Who can scare you the most?
1 If you didn’t know an election was on and campaigning had been in progress for a few weeks, then you could be excused for not remembering that yes, the election is on the twenty-first of May.
So mundane has been the campaigning that you would think we were having a debate about what side of the street we should walk rather than the future of our nation.
My thoughts, as usual, are drawn to who is telling the most truth because it is better to be comforted with fact than controlled by lies. For some reason, I find it essential to the voting process. When I talk to people about this election and mention Scott Morrison’s lying, I’m often surprised at how many men forgive him because “they all do it.” Imagine what sort of a society we would have if all we did was lie to each other.
The opposite is that women hold him in such low esteem that they could cost him the election.
When the two leaders commenced their campaigns, who would have envisaged that the three most significant issues after nearly three weeks of campaigning would be Albo’s senior moment, a female candidate’s views on gender and the Solomon Islands’ relationship with China?
In the absence of Anthony Albanese, a fantastic opportunity exists to showcase some of Labor’s pre-eminent media performers. Jason Clare is stepping up to the plate as the media spokesperson, and Jim Chalmers, with his ever-present smile, seems to have a handle on any subject.
Unlike the Coalition, at least Labor is putting on an upbeat show, whereas Morrison, Dutton, Joyce and Taylor seem to be negatively defending everything. Taylor has been caught out again presenting dodgy figures, as this headline points out in The New Daily fact check: “Angus Taylor was caught in a dodgy climate scare campaign.”
And as for the warmonger, Dutton. really, what does one say? He hasn’t got a brain in his head or a diplomatic bone in his body. He is anticipating a war with China and wants us prepared. These scare campaigns do nothing more than treat us with contempt. Meanwhile, they increase the size of their army by the size of ours every year.
A message for union members and supporters on scare campaigns, disinformation and lies during the election campaign #auspol pic.twitter.com/zMdYYuMufM
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) February 21, 2022
2 While watching the dawn service and at the same time fiddling on my iPad, I came across a piece from Crikey that I had saved in my “to read” file. It caught my attention because I don’t subscribe to it, and it’s not often one finds an entire article without subscribing.
The headline read; “The Liberal Party wants us to ‘look at the facts’. But just whose facts?”
Of nine claims in the Liberals’ new ad campaign, one is correct, two are deceptive, and six are barefaced lies.
The piece is written by Alan Austin, who will be familiar to some readers. In essence, it was a put down of Scott Morrison’s claims that:
i) ‘Australia’s recovery is leading the world.’
But claiming Australia is still a leader on this metric is quite false.
ii) “Through the pandemic, we’ve had fewer deaths … than almost any advanced country”
A more valid comparison, I would argue, is with advanced nations far from those countries and using current figures.
iii) “Less debt than almost any advanced country.”
Twenty-nine advanced economies now have less debt than Australia.
iv) “And more jobs growth than almost any advanced country”
The Liberal graph again compares Australia with seven non-comparable nations and ignores the advanced economies beating Australia. These include Norway, which improved employment by 3.11%, Argentina by 3.3%, Cyprus 3.7%, Israel 4.1%, New Zealand 4.3%, the Netherlands 4.5%, Denmark 5.3% and Malta by 5.9%.
v) “The Liberal government is building a stronger economy.’ ‘… With lower taxes.”
This would make Donald Trump blush. Last month’s budget papers showed that from 1969 onwards tax to GDP has been much higher under the Liberals. The highest-taxing administration was John Howard’s. Morrison’s was second highest.
vi) Lower unemployment
Yes, the headline jobless rate is lower. But you could argue that is due to migration shifting into reverse, to thousands of “workers” on one hour or zero hours a month, and to the blow-out in the public service – not a strong economy.
vii) “More apprentices.”
Apprenticeship numbers have recovered slightly in the past year, but from a low base. Relative to population, apprentices in 2017 and 2018 were the lowest in two decades.
viii) “More funding for health and other essential services.”
This claim is correct. But that’s due to higher population and the larger budget relative to 2013, not sound management.
(In regards to point iii you might want to read Alan Austin’s Worst debt blow-out in the developed world refutes Coalition claims of economic competence published recently on The AIMN.
2 Last Sunday, the LNP gave a guilt-edged guarantee that taxes overall wouldn’t rise above 23% of GDP. At the moment, they are on 27%. The highest ever taxing Government is the current one, and the highest after them is John Howard’s. Labor has never reached 27%.
3 The Kevin Rudd Facebook page report into Murdoch bias finds that 90% of their articles so far are favoured towards the Coalition.
At this stage, the respective campaigns of both parties are being dominated by scare campaigns. Labor is scaring pensioners to death over the Government’s welfare card, and the Government is more than a little upset. Having said that, Morrison is running around like a headless chook saying all sorts of negative things about Albo and who can forget his scare campaigns about Shorten’s negative gearing and franking credits.
Labor has conceded that all this negativity does work and that there is no point in being as pure as snow. A pity, but that’s the truth of the matter.
Pensions, the NDIS, Medicare, open borders, Chinese Reds under Labor beds, frightening, isn’t it?
But that’s the way the game is played.
My previous diary entry: While Albanese looks to the future, Morrison just talks about the past.
My thought for the day
When a political party deliberately withholds information that the voter needs to make an informed, balanced and reasoned assessment of how it is being governed. It is lying by omission. It is also tantamount to the manipulation of our democracy.
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11 comments
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Terence Mills
Return to home pageYour offering this morning John Lord turned my stomach before breakfast. So I am proposing a fresh five word campaign slogan for the benefit of the rusted on COALition voters and education socialists getting government excessive funding for third rate child minding:
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STOP THE LIES VOTE LABOR
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Naturally there are many other possibilities that AIMN readers could make of this suggestion and I encourage them to contribute them so that Australian voters may see through the yellow journalism and take this possibility last opportunity to help save Australian democracy for our grandkids.
So disappointed !
Yesterday Anthony Albanese made the fundamental mistake in allowing himself to ‘take dictation’ from shock-jock Ray Hadley on Sydney radio station 2GB.
Do you remember when Malcolm Turnbull was in the same situation with Alan Jones and how he attracted wide community support and respect by telling a hectoring Jones: “I don’t take dictation from you, Alan.”
Why was Albanese not briefed by his advisers ? You never allow a right-wing shock jock to tell you what to say and even put the words in your mouth.
Mr Albanese it’s about character and leadership and you failed on both counts.
“And as for the warmonger, Dutton… …He is anticipating a war with China and wants us prepared.”
He is participating in provoking a war with China and wants us prepared for sacrifice.
Like the Ukrainians. Sacrificial victims of a provoked war.
I had expected Elon Musk to buy more Martian rockets with his proceeds from the Ukrainian War, but it makes sense. Buying a data-mine like Twitter can manufacture an awful lot of consent for provoking even more profitable wars.
We have been told that unemployment is at its lowest rate since Adam was in short-pants. Why is it then that there are more people on unemployment benefits now than before the COVID pandemic.
It’s complicated, but The Conversation tries to explain : https://theconversation.com/how-can-more-people-be-on-unemployment-benefits-than-before-covid-with-fewer-unemployed-australians-heres-how-181733
So, Benito Canavan, a drainbrain and dullskull fighting for a poisoned future for us all, is up again and Morrison has said nothing effective to counter the stupidities emitted. Is Queensland a chronic weakness of intellectual capacity and awareness set to ruin our future? The right wing ratbags there are Nuremburg brown as they think ah, stuff it, she’ll be right, we can do what we like, especially different to those other buggers. We emit more per head than other developed countries and export gas, coal to send the responsibility up skyhigh (if we can see the sky in future). Australia’s scene is corporate controlled profiteering consumer excess blindness, a fatal path to us all, aware or not. Fight greedy conservatism, because the Canavan and Taylor and Joyce types do NOT give a stuff about you. Some can focus only as far as knob, wallet and bottle.
Kristina Keneally said yesterday that the Biloela Tamils will be going home.
Any doubting voter needs no more evidence that Labor will be a government with decency,
humanity and a sense of the right thing to do.
With the need for workers in so many areas they now need to add the remaining refugees still detained.
Albo is trying too hard to be nice, he needs to break out the mongrel, stop allowing the stupid questions,
and just stick to the policies. I agree that Chalmers and Clare, and Plibersek are doing so much better.
STOP THE LIES AND VOTE LABOR
How…how dare some pissant reporter contradict Scummo when he’s in full on bullshit electioneering mode about a non-existent Labor “sneaky carbon tax”.
“But that was countered by a reporter who said if he was suggesting the safeguard mechanism was a sneaky carbon tax, then didn’t the Coalition introduce a sneaky carbon tax when it introduced the safeguard mechanism?” I’m guessing the journo is not part of Rupert or Costello clique. And as we all know that Saint Scummo cannot stand the idea of being contradicted, particularly by journos who fall outside of the main sleaze media.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-27/federal-election-live-blog-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese/101016226#live-blog-post-1210784939
No worries.
Labor’s Anthony Albanese promises no Carbon Tax. No worries the last one wasn’t a real tax anyway.
Inflation! No worries, a rate increase on May 3rd of probably 2%.
The LNP’s huge war chest for TV advertising; now there is a worry. Except we still have a month to the Poll
and no one is listening to either side apart from a few dilettantes and political tradgics.
Stay with, it stay positive. I anticipate a hung parliament with the Teal Independents holding the balance of power. Will they choose The Mountebank Morrison or see sense. It’s not going to be easy under Albanese but then it’s not going to be easy under anyone.
Inflation is shaping as a killer for the poor.
Labor will miss the chance to link the current lying PM’s inflation to the lying rodent as the last inflation master.
I doubt if they will add the rabbott, a self confessed liar, to the list of lib PMs who have lied their way into office.
But scummo, frieburger and the warmonger are so inept, there is only one man who can keep Albo from the lodge.
I am hoping that the abysmal record of this government will make the bandit postpone his ambition.
ps Keep strong, lord, and don’t scratch
B Sullivan, Dutton is our down under version of Joseph Goebbels. Lie, lie, and lie again. I’m not holding my breath though, that he’ll recap the denouement of the German uber-propagandist .
Brilliant :
Dads Army