Chicken Little
10-23-2007, 03:34 AM
Not that many of you care *high fives himself because Jethro sucks* but November 24th is the election date so as such it's rather interesting to see the mud slinging associated with the current parties as they switch into "how much bullshit can a politician sell if a politician can sell bullshit" and scare mongering mode.
For the uninitiated there are 6 main parties + Independents (those with no affiliation to a party)
Liberal (the current Government)
Labor (the Opposition who adopted the US spelling of the word for a reason I can't recall atm)
Democrats (a minor party)
Nationals (a co-op with the Liberals though they still maintain autonomy of their group if any win seats)
Greens (Environmentalists aka "hippies")
Family First (Relative newcomer, form memory religiously dominated. They are however the minor party as they only had 1 member elected to parliament and he's not up for re election)
The policy of the "main" parties (Labor & Liberal) has been the subject of the majority of the media, with Howard (PM - Liberal) citing that Rudd (opposition leader - Labor) is simply tagging along with government policies in a "Me Too" attitude while Howards treasurer, Costello has cited the scare tactics in that a Lbor elected government will be "big bad an union dominated" while Liberal government will be "friendly to business and families". The fact of the matter is that both parties have released their tax plans for if they are re elected (34bn for the Liberals 31bn for Labor) and Labors provided much more focus on Education, Health, Housing and Affordability which, in a population census the majority of families supported the Labor tax plan over the Liberals.
The main issues of this election seem to be Healthcare, Water & Infrastructure, Housing & Affordability and as always Taxation. So to see the Labor party take the supposed high ground in creating and upgrading infrastructure and water projects (to deal with Australias drought and impact on the agriculture sector) and housing, education and healthcare in a much more positive light than the Liberal party seemed to do is a welcome step for most people.
The policy outlines:
Liberals
Policy Documents (http://www.liberal.org.au/about/ourpoliciesplans.php)
More support for pensioners, self funded retirees, people with disabilities and their carers
Australian Council for Mental Health
Tackling the Feral Pest Menace
A Stronger Dental Workforce for Northern Australia
Better Cancer Care and Support for Women
Climate Change Fund
Safety in Our Waters
Personal Income Tax Reform - Go for Growth
Labor
Policy Documents (http://www.alp.org.au/policy/index.php)
* Aged Care, Disability, Carers & Social Inclusion
* Arts, Heritage, Sport, Recreation & Tourism
* Child Care & Families
* Climate Change & Environment
* Communications & Broadband
* Cost of Living & Consumer Affairs
* Education & Training
* Foreign Affairs, Trade & Aid
* Health & Dental Care
* Homeland Security & Defence
* Housing
* Immigration & Citizenship
* Indigenous & Reconciliation
* Industrial Relations & Employment
* Industry, Innovation, Science & Research
* Primary Industries & Forests
* Public Administration and Intergovernmental Relations
* Regional, Rural & Territories
* Resources & Energy
* Roads, Transport & Aviation
* Small Business
* Superannuation & Banking
* Tax, Finance & Accountability
* Veterans
* Water & Infrastructure
* Youth, Women & Seniors
--------------------------------------
Personal viewpoint here.
For me the key issues of this coming election boil down to the flaws of the current government weighed up the policies of the opposition. Labor has stated numerous times that should they win government there would be a systematic withdrawal of troops from Iraq because it is not our war to be in, and an increase in troops in the Oceanic region (as PNG has been in need of military numerous times and our region is really dependant on us as a military force when conflict escalates) that they would also then by pulling out of Iraq spread the troops around to include Afghanistan to expedite construction and safety within the region is a good thing in my eyes. The current government would continue as we have been under the guise of "we need to follow the USA into any war it enters because we require their aid in financial markets." To me this is not entirely true since we have been heavy trading partners with Asia and Europe, so that a decreased trade presence with the US (if it eventuated) would not be as a damaging as the Liberals are claiming it would be.
The broadband network across Australia is also set for an overhaul regardless of what government is elected. Figures show that Australia has a relatively low level of speeds and infrastructure compared to other developed nations. I like the Labor plan far better than the Liberals plan since it seems more concise and evenly distributed, there's far too many questions with the Liberal plan, those in the industry have stated numerous flaws with it (namingly a radial effect which would change rural areas only minimally and only the cities would receive the noticeable changes).
The Liberal government had adopted a "we'll deal with climate change when it becomes an issue" approach which was quoted and replayed constantly on the media. Labor has insisted that they would ratify Kyoto and set targets based on a conglomeration of data from various reputable sources so that we can tackle it immediately before it gets to the point where it is an issue. To me, how many years of drought do we have to be in before the government recognise that seasonal rainfall is down, temperatures are up, carbon emission are up and it'll be far too late to do anything about it if it all increases at the rate it has been. They jumped on the bandwagon so to speak, and it is far too late for them to attempt to buy votes in this area. The concept of a nuclear reactor without disclosing which region would then house the nuclear waste from it was also a step back in that since there were so many protests and so much uproar with a toxic waste dump holding secret the proposed plan of a nuclear waste dump is pure bullshit. Personally, I would like to see the continued development of wave technology to provide power to coastal regions, as Australia is a nation where the further in you go the less population you encounter (due to arable land amounts) it sounds far more beneficial to me to see how well that could do (since it's a far greener alternative and less waste than most of the alternatives) before we simply go nuclear.
The overhaul to the workplace was a welcome change, so props to the government for taking that step (the former rules were like 40 years old and conditions in the 1960's were very different than 2007) but how they were instituted were pathetic. So many complaints infact that the government were forced to introduce systems so that employers weren't taking advantage of employees, and while it has been successful (hundreds of thousands of rejected applications for the setting of wages on individual contracts) that it was a forced addition after however many people were screwed, is poor form, poorer still is that they then used this as ammunition to attack the wife of the opposition leader while not attacking any other person who owned a business and did the same thing. Political bullshit this paints the government in my eyes as petty, ridiculous, lecherous, and manipulative. "We introduced these laws with a flaw in it, you made light of these flaws so that we then had to change it, omg you're in the opposition, evil evil woman unionist, you're the devil, begone foul demon spawn... yay other businesses, thank you for helping fix the problem here's more monies!" That the Labor government is looking for a transitional change instead of "out with the old in with the new, fuck off I'm working." and looking for a role to incorporate Unions without holding Employers by the balls is a welcome change for me. I don't want to be told "this is the contract, take it or piss off we have plenty of people who would jump at the offer" because there's no one who could then negotiate besides yourself.
Speaking of unions, the political advertising. It was reported and confirmed that the current government is using taxpayers money to support his advertising blitz (something like $35mil) and that blitz was simply "Unions are evil blood sucking demons, Labor are union dominated" scaremongering. Poor form. That they have continually painted the Union movement as spiteful vindictive sobs is bigotist. You would not label all employers or employees as a unified "fucking wankers who are all hardasses getting rich off exploiting the work force" or "blatant sheep who need to be told where to shit because they're retarded and deserve to exploited" like they do Unionists who only look out for the rights of the workers in their union so that they don't get screwed. Why is it then acceptable to demean them to a point?
Closing point, I watched the (supposedly) only debate the 2 leaders will be having (I say supposedly because Howard only wanted 1, Rudd wanted at least 3) and saw the furor that Howard and his party caused with it. We have a worm, which is basically the studio audience during the debate is given a touch pad and asked to react to the politicians every 10 seconds or so either negatively if they disagree or feel the pollie is avoiding the issue/ dicking around etc. Howard wanted this scrapped from any debate he was in yet channel 9 had this on because of the freedom to do so. During the telecast their feed was pulled because of the wishes of the Liberal government, Channel 9 tagged off other feeds which was promptly cut also before they tagged of SkyNews' feed and it stayed on the air. All this because Howard didn't like people having reactions to him and Rudd while they were debating on TV.
That is fucking horse shit, and Howard needs to grow a goddamn pair of balls.
So, since there are a minimal presence of those who would be impacted or have an interest in such a thing, I am wondering of (since our system of voting unlike the US is compulsory) if you see any of these issues in a global view, your impression of the leaders and or parties if you've come across them, thoughts comments and finally an If you were an Australian citizen, and thus had to vote what would swing you to what party and why?
For the uninitiated there are 6 main parties + Independents (those with no affiliation to a party)
Liberal (the current Government)
Labor (the Opposition who adopted the US spelling of the word for a reason I can't recall atm)
Democrats (a minor party)
Nationals (a co-op with the Liberals though they still maintain autonomy of their group if any win seats)
Greens (Environmentalists aka "hippies")
Family First (Relative newcomer, form memory religiously dominated. They are however the minor party as they only had 1 member elected to parliament and he's not up for re election)
The policy of the "main" parties (Labor & Liberal) has been the subject of the majority of the media, with Howard (PM - Liberal) citing that Rudd (opposition leader - Labor) is simply tagging along with government policies in a "Me Too" attitude while Howards treasurer, Costello has cited the scare tactics in that a Lbor elected government will be "big bad an union dominated" while Liberal government will be "friendly to business and families". The fact of the matter is that both parties have released their tax plans for if they are re elected (34bn for the Liberals 31bn for Labor) and Labors provided much more focus on Education, Health, Housing and Affordability which, in a population census the majority of families supported the Labor tax plan over the Liberals.
The main issues of this election seem to be Healthcare, Water & Infrastructure, Housing & Affordability and as always Taxation. So to see the Labor party take the supposed high ground in creating and upgrading infrastructure and water projects (to deal with Australias drought and impact on the agriculture sector) and housing, education and healthcare in a much more positive light than the Liberal party seemed to do is a welcome step for most people.
The policy outlines:
Liberals
Policy Documents (http://www.liberal.org.au/about/ourpoliciesplans.php)
More support for pensioners, self funded retirees, people with disabilities and their carers
Australian Council for Mental Health
Tackling the Feral Pest Menace
A Stronger Dental Workforce for Northern Australia
Better Cancer Care and Support for Women
Climate Change Fund
Safety in Our Waters
Personal Income Tax Reform - Go for Growth
Labor
Policy Documents (http://www.alp.org.au/policy/index.php)
* Aged Care, Disability, Carers & Social Inclusion
* Arts, Heritage, Sport, Recreation & Tourism
* Child Care & Families
* Climate Change & Environment
* Communications & Broadband
* Cost of Living & Consumer Affairs
* Education & Training
* Foreign Affairs, Trade & Aid
* Health & Dental Care
* Homeland Security & Defence
* Housing
* Immigration & Citizenship
* Indigenous & Reconciliation
* Industrial Relations & Employment
* Industry, Innovation, Science & Research
* Primary Industries & Forests
* Public Administration and Intergovernmental Relations
* Regional, Rural & Territories
* Resources & Energy
* Roads, Transport & Aviation
* Small Business
* Superannuation & Banking
* Tax, Finance & Accountability
* Veterans
* Water & Infrastructure
* Youth, Women & Seniors
--------------------------------------
Personal viewpoint here.
For me the key issues of this coming election boil down to the flaws of the current government weighed up the policies of the opposition. Labor has stated numerous times that should they win government there would be a systematic withdrawal of troops from Iraq because it is not our war to be in, and an increase in troops in the Oceanic region (as PNG has been in need of military numerous times and our region is really dependant on us as a military force when conflict escalates) that they would also then by pulling out of Iraq spread the troops around to include Afghanistan to expedite construction and safety within the region is a good thing in my eyes. The current government would continue as we have been under the guise of "we need to follow the USA into any war it enters because we require their aid in financial markets." To me this is not entirely true since we have been heavy trading partners with Asia and Europe, so that a decreased trade presence with the US (if it eventuated) would not be as a damaging as the Liberals are claiming it would be.
The broadband network across Australia is also set for an overhaul regardless of what government is elected. Figures show that Australia has a relatively low level of speeds and infrastructure compared to other developed nations. I like the Labor plan far better than the Liberals plan since it seems more concise and evenly distributed, there's far too many questions with the Liberal plan, those in the industry have stated numerous flaws with it (namingly a radial effect which would change rural areas only minimally and only the cities would receive the noticeable changes).
The Liberal government had adopted a "we'll deal with climate change when it becomes an issue" approach which was quoted and replayed constantly on the media. Labor has insisted that they would ratify Kyoto and set targets based on a conglomeration of data from various reputable sources so that we can tackle it immediately before it gets to the point where it is an issue. To me, how many years of drought do we have to be in before the government recognise that seasonal rainfall is down, temperatures are up, carbon emission are up and it'll be far too late to do anything about it if it all increases at the rate it has been. They jumped on the bandwagon so to speak, and it is far too late for them to attempt to buy votes in this area. The concept of a nuclear reactor without disclosing which region would then house the nuclear waste from it was also a step back in that since there were so many protests and so much uproar with a toxic waste dump holding secret the proposed plan of a nuclear waste dump is pure bullshit. Personally, I would like to see the continued development of wave technology to provide power to coastal regions, as Australia is a nation where the further in you go the less population you encounter (due to arable land amounts) it sounds far more beneficial to me to see how well that could do (since it's a far greener alternative and less waste than most of the alternatives) before we simply go nuclear.
The overhaul to the workplace was a welcome change, so props to the government for taking that step (the former rules were like 40 years old and conditions in the 1960's were very different than 2007) but how they were instituted were pathetic. So many complaints infact that the government were forced to introduce systems so that employers weren't taking advantage of employees, and while it has been successful (hundreds of thousands of rejected applications for the setting of wages on individual contracts) that it was a forced addition after however many people were screwed, is poor form, poorer still is that they then used this as ammunition to attack the wife of the opposition leader while not attacking any other person who owned a business and did the same thing. Political bullshit this paints the government in my eyes as petty, ridiculous, lecherous, and manipulative. "We introduced these laws with a flaw in it, you made light of these flaws so that we then had to change it, omg you're in the opposition, evil evil woman unionist, you're the devil, begone foul demon spawn... yay other businesses, thank you for helping fix the problem here's more monies!" That the Labor government is looking for a transitional change instead of "out with the old in with the new, fuck off I'm working." and looking for a role to incorporate Unions without holding Employers by the balls is a welcome change for me. I don't want to be told "this is the contract, take it or piss off we have plenty of people who would jump at the offer" because there's no one who could then negotiate besides yourself.
Speaking of unions, the political advertising. It was reported and confirmed that the current government is using taxpayers money to support his advertising blitz (something like $35mil) and that blitz was simply "Unions are evil blood sucking demons, Labor are union dominated" scaremongering. Poor form. That they have continually painted the Union movement as spiteful vindictive sobs is bigotist. You would not label all employers or employees as a unified "fucking wankers who are all hardasses getting rich off exploiting the work force" or "blatant sheep who need to be told where to shit because they're retarded and deserve to exploited" like they do Unionists who only look out for the rights of the workers in their union so that they don't get screwed. Why is it then acceptable to demean them to a point?
Closing point, I watched the (supposedly) only debate the 2 leaders will be having (I say supposedly because Howard only wanted 1, Rudd wanted at least 3) and saw the furor that Howard and his party caused with it. We have a worm, which is basically the studio audience during the debate is given a touch pad and asked to react to the politicians every 10 seconds or so either negatively if they disagree or feel the pollie is avoiding the issue/ dicking around etc. Howard wanted this scrapped from any debate he was in yet channel 9 had this on because of the freedom to do so. During the telecast their feed was pulled because of the wishes of the Liberal government, Channel 9 tagged off other feeds which was promptly cut also before they tagged of SkyNews' feed and it stayed on the air. All this because Howard didn't like people having reactions to him and Rudd while they were debating on TV.
That is fucking horse shit, and Howard needs to grow a goddamn pair of balls.
So, since there are a minimal presence of those who would be impacted or have an interest in such a thing, I am wondering of (since our system of voting unlike the US is compulsory) if you see any of these issues in a global view, your impression of the leaders and or parties if you've come across them, thoughts comments and finally an If you were an Australian citizen, and thus had to vote what would swing you to what party and why?