958May 31, 2014 at 12:48 pm

1. I hope Abbott is breeding progressives but with the increasingly multi-cultural nature of the voting public, traditional ethnic values may affect voting trends. Political and social awareness breeds progressives in an oppressive environment.
2.The rich gleefully ignore that they have grown rich on the hard work of their employees and the support of Governments. Decades of hard work may keep your family fed and, one hoped, educated, clothed and housed. It is no guarantee of becoming rich. Check out how many vegetable and stock feed billionaires there are. The trickle down effect has proved to be a lie over and over again. Poverty is not a sign of laziness, it is a sign of the greed of the rich.
3.Journalists claim to be professionals. I read a quote once which said”A professional is someone who returns part of what they earn back into the business to sustain or improve it, much in the way that doctors, engineers and solicitors do, and in the way journalists and prostitutes do not.” I would suggest that there are a great many “journalists” in Australia who are taking their pay under false pretenses. They neither analyse, honestly, what has been said or written by our politicians and other influential persons, nor do they investigate the background of their stories beyond the press release. There are of course, some notable exceptions, but it is sad they are the exception rather than the norm. However, in keeping with the other occupation to which they are likened, our commercial news services do try to leave us with “a happy ending”.

Joe BanksMay 31, 2014 at 1:04 pm

Thank you Victoria. I hope Abbott has also taught us that democracy does not end after votes are cast on polling day. It is an ongoing responsibility of those elected to abide by their commitments and for us to hold them to account – especially if they reveal themselves as malicious cheats and liars.

The Abbott-Hockey budget is born from deceit because the coalition stole power by misrepresenting their true intentions to the voting public. The Senate should now use its own power to send the people back to the polls to decide the fate of this budget and this government.

Senators must be persuaded NOW to reject every part of the budget. EVEN if Abbott & co. are willing to make adjustments and compromises – The Budget MUST still be rejected because the clear INTENTION behind the budget must be strenuously rejected. To do anything else would be simply to DELAY its implementation at a later time. And, make no mistake, this budget is just the start; there is even worse to come.

The urgency is now! By 2016 it will be too late! Truck loads of cash will start pouring into the ‘expectation accounts’ of the gullible who voted for the coalition in 2013 and…. All will be forgiven!
Didn’t Abbott say: “It’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.”

JaneMay 31, 2014 at 1:18 pm

Mr Abbot is possibly the best prime minister Australia has ever had. He is an intellectual (Rhodes Scholar) and is able to portray himself as an everyman.

corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 1:23 pm

I hope that tenure of Mr Abbott’s “leadership” will, if nothing else, be instructive to examine the fundamental plausability of what people say whilst campaigning to obtain positions of power.
Even if you accept the basic assumption the conservative government means fiscal sensibility, the first rule of rules is that there are always exceptions(with exceptions, of course).
The LNP went into the last election with promises to axe taxes without imposing new or increasing existing ones(decrease revenue), increase subsidies in “direct action”, the PPL scheme et al(increase spending), whist not only balancing the budget but decreasing debt.
Even cursory inspection shows fundamental flaws in the maths. This leaves omission, deception or disturbing fiscal naivety(or possibly a combination of all three).
Straya, if you are going to buy a product because it comes in a shiny, colorful box covered with small words in big letters making grand promises, for fark’s sake at least shake the box to make sure it isn’t empty.

corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 1:28 pm

P.s. illuminating, penetrating and perspicacious perspective on the myriad qualities preferable in a head of state, Jane , although I personally disagree with the preambling conclusion.

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 1:46 pm

Yep the only roads Tone’s
has is the ROADS to nowhere
Rhodes Scholars is someone who
has studied worked hard and got said scholar

Unlike Tone’s who cheated his way through
and now it is showing, he has always been
a cheater, liar, and a thief, who has a deep dislike for women
This comes from his mother, it started with her, and now the whole country is paying
because he is a misogynist aggressive pig who has only got his nose in the troff
to feather his and his rich mates nests….
Rhodes scholar???… and pigs might fly toooo LOL

Dela LordMay 31, 2014 at 1:52 pm

Jane Jane Jane words desert me. Best PM ever ? Rhodes Scholar ?

Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 1:57 pm

Everyman’s dunce.

Keitha GranvilleMay 31, 2014 at 2:33 pm

We are liking listening to Clive too, EXCEPT he is a billionaire and if any of the plicies suit him as a business man he will dump on the welfare state to suit his business needs I suspect. If he doesn’t good on him, if he does then PUP will be finished as another “says one thing then does another ” party. I too am SOOOOOOO tired of the Labor’s diaster that we have to clean up story – GET OVER IT. You are the party at the helm now, you are the “adults in charge”, what a laugh. Glad you’re not in charge of my kids. Has anyone noticed that this is atrting to look like Germany in the late 30s ? And by the end of the 40s all of the people were saying “we didn’t know anything really bad was happening to all those people “. Let me say, I TOLD YOU SO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. IT’S ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS. They are a lying sneaky bag of finks (a good old fashioned word cos I’m, too polite to use anything else) and will now go to the cross benches in the Senate – most of whom are pretending to be independent when they are actually quasi Liberal card carrying memebrs of the IPA – and buy them off to get their horrible budget passed. Hang in their Greens, PUPs and anyone else with a shred of integrity.

Keitha GranvilleMay 31, 2014 at 2:35 pm

apologies for the spelling errors in my previous post – I get so angry that I just type away without spell checking . . . please forgive me

Michael SlocumMay 31, 2014 at 2:49 pm

This is arguably the finest and most accurate and simply put piece of journalism I have had the privilege to read on The AIMN. Victoria, I salute you.

Julie JMay 31, 2014 at 2:52 pm

Ultimately we get what we deserve. Deserve better!

Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 3:02 pm

Jane, Abbott is no intellectual. The Rhodes Scholarship does not prove this. It is mainly given to those who are promoted by someone else for some quality they believe in, like maybe excelling at school sport.

Abbott is an elitist – that is hardly everyman, unless you mean hardly being able to put a coherent sentence together like Bush and Howard.

Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 3:55 pm

Abbott’s taught me,that the Australian Main Stream Media can take any LYING,EMPTY SLOGANS FOR BOGANS MORON,and promote him.With enough gullible non-thinkers in the country to get them aka Abbott & his mob elected.

My biggest fear,who’s to say said Main Stream Media can’t do it again? (Get Abbott re-elected and/or get another moron in).

Sadly,I STILL know of people who seriously claim Abbott is doing a great job,but NO SURPRISE to me,can NOT say why.Which of course says more about them than anything.

Great article.

Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 4:02 pm

Jane if you are serious on your claim? Having degree/s is NOT proof of being intelligent (No system is perfect,even a moron can pass in a flawed system) .Actions,words and being able to think on your feet is a better sign.There is more examples that Abbott is a moron,than being intelligent (Getting elected doesn’t count because fooling enough morons with the aid of the MSM is NOT intelligence.It’s more of a sign too many in the public are idiots.).An example (of too many) that Abbott is a moron:-

whatismoreMay 31, 2014 at 4:04 pm

Thankyou Victoria for another wonderful article outing the current stable of msm journalists and the press gallery for the cowards that they are. Just when, I thought that Mark Kenny had grown a pair of balls, he writes that there might be some tax cuts for us in the 2016 budget: poor compensation for tearing down the fabric of our society. Lenore Taylor has the perfect platform to go hard but her articles are so anaemic, I can never finish reading them. When the ABC is cut, it will be interesting to see if the plethora of conservative journalists and managers are maintained on their high salaries while smaller state offices are dismantled.

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 4:30 pm

Tony Abbott has no time for Bernie Banton – YouTube
► 1:02► 1:02
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjklT59clE4
Oct 30, 2007 – Uploaded by wingaaardiumleviosa
Check out what Tony Abbott really thinks of Bernie Banton in this video. Liberal Health …

mars08May 31, 2014 at 4:36 pm

Wayne Turner:

Abbott’s taught me,that the Australian Main Stream Media can take any LYING,EMPTY SLOGANS FOR BOGANS MORON,and promote him…

It’s absurd isn’t it?

After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM. That’s despite telling the voters… “We will be a no surprises, no excuses government, because you are sick of nasty surprises and lame excuses from people that you have trusted with your future.” He lies in opposition, he lied to get elected and he had not stopped!!! If fact, up until the budget, the MSM barely noticed the endless string of broken promises and outright lies

Yet we still have blowhards who support this buffoon no matter what he does. Because, they insist, is cleaning up Labor’s mess… he is doing the right thing for the nation. And how do they know this? Well, because Abbott, Hockey, Pyne, Cormann, Hunt etc SAY IT IS SO!

How much further down the (r)abbott hole can we go?

Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 4:40 pm

The most telling part of Jane’s comment was this “and is able to portray himself as an everyman”. It’s all about the image. Tony loves having his photo taken and people like Jane equate photo ops with some sort of quality to run our country. Oh look, he pitches in at the factory. Oh look, he gets his photo taken driving a fire truck. Oh look, he cycles for charity (while charging us thousands for his electioneering along the way). Oh look he can make a salad (whilst daughter hovers watching in amazement).

I am sick of people “portraying” an image Jane. And I am sick of silly people being sucked in by photo ops.

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 4:41 pm

When Tony didn’t meet Bernie Banton, when J Bishop trampled on asbestosis victims, the Right just doesn’t get it

Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 4:44 pm

Please, please, please this can’t be our glorious leader.

Had to walk outside and check what planet I am on.

Sure he is not an alien ring-in from the planet of Nongs?

Makes you think which direction evolution is going.

Conservatism = repeating endless mistakes underscored by reverence of fairy land primitivism.

Pretty well sounds right to me.

Please Nongs come and take him back its not fair to leave him with us.

corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 4:53 pm

Lesson number 2( vying for no.1) for my fair land, should be that inner party shenanigans, combined with corporate and media are destabilising the democratic aspects of the political process to our mutual detriment.
Without even going into media manipulation(“peace”out to you, Rupert) or underlying business brown-bagging, internal machinations within the ALP gave us discontinuity of regime between elections, leading to a situation where internal machinations within the LNP gave us Tony Abbott, and he was able to be presented as some sort of preferred option.
Straya, we need to clean the nest up. I think it’s full of cuckoos and lice.
Even if you hate the Greens with a passion, they’re right about us needing an ICAC.

sweetwillowmanMay 31, 2014 at 4:56 pm

Reblogged this on love2ascend.com.

Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm

Indeed mars08 😉 This really should have been the end of Abbott’s (lack of) leadership,how could anyone with a functioning brain (clearly NOT enough people 🙁 ) believe a word Abbott says after he confessed he’s a LIAR (unless it’s written down as “gospel truth”):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eai3eKPEV5I

Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm

It makes me want to cry seeing this was not the death knell of Abbott. How appallingly bad does it have to be before his lying and deception are exposed and clearly defined as immoral and totally unacceptable. Could you imagine what would have happened to Julia if she performed like this. She would have been vilified into the sunset. Australians are turning into a bunch of dumb ignoramuses.

corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 5:06 pm

And yes, Kaye, lesson number 3 might be; do not take a person as a suitable head of state based on their ability to chameleon convincingly and portray a low common denominator.
The ability of a Rhodes scholar to speak convincing kindie is not impressive, he should stick around and answer the grown up questions in grown up language after the kids have got bored and run off to play. He should probably also be able to answer questions without “phoning a friend” through an earpiece. And maybe answer some public questions while not wearing lycra(bit threatened by that).
Maybe on Q&A.
Without an earpiece.

Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 5:11 pm

corvus boreus,

The people who hate the greens are the people who hate having a conscience. They are the voice of what we should be and the need for a national ICAC must be obvious to all.

Politics has become a game in this country. It’s more about winning an election than public service. I realise you can’t govern unless you win but when you are in government, don’t waste time fighting over who gets to wear the crown. I am very angry with Labor because they gave the opening for someone like Abbott to get the job, much like the draconian measures of the Treaty of Versailles opened the door for someone like Hitler to rise to power. Labor dropped the ball because they were looking at polls and they should be condemned for this.

john921fraserMay 31, 2014 at 5:19 pm

I think Labor also got caught up in Canberra.

They forgot to take a break and get out and listen to what Australia was saying.

Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 5:21 pm

I find that humour makes me cry nowadays. rossleighbrisbane’s articles are too factual to be called satire, likewise for John Clarke’s normally funny take on things.

http://mrjohnclarke.com/tinkering/post/bumper-post-budget-quiz-2014/

corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 5:26 pm

Unfortunately, it is now a game in which the leader has recently said it is sometimes best to “throw your best punch”. The fact that this act contravened the rules of the sport code he was playing did not deter him. Nor does he, in hindsight, show regret in his reflections. I played dirty as a young fool, then cleaned up my conduct as an adult when the penny dropped that we all played the same sport on the same field under the same sky. Tony Abbott is still a dirty player.
REF!!!

mars08May 31, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Wayne Turner:

…he’s a LIAR (unless it’s written down as “gospel truth”)…

But the past few months has clearly shown that IT DOESN’T MATTER if it’s written down or not. He will say whatever it takes to get what he wants. He simply cannot be trusted. Never ever.

Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 5:57 pm

I’m not sure who said this,since it was quoted “After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM”

Actually, they weren’t vague promises, they were very specific promises, but promises Abbott knew he wasn’t going to keep, so they were deceptions. A lot of us felt that there was no way he was serious about keeping those promises and we were right.

But we were also right to vote against him for what he did state – destroy carbon pricing, destroy mining tax, destroy the NBN, and destroy foreign aid. Unfortunately there seem to have been enough people who thought those backward moves were good ideas and furthermore they would benefit the economy, which they wouldn’t.

Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 6:08 pm

Yeap mars08 Abbott lies written down or otherwise.

Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 6:14 pm

In Abbott’s world “No excuses” & “No surprises” = All we get is (lying – THERE IS NO BUDGET EMERGENCY & NO DEBT CRISIS – JUST ASK AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT) excuses blaming Labor and talking down the economy,and at least there was no surprises to me.I knew this mob were going to be terrible.Empty slogans does NOT equal workable policies,and cutting(attacking) programs (users pays for health care,and increases for universities,etc,etc…) that effort the less well off the most is NOT how to run a country (Just look at the “heavy lifting” these Libs wish for the mega rich mining magnates of no mining tax,among others…)

Kayla Flamenco MalaysiaMay 31, 2014 at 6:34 pm

user pays (another description) – (IPA)user -> me (TA), (IPA) pays -> (TA) me

Yes I can forgive, and hope lessens are learned. But in this case and I don’t mind saying I TOLD YOU SO!

DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 6:48 pm

“We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health,
Lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge,
Governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information,
Religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy”
Chris Hedges….

djhmooreMay 31, 2014 at 10:17 pm

This article is so simplistic it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Supposedly, Abbot is a conservative and we all know what that means . Apparently: he is for the rich and against the poor. Give us a break. To say that Abbot is consistently for or against anything is to completely misunderstand him. Also the article seems to be overly critical of conservative politicians. Conservative Prime Ministers have not all been evil and, in Australia, have historically played an important historic role for the betterment of all classes even if more by accident than by design. Personally, I think that to raise Tony Abbot up to the ranks of a conservative prime minister is to flatter him beyond comprehension. Abbot is not a conservative. Rather, he is a highly functioning dysfunctional. A true conservative is dominantly left brained, a linear thinker, a slave to a rule based modus operandi and ll the other paraphernalia that goes with it. However, the sophisticated conservative is capable of comprehending that there is an alternative perspective. To the conservative, the left may sometimes have some good ideas. The true conservative prime minister is ultimately pragmatic and will quite easily adopt, and steal policy from the opposition as his own, just as his opponents would do when in power. This is called the dialectics of government. It involves compromise and an ability to understand the dialectic of competing interests. Tony Abbot is not a conservative but rather an activist along the lines of the Tea Party in the USA. Abbot is a relic of DLP Sanatamaria politics. How he ended up as the chief of the liberal party escapes me.

Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 10:25 pm

I think you are right djhmoore. Perhaps Victoria was too nice labelling Abbott a conservative. As I pointed out in my long post above, Abbott really is a destructive. Conservatism, per se, is not a bad thing, but the term has been hijacked by those who have a hard-lined economic agenda. They don’t represent the majority of decent conservatives and it is about time such conservatives saw that they are just being used.

What Australia needs is a decent conservative party – the Liberals certainly isn’t it.

Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 10:57 pm

djhmoore:

In a practical and rational world we should not need the term conservative or left winger however they have come to occupy some ideological ground. I don’t want to be labeled conservative or lefty or any other worn out historical symbolic metaphor. I want a modern independent voice that rises out of justice and equity which defines the grounds for political action based upon my innate and enduring intelligence and experience. Party politics is by its nature conditioned, more often than not, by family and social class than by pure unadulterated critical thinking. If you do not visit the poor and determine the causal contingencies that are leading to impoverishment then your opinions will not be well formed.

Being a progressive is not being left or right but scientifically and historically informed yet open to future possibilities that are not clearly defined in left or right traditionalism. That is one of the mistakes people make coming to this site to make presumptions about our beliefs simply because they align themselves, in some cases, with one particular political faction and in others with another. Just to keep scientifically informed takes time and effort and much of what we see from both major parties is not scientifically or logically informed.

Yes there are Laborites, Greens, independents and some conservative who blog on this site but there are also many independent thinkers who are striving to find a new and revisionary paradigm suitable to the future. In an age of exponential growth in technology and profound discoveries in cosmology, physics, biology, medicine, systems theory and so on it is difficult to keep across all disciplines. Nevertheless we need formulate a contemporary paradigm that is not back ward referring conservatism or unbridled socialism and to do this the fundamentals of science must inform our ethical and moral obligations to others free from unwarranted judgement, blame and retribution. If we do not understand the causal contributors to poverty and inequality how in heavens name are we going to end them? Through more victim blame?

One thing is patently clear. What we have been doing is not working and is creating worsening inequality and destruction of the biosphere. Essentially it is fair to say that, to some extent, everyone has it wrong. And more of the same failure is just plain insane. So lets drop the labels and start making all contributors accountable to empirical facts including ourselves.

mars08May 31, 2014 at 11:18 pm

Ian Joyner:

I’m not sure who said this,since it was quoted “After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM”

Actually, they weren’t vague promises, they were very specific promises…

Yeh, that was me. What I was trying to say that the promises were vague, in that they contained no actual detail on how they could be put into practice.

Ian JoynerJune 1, 2014 at 12:04 am

Ah OK, Mars08. The promises were specific and the implementation was vague. I think we agree then. Abbott is also weak on details.

Ian JoynerJune 1, 2014 at 12:12 am

I think following on from Stephen and djhmoore is that many of us aren’t particularly aligned or don’t like being labelled, left/right, progressive/conservative, democratic/communist, etc.

It really is about doing the right thing. Where the system is right, keep it. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Where the system is wrong, change it.

Of course some people will say that’s too simple and that different people will say some things are wrong while others think they are right. But in that case, we need to see things from other’s perspectives. Often we might think the system is alright, but we should accept it if someone says it is not right from their perspective. So we should be prepared to change our views. But in this political environment it seems many are unprepared to change their views at all.

Kayla Flamenco MalaysiaJune 1, 2014 at 3:51 am

http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=suKa8AIJxoA&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaqIHKWd9rSc%26feature%3Dshare%26list%3DPL7CA2AA17E560F263%26index%3D9

corvus boreusJune 1, 2014 at 5:33 am

Djhmoore, Stephen and Ian, thank you for the sanity. Paricularly Mr Moore, you show a clear perception of the virtues that can exist within a conservative outlook,which, I agree, are not being demonstrated by the ..um..Honorable Antony Abbott, purveyor of reactive mass legislative repeals and dismisser of science-based evidence.
Even expressing what you consider a reasoned analysis of events will often result in an immediate reaction of “typical (insert convenient ideological cliche). If you ever find a typical something, chances are it will shatter your preconceptions. Looking for redeeming values in “opponents” can be a very worthy exercise.
Within myself, and I suspect this is a majority trait, there are values and ideas that could be classed as either conservative or progressive, and sometimes irrational, reactive thoughts that need to be identified and discarded.
When I see miscreancy, the progressive remembers that circumstances mitigate, the conservative assumes free will and assesses the level of malice in the misdeed, sometimes judging critically, and the reactive facets sometimes urge violent intervention. A combination of fear of consequence and self control puts reactive raven back in his cage.
An individual can foster the better parts of their nature, progressive to allow expansion, and conservative to retain their core, empathic and analytical. This dilutes the dictates of reaction.
We can then be rational, discerning and informed citizens, and it’s up to the parties to field policies and candidates worthy of our considered votes.

corvus boreusJune 1, 2014 at 5:33 am

And always put a t in paricular.

randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 7:21 am

On the value of “Conservative” PMs and Governments
People concerned about equity in education,health,law;
concerned for the advancement of intelligence, justice, the arts; international relations,
– should all be thankful for Billy McMahon.
He brought us Gough Whitlam.
He brought us radical changes that “Conservatives” still, even now, are wary about trashing outright, and have to be duplicitous:e.g. Dutton’s “preservation” of Medicare by adding a surcharge that breaches the basic principle of Medicare.
By the profound ignorance of that Tony Jones performer of the ABC, that old “Conservative” Constitution- trasher Mal ‘The Razor’ Fraser obliged the leading question on Q&A: yes he had indeed preserved Medibank.
Liars prosper – and are loathe to own up to the damage they wreak and intend. They are “Conservative” with the truth. The current mob are just a bit more than before; and get away with it because of an MSM and ABC of similar probity.

Oh, don’t forget Billy Sneddon: he kept Gough in power. 3 elections in 3 years, for radically reforming the country towards fairness and justice.
Because Gough had only 3 years,the electorate are about the same as they always have been. A Murdoch campaign got rid of Whitlam in 1975; endorsing a constitutional crime. By now, Mal should be just about be eligible for a parole application.
“Conservative” is what conveniently ‘forgets’. Thereby, its great and enduring love of ignorance; its contempt for intellect, its loathing of educators.

randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 7:31 am

One too many “be”s to Mal’s parole application.

Terry2June 1, 2014 at 7:43 am

The people who manage Tony Abbott understand their constituency well and they know that memories are short. Come 2016 they will start the spin on how they have stopped the boats, got rid of the carbon tax, cleared up Labor’s mess and the rest of it, then they will drop income tax by a point together with a couple of other sweeteners.

You can underestimate Abbott – that’s a given – but he is just a stooge and is totally expendable to the people who are really in charge and that’s big business and the conservative right: their main game is to keep themselves in power and they may be very hard to shift.

JulieTJune 1, 2014 at 8:25 am

Tony Abbott was elected under false pretences…. i.e. broken promises etc. and should be made to resign.

The Liberal Party should change their name because they are not liberal and particularly Abbott… he is as djhmoore put it “a highly functioning dysfunctional”.

Not sure how this works but Abbott’s ‘dysfunctionality’ seems to be catching… Hockey, Pyne, Morrison, both Bishops etc. and even Turnbull, all have the same disease.

The Hillsong/Jesuit thing really bothers me…… I mean, thats just weird to belong to and believe in shit like that.

martabryshaJune 1, 2014 at 10:22 am

I was astounded at the free ride Abbott was given in the pre election coverage. Thank you for calling out the journalists who are doing a pathetic job. They are more concerned about spin and stoushes between politicians than they are about policy (especially when it is unspoken) and idealogical agendas.

randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 10:53 am

Terry2 just above (1/6/14 @ 7:43am) gives some reality to the impression that the recent budget has brought a moral and intellectual revival of significant parts of the electorate – (so that we may never have recurrent “Conservative” Governments again to dismantle and destroy such hard-fought gains as Gonski and the preservation of the Tasmanian wilderness?).
If they can do anything with any competence the Liberals have well in advance ‘budgeted’ for this reaction to the budget; and have the weapons at hand to win back the reactors, sweeteners to indulge insular and selfish interests. See the third budget of the gangsters, 2016; and thereabouts.
I wrote just above of the Libs’ “love”of ignorance. More accurately it is an unswerving faith: simple things for their continuing cultivation of the simplistic electorate. It has worked a dream so far.

thoughtationJune 1, 2014 at 4:15 pm

The question isn’t whether he is bad for what he has done, the question is, since we all now have proof of what he is capable what else will we allow him to do?

Michael FeeneyJune 1, 2014 at 7:56 pm

Help.Most readers here are already believers.I am only a pensioner with VERY limited computer skills.I do
love this site.Does anybody have a link to a site that lists email address for all elected members,all ‘Parties.WE need to inundate all sitting members with our position re so called budget.Unfortunately,readers of this site do not need convincing,we need to convince the unthinking friends and neighbours to inform themselves,that there is a multitude of FACTS out there besides what is available on MSM,TV guidesand the sports pages..Before the election,[according to rabid abbid] the biggest SIN? was to tell a LIE. It is time to tell Him to get real.. Thanks to all .an athiest plea to Govern Aust forall Australians.Humbly yours M Feeney.

Michael FeeneyJune 1, 2014 at 8:28 pm

Sadly,I do not have a lot of friends and social interaction these days,Those that I do
,are to be the most affected,say ‘Oh I am not interested in politics’.Regrettably I see their point,but unsavoury as ‘POLITICS’ has become,all the more reason for people get off their collective asses and show their citizenship.If this so called Government wants us to carry extra fuel excise, include EVERYBODY,miners etc.Collect all tax,Google,Microsoft,Amazon,Why is it they charge more supposedly more expensive in Aus ,They pay little or no tax in Aus [ or any where else for that matter ]
M Feeney

John EdwardsJune 2, 2014 at 5:18 pm

@Michal Feeney. Next time one or more of your acquaintances says ‘Oh, I’m not interested in politics”, just remind them that they may not be interested in politics, but politics is VERY interested them.

bobraftoJune 2, 2014 at 7:27 pm

Abbot’s a Dud

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/02/abbott-deserves-to-be-punished-relentlessly-for-his-broken-promises

Terry2June 3, 2014 at 7:48 am

Michael Feeney this may assist :http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?q=&sen=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=0

AnomanderJune 3, 2014 at 7:33 am

Abbott taught us it’s good to have friends in high places, especially if you bankroll their campaigns.

https://newmatilda.com//2014/05/30/chief-liberal-fundraiser-linked-private-college-donations

RamondoOctober 19, 2014 at 7:28 am

Remember, oppositions DON’T Get voted in, governments get voted OUT…so don’t blame those who voted for the conservatives, rather, ask or look for the real reason that they voted Labor OUT, because there was a reason for that you know.
The real question that needs to be asked is this…what party do we put in next because the current two have both failed us….and please don’t say CLIVE PALMER!!!

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Jeff MarshMay 31, 2014 at 10:38 am

We will forgive them, Vic. We will continue to love them as we would our sisters and brothers. And if they do it again: we will beat them with watermelons!
M-RMay 31, 2014 at 10:50 am

Well said, O SA mouthpiece for we silent ones ! Keep at it mate ! Lots more foaming at the mouth, PLEASE ! I don’t have your arena to do my own foaming, so you’ll just have to do it for me, OK ? 🙂 Oh, and btw: I haven’t shown your restraint in the ‘ITYS !’ stakes …
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 10:53 am

Nup I not so forgiving
People that voted for this mob, friends , co workers
I say to them now
“Suffer in you jocks” when they complain now
“The me only theory hasn’t worked out for you lot now hey
So piss off and tell someone that cares”
Vasilios MavropoulosMay 31, 2014 at 10:59 am

I hope so. Their is great need for them!
Met AL MikeMay 31, 2014 at 11:01 am

Very well done article Vic going to heart of the mater the thought in the minds of all sane minded Australians. I will also forgive them as of course I can’t do much else as much as I would like to choke them.
flrpwllMay 31, 2014 at 11:07 am

Yeaaah, not so much with all the forgiving on my end.

ONE of them I will forgive because she genuinely thought it would make everyones lives easier, because “economy” blah blah.

Everyone else I know? Actually voted for that shit specifically because they liked him. I have an extended family full of Thatcherites. We all knew what was going to happen and they are *happy!* about it.
mars08May 31, 2014 at 11:17 am

What Abbott taught us?

“….politicians are gonna be judged on everything they say, but sometimes, in the heat of discussion, you go a little bit further than you would if it was an absolutely calm, considered, prepared, scripted remark, which is one of the reasons why the statements that need to be taken absolutely as gospel truth is those carefully prepared scripted remarks.”

Abbott taught us that even his absolute “gospel truth” is self-serving bullshit!!!
flohri1754May 31, 2014 at 11:21 am

A rough ride in the immediate future … what I want to hear from both Labor and the Greens is “we will reverse any of these changes that stagger through the Senate when next in government”
June M Bullivant OamMay 31, 2014 at 11:22 am

Yesterday I watched a speech by Clive Palmer who spoke in plain English, who actually answered the question, he looked people in the eye. He was a breath of fresh air to listen to, no evading the question and putting his spin on it, didn’t blame, didn’t shame’ didn’t call anyone names, had no three word slogans, didn’t repeat himself over and over. The only problem is that Clive is being treated like Pauline Hanson, will he survive the onslaught and the dirty tricks from the major parties.
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 11:28 am

Yep I will Clive that
Just an old fashioned bloke
That tells it how it is, answers questions, no spin, no blame, no debt
And dosnt say Labor 50 faaarkin times like those Liarbils
Yes it was refreshing, but I wouldn’t vote for Clive
He is millionaire just like the rest of the fat cats in libs
JohnMay 31, 2014 at 11:46 am

Reblogged this on jpratt27 and commented:
It’s an important lesson Abbott has taught us.
bobraftoMay 31, 2014 at 11:57 am

, they should learn from their mistake and never do it again.

Do it once and call it a mistake, do it twice and call it choice.
Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 11:58 am

Great article Victoria however I knew Abbott was a lying deceiving elitist during the Howard years and what the hell changed. Absolutely nothing. People don’t remember the past and the media just let it roll by like so much water of a ducks back. Abbott was an appalling unethical elitist back then but who remembers?

Labor and the media were remiss in reminding the electorate of Howard and the complicity of Abbott in profligate giving to the middle and upper echelons while winding back worker protections wherever possible. Abbott as health minister was a firgin disaster.

The wealthy have the upper hand because they own stuff that you and I cannot access like the media and they can pick and chose journalists and the political leaning of their media. When things are going well forget the progressives and when the crap hits the fan we have to drag ourselves out kicking and fighting into the fray.

We all knew what the hell was going to happen but how to keep peoples eyes open. You raise and important issue and maybe, just maybe, this time we can keep the focus upon the immortality of conservative politics in the long term.
lefturnaheadMay 31, 2014 at 12:05 pm

This is a very good article and i agree with you about some journalist. I will sit there and listen to a politicians answer and will take it all in then form my own opinion about that answer,but then the commentator journalist will then explain to me what the politicians answer meant,””WTF”’ I dont need some 3rd rate partisan hack to explain to me what i just spent 5 minutes listenening to,and what the hack is saying to me is ;;; now dont you worry your tiny little brain trying to decipher what was just said,i will translate it for you and you will feel all warm and fuzzy now that the complicated answer has been explained to you by a ” professional” journalist. And they wonder why most of us regard them with utter contempt. Thanks again for your writing i really enjoy it.
mars08May 31, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Stephen Tardrew:

We all knew what the hell was going to happen but how to keep peoples eyes open…

That’s an interesting point. There were many reasons to… ah…. errrr… ah… um… ehhh…. HEY!!!! Shane Warne has a new girlfriend!!! Masterchef rocks!!!! Wasn’t the State of Origin awesome!!!! What’s with Miranda Kerr????? WAIT!!! Oh, have you seen Angelina Jolie’s new movie????

We get the kind of government we deserve!
Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 12:17 pm

I certainly agree that it is not selling the budget that is a failure – it is the budget itself is a failure. Any trying to sell this budget is just lipstick on a pig – it is still a partner I would not want to go out with.

To some extent I disagree with the progressive/conservative duality. Sometimes being concerned with the community means being progressive, sometimes conservative. Thus I disagree with simplistic Left/Right labels – it is doing the right thing that counts. After all don’t we want to conserve the Tasmanian forests, the Great Barrier Reef, and the people of Windsor their heritage town against so-called progress?

I certainly think that those who consider themselves conservatives and thus vote Liberal should be forgiven. What they must realise is that Abbott and the Liberals do not represent their conservative values. Abbott and the current Liberals are not conservatives – they are destructives. The Liberals represent the worst of capitalist values (not that everything about capitalism is bad, it just needs the right constraints to not descend into a criminal society). As Victoria says the Liberals represent the most extreme side of the ‘user pays’ principle.

And like Victoria says the Liberals feed the belief that those who are rich have worked extremely hard to get it and those who are poor are lazy bludgers. In reality, life is a statistical gamble and hard work is no guarantee of financial success and lack of financial success is no indication of laziness. In fact, we must tolerate and accept failure if we are to progress – for every successful idea there must be many failures which prove the successful path.

That is evolution and to make this system work we need to keep it in good health, provided with the right nutrients and energy. That is the purpose of government, but right now, Abbott is starving the system of nutrients and energy. Abbott crushes the energy by making people feel bad about Australia, how the economy is in a mess, etc. His message is all negative and what we need is positive spiritual energy to progress in the right ways.

I certainly hope that Abbott has taught us these lessons by showing how bad the extreme opposite is.
hemingway13May 31, 2014 at 12:22 pm

Our debt of gratitude for the perspicacity and lucidity of Ms Rollison continues to grow in yet another brilliant article of hers.
Linda KouvarasMay 31, 2014 at 12:24 pm

Hear, hear! this is the most despicable, short-sighted, narrow-visioned, vindictive, slug-thug Govt I’ve seen in this country and I thought Howard was bad!!

All ye who think Clive is our shining knight in white armour, be wary – he’s also capable of *not* being straight and of galling shonkiness… I dread to think his power base might grow, even tho I do of course like that he’s going to block some of the thug cuts Rabid wants to bring in (and let’s watch that space closely – what kind of deals is he cooking up w/ Shlocky et al so they get his support…??)
DavidMay 31, 2014 at 12:31 pm

Its time for a political revolution in this country. We need a far left party to get up, and win. The neo-cons of this world need their nose bloodied like its never been bloodied before. I never thought I’d say this, but I hate the capitalism system that we now have, it serves no-one except corporate conglomerates, psychopathic lying politicians with ego’s as big as Uranus and selfish consumers who have too much money. The entire monetary, social, political and corporate landscape needs a massive overhaul.
How? is a damn good question. It will be forced upon us one day by the environment (Climate change, species loss, loss of habitat, peak-oil and a host of others).
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 12:34 pm

It all depends on the peking duck, and banana split
with coconut ice cream, but then you throw some chopstick diplomacy in
and who knows what Clive and Turnbull are bloody up too,
I smell a rat yep, or a few rats even

I wouldn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them
and that would not be far,
they are all overweight, white anglo saxon males
who think they can run he country from a Chinese restaurant
on the taxpayers expense?
Martin Parkinson is the elephant in the room though
Denisio FabulosoMay 31, 2014 at 12:36 pm

OK you Abbott voters… pay attention. Can I say I think the lady with the yellow sign is far too nice? You helped elect one of the most self interested, incompetent, dishonest Governments in our history. Manifest social/policy chaos in less than a year. (Classic Dunning/Kruger outcome!) I think you’re dumb arse suckers… and it was more than obvious BEFORE the election. Nice going. I really hope you stand to feel some pain. You handsomely deserve it. Sheesh.
hemingway13May 31, 2014 at 12:38 pm

“Shane Warne has a new girlfriend!!! Masterchef rocks!!!! Wasn’t the State of Origin awesome!!!! What’s with Miranda Kerr????? WAIT!!! Oh, have you seen Angelina Jolie’s new movie????”

Hey, those are their only stories which have a bit of factual content taken from real events like a footy game. They write about politics what ever fairydust they’re ordered by their mega-corporation moguls to sprinkle upon we benighted audiences and readers. “The Insiders” on ABC TV is their celebrity journo fun-fest where they sit on nice cushy furniture wallowing in their smug political attitudes, which are part of their fringe benefits of their big-paying cushy jobs.
RobMay 31, 2014 at 12:40 pm

To swing their vote they need forgiveness. But boy it is hard.

Proposed T shirt.

WHO
HERE
VOTED
FOR
THIS?
Step forward, we need to talk.
RobMay 31, 2014 at 12:45 pm

Which is the better reason to break a promise?
Total global irreversible environmental destruction,
or
a budget deficit in ten years time?
bjkelly1958May 31, 2014 at 12:48 pm

1. I hope Abbott is breeding progressives but with the increasingly multi-cultural nature of the voting public, traditional ethnic values may affect voting trends. Political and social awareness breeds progressives in an oppressive environment.
2.The rich gleefully ignore that they have grown rich on the hard work of their employees and the support of Governments. Decades of hard work may keep your family fed and, one hoped, educated, clothed and housed. It is no guarantee of becoming rich. Check out how many vegetable and stock feed billionaires there are. The trickle down effect has proved to be a lie over and over again. Poverty is not a sign of laziness, it is a sign of the greed of the rich.
3.Journalists claim to be professionals. I read a quote once which said”A professional is someone who returns part of what they earn back into the business to sustain or improve it, much in the way that doctors, engineers and solicitors do, and in the way journalists and prostitutes do not.” I would suggest that there are a great many “journalists” in Australia who are taking their pay under false pretenses. They neither analyse, honestly, what has been said or written by our politicians and other influential persons, nor do they investigate the background of their stories beyond the press release. There are of course, some notable exceptions, but it is sad they are the exception rather than the norm. However, in keeping with the other occupation to which they are likened, our commercial news services do try to leave us with “a happy ending”.
Joe BanksMay 31, 2014 at 1:04 pm

Thank you Victoria. I hope Abbott has also taught us that democracy does not end after votes are cast on polling day. It is an ongoing responsibility of those elected to abide by their commitments and for us to hold them to account – especially if they reveal themselves as malicious cheats and liars.

The Abbott-Hockey budget is born from deceit because the coalition stole power by misrepresenting their true intentions to the voting public. The Senate should now use its own power to send the people back to the polls to decide the fate of this budget and this government.

Senators must be persuaded NOW to reject every part of the budget. EVEN if Abbott & co. are willing to make adjustments and compromises – The Budget MUST still be rejected because the clear INTENTION behind the budget must be strenuously rejected. To do anything else would be simply to DELAY its implementation at a later time. And, make no mistake, this budget is just the start; there is even worse to come.

The urgency is now! By 2016 it will be too late! Truck loads of cash will start pouring into the ‘expectation accounts’ of the gullible who voted for the coalition in 2013 and…. All will be forgiven!
Didn’t Abbott say: “It’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.”
JaneMay 31, 2014 at 1:18 pm

Mr Abbot is possibly the best prime minister Australia has ever had. He is an intellectual (Rhodes Scholar) and is able to portray himself as an everyman.
corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 1:23 pm

I hope that tenure of Mr Abbott’s “leadership” will, if nothing else, be instructive to examine the fundamental plausability of what people say whilst campaigning to obtain positions of power.
Even if you accept the basic assumption the conservative government means fiscal sensibility, the first rule of rules is that there are always exceptions(with exceptions, of course).
The LNP went into the last election with promises to axe taxes without imposing new or increasing existing ones(decrease revenue), increase subsidies in “direct action”, the PPL scheme et al(increase spending), whist not only balancing the budget but decreasing debt.
Even cursory inspection shows fundamental flaws in the maths. This leaves omission, deception or disturbing fiscal naivety(or possibly a combination of all three).
Straya, if you are going to buy a product because it comes in a shiny, colorful box covered with small words in big letters making grand promises, for fark’s sake at least shake the box to make sure it isn’t empty.
corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 1:28 pm

P.s. illuminating, penetrating and perspicacious perspective on the myriad qualities preferable in a head of state, Jane , although I personally disagree with the preambling conclusion.
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 1:46 pm

Yep the only roads Tone’s
has is the ROADS to nowhere
Rhodes Scholars is someone who
has studied worked hard and got said scholar

Unlike Tone’s who cheated his way through
and now it is showing, he has always been
a cheater, liar, and a thief, who has a deep dislike for women
This comes from his mother, it started with her, and now the whole country is paying
because he is a misogynist aggressive pig who has only got his nose in the troff
to feather his and his rich mates nests….
Rhodes scholar???… and pigs might fly toooo LOL
Dela LordMay 31, 2014 at 1:52 pm

Jane Jane Jane words desert me. Best PM ever ? Rhodes Scholar ?
Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 1:57 pm

Everyman’s dunce.
Keitha GranvilleMay 31, 2014 at 2:33 pm

We are liking listening to Clive too, EXCEPT he is a billionaire and if any of the plicies suit him as a business man he will dump on the welfare state to suit his business needs I suspect. If he doesn’t good on him, if he does then PUP will be finished as another “says one thing then does another ” party. I too am SOOOOOOO tired of the Labor’s diaster that we have to clean up story – GET OVER IT. You are the party at the helm now, you are the “adults in charge”, what a laugh. Glad you’re not in charge of my kids. Has anyone noticed that this is atrting to look like Germany in the late 30s ? And by the end of the 40s all of the people were saying “we didn’t know anything really bad was happening to all those people “. Let me say, I TOLD YOU SO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. IT’S ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS. They are a lying sneaky bag of finks (a good old fashioned word cos I’m, too polite to use anything else) and will now go to the cross benches in the Senate – most of whom are pretending to be independent when they are actually quasi Liberal card carrying memebrs of the IPA – and buy them off to get their horrible budget passed. Hang in their Greens, PUPs and anyone else with a shred of integrity.
Keitha GranvilleMay 31, 2014 at 2:35 pm

apologies for the spelling errors in my previous post – I get so angry that I just type away without spell checking . . . please forgive me
Michael SlocumMay 31, 2014 at 2:49 pm

This is arguably the finest and most accurate and simply put piece of journalism I have had the privilege to read on The AIMN. Victoria, I salute you.
Julie JMay 31, 2014 at 2:52 pm

Ultimately we get what we deserve. Deserve better!
Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 3:02 pm

Jane, Abbott is no intellectual. The Rhodes Scholarship does not prove this. It is mainly given to those who are promoted by someone else for some quality they believe in, like maybe excelling at school sport.

Abbott is an elitist – that is hardly everyman, unless you mean hardly being able to put a coherent sentence together like Bush and Howard.
Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 3:55 pm

Abbott’s taught me,that the Australian Main Stream Media can take any LYING,EMPTY SLOGANS FOR BOGANS MORON,and promote him.With enough gullible non-thinkers in the country to get them aka Abbott & his mob elected.

My biggest fear,who’s to say said Main Stream Media can’t do it again? (Get Abbott re-elected and/or get another moron in).

Sadly,I STILL know of people who seriously claim Abbott is doing a great job,but NO SURPRISE to me,can NOT say why.Which of course says more about them than anything.

Great article.
Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 4:02 pm

Jane if you are serious on your claim? Having degree/s is NOT proof of being intelligent (No system is perfect,even a moron can pass in a flawed system) .Actions,words and being able to think on your feet is a better sign.There is more examples that Abbott is a moron,than being intelligent (Getting elected doesn’t count because fooling enough morons with the aid of the MSM is NOT intelligence.It’s more of a sign too many in the public are idiots.).An example (of too many) that Abbott is a moron:-
whatismoreMay 31, 2014 at 4:04 pm

Thankyou Victoria for another wonderful article outing the current stable of msm journalists and the press gallery for the cowards that they are. Just when, I thought that Mark Kenny had grown a pair of balls, he writes that there might be some tax cuts for us in the 2016 budget: poor compensation for tearing down the fabric of our society. Lenore Taylor has the perfect platform to go hard but her articles are so anaemic, I can never finish reading them. When the ABC is cut, it will be interesting to see if the plethora of conservative journalists and managers are maintained on their high salaries while smaller state offices are dismantled.
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 4:30 pm

Tony Abbott has no time for Bernie Banton – YouTube
► 1:02► 1:02
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjklT59clE4
Oct 30, 2007 – Uploaded by wingaaardiumleviosa
Check out what Tony Abbott really thinks of Bernie Banton in this video. Liberal Health …
mars08May 31, 2014 at 4:36 pm

Wayne Turner:

Abbott’s taught me,that the Australian Main Stream Media can take any LYING,EMPTY SLOGANS FOR BOGANS MORON,and promote him…

It’s absurd isn’t it?

After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM. That’s despite telling the voters… “We will be a no surprises, no excuses government, because you are sick of nasty surprises and lame excuses from people that you have trusted with your future.” He lies in opposition, he lied to get elected and he had not stopped!!! If fact, up until the budget, the MSM barely noticed the endless string of broken promises and outright lies

Yet we still have blowhards who support this buffoon no matter what he does. Because, they insist, is cleaning up Labor’s mess… he is doing the right thing for the nation. And how do they know this? Well, because Abbott, Hockey, Pyne, Cormann, Hunt etc SAY IT IS SO!

How much further down the (r)abbott hole can we go?
Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 4:40 pm

The most telling part of Jane’s comment was this “and is able to portray himself as an everyman”. It’s all about the image. Tony loves having his photo taken and people like Jane equate photo ops with some sort of quality to run our country. Oh look, he pitches in at the factory. Oh look, he gets his photo taken driving a fire truck. Oh look, he cycles for charity (while charging us thousands for his electioneering along the way). Oh look he can make a salad (whilst daughter hovers watching in amazement).

I am sick of people “portraying” an image Jane. And I am sick of silly people being sucked in by photo ops.
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 4:41 pm

When Tony didn’t meet Bernie Banton, when J Bishop trampled on asbestosis victims, the Right just doesn’t get it
Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 4:44 pm

Please, please, please this can’t be our glorious leader.

Had to walk outside and check what planet I am on.

Sure he is not an alien ring-in from the planet of Nongs?

Makes you think which direction evolution is going.

Conservatism = repeating endless mistakes underscored by reverence of fairy land primitivism.

Pretty well sounds right to me.

Please Nongs come and take him back its not fair to leave him with us.
corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 4:53 pm

Lesson number 2( vying for no.1) for my fair land, should be that inner party shenanigans, combined with corporate and media are destabilising the democratic aspects of the political process to our mutual detriment.
Without even going into media manipulation(“peace”out to you, Rupert) or underlying business brown-bagging, internal machinations within the ALP gave us discontinuity of regime between elections, leading to a situation where internal machinations within the LNP gave us Tony Abbott, and he was able to be presented as some sort of preferred option.
Straya, we need to clean the nest up. I think it’s full of cuckoos and lice.
Even if you hate the Greens with a passion, they’re right about us needing an ICAC.
sweetwillowmanMay 31, 2014 at 4:56 pm

Reblogged this on love2ascend.com.
Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm

Indeed mars08 😉 This really should have been the end of Abbott’s (lack of) leadership,how could anyone with a functioning brain (clearly NOT enough people 🙁 ) believe a word Abbott says after he confessed he’s a LIAR (unless it’s written down as “gospel truth”):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eai3eKPEV5I
Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm

It makes me want to cry seeing this was not the death knell of Abbott. How appallingly bad does it have to be before his lying and deception are exposed and clearly defined as immoral and totally unacceptable. Could you imagine what would have happened to Julia if she performed like this. She would have been vilified into the sunset. Australians are turning into a bunch of dumb ignoramuses.
corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 5:06 pm

And yes, Kaye, lesson number 3 might be; do not take a person as a suitable head of state based on their ability to chameleon convincingly and portray a low common denominator.
The ability of a Rhodes scholar to speak convincing kindie is not impressive, he should stick around and answer the grown up questions in grown up language after the kids have got bored and run off to play. He should probably also be able to answer questions without “phoning a friend” through an earpiece. And maybe answer some public questions while not wearing lycra(bit threatened by that).
Maybe on Q&A.
Without an earpiece.
Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 5:11 pm

corvus boreus,

The people who hate the greens are the people who hate having a conscience. They are the voice of what we should be and the need for a national ICAC must be obvious to all.

Politics has become a game in this country. It’s more about winning an election than public service. I realise you can’t govern unless you win but when you are in government, don’t waste time fighting over who gets to wear the crown. I am very angry with Labor because they gave the opening for someone like Abbott to get the job, much like the draconian measures of the Treaty of Versailles opened the door for someone like Hitler to rise to power. Labor dropped the ball because they were looking at polls and they should be condemned for this.
john921fraserMay 31, 2014 at 5:19 pm

<

I think Labor also got caught up in Canberra.

They forgot to take a break and get out and listen to what Australia was saying.
Kaye LeeMay 31, 2014 at 5:21 pm

I find that humour makes me cry nowadays. rossleighbrisbane’s articles are too factual to be called satire, likewise for John Clarke’s normally funny take on things.

http://mrjohnclarke.com/tinkering/post/bumper-post-budget-quiz-2014/
corvus boreusMay 31, 2014 at 5:26 pm

Unfortunately, it is now a game in which the leader has recently said it is sometimes best to “throw your best punch”. The fact that this act contravened the rules of the sport code he was playing did not deter him. Nor does he, in hindsight, show regret in his reflections. I played dirty as a young fool, then cleaned up my conduct as an adult when the penny dropped that we all played the same sport on the same field under the same sky. Tony Abbott is still a dirty player.
REF!!!
mars08May 31, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Wayne Turner:

…he’s a LIAR (unless it’s written down as “gospel truth”)…

But the past few months has clearly shown that IT DOESN’T MATTER if it’s written down or not. He will say whatever it takes to get what he wants. He simply cannot be trusted. Never ever.
Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 5:57 pm

I’m not sure who said this,since it was quoted “After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM”

Actually, they weren’t vague promises, they were very specific promises, but promises Abbott knew he wasn’t going to keep, so they were deceptions. A lot of us felt that there was no way he was serious about keeping those promises and we were right.

But we were also right to vote against him for what he did state – destroy carbon pricing, destroy mining tax, destroy the NBN, and destroy foreign aid. Unfortunately there seem to have been enough people who thought those backward moves were good ideas and furthermore they would benefit the economy, which they wouldn’t.
Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 6:08 pm

Yeap mars08 Abbott lies written down or otherwise.
Wayne TurnerMay 31, 2014 at 6:14 pm

In Abbott’s world “No excuses” & “No surprises” = All we get is (lying – THERE IS NO BUDGET EMERGENCY & NO DEBT CRISIS – JUST ASK AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT) excuses blaming Labor and talking down the economy,and at least there was no surprises to me.I knew this mob were going to be terrible.Empty slogans does NOT equal workable policies,and cutting(attacking) programs (users pays for health care,and increases for universities,etc,etc…) that effort the less well off the most is NOT how to run a country (Just look at the “heavy lifting” these Libs wish for the mega rich mining magnates of no mining tax,among others…)
Kayla Flamenco MalaysiaMay 31, 2014 at 6:34 pm

user pays (another description) – (IPA)user -> me (TA), (IPA) pays -> (TA) me

Yes I can forgive, and hope lessens are learned. But in this case and I don’t mind saying I TOLD YOU SO!
DanDarkMay 31, 2014 at 6:48 pm

“We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health,
Lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge,
Governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information,
Religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy”
Chris Hedges….
djhmooreMay 31, 2014 at 10:17 pm

This article is so simplistic it makes me feel very uncomfortable. Supposedly, Abbot is a conservative and we all know what that means . Apparently: he is for the rich and against the poor. Give us a break. To say that Abbot is consistently for or against anything is to completely misunderstand him. Also the article seems to be overly critical of conservative politicians. Conservative Prime Ministers have not all been evil and, in Australia, have historically played an important historic role for the betterment of all classes even if more by accident than by design. Personally, I think that to raise Tony Abbot up to the ranks of a conservative prime minister is to flatter him beyond comprehension. Abbot is not a conservative. Rather, he is a highly functioning dysfunctional. A true conservative is dominantly left brained, a linear thinker, a slave to a rule based modus operandi and ll the other paraphernalia that goes with it. However, the sophisticated conservative is capable of comprehending that there is an alternative perspective. To the conservative, the left may sometimes have some good ideas. The true conservative prime minister is ultimately pragmatic and will quite easily adopt, and steal policy from the opposition as his own, just as his opponents would do when in power. This is called the dialectics of government. It involves compromise and an ability to understand the dialectic of competing interests. Tony Abbot is not a conservative but rather an activist along the lines of the Tea Party in the USA. Abbot is a relic of DLP Sanatamaria politics. How he ended up as the chief of the liberal party escapes me.
Ian JoynerMay 31, 2014 at 10:25 pm

I think you are right djhmoore. Perhaps Victoria was too nice labelling Abbott a conservative. As I pointed out in my long post above, Abbott really is a destructive. Conservatism, per se, is not a bad thing, but the term has been hijacked by those who have a hard-lined economic agenda. They don’t represent the majority of decent conservatives and it is about time such conservatives saw that they are just being used.

What Australia needs is a decent conservative party – the Liberals certainly isn’t it.
Stephen TardrewMay 31, 2014 at 10:57 pm

djhmoore:

In a practical and rational world we should not need the term conservative or left winger however they have come to occupy some ideological ground. I don’t want to be labeled conservative or lefty or any other worn out historical symbolic metaphor. I want a modern independent voice that rises out of justice and equity which defines the grounds for political action based upon my innate and enduring intelligence and experience. Party politics is by its nature conditioned, more often than not, by family and social class than by pure unadulterated critical thinking. If you do not visit the poor and determine the causal contingencies that are leading to impoverishment then your opinions will not be well formed.

Being a progressive is not being left or right but scientifically and historically informed yet open to future possibilities that are not clearly defined in left or right traditionalism. That is one of the mistakes people make coming to this site to make presumptions about our beliefs simply because they align themselves, in some cases, with one particular political faction and in others with another. Just to keep scientifically informed takes time and effort and much of what we see from both major parties is not scientifically or logically informed.

Yes there are Laborites, Greens, independents and some conservative who blog on this site but there are also many independent thinkers who are striving to find a new and revisionary paradigm suitable to the future. In an age of exponential growth in technology and profound discoveries in cosmology, physics, biology, medicine, systems theory and so on it is difficult to keep across all disciplines. Nevertheless we need formulate a contemporary paradigm that is not back ward referring conservatism or unbridled socialism and to do this the fundamentals of science must inform our ethical and moral obligations to others free from unwarranted judgement, blame and retribution. If we do not understand the causal contributors to poverty and inequality how in heavens name are we going to end them? Through more victim blame?

One thing is patently clear. What we have been doing is not working and is creating worsening inequality and destruction of the biosphere. Essentially it is fair to say that, to some extent, everyone has it wrong. And more of the same failure is just plain insane. So lets drop the labels and start making all contributors accountable to empirical facts including ourselves.
mars08May 31, 2014 at 11:18 pm

Ian Joyner:

I’m not sure who said this,since it was quoted “After making a bunch of ridiculous, vague promises in order to get elected, Abbott then goes on to demolish EVERY SINGLE ONE within a few months of becoming PM”

Actually, they weren’t vague promises, they were very specific promises…

Yeh, that was me. What I was trying to say that the promises were vague, in that they contained no actual detail on how they could be put into practice.
Ian JoynerJune 1, 2014 at 12:04 am

Ah OK, Mars08. The promises were specific and the implementation was vague. I think we agree then. Abbott is also weak on details.
Ian JoynerJune 1, 2014 at 12:12 am

I think following on from Stephen and djhmoore is that many of us aren’t particularly aligned or don’t like being labelled, left/right, progressive/conservative, democratic/communist, etc.

It really is about doing the right thing. Where the system is right, keep it. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Where the system is wrong, change it.

Of course some people will say that’s too simple and that different people will say some things are wrong while others think they are right. But in that case, we need to see things from other’s perspectives. Often we might think the system is alright, but we should accept it if someone says it is not right from their perspective. So we should be prepared to change our views. But in this political environment it seems many are unprepared to change their views at all.
Kayla Flamenco MalaysiaJune 1, 2014 at 3:51 am

http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=suKa8AIJxoA&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaqIHKWd9rSc%26feature%3Dshare%26list%3DPL7CA2AA17E560F263%26index%3D9
corvus boreusJune 1, 2014 at 5:33 am

Djhmoore, Stephen and Ian, thank you for the sanity. Paricularly Mr Moore, you show a clear perception of the virtues that can exist within a conservative outlook,which, I agree, are not being demonstrated by the ..um..Honorable Antony Abbott, purveyor of reactive mass legislative repeals and dismisser of science-based evidence.
Even expressing what you consider a reasoned analysis of events will often result in an immediate reaction of “typical (insert convenient ideological cliche). If you ever find a typical something, chances are it will shatter your preconceptions. Looking for redeeming values in “opponents” can be a very worthy exercise.
Within myself, and I suspect this is a majority trait, there are values and ideas that could be classed as either conservative or progressive, and sometimes irrational, reactive thoughts that need to be identified and discarded.
When I see miscreancy, the progressive remembers that circumstances mitigate, the conservative assumes free will and assesses the level of malice in the misdeed, sometimes judging critically, and the reactive facets sometimes urge violent intervention. A combination of fear of consequence and self control puts reactive raven back in his cage.
An individual can foster the better parts of their nature, progressive to allow expansion, and conservative to retain their core, empathic and analytical. This dilutes the dictates of reaction.
We can then be rational, discerning and informed citizens, and it’s up to the parties to field policies and candidates worthy of our considered votes.
corvus boreusJune 1, 2014 at 5:33 am

And always put a t in paricular.
randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 7:21 am

On the value of “Conservative” PMs and Governments
People concerned about equity in education,health,law;
concerned for the advancement of intelligence, justice, the arts; international relations,
– should all be thankful for Billy McMahon.
He brought us Gough Whitlam.
He brought us radical changes that “Conservatives” still, even now, are wary about trashing outright, and have to be duplicitous:e.g. Dutton’s “preservation” of Medicare by adding a surcharge that breaches the basic principle of Medicare.
By the profound ignorance of that Tony Jones performer of the ABC, that old “Conservative” Constitution- trasher Mal ‘The Razor’ Fraser obliged the leading question on Q&A: yes he had indeed preserved Medibank.
Liars prosper – and are loathe to own up to the damage they wreak and intend. They are “Conservative” with the truth. The current mob are just a bit more than before; and get away with it because of an MSM and ABC of similar probity.

Oh, don’t forget Billy Sneddon: he kept Gough in power. 3 elections in 3 years, for radically reforming the country towards fairness and justice.
Because Gough had only 3 years,the electorate are about the same as they always have been. A Murdoch campaign got rid of Whitlam in 1975; endorsing a constitutional crime. By now, Mal should be just about be eligible for a parole application.
“Conservative” is what conveniently ‘forgets’. Thereby, its great and enduring love of ignorance; its contempt for intellect, its loathing of educators.
randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 7:31 am

One too many “be”s to Mal’s parole application.
Terry2June 1, 2014 at 7:43 am

The people who manage Tony Abbott understand their constituency well and they know that memories are short. Come 2016 they will start the spin on how they have stopped the boats, got rid of the carbon tax, cleared up Labor’s mess and the rest of it, then they will drop income tax by a point together with a couple of other sweeteners.

You can underestimate Abbott – that’s a given – but he is just a stooge and is totally expendable to the people who are really in charge and that’s big business and the conservative right: their main game is to keep themselves in power and they may be very hard to shift.
JulieTJune 1, 2014 at 8:25 am

Tony Abbott was elected under false pretences…. i.e. broken promises etc. and should be made to resign.

The Liberal Party should change their name because they are not liberal and particularly Abbott… he is as djhmoore put it “a highly functioning dysfunctional”.

Not sure how this works but Abbott’s ‘dysfunctionality’ seems to be catching… Hockey, Pyne, Morrison, both Bishops etc. and even Turnbull, all have the same disease.

The Hillsong/Jesuit thing really bothers me…… I mean, thats just weird to belong to and believe in shit like that.
martabryshaJune 1, 2014 at 10:22 am

I was astounded at the free ride Abbott was given in the pre election coverage. Thank you for calling out the journalists who are doing a pathetic job. They are more concerned about spin and stoushes between politicians than they are about policy (especially when it is unspoken) and idealogical agendas.
randalstellaJune 1, 2014 at 10:53 am

Terry2 just above (1/6/14 @ 7:43am) gives some reality to the impression that the recent budget has brought a moral and intellectual revival of significant parts of the electorate – (so that we may never have recurrent “Conservative” Governments again to dismantle and destroy such hard-fought gains as Gonski and the preservation of the Tasmanian wilderness?).
If they can do anything with any competence the Liberals have well in advance ‘budgeted’ for this reaction to the budget; and have the weapons at hand to win back the reactors, sweeteners to indulge insular and selfish interests. See the third budget of the gangsters, 2016; and thereabouts.
I wrote just above of the Libs’ “love”of ignorance. More accurately it is an unswerving faith: simple things for their continuing cultivation of the simplistic electorate. It has worked a dream so far.
thoughtationJune 1, 2014 at 4:15 pm

The question isn’t whether he is bad for what he has done, the question is, since we all now have proof of what he is capable what else will we allow him to do?
Michael FeeneyJune 1, 2014 at 7:56 pm

Help.Most readers here are already believers.I am only a pensioner with VERY limited computer skills.I do
love this site.Does anybody have a link to a site that lists email address for all elected members,all ‘Parties.WE need to inundate all sitting members with our position re so called budget.Unfortunately,readers of this site do not need convincing,we need to convince the unthinking friends and neighbours to inform themselves,that there is a multitude of FACTS out there besides what is available on MSM,TV guidesand the sports pages..Before the election,[according to rabid abbid] the biggest SIN? was to tell a LIE. It is time to tell Him to get real.. Thanks to all .an athiest plea to Govern Aust forall Australians.Humbly yours M Feeney.
Michael FeeneyJune 1, 2014 at 8:28 pm

Sadly,I do not have a lot of friends and social interaction these days,Those that I do
,are to be the most affected,say ‘Oh I am not interested in politics’.Regrettably I see their point,but unsavoury as ‘POLITICS’ has become,all the more reason for people get off their collective asses and show their citizenship.If this so called Government wants us to carry extra fuel excise, include EVERYBODY,miners etc.Collect all tax,Google,Microsoft,Amazon,Why is it they charge more supposedly more expensive in Aus ,They pay little or no tax in Aus [ or any where else for that matter ]
M Feeney
John EdwardsJune 2, 2014 at 5:18 pm

@Michal Feeney. Next time one or more of your acquaintances says ‘Oh, I’m not interested in politics”, just remind them that they may not be interested in politics, but politics is VERY interested them.
bobraftoJune 2, 2014 at 7:27 pm

Abbot’s a Dud

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/02/abbott-deserves-to-be-punished-relentlessly-for-his-broken-promises
Terry2June 3, 2014 at 7:48 am

Michael Feeney this may assist :http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?q=&sen=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=0
AnomanderJune 3, 2014 at 7:33 am

Abbott taught us it’s good to have friends in high places, especially if you bankroll their campaigns.

https://newmatilda.com//2014/05/30/chief-liberal-fundraiser-linked-private-college-donations
RamondoOctober 19, 2014 at 7:28 am

Remember, oppositions DON’T Get voted in, governments get voted OUT…so don’t blame those who voted for the conservatives, rather, ask or look for the real reason that they voted Labor OUT, because there was a reason for that you know.
The real question that needs to be asked is this…what party do we put in next because the current two have both failed us….and please don’t say CLIVE PALMER!!!

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