Australia to the polls

36 comments on “Australia to the polls ”

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1. Weta 1

   5 August 2013 at 8:27 am

   Hmm .. Kevin Rudd beats Tony Abbot in personal popularity polls .. but Australian Commonwealth elections are decided in the marginal electorates which – according to Australian media – favour the conservatives.

   Don’t hold your breath .. but it won’t be as boring as listening to speeches by our political blow-ins, Key & Shearer.
   • Colonial Viper 1.1

     5 August 2013 at 8:45 am

     Rudd’s on fire at the moment…Abbott still hasn’t figured out the strategy to push back. The Coalition has the starting line advantage but will it be enough.
     • Sable 1.1.1

       5 August 2013 at 9:41 am

       I’d say yes. People remember the viciousness of Howard’s work choices legislation and will mostly likely not be keen for a repeat performance from his stooge Abbot.
     • Weta 1.1.2

       5 August 2013 at 3:52 pm

       It won’t be just Abbott making decisions. The place will be crawling with advisers, among them our old mates Textor & Crosby. Conservative politics over here may find that all their heavy hitters are chasing more lucrative options over there ..
2. Sable 2

   5 August 2013 at 9:39 am

   Lets hope Rudd does win as the alternative is a John Howard acolyte.
3. alwyn 3

   5 August 2013 at 10:16 am

   I wonder how much extra money it will cost the Australian taxpayer because Rudd has chosen to hold the election on 7 September rather than the 14th September that Gillard nominated more than 6 months ago?
   You can be sure that the election officials would have already arranged and committed to pay for tens of thousands of places to use for polling, and will now have to hurriedly try and arrange new bookings for an election a week earlier. The only reason I can see to move the date would seem to be to be able to say “I’m different”, or I changed it “because I can” or, possibly to try and mess up the Coalition planning of meetings.
   In any event it seems a huge waste of preparations for no gain to the Australian population.
   I much prefer the approach Key took last election, and which Gillard adopted. Announce the date early in the year and stick to it.
   • Sable 3.1

     5 August 2013 at 12:06 pm

     If you consider how much money will be wasted on military expenditure kissing America’s imperialist ass if the Liberals get in, Rudds decision to hold the election early is, by contrast, small change.
     • Phil 3.1.1

       5 August 2013 at 12:43 pm

       If you consider how much money will be wasted on military expenditure kissing America’s imperialist ass if the Liberals get in

       … it will be exactly the same amount of money Rudd will spend kissing America’s ass.
       • Sable 3.1.1.1

         5 August 2013 at 7:05 pm

         I cant agree Phil. Rudd stood up, for example, for Julian Assange whilst Gillard threw him to the wolves….

         Rudd is no friend of the US…
         • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1.1

           6 August 2013 at 4:20 pm

           I expect Rudd’s tune on Assange to change back to the Imperial norm about 60 minutes after he gets voted back in as PM.
         • Murray Olsen 3.1.1.1.2

           6 August 2013 at 9:53 pm

           Rudd has also made it very clear that he sees future conflict of some sort for hegemony in the Pacific region and that his Australia will be as much on the side of the US and A as Howard’s was. Apart from speaking Mandarin, his approach to the PRC is pretty much the same as Key’s.
   • Tamati 3.2

     5 August 2013 at 12:12 pm

     If they did spend large amounts of money on the assumption that the election would be held on the 14th then it’s pretty dumb. It’s a pretty fundamental constitutional right of the PM to choose the election day.
     • Watching 3.2.1

       5 August 2013 at 1:28 pm

       It’s a pretty fundamental constitutional right of the PM to choose the election day.

       What Constitutional right. I suggest it is how the Electoral Act currently states what an PM can do to set an election date.

       After seeing the Gillard and Key approach to announcing an earlier date a more democracy standard has been set. It will be interesting to see if Key maintains this approach in 2014.
       • Tamati 3.2.1.1

         5 August 2013 at 4:53 pm

         Rudd has been saying for the last couple of weeks that he has a constitutional right to determine when the election is held, so I’m guessing it’s written somewhere in their constitution.
   • Weta 3.3

     5 August 2013 at 3:48 pm

     Perhaps you could run that past the Australian embassy for a suitable diplomatic comment.
     I think you will find that most politically aware people in Australia – including the Australian Electoral Commission – have been following the national political shadow play very closely and will
     have little trouble changing the date of whatever arrangement with the local community and/or school hall ..
     • Weta 3.3.1

       5 August 2013 at 3:56 pm

       Apologies .. High Commission.
   • millsy 3.4

     6 August 2013 at 11:07 am

     I would assume that these arrangements would not be made until the parliament is offically dissolved and the writs are dropped.
4. mickysavage 4

   5 August 2013 at 10:50 am

   For an interesting take on the election have a read of Jim Parker’s post at http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/did-you-vote-for-this-man.html.

   Essentially he, rightfully in my view, paints this election as not only Rudd v Abbott but also Murdoch v Australia’s democracy and cites the Murdoch press treatment of Labor’s proposed bank insurance scheme as evidence of how Murdoch is willing to lie and cheat and distort to try and get his own way.

   In a particularly withering piece of prose Parker says:

   Just how this sensible, moderate and prudential policy idea could be twisted into Rudd Raids Battlers’ Bank Accounts’ is testament to the utter corruption of the Murdoch media and the preparedness of its editors to distort news coverage to advance the commercial and ideological agenda of their expatriate boss.

   The Murdoch apologists, of course, will defend his papers with the line that they are pursuing the sort of vigorous, take-no-prisoners tabloid journalism that holds governments to account. That’s fine, but journalism that twists facts, omits key information and manipulates public emotion to achieve ideological ends for powerful interests is not journalism at all.
   • Sable 4.1

     5 August 2013 at 12:03 pm

     I think if Australia is anything like NZ people are rapidly losing faith in mainstream media lies and reaching their own conclusions about politics and politicians. At least that’s my hope for NZ and Australia.
   • tc 4.2

     5 August 2013 at 12:17 pm

     They also hammered Rudd’s mining tax which ended up as tissue paper covering a waterfall by Gillard so careful messaging will remind the punters the tax take could be looking alot better.

     Murdoch and packer had no problems posing for the front cover and attending the launch of ‘The death of fairfax’.

     Abbott is toxic and turbull would love to take his job back so it’s going to be interesting.
     • North 4.2.1

       5 August 2013 at 2:43 pm

       Australian politics has a history of internecine waka leaping. Howard himself got booted as leader of the Liberal Party by Peacock. Only to come back to the leadership and score a post-WWII record term (I think) prime ministership.

       Go Turnbull. Abbott is a pig with contempt for the 99%. Mostly, go Kevin. I speak in terms of the lesser of evils of course.
       • mickysavage 4.2.1.1

         5 August 2013 at 2:58 pm

         Australian politics has a history of internecine waka leaping

         Right you are north.

         The ALP has had 6 coups during the past 12 years. Beazley, Crean, Latham, Beazley again, Rudd, Gillard then Rudd again have all wielded the knife.

         It makes the NZLP look united and civilized!
       • joe90 4.2.1.2

         5 August 2013 at 3:20 pm

         It makes the NZLP look united and civilized!

         An ALP tradition, internecine blood-letting.

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party#Historic_ALP_splits
       • alwyn 4.2.1.3

         6 August 2013 at 3:56 pm

         Howard served for about 11 years and 9 months. He was the second longest serving Australian PM ever.
         He was however a very long way short of Robert Menzies. Menzies’ second term was from December 1949 to January 1966. That is 16 years and 1 month. He also had a couple of years as PM from 1939 to 1941.
   • Weta 4.3

     5 August 2013 at 3:58 pm

     Yup, true to form. Wikipedia ‘Hearst’ for comparison ..
5. Colonial Viper 5

   5 August 2013 at 3:27 pm

   You know the Australian economy is going down the gurgler when McDonalds says that people aren’t able to afford its “food”.

   http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/aussie-burger-buyers-abandoning-mcdonalds-20130724-2qi3w.html
6. lurgee 6

   5 August 2013 at 3:54 pm

   A contest between two xenophobic rightwing tubthumpers to see which one gets to be boss? How enthralling.
7. lurgee 7

   5 August 2013 at 3:57 pm

   Out of interest, why is no-one talking about the not-too-bad poll on TVNZ? The one suggesting the ‘Man Ban’ fiasco and the constant strifing by the tubulent left hasn’t actually bothered the electorate too much, and hinting that a left coalition might be with in a whisker of power? Do we only discuss Bad News For Shearer here?
   • lprent 7.1

     5 August 2013 at 4:16 pm

     I haven’t seen anyone link to it in comments – you could try doing something proactive like writing a comment in OpenMike about it rather than just moaning about it in an unrelated post.

     If you’re talking about authors then remember three things. It was published on the weekend, when most of the authors are lackadaisically doing other stuff (like having a life). Most of the authors watch the Morgan poll far more than the others because it happens every two weeks – frequently enough to see trends rather than being a bimonthly blip. Finally even hinting about what authors should write about is dangerous – read the policy.
   • gobsmacked 7.2

     5 August 2013 at 8:08 pm

     @Lurgee

     Open Mike yesterday had plenty of comments on the TVNZ poll. So, no.

     Although we might be talking about different ones … the one I saw had Labour static even after Shearer played his trump card (or had last roll of dice, or any other game cliche). The Greens, meanwhile, picked up 100,000 supporters simply by being everything Shearer/Labour aren’t – “politically competent” would cover it.
8. Chooky 8

   5 August 2013 at 4:02 pm

   @ lurgee……actually I dont think Kevin Rudd is xenophobic…..He is a fluent speaker of Chinese for a start…He is just drawing a line in the sand on illegal boat immigration

   The polls should be a lot better for Labour if it had a competent leader

   Your friend Chooky
   • Sable 8.1

     5 August 2013 at 7:09 pm

     +1 I’d take Rudd over Shearer any day of the week.
     • gobsmacked 8.1.1

       5 August 2013 at 8:11 pm

       I’d take castration over decapitation, but I won’t be volunteering for either.
9. joe90 9

   5 August 2013 at 5:17 pm

   Oh dear.

   http://www.abbottisms.co

   https://www.facebook.com/Abbottisms
   • joe90 9.1

     5 August 2013 at 5:39 pm

     Here.

     http://www.abbottisms.com/
10. millsy 10

    6 August 2013 at 11:17 am

    There is not really that much difference between the policies of the ALP, Coalition or even the Greens. It is a sad state of affairs when a party led by a redneck who was a minister in Joh Bjilke-Petersen’s state government has the most left wing economic policies.

    Rudd will win. While there are people that dislike him, they dislike Tony Abbott even more. It will be Turnbull that will be the long term winner out of this election. The Liberals will have no option but to go begging back to him.

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