The Politics thread !

[gpeck80]

So just before the federal election last year, I noticed many of you were touting the current LNP govt as the way to go.

First some facts -

1. Tony abbott is completely incompetent - a bitch in opposition does not a leader make. The thing people are starting to realize is that there is a difference between a sociopath and a confident competent leader. I am so glad I did not fall for his sociopath game like many of you lemmings did.

2. For all his talk about jobs over the last three years, with him in power Australia is now experiencing its worst unemployment rate in ten years.

3. He has now started to push for opening a loophole that will flood our nations workspace with unskilled foreign workers (who will work for 2 an hour for 18 hours straight with no bathroom breaks), further crippling the ability of Aussie battlers getting and keeping a job.

4. The only positives I can think of point 3 - ironically this will mean more asian young women hitting our shores, not finding work and winding up in brothels and massage parlours, an over supply that might make certain services cheaper.

Thoughts ??

[Heisenberg]

The problem isn't what either party actually delivers, it's the ability of Rupert Murdoch's media machine to tell you what they delivered. Perception is everything.

The perception unfortunately is that Labor are profligate spenders, irresponsible etc etc

The perception for the Liberals is that they are competent, tight budgets and run surpluses.

[gpeck80]

Aside from perception, I want to focus on actuality.

[Heisenberg]

You may, but the electorate never will. That's why he was elected.

[CunningLinguist]

Mr Rabbit still has a long way to burrow before he gets to the end of his hole, unfortunately ...

[gpeck80]

I am referring to specific posts here Heisenberg, not the electorate, a body I clearly do not have the power to address.

[gpeck80]

As for your comment on mainstream, I completely agree.

7005

[Poonda Bear]

As much as I was happy with the Howard government, and unhappy about the ALP getting in, they did spend money well. I have the feeling that it's good to have a ying and yang of the parties exchanging power. LNP to make and save money, ALP to spend it and develop infrastructure/eduacation/services?

[dohdoe]

The liberals are the best people to govern the country at the moment. I'm so afraid of everything at the moment. I mean like BUDGET EMERGENCY! ! and evil BOAT PEOPLE. Also those other really really bad people DOLE BLUDGER!!
Being paid well is also a terrible thing because apparently that costs jobs and hurts business profits especially if you're part of a union. But if you're in mining it's OK to have high wages as news.com.au keeps subliminally telling us.

[scrawley]

You say Tony Abbott is an incompetent sociopath but you don't explain why. If you want to engage the forum in an intelligent conversation about politics it would help tremendously if you could at least outline your own position.

in regard to the jobs thing, a lot of this is due to long term macro-economic trends (eg. decline of the aust manufacturing sector, tapering of the mining boom etc) that were coming to a head long before the LNP got into office

Dont get me wrong, im not necessarily a huge fan on Abbott. I just dont think its fair to blame him for worsening economic situation. His foreign policy on the otherhand has been hamfisted and inept from day 1 and he is 100% responsible for this!

[Poonda Bear]

^^ Like ^^

[CunningLinguist]

The liberals are the best people to govern the country at the moment. I'm so afraid of everything at the moment. I mean like BUDGET EMERGENCY! ! and evil BOAT PEOPLE. Also those other really really bad people DOLE BLUDGER!!
Being paid well is also a terrible thing because apparently that costs jobs and hurts business profits especially if you're part of a union. But if you're in mining it's OK to have high wages as news.com.au keeps subliminally telling us.

Don't forget those evil whining lefties at the soon to be closed ABC, and those lazy single mums, and all those foolish kids and parents at public schools ...
Note this is a joke post just in case you don't get it :)

[gpeck80]

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[gpeck80]

ABC won't shut down. It's legislated to exist.

[CunningLinguist]

"Don't forget those evil whining lefties at the soon to be closed ABC"

A closure that was caused by john howard.

And soon to be repeated by Abbot

[scrawley]

can you be more specific? which 'current issues' are you talking about exactly?

we're not mind readers, you started this thread throw us a fucking bone if you want to have a conversation


"You say Tony Abbott is an incompetent sociopath but you don't explain why."

I assume you dont stay aware of current issues lol

[paragon2312]

I wasnt part of this board when the elections were on but even in my peer group there were people touting for LNP merely based upon what they heard in media, which annoyed me and some mates because while we didnt vote the same we at least investigated the policies the parties supported and based our votes on those assumptions.

While I agree that the current economic status of the country isnt the fault of the Abbot country, they are certainly acting like bulls in china shops with the way they are reacting to each political issu I that arises.

But thats just my thoughts, I will end with this thought before people think I know what I am talking about and that is, bring back rudd's cash bonus to everyone to stimulate the economy

[ecchi.gaijin]

Just a note with regards to all the talk about unemployment. From an economics point of view, unemployment levels between 4% and 6.4% are considered full employment.

A bigger issue than that though is whether the figure being reported is accurate, or being skewed by technicalities. You may have heard of the term underemployment before to refer to part timers/casuals/students being removed from the unemployment figures.

[Brisguy72]

You know what I think.....

That this is the totally wrong place for you to air your political views.

There are forums for political discussion & this is not the place.

[gpeck80]

...............

[scrawley]

People talk about sport, gambling, current events on this forum, why not politics?

Or are you one of those timid, boring, uninteresting people who does everything possible to avoid discussing anything remotely controversial?


You know what I think.....

That this is the totally wrong place for you to air your political views.

There are forums for political discussion & this is not the place.

[Digger]

People talk about sport, gambling, current events on this forum, why not politics?

Or are you one of those timid, boring, uninteresting people who does everything possible to avoid discussing anything remotely controversial?

Take your soapbox and go elsewhere! Interest in your views on anything controversial or other = ZERO. I believe there is commonality between your IQ and your shoe size.

[scrawley]

lol!!! how old are you digger, 12??


Take your soapbox and go elsewhere! Interest in your views on anything controversial or other = ZERO. I believe there is commonality between your IQ and your shoe size.

[Digger]

lol!!! how old are you digger, 12??

Much older and a lot wiser than you, scrawney, oops, scrawley!!

[Kenji2]

Seriously guys, it's been said before and frankly common sense. It's in the general talk forum, with the topic clearly stating what this thread is about.

I've ignored countless threads on here that I don't care about or don't want to read for whatever reason and I simply steer clear, as I'm sure many others have done also.

Yes there are other places to discuss politics, cars, breast size, sexual infections etc etc other than here but that's not the point I believe. It's to discuss certain topics with a bunch of anonymous users HERE that some might find interesting. It might also give some insight into each user input that you could not gather from after reports.

If you don't want to read it, don't care about it, or simply have nothing to say, then DON'T.

Keep the thread on topic with people who want to discuss whatever it is and let it be. No need to bitch like a little school girl with her panties twisted up her ass :D

As you were

[TRD Aurion]

Did some say "CARS" !!!? Ok lets get started!!!!!

P.S. I very much agree with kenji.

[popeye96]

I really don't understand the way some peoples brains work. It takes more effort to have a bitch about a thread that they don't like or have no interest in than it does to just not open it. Do some people just like the attention and/or need to be heard or have their say? The thread title clearly says "The Politics Thread". As has been said before, if it doesn't interest you, don't look at it. I really have no interest in the thread, but it's good to have a read just to see what other peoples opinions on the subject are.

[gpeck80]

Agreed ^ just like the aurion thread.

[gpeck80]

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[gpeck80]

7064

People Power ! Woohoo !

Now lets get together and lobby to legalize massage parlours !

[marlowe]

Glad to know there were some other punters out today besides myself! Let's get massage parlours legalised!

[gpeck80]

Hehe. Numbers swelled to 15 thousand by the time it hit QLD Parliament House.

[dohdoe]

I can only wonder if the qld premier will lose his own seat at the next election

[gpeck80]

Im hoping to see a bikie bitch slap him on national tv before hand.

[jimmyp]

You know what I think.....

That this is the totally wrong place for you to air your political views.

There are forums for political discussion & this is not the place.

I think it's relevant - we give them money, they screw us over.

[gpeck80]

Haha yeah similar to what happens to you punters

[dohdoe]

I love it.
These posters complaining. They have a post count of something like 0.08 a day (ie dont contribute) but for this thread are willing to post something just to complain.
It must feel really good to be angry at something.

[TRD Aurion]

You referring to me? I know :(

[oilman]

Does anyone no where I can get wanked off for $50?

[Digger]

Does anyone no where I can get wanked off for $50?

You will have to go to another thread; this thread is about politics, or so I am lead to believe by the title!!

[gpeck80]

Technically a hj is politics, bedroom politics :cool2:

[scrawley]

Im sure Digger will do it if you ask him nicely!


Does anyone no where I can get wanked off for $50?

[Digger]

Im sure Digger will do it if you ask him nicely!

Scrawney, I thought you had retreated back into your shell like most introverts do.

[scrawley]

Ah Digger, you illiterate, ignorant old rogue, didn't your parents ever teach you never to end a sentence with an auxiliary verb?


Scrawney, I thought you had retreated back into your shell like most introverts do.

Anyway, I'm not an Abbott fan but at this stage of the Coalition's term in government I'd give then a B or maybe a B minus.

Negatives - as I said before the government's handling of foreign issues has been generally inept and hamfisted. Also, their response to the parliamentary expenses rorts in the early days of government left a lot to be desired.

Positives - their efforts to address the widening budget deficit is commendable although its too early yet to assess outcomes. Similarly, tackling inefficiencies in the australian public sector is necessary and long overdue. I believe Abbott's strategy to deal with unlawful arrivals is smart and effective. I also think the decision to have Sinonidos stand down in response to hia entanglement in the Obeid corruption scandal was the right thing to do.

[gpeck80]

.

Effective is where the arrivals actually survive the process.

[scrawley]

I suppose you're referring to that Iranian asylum seeker that died during those riots at the PNG detention camp.

Yeh witness reports suggest we was killed by a PNG contractor. We probably be shouldnt be hasty to jump to conclusions before the facts are established (this all happened during a riot for all we know this guy may have been acting in self defence) but I do agree whatever the case may be the death is a sure sign of operational problems at the camp which need to be addressed asap.

More generally though I do think the PNG solution is very good policy. These human flotsam float onto our shores and expect us to provide them with a better life? Toss them into a 3rd world jungle surrounded by savage cannibals and just see how quickly they decide its not so bad in iran / afghanistan / iraq / sri lanka after all lol

[Digger]

Ah Digger, you illiterate, ignorant old rogue, didn't your parents ever teach you never to end a sentence with an auxiliary verb?



Anyway, I'm not an Abbott fan but at this stage of the Coalition's term in government I'd give then a B or maybe a B minus.

Negatives - as I said before the government's handling of foreign issues has been generally inept and hamfisted. Also, their response to the parliamentary expenses rorts in the early days of government left a lot to be desired.

Positives - their efforts to address the widening budget deficit is commendable although its too early yet to assess outcomes. Similarly, tackling inefficiencies in the australian public sector is necessary and long overdue. I believe Abbott's strategy to deal with unlawful arrivals is smart and effective. I also think the decision to have Sinonidos stand down in response to hia entanglement in the Obeid corruption scandal was the right thing to do.

I did not think literacy or grammatical accuracy were prerequisites for this Forum after reading your posts and others. I also would question your grading abilities!
C'est la vie!

[Heisenberg]

Positives - their efforts to address the widening budget deficit is commendable

What? they've run up the deficit even farther and that is with NEW spending. The gift to the RBA that is not lawfully required or even needed by the RBA. $8.8bn there. $800m to Rupert Murdoch by agreeing to drop ATO case against him in exchange for favorable media coverage.

Jesus man, educate yourself, don't just listen to the news or what they say. Look at what they DO.

[ecchi.gaijin]

Positives - their efforts to address the widening budget deficit is commendable

Politicians talking shit + a sensationalistic media + naive public = the idea that the federal debt is a problem.

We are the lowest of any developed country in regards to debt:GDP so level of debt isn't an issue. The only issue is what the debt was spent on. Given what was happening globally we needed, and still need, spending so long as it is stimulatory.

Unemployment is at the high end of fine and slowly increasing
Inflation is not an issue, recession is more of a potential issue
therefore debt is a NECESSITY

[scrawley]

Yeh australian public debt to gdp is around 30% and the coalition plans to reduce that to 22% or so over the next few years. Its lower than many countries but certainly much higher than it was just a few years ago. the howard government paid off public debt completely but it rose very quickly under the rudd / gillard government due to their ill conceived stimulus spending and social policy programs.

keynsian economics is a discredited economic theory and is largely respoonsible for the monumental public debt incurred by governments in the us, greece and japan. Behind every proposal to spend public money to 'stimulate' the economy is a captain of industry or lobby group with political xonnections and a vested interest in reaping the benefits

[ecchi.gaijin]

Howard did what coalition governments have always done, sold assets to fund raise. Unfortunately for Abbot, there is little or nothing left to sell so he will have to admit he can't address debt now without fucking up the economy

The Labor spending was fine, just poorly implimented.
School spending was a great idea, but throwing money at schools with no real scrutiny on whether it was actually needed ended up being pissing money up the (hall) walls.
The ceiling bats policy was brilliant. It addressed Rudd's environmental election promises and the issue of unemployment that raised it's head after the GFC. The problem came from greedy contractors trying to profiteer from the scheme. Not really sure how the government was supposed to control that.

[Heisenberg]

the howard government paid off public debt completely but it rose very quickly under the rudd / gillard government due to their ill conceived stimulus spending and social policy programs.

But the majority of the debt was caused by revenue writedowns, not new spending

Revenue writedowns caused by GFC = less tax revenue = higher borrowing.

Idiot.

[Heisenberg]

Howard did what coalition governments have always done, sold assets to fund raise. Unfortunately for Abbot, there is little or nothing left to sell so he will have to admit he can't address debt now without fucking up the economy

The Labor spending was fine, just poorly implimented.
School spending was a great idea, but throwing money at schools with no real scrutiny on whether it was actually needed ended up being pissing money up the (hall) walls.
The ceiling bats policy was brilliant. It addressed Rudd's environmental election promises and the issue of unemployment that raised it's head after the GFC. The problem came from greedy contractors trying to profiteer from the scheme. Not really sure how the government was supposed to control that.

Additionally, deaths in the industry under pink batts went DOWN overall, so fewer people died than would have otherwise died in normal conditions.

[scrawley]

Hush child. The grown-ups are talking


But the majority of the debt was caused by revenue writedowns, not new spending

Revenue writedowns caused by GFC = less tax revenue = higher borrowing.

Idiot.

[numberonebigsize]

Cannot stand Abbott.The election was a "drovers dog" (see Bill Hayden-Bob Hawke 1983)(Paul Keating-John Howard 1996).Getting rid of Labor was all the Australian public wanted.Abbott is much disliked but happened to be there at the right time,hence the famous quote:"a drovers dog would have won this election.I would even go further and say any bobo,coco,yoyo,mico,yoko,yuki,suki,yuyu,miyu would have shit in the way Labor was travelling! Interesting fact that the first opinion poll taken after the election had the Abbott Govt behind after two weeks. Never happened before.

[gpeck80]

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[scrawley]

n'ah mate, not sure where you're getting your information from but there IS CURRENTLY an investigation underway into the causes of the riot at manus island. Its being conducted by the dept of immigration.

also, peter o'neill confirmed on Friday that PNG WOULD be resettling many of the asylum seekers in Png who are identified as legitimate refugees.

The way you ignore the facts are reinterpret things to support you own left-wing world view is absolutely pathetic lol!!!


So now the PNG govt has affirmed it will not settle any of the detainees at manus, they will all be sent back to the torture and death that they fled. And there will be no investigation into the massacre that saw one man stomped to death and 77 others macheted and beaten with metal bars. And every day, this barbaric circus just becomes more grotesque, and with it, the ethos of this country goes further down the toilet.

I used to love this country. Now I'm disgusted to be an Aussie. Ive been travelling overseas for the last 20 years. For the first time EVER I am hearing disparaging comments about Australians.

[gpeck80]

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