Politics Super Thread - keep it all in here

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@Cultured Bogan said:
@hammertime said:
@happy tiger said:
Couple of times Bluebag but not for ages in regards to federal politics
Get more in regards to local concerns now

Change of subject
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Anyone care to nominate a date when Julia gets the axe ?? October the 11th I reckon
24% percent approval rating She's screwed And anyone care to nominate a replacement Possibly Shorten ??

I really hope we see a dissolution HT. Cash handouts are being thrown around AGAIN!!(To fathers capped at $150k). It's just disgraceful vote buying and by capping at $150k, it shows that Labor don't even understand the intention of Costello's baby bonus policy in the first place. How could they? That would mean they would have to look to the future rather than this weeks poling data.

It was my tipping point. I'm seriously thinking of moving to HK…. my tax money is being seriously wasted when we have so many future challenges. :brick: :brick: :brick: :brick:

I missed this one, what's the deal with these handouts?

This one here mate.

NEW fathers will get about $1180 to wet the baby's head when the Gillard government introduces paid paternity leave from January 2013.

The government will use Father's Day to announce the extension to the national paid parental leave scheme, hoping it will be a diversion from the leadership tensions surrounding Julia Gillard, who has told colleagues they would have to blast her out of the job.

Fathers or partners will get cheques paid over two weeks at the national minimum wage - now $590 a week before tax - to give them time off work to help mothers care for their newborns.

The government's original plans for a paid paternity leave scheme were forced off the agenda by the global financial crisis and then the big blow to the nation's coffers caused by natural disasters at the start of this year.

But the government will announce today the final details that will make up the legislation to be introduced this year.

The Minister for Families and Social Inclusion, Jenny Macklin, said fathers and partners would have to ''use or lose'' the money. They will not be able to take employer-funded paternity leave at the same time.

The $1180 bonus will be means-tested in the same way regular paid parental leave is assessed. It will cut out when the individual earns more than $150,000.

The payment will be available to fathers or partners - including adopting parents and parents in same-sex couples - who share the role of caring for a child born or adopted from January 1, 2013\. A family may receive ''dad and partner pay'' either on its own or in addition to other payments such as paid parental leave, the baby bonus and family tax benefit.

The mother or other parent does not have to be accessing the paid parental leave scheme for her partner to be eligible for the payments. The paternity leave will cost about

$188.5 million over five years. Ms Macklin said the fathers' and partners' payments were ''good for dads, good for mums, and gives babies the best start in life''.

She said: ''Australia caught up with the rest of the developed world when the clock ticked over to 2011, with the introduction of Australia's first national paid parental leave scheme. We know that it's not just mum who needs the time to form these important bonds with the new baby, so we are extending the paid parental leave scheme to give fathers and other partners a payment of their own.''

Sweden sets the standard on paternity leave, which was introduced in the 1970s, although the cost is shared between business and the state. All working parents can take 16 months per child, of which at least two months must be taken by the ''minority'' parent - usually the father. Two months at full salary and then 80 per cent for the remainder is about average.

In 2000, Canada raised parental leave from 10 to 35 weeks, divided as desired between two parents and paid for by an employment insurance system.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/gillards-1180-for-new-fathers-20110903-1jrel.html#ixzz1X7xuvqbP
 
I don't see Abbott coming out against the idea. It's really not that bad - it gives fathers a chance to spend some time with their newborns and help out. Of course if it was Liberal Party policy the neocons around here would be praising the tripe out of it but since it's Labor policy, it must be bad…

And yet we hear nothing about Barry's budget blowout caused by his insistence on building a railway line when there is no capacity for the trains to run on it.
 
@Yossarian said:
I don't see Abbott coming out against the idea. It's really not that bad - it gives fathers a chance to spend some time with their newborns and help out. Of course if it was Liberal Party policy the neocons around here would be praising the tripe out of it but since it's Labor policy, it must be bad…

And yet we hear nothing about Barry's budget blowout caused by his insistence on building a railway line when there is no capacity for the trains to run on it.

Why would he? It would only hurt him for people who are happy to have their votes bought. The difference is that the libs wouldn't have created this policy in the first place. They are sensible with money.

Mate, there is one reason why we should have middle class welfare like this. To produce tax payers for our future budgetary burdens with the boomers. But there is a tonne of payments already. Why increase them further!? Why wouldn't they just increase the baby bonus by another 2k and fathers can take unpaid leave? why? Because they are purely buying votes.

Also, by capping **another** policy at $150k, they are creating an artificial wage ceiling in this country. If you are on $149k and have a month of work to go. Why wouldn't you take unpaid leave with all the benefits you get under this ceiling? Further damaging business and the economy.

It also dis-encourages the more stable households (>$150k) from having kids! Exactly the people we want to encourage!!! It's ridiculous PC garbage again from labor.

I think you can tell i'm angry… we were in such a good position before they came to power.
 
It amuses me that once again Labor has shown that they see individuals on $150K+ a year as being so wealthy that they recieve bubkis…..lets give another handout to those who dont pull their weight.

Just on your view that those who support Liberal/nationals always cann every Labor initiative Yossarian is way off the mark. I disagree with a lot of their policies as they have the undeniable stench of the greens all over them.
Having said that they have come up with some smart ideas over the years...however they so inept at implementing and managing said policies that they draw such criticism.
 
@stryker said:
God no Happy Bill Shorten would be a disasterous PM.

I'm under the impression that Shorten is being being groomed for future leadership, but perhaps not so soon. Maybe K Rudd will make a return? Everybody loves him now, since he was so hard done by :laughing:

Anyway, whoever gets the job, one thing I am certain of is that they will not be treated in the same manner or subjected to the same scrutiny that Gillard has been. Never in all my years on the earth have I seen a leader of this country so mercilessly disparaged and disrespected, by media and general public alike! Yes, she has made mistakes, as have many others before her. Yes, she led us astray about the Carbon Tax we were never supposed to have, as John Howard led us astray about the GST we were never supposed to have.

Whether she cops this treatment purely becasue she is a woman or because of the way she wrested leadership from Kevin Rudd, I don't know, but what has been said and written about her, in all forms of media, has been beyond political criticism - it's been downright hatred! The media in this country, Murdoch Press and 2GB in particular, are an absolute disgrace! Their hate-filled, fear mongering rhetoric has incited so much opposition to Gillard and her government to the point where **everything** she does is wrong in their eyes. Hell, she could even give her own life to save someone else's and these pricks would still find fault!

To be honest, I am not particularly a fan of Gillard or her government, but to see and hear the disgraceful and hateful way in which she has been treated by the majority of people in this country almost makes me ashamed to be an Australian. I know I'll probably cop crap for this post, but at least I'm amongst friends on this forum. Here endeth the rant!
 
Well said, Flippedy. I fully agree so count me as a friend. Hopefully Murdoch will get his comeuppance in the UK at least, and that weird crew on 2GB - Jones, Hadley (who makes me doubly ashamed because he's a Rugby League man), Smith et al are so far over the top that they're beneath contempt.
 
@Old Bluebag said:
Well said, Flippedy. I fully agree so count me as a friend. Hopefully Murdoch will get his comeuppance in the UK at least, and that weird crew on 2GB - Jones, Hadley (who makes me doubly ashamed because he's a Rugby League man), Smith et al are so far over the top that they're beneath contempt.

Hadley is a disgrace. Everyone who he disagrees with is an imbecile and insulted at a personal level. The guy lacks the brains to seriously discuss important issues. Jones gets worse every year. He is a hypocrite of the highest order as he demonstrated with the Convoy of No Consequence.
 
Gillard rubs people the wrong way for a few reasons.

She has been proven to be very untrustworty - even for a pollie, she had her hands all over those debacles when Rudd was leader and then knifed him in the back.

Also whenever she addresses the public she comes across like a presenter on playschool with her insincere and condescending tone.

…and she sold her soul to the devil (Brown) and continues to lie straight into the publics faces about gloooobaaaalll waaarrrmmmiiinnnggg.

She is a pretty embarrassing leader.
 
@Flippedy said:
@stryker said:
God no Happy Bill Shorten would be a disasterous PM.

I'm under the impression that Shorten is being being groomed for future leadership, but perhaps not so soon. Maybe K Rudd will make a return? Everybody loves him now, since he was so hard done by :laughing:

Anyway, whoever gets the job, one thing I am certain of is that they will not be treated in the same manner or subjected to the same scrutiny that Gillard has been. Never in all my years on the earth have I seen a leader of this country so mercilessly disparaged and disrespected, by media and general public alike! Yes, she has made mistakes, as have many others before her. Yes, she led us astray about the Carbon Tax we were never supposed to have, as John Howard led us astray about the GST we were never supposed to have.

Whether she cops this treatment purely becasue she is a woman or because of the way she wrested leadership from Kevin Rudd, I don't know, but what has been said and written about her, in all forms of media, has been beyond political criticism - it's been downright hatred! The media in this country, Murdoch Press and 2GB in particular, are an absolute disgrace! Their hate-filled, fear mongering rhetoric has incited so much opposition to Gillard and her government to the point where **everything** she does is wrong in their eyes. Hell, she could even give her own life to save someone else's and these pricks would still find fault!

To be honest, I am not particularly a fan of Gillard or her government, but to see and hear the disgraceful and hateful way in which she has been treated by the majority of people in this country almost makes me ashamed to be an Australian. I know I'll probably cop crap for this post, but at least I'm amongst friends on this forum. Here endeth the rant!

Shorten is grooming himself. At the end of the day though it may depend on who's left after the next election if the polls pan out.
Agree re Gillard. I've been critical of her performance at times but the hostility she has received as bordered on hysterical.
 
Did anyone catch the satire the other night called At home with Julia? It was pretty funny. The depictions of the independants was spot on. I loved how they rocked up to dinner at the lodge with all 3 of them crammed into the cabin of Bob Katters triton lol…...

People have criticised it for being nasty...I didnt see it that way, more just a light hearted piss take in the veign of Gillies and Clarke/Dawe.

For those who didnt see it, Julia and Tim Mathieson have organised a date night as they arent spending enough time together however the plans are interupted when the independants invite themselves to dinner....

Funniest part was when Gillard and Swan are sitting at a table working out the budget and Swan says "can you believe the deficit is only at half a million dollars?" Gillard leans over , has a look and says " Waaayyynne you've left 5 zeros off!".... :laughing:
 
@Yossarian said:
I don't see Abbott coming out against the idea. It's really not that bad - it gives fathers a chance to spend some time with their newborns and help out. Of course if it was Liberal Party policy the neocons around here would be praising the tripe out of it but since it's Labor policy, it must be bad…

And yet we hear nothing about Barry's budget blowout caused by his insistence on building a railway line when there is no capacity for the trains to run on it.

Budget blowout? Not mentioning state Labor's several billion dollar black hole in their costings for pre-election promises. Barry has been in power for just over 5 months and I'm quite convinced those 5 months have been more productive than Labor's 16 years. I can go through a list of legislations he has implemented which have been long overdue, things that should have been legislated years ago.

The North-West rail-link will provide commuters in the North-West with transport they've never had before. If you're living in the Hills District and you work in the city, you currently have to use the M2 which is a 'carpark' most mornings or you can catch bus which is equally as painful getting through traffic. The proposed NW Rail link will mean new stations are built in the Hills District meaning commuters will be able to access the network easier. If you do choose to commute by train from the Hills District, you'd have travel to Quakers Hill to hop onto a train going into the city. A pain in the arse that must be for those who do :blush: .

Going by his record on delivering pre-elections promises, I could bet my bottom dollar on this proposal going ahead.
 
@citizen cub said:
@Yossarian said:
I don't see Abbott coming out against the idea. It's really not that bad - it gives fathers a chance to spend some time with their newborns and help out. Of course if it was Liberal Party policy the neocons around here would be praising the tripe out of it but since it's Labor policy, it must be bad…

And yet we hear nothing about Barry's budget blowout caused by his insistence on building a railway line when there is no capacity for the trains to run on it.

Budget blowout? Not mentioning state Labor's several billion dollar black hole in their costings for pre-election promises. Barry has been in power for just over 5 months and I'm quite convinced those 5 months have been more productive than Labor's 16 years. I can go through a list of legislations he has implemented which have been long overdue, things that should have been legislated years ago.

The North-West rail-link will provide commuters in the North-West with transport they've never had before. If you're living in the Hills District and you work in the city, you currently have to use the M2 which is a 'carpark' most mornings or you can catch bus which is equally as painful getting through traffic. The proposed NW Rail link will mean new stations are built in the Hills District meaning commuters will be able to access the network easier. If you do choose to commute by train from the Hills District, you'd have travel to Quakers Hill to hop onto a train going into the city. A pain in the arse that must be for those who do :blush: .

Going by his record on delivering pre-elections promises, I could bet my bottom dollar on this proposal going ahead.

The NWRL only works if you have capacity to run the trains. For all it's faults (and there were many) at least state Labor ran mostly budget surpluses. All I know is Hartcher promised a stack of things up my way and he's delivering on none of them. No extra trains, no new hospital wing, no underpass to replace the rail crossing. I'll admit Labor deserved to lose the last state election but if you think Barry's been going great you need to take the blinkers off. Budget deficit, striking public servants, letting Fred Nile hold him to ransom on the ethics classes, infrastructure projects not properly thought through.
 
@Yossarian said:
@citizen cub said:
@Yossarian said:
I don't see Abbott coming out against the idea. It's really not that bad - it gives fathers a chance to spend some time with their newborns and help out. Of course if it was Liberal Party policy the neocons around here would be praising the tripe out of it but since it's Labor policy, it must be bad…

And yet we hear nothing about Barry's budget blowout caused by his insistence on building a railway line when there is no capacity for the trains to run on it.

Budget blowout? Not mentioning state Labor's several billion dollar black hole in their costings for pre-election promises. Barry has been in power for just over 5 months and I'm quite convinced those 5 months have been more productive than Labor's 16 years. I can go through a list of legislations he has implemented which have been long overdue, things that should have been legislated years ago.

The North-West rail-link will provide commuters in the North-West with transport they've never had before. If you're living in the Hills District and you work in the city, you currently have to use the M2 which is a 'carpark' most mornings or you can catch bus which is equally as painful getting through traffic. The proposed NW Rail link will mean new stations are built in the Hills District meaning commuters will be able to access the network easier. If you do choose to commute by train from the Hills District, you'd have travel to Quakers Hill to hop onto a train going into the city. A pain in the arse that must be for those who do :blush: .

Going by his record on delivering pre-elections promises, I could bet my bottom dollar on this proposal going ahead.

The NWRL only works if you have capacity to run the trains. For all it's faults (and there were many) at least state Labor ran mostly budget surpluses. All I know is Hartcher promised a stack of things up my way and he's delivering on none of them. No extra trains, no new hospital wing, no underpass to replace the rail crossing. I'll admit Labor deserved to lose the last state election but if you think Barry's been going great you need to take the blinkers off. Budget deficit, striking public servants, letting Fred Nile hold him to ransom on the ethics classes, infrastructure projects not properly thought through.

Come on Yoss. The bloke has been in 5 months and found several holes in the budget which he had to account for. He is in a much worse position than he thought he was in when he made the promises.

Your "points" are very minor. The strikes are from some tough choices he has to make regarding the bloated public sector that labor created. Ethics classes are minor and if the embedded Labor had sided with Barry in the upper house, he wouldn't need Fred's support. Once they turn to liberal seats next election, Barry will be in a better position to fix everything labor left behind.

I have no idea about the NWRL. I can imagine the capacity issue will be addressed, but it will be more costly as maybe the tunnel will be duplicated. Once Barry has the finances in order (Yes, there is 2.7% GSP debt from labor!) he will look at those options. They don't just spend willy-nilly like some party's.

Now, what are your thoughts on Federal Labor starting to raid the Future Fund? Costello fixed our off-balance sheet liabilities and Labor bring us right back down!
 
This is why Costello was a great treasurer.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/whether-sovereign-wealth-or-future-the-fund-needs-funds-20110913-1k7l8.html

If Labor only gave one iota of thought to our future, they would be a much better government. Instead they have means tested policy that was there to help and started pillaging the future fund! My generation will be stuffed if they stay in much longer!!!
 
Costello makes a lot of good points
Maybe Swan needs to read this article
Only problem would be that someone would need to explain to Swan what it all meant
This government has a lot to answer for and it will be our children that pays for their mismanagement
 
I don't know if many of you have heard but Gladstone harbour has been closed to fishing etc due to issues with fisherman getting sick ,multiple deaths to wildlife (Dolphins ,Turtles ,Dugongs and now bream ,mullet estuary cod and flathead )
Our local council and state politicians has been blaming the amount of fresh water that found its way into the harbour during the floods (what a load of BS that was \is)
Looks like the dredging of the harbour for the LNG project may have caused some issues
Hopefully the Feds step in and do something fast
The fishing in the harbour was as good as anywhere I have been and the last few years has been crashing dramatically
Has the story been making news elsewhere haven't read anything in the Courier Mail or anywhere else ???
 
@happy tiger said:
I don't know if many of you have heard but Gladstone harbour has been closed to fishing etc due to issues with fisherman getting sick ,multiple deaths to wildlife (Dolphins ,Turtles ,Dugongs and now bream ,mullet estuary cod and flathead )
Our local council and state politicians has been blaming the amount of fresh water that found its way into the harbour during the floods (what a load of BS that was \is)
Looks like the dredging of the harbour for the LNG project may have caused some issues
Hopefully the Feds step in and do something fast
The fishing in the harbour was as good as anywhere I have been and the last few years has been crashing dramatically
Has the story been making news elsewhere haven't read anything in the Courier Mail or anywhere else ???

I haven't heard anything mate. It would be very concerning if it did have to do with a Private project that hasn't been controlled properly.
 
@hammertime said:
@happy tiger said:
I don't know if many of you have heard but Gladstone harbour has been closed to fishing etc due to issues with fisherman getting sick ,multiple deaths to wildlife (Dolphins ,Turtles ,Dugongs and now bream ,mullet estuary cod and flathead )
Our local council and state politicians has been blaming the amount of fresh water that found its way into the harbour during the floods (what a load of BS that was \is)
Looks like the dredging of the harbour for the LNG project may have caused some issues
Hopefully the Feds step in and do something fast
The fishing in the harbour was as good as anywhere I have been and the last few years has been crashing dramatically
Has the story been making news elsewhere haven't read anything in the Courier Mail or anywhere else ???

I haven't heard anything mate. It would be very concerning if it did have to do with a Private project that hasn't been controlled properly.

Probably a combination of a lot of projects Qld Alumina ,Boyne Smelter , Comalco Alumina Refinery ,Stuart Oil Shale and now LNG
It would be nice to think that I will be able to take kids and grandkids fishing in the future on the harbour
and still be able to catch a feed
Lost two of my best bream spots due to LNG project
 
As some of you may well be aware our genius treasurer was voted world's best treasurer
I have about as much respect for Swan as I do Manly
I wonder who the other candidates were
Greek Treasurer
Irish Treasurer
Spanish Treasurer
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I'm sorry if the Swan is the world's best treasurer then I'm due for a career change
 
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