Politics Super Thread - keep it all in here

[Cultured_Bogan]

Indonesia is a quagmire, not to mention a contradiction.

You get five years for masterminding a bombing that kills 200 people, but 20 years for smuggling 4 keys of weed.
They call our humanity into question over asylum seekers while failing to heed distress calls from boats in their waters, and all the while we supply them with foreign aid as they buy new military planes.

Cut their aid and give them something worthwhile to whinge about.

 

[innsaneink]

It annoys me we always seem to be bowing to them.
We worry what others, certain sections will think - they dont give a –-- what others think.
Tough stance - we are soft...it shits me

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Cut there funding and impose a $1000 Airport Tax for any person leaving an Australian Airport bound for Indonesia/Bali… Considering 900k Australians travelled to the region in 2012 [3rd largest for there inbound tourism], that should send a clear message to them to 'pull there heads in'!

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

It annoys me we always seem to be bowing to them.
We worry what others, certain sections will think - they dont give a –-- what others think.
Tough stance - we are soft...it s*** me

I know this is a simplistic view, but if you're providing aid to foreign nations, reciprocation of goodwill on certain matters should be obligatory on their part.

Shouldn't be bending over to these clowns though. Pull the aid, and take a hardline stance.

 

[Yossarian]

Everyone spies on everyone else (assuming they've got the resources). Acting shocked is a bit OTT by SBY.
Hacking a phone is possibly going too far but it doesn't sound like they got very far with that anyway.

 

[dazza65]

Everyone spies on everyone else (assuming they've got the resources). Acting shocked is a bit OTT by SBY.
Hacking a phone is possibly going too far but it doesn't sound like they got very far with that anyway.

Exactly
Let's ask Indonesia if they are/were spying on Timor-Leste and West Papua amongst others I tend to think Indonesia always falls into the whole "protest too much" thing which makes me very suspicious.

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[happy_tiger]

Election year in Indonesia.

Give this man a cigar

That is why they continue to make mountains out of molehills

Imagine the reaction if we did pull the foreign aid

 

[Glen_McWilliams]

Both leaders need to be seen as tough at home. They need to negotiate what actions each of them take to appease their respective voters and make it look like each is in control, while on the side ensuring they have a working relationship. Diplomacy 101, you win a bit, we win a bit. It would be silly to destroy a working relationship over intelligence gathering, something that everybody does, just to score some points in your own backyard.

These situations are a test for a leader and I watch with interest how the PM handles it. I have never seen him as a good negotiator or a persuasive communicator. But you never know for certain how good someone is until they are given the opportunity to perform in a certain role. Although watching him get interviewed by Leigh sales the other night was cringeworthy. He gets flustered and loses track of what he needs to get from the conversation.

Being in opposition is much like commenting on an internet forum. You can make lazy generalisations, broad sweeping statements, cook up easy answers, then sit back and say "Why don't these idiots in government do that? It's so simple". You don't even have to be factually correct. This is all because you don't have to follow through and deal with all of the small steps and challenges that go into making legislative change. The government has swept into office riding high on hubris and sloganeering. Now reality sets in.

 

[Tim Sheens]

The Indonesians have struck gold with this. They have been listening to Abbot, Morrison and Pyne carry on about turning back boats,etc etc ad nauseum for years now (like the rest of us) knowing that it was a load of ????, as anyone with half a brain would.

Whilst there is an election to be held over there in a year or so, I think that they are just taking advantage by getting a little payback. A diplomatic lesson is currently being handed to the "adults" that are now in charge.

Foreign intelligence is the norm, but our agencies crossed the line when they tapped a wife's phone. Also, a lot of our international aid is for infrastructure projects, of which a fair amount goes to Australian engineering and construction companies due to the funding arrangements.

 

[stryker]

Give it a rest former guest. This isn't a time for political point scoring from our leaders. Indonesia have not struck gold. They are carrying on like petulant children. It is a bully boy tactic which you have obviously fallen for. Wise up FFS

 

[Tim Sheens]

Give it a rest former guest. This isn't a time for political point scoring from our leaders. Indonesia have not struck gold. They are carrying on like petulant children. It is a bully boy tactic which you have obviously fallen for. Wise up FFS

FFS please expand a little more, so that I may be able to wise up.

I am always up for a bit of intelligence gathering, so anything useful that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Saturnalia]

Turning back the boats ay?

I saw this in Sydney harbour a few days ago and my immediate reaction was "Where's Tony?"


 

[system]

Turning back the boats ay?

I saw this in Sydney harbour a few days ago and my immediate reaction was "Where's Tony?"


He never said he would turn back the boats. Thats just what everyone believed he said. You cant blame Tony for people misunderstanding him.

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[happy_tiger]

See we have reached our debt ceiling of $300 billion and neither the Govt or Opposition can agree on a new amount

Any chance we can see what happened in the US where people who worked for non essential govt agencies are sent home until the problem is fixed

 

[Tiger_Watto]

See we have reached our debt ceiling of $300 billion and neither the Govt or Opposition can agree on a new amount

Any chance we can see what happened in the US where people who worked for non essential govt agencies are sent home until the problem is fixed

That would be the best scenario… Then all those Labor Loving CS might realise how F-up Labor has left this country!

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[Tiger_Watto]

See we have reached our debt ceiling of $300 billion and neither the Govt or Opposition can agree on a new amount

Any chance we can see what happened in the US where people who worked for non essential govt agencies are sent home until the problem is fixed

That would be the best scenario… Then all those Labor Loving CS might realise how F-up Labor has left this country!

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Hockey and Abbott were offered $400B and they're demanding $500B so they can avoid political embarrassment. Don't transfer the blame - this is the same mob who whinged about the last increase when in opposition.

C'mon Yoss… Your smart enough to know if you buy a company that has huge debt, you need to spend money to get the debt under control and pay itself off.

Labor Increased national debt by 329% while in office, and there reckless policies will see 400b chewed up before Christine Milne can manage a fart. (God knows how long she has been sucking that plum)

Maybe Labor/Greens need to offer some Free Bills through the Senate as part of there 100b proposal to allow a Responsible Government to fix there mess? They arent blocking anything for the better of the country. Simply blocking so this government can fail is pretty piss poor!

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[wtigers]

Hey Watto,
Remember that GFC that meant we had to go into a bit of debt to avoid recession? And remember how we still had a really strong economy in comparison to the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD during Labor's run? Because you seem to just be forgetting that and acting as if Labor screwed over our economy. You can't exactly be in surplus when there's a financial crisis going on

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[Tiger_Watto]

Hey Watto,
Remember that GFC that meant we had to go into a bit of debt to avoid recession? And remember how we still had a really strong economy in comparison to the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD during Labor's run? Because you seem to just be forgetting that and acting as if Labor screwed over our economy. You can't exactly be in surplus when there's a financial crisis going on

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'Excuses excuses…

Fact: Labor Screwed Our Country by increasing National Debt by 329%!

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[Winnipeg]

Watto

This website is the Australian office of financial management, where the government borrows money

http://aofm.gov.au/content/upcoming_tender_notice.asp

As you can see the government are planning on borrowing 800m tomorrow and 1.5b on Friday.

As you can see on the 26th Nov they borrowed 200m. On the 27th, 800m. On the 29th, another 800m.

The coalition's borrowing has stayed on pace with Labor's. they are contributing to the deficit from now on. Why was debt bad then and good or irrelevant now?

 

[wtigers]

Dismissing the GFC as an excuse… Right... Makes sense.... It's just that thing that destroyed the American economy as well as most of Europe... I wonder who stopped us from going down the same road? Oh yeah. That's right. It was that labor government. Funny how they screwed us over like that

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