2022 Election
Vic writes 'The red shirts scandal has rightfully claimed scalps and the ALP have purged the crooks caught up in the rorting.' Surely you couldn't have written that with a straight face Vic? Your fingers and toes must have been crossed as you wrote that bare-faced lie. Somyurek was the only member sacked cos he was caught on film - those who weren't faced no sanction at all. Now your beloved leader is referring to the female member who also accused him of involvement as 'that person'. No doubt you and Grace will now rush to come out and denounce Dan for his misogyny and corruption...or are you just going to continue to abuse men and women for having alternative views to yours. I bet if Scott, but more so his wife and children, read your (and others') comments here they'd be seriously affected. How would you and your family like to cop that type of abuse?
Vic Local wrote:There's a reason why most people don't know what Albo stands for. There's an old saying in politics: "When you political opponents are shooting themselves in the foot, don't interrupt them."
And the LNP have been shooting themselves in the foot ever since Albo took over. Every fucking week they've had a corruption scandal, an incompetent minister fucking up, there's internal hate flowing, and wall-to-wall shitfuckery. Then there's all the basic shit these clowns are failing to do. Why would any opposition leader take the attention off that shitshow?
Albo will become better known during the campaign, Voters will also understand that Scumo isn't going to improve. He was bad in 2019. He's much worse in 2022, and voters will be wondering how crap he will be in 2025.
The thing about Scumo is, he's middle management at best. There's no great intellect there. He's a retail politician who doesn't do "detail". The fiasco in aged care is the result of a lazy PM and a minister not on top of his brief. People will be asking how bad shit will get under these clowns in the next three years.
They are gone, people are fed up, and they know things will only get worse. They won't be getting a mandate for more corruption and more incompetence. Swinging voters aren't going to fall for the "death taxers" and "China wants a Labor Govt" fear campaigns again. And that's all the LNP have got. They can't stand on their record and say "give us another go because we are a good government. "
You should be politician. So typical of you VL to deflect and ramble on without answering the question. Who is Albo?
Fitzroy-21, I’ll have a crack at answering your question tomorrow
I think the Labor party needs to learn an important lesson from this wk of how easy it is to set the political and media agenda in this country.
They need to stand up, get out there and set some agenda items leading into the election that catch the attention of the nation and get some positive media time and exposure.
These agenda items need be of importance to the nation and one’s that they hold the upper hand on and have the majority support of the people.
They need to start controlling the political landscape.
There’s no time like right now.
"Who is Albo?"
I'd say he's a bloke who thoroughly believes in equality of opportunity, and evidence based policy making.
But it's not just Albo vs Scumo. Labor's ministerial team will actually be competent and on top of their briefs. Quick question blokes, which LNP minister has done a good job? I'm actually really struggling to find one that hasn't been a rolled gold disaster.
Don’t worry about who’s albo , who the fck is this guy ! 
""Who is Albo?"
I'd say he's a bloke who thoroughly believes in equality of opportunity, and evidence based policy making."
that really is some mediocre, middle of the road, lame arse, generic, say nothing shit...
especially for a guy that likes to think - or at least impose the impression - that he's in on the inner workings of the labor party...
come on mediocre man, surely you can do better than that...
or not...
gsco wrote:I think the Labor party needs to learn an important lesson from this wk of how easy it is to set the political and media agenda in this country.
They need to stand up, get out there and set some agenda items leading into the election that catch the attention of the nation and get some positive media time and exposure.
These agenda items need be of importance to the nation and one’s that they hold the upper hand on and have the majority support of the people.
They need to start controlling the political landscape.
There’s no time like right now.
totally
totally missing a rolled gold opportunity...
again...
I honestly think they need to tone down their arrogance and hubris a bit, and actually offer something of substance
it's one thing to watch liberals self destruct... again... but really, labor's biggest problem is a lack of confidence, in them, their competence, and what they actually stand for... they have done absolutely nothing to quell these fears, with barely two months to go...
they are playing with fire I reckon, especially if liberals pull something out of the bag...
as they say... a week is a long time in politics...
but not so, to fundamentally change a public's perception of you
What about a house syppy..Houses are popular…they keep the rain off your head and there are lots of people who want one. Perhaps a party could promise one of those for $400 a week to the average houseless punter and they’ll own it as well one day. Won’t cost the govts anything but a govt guaranteed bank loan and if people don’t pay their mortgage they are on their way back to the rentals. The 400 k house and land package is the answer to all Australia’s housing problems. You could even train building industry tafe students on the job as well actually building houses even cheaper. Fixed price 200 k blocks and a 200k house is an easy thing with all our land we have.
It seems the conservative party in Australia is no longer conservative but plain vanilla with fruity bits and the Labor/ greens party are plain vanilla with nuts.
I think we are in serious trouble…..and plain vanilla is ….yawn….plain.
fitzroy-21 wrote:Vic Local wrote:There's a reason why most people don't know what Albo stands for. There's an old saying in politics: "When you political opponents are shooting themselves in the foot, don't interrupt them."
And the LNP have been shooting themselves in the foot ever since Albo took over. Every fucking week they've had a corruption scandal, an incompetent minister fucking up, there's internal hate flowing, and wall-to-wall shitfuckery. Then there's all the basic shit these clowns are failing to do. Why would any opposition leader take the attention off that shitshow?
Albo will become better known during the campaign, Voters will also understand that Scumo isn't going to improve. He was bad in 2019. He's much worse in 2022, and voters will be wondering how crap he will be in 2025.
The thing about Scumo is, he's middle management at best. There's no great intellect there. He's a retail politician who doesn't do "detail". The fiasco in aged care is the result of a lazy PM and a minister not on top of his brief. People will be asking how bad shit will get under these clowns in the next three years.
They are gone, people are fed up, and they know things will only get worse. They won't be getting a mandate for more corruption and more incompetence. Swinging voters aren't going to fall for the "death taxers" and "China wants a Labor Govt" fear campaigns again. And that's all the LNP have got. They can't stand on their record and say "give us another go because we are a good government. "You should be politician. So typical of you VL to deflect and ramble on without answering the question. Who is Albo?
Albo, is as vanilla as can be. Just another really bad Labor leader following on from the previous 4 useless labor leaders. Is a nothing, will do nothing and be remembered as a nothing.
LNP is no better..both parties are full of mediocre people more concerned about their own little world.
We have very few quality people in positions of power now.
Jeez that's so damning Supa, cooked!
Roadkill wrote:Just another really bad Labor leader following on from the previous 4 useless labor leaders
If you're including Gillard in that assessment then you're only outing yourself as a follower of fables.
Based on time as Prime Minister, Gillard passed more legislation than any PM in Australia's history, and if that wasn't impressive enough, she did it with a minority government.
More than any leader in recent history, she led without ideology, and included all stakeholders at the negotiating table, pursuing outcomes that kept everyone happy.
Compare it to the culture war bullshit we're being fed daily now. Or ScoMo having parliament sit till 5am, not for an important outcome for the nation, but just so he can wedge Labor over religion going into the election. Wasting our time pursuing power for its own sake.
If we had more leaders like Julia Gillard Australia would be in better shape.
But yeah, ditch the witch.
Craig wrote:Jeez that's so damning Supa, cooked!
He certainly didn’t pull his punches, I will have to find yesterday’s question time , apparently a full melt down by scumo.
Supa & Stu opening the batting this morning with consecutive 6s
Good work lads
stunet wrote:Roadkill wrote:Just another really bad Labor leader following on from the previous 4 useless labor leaders
If you're including Gillard in that assessment then you're only outing yourself as a clueless follower of fables.
Based on time as Prime Minister, Gillard passed more legislation than any PM in Australia's history, and if that wasn't impressive enough, she did it with a minority government.
More than any leader in recent history, she led without ideology, and included all stakeholders at the negotiating table, pursuing outcomes that kept everyone happy.
Compare it to the culture war bullshit we're being fed daily now. Or ScoMo having parliament sit till 5am - not for an important outcome for the nation - but just so he can wedge Labor over religion going into the election. Wasting our time pursuing power for its own sake.
If we had more leaders like Julia Gillard Australia would be in better shape.
But yeah, ditch the witch.
I wouldn’t put Gillard in that group to be honest. I didn’t check the list before posting, so should have said last 3. . Gillard is quality and before her Keating was the last quality leader.
I think now they should have plibersek as leader.
And the last great lib leader was Howard. And the last good leader was Abbott.
Roadkill wrote:And the last great lib leader was Howard. And the last good leader was Abbott.
Really?
blackers wrote:Roadkill wrote:And the last great lib leader was Howard. And the last good leader was Abbott.
Really?
everything is subjective. it is not compulsory to agree.
Brilliant Supa, he was so on point. A very candid assessment of our current PM.
This might be a bit of a controversial opinion for my comrades on this site, but I believe that Abbott had the country's interest at heart as PM. That doesn't mean the country benefitted when he was PM, it just means Abbott was genuine, despite being 50 years out of date.
Scumo on the other hand happily sells the country down the tube for his own benefit. The recent Religious Freedom bill fiasco was classic scumo. Divide the country by pandering to fringe bigots for electoral gain. The flog won't introduce an ICAC, not because the country desperately needs one, but because it would be very bad for Scumo personally so it doesn't get introduced.
The PM is a deeply flawed character and if the poll trends are correct, more and more people are beginning to see through his BS and seeing the real Scott Morrison.
sypkan wrote:"My question is, who is Albo? What exactly does he stand for and what is he and the ALP bringing to the table for Australia? Other than the standard opposition slogans and rebuttal, he hasn’t exactly put himself out there and selling himself and his party from what I can see."
'...what is he and the ALP bringing to the table for Australia? '
'you can't possibly vote for that other guy'
and,
'we're gonna ventilate all your schools... we will assess every single classroom, door, ...and will be cutting six inches cut off the bottom of it, ...with an elaborate fan system (a fan) being placed in the opposite corner... based on computer modelling...'
that's about it
should do the trick though...
almost certainly definitely... sadly...
The school ventilation crazy program is already happening., where’s the direct link to Albo? Mate of mine is already contracted to do the work.
Sypkan. Nothing personal, can’t say I enjoy anything you post. I have YOU pictured in my mind as being a squeaky clean office worker, who is as neat as all fuck, drives a very shiny clean car, inside and out, has a stunning girlfriend/boyfriend who is buffed, your only interest is yourself, you go to the gym regularly, your house is spotless, garden clipped within an inch of its life, you own two white small ankle biting dogs, you holiday in Port Douglas with others of your ilk, you earn a packet and have never volunteered in your life, your bank balance is very sound, you invest in unethical shares etc. You fell out of a privileged cast to shape the great right wing citizen you are, well done.
I’m a retired tradie of 35years, everything I’ve read in previous forums on mostly political topics, paints me this visual picture. What I’ve aforementioned is a complete description of Liberal/conservative people in in my eyes, yes a big generalisation I know, but it’s true, nearly all my clients of 35 years sounded, looked and thought like you, simply don’t have the brains to think about anything thing less than protecting there assets. I once worked for one of your kind, the guy wanted red gum posts in the job and I remarked I don’t use a rapidly disappearing species just to make a paling fence, he said “I don’t care if it’s the last fucking red gum tree on the planet, I want red gum, I said BYE.
You Libs/Con are all the same , generation after generation.
Roadkill wrote:blackers wrote:Roadkill wrote:And the last great lib leader was Howard. And the last good leader was Abbott.
Really?
everything is subjective. it is not compulsory to agree.
Oh I agree completely, it is great that there is a range of opinion. Just interested in the assessment of Abbott as a good leader. He was highly effective as an opposition leader in the way he dominated the agenda, but as Prime Minister far less so as he was too divisive.
Vic Local wrote:This might be a bit of a controversial opinion for my comrades on this site, but I believe that Abbott had the country's interest at heart as PM. That doesn't mean the country benefitted when he was PM, it just means Abbott was genuine, despite being 50 years out of date.
Scumo on the other hand happily sells the country down the tube for his own benefit. The recent Religious Freedom bill fiasco was classic scumo. Divide the country by pandering to fringe bigots for electoral gain. The flog won't introduce an ICAC, not because the country desperately needs one, but because it would be very bad for Scumo personally so it doesn't get introduced.
The PM is a deeply flawed character and if the poll trends are correct, more and more people are beginning to see through his BS and seeing the real Scott Morrison.
Scomo is a terrible politician and from what he is displaying now is a pretty low individual. Religion doesn’t make him a better person it has the opposite effect. Another reason why religion has no place in politics. He is Hillsong crazy so it is what it is.
Nearly ever politician once in the system becomes a selfish snake…imo
From a marketing point of view, it's interesting to watch someone's weapon being used against them.
Pitched as the simplistic Everyman, Morrison's advisors constructed a nickname, Scomo, and led with basic sloganeering, "Have a go to get a go."
A few unfortunate years later we've got Smirko, Smoko, and Scumo, and other things he's said have unwittingly been turned into slogans against him, "I don't hold a hose, mate".
Hahah absolute state of it!
I find it interesting that no one can really point out clearly who is Albo and what does he stand for.
You can’t take VL seriously as he is an ALP tragic. Everything ALP is seen through rose coloured glasses and all VL can offer is how fucked Scumo is and the LNP, but cannot articulate what Albo and the ALP will represent. A true political opposition stance and talk from VL.
Syp was closer to the mark and I’m hoping Guy will come through.
I know who Albo is and where he has come from. What I don’t know is, what is he bringing to the Australian public. We are months away from the election, he has been leader of the opposition for what, 3 years(?), what has he been doing in that time to sell himself and his party? I can’t honestly say what he is going to do to influence getting my, or any one else’s, vote, other than to be an alternative to the current shitfuckery.
A general question, are we really in 'culture wars'? To be honest I can't see it. Maybe it's because I don't spend time on social media. I don't see it in real life when I talk to people, things are pretty normal day in day out.
Roadkill wrote:Vic Local wrote:This might be a bit of a controversial opinion for my comrades on this site, but I believe that Abbott had the country's interest at heart as PM. That doesn't mean the country benefitted when he was PM, it just means Abbott was genuine, despite being 50 years out of date.
Scumo on the other hand happily sells the country down the tube for his own benefit. The recent Religious Freedom bill fiasco was classic scumo. Divide the country by pandering to fringe bigots for electoral gain. The flog won't introduce an ICAC, not because the country desperately needs one, but because it would be very bad for Scumo personally so it doesn't get introduced.
The PM is a deeply flawed character and if the poll trends are correct, more and more people are beginning to see through his BS and seeing the real Scott Morrison.Scomo is a terrible politician and from what he is displaying now is a pretty low individual. Religion doesn’t make him a better person it has the opposite effect. Another reason why religion has no place in politics. He is Hillsong crazy so it is what it is.
What I find interesting is that Murdoch and his minions have backed three deeply flawed people to lead countries where they have huge media power. Johnson in England, Scumo in Australia and Trump in the USA.
Bad legislation can be quickly reversed by new governments. Bad people change the country's culture and it takes a generation to reverse. Scumo's legacy will be the normalisation of corruption in Australia. Even if the ALP bring in an ICAC with teeth, it will still take a decade to reverse the corrupt shit Morrison and Co have inflicted on Australia.
Trump's legacy is even worse. 40% of Americans still think that bum won the last election FFS. Trump's legacy is "truth doesn't matter...we make our own reality".
Johnson's legacy is the Brexit fiasco and a pack of absolute Eton scumbags screwing over the UK for personal gain.
Albanese and Labor's small target strategy appears weak to some, including me at times, but I think the events of this week show why they took it and that it has worked for them. The LNP is reduced to 'reds under the bed' and 'but Eddie Obied' and a speech Albo made 31 years ago. They have nothing, so far.
Sadly in Australia recent history shows if you want to pick an election winner you watch the Murdochs. In the past week NewsCorp attack dogs Van Onselen, Bolt, Albrechtsen, and Credlin all on the turn, it seems Scomo is done, Rupert and Lachlan want Dutton, Costello wants Josh. The leaks and recriminating has begun. It appears the LNP are falling into an electoral death cycle. It looks like we are going to have a Labor Government by June.
I liked Gillard too, I thought she was a straight up character. I’m in a dilemma now as I don’t know who to vote for. I don’t like Albo, dodgy Keneally , dodgy Shorten, I’m disappointed with Morrison but I do like frydenburg and I really like our regional nationals people but can’t stand Barnaby. It’s too bad we can’t have one of them as leader like mike McCormack or someone like him with josh frydenburg as treasurer. But at present there is no one else I can vote for except to have a decent book keeper and budgeter in frydenburg which is pretty sad but better than nothing. Someone with a great vision and plan for the future would be most welcome right about now especially for budget mortgage housing. Definitely time for Scott to step aside and let Josh have a go.
fitzroy-21 wrote:I find it interesting that no one can really point out clearly who is Albo and what does he stand for. I know who Albo is and where he has come from. What I don’t know is, what is he bringing to the Australian public. We are months away from the election, he has been leader of the opposition for what, 3 years(?), what has he been doing in that time to sell himself and his party?
After the debacle of last election - arguably the last opportunity for Oz to get off the Inequality Express - Labor will go to this election with a small target. I read their platform a few months back and, from memory, it included good policy around future trade agreements prioritisng local labour over imported, and mediation instead of resorting to international courts in local trade issues, plus labour hire reform.
Also, he's since rejected the LNP's plan to return immigration to pre-COVID levels (160,000 p/a).
There are other things, such as a federal ICAC that Blind Freddy can see are drastically needed before we descend into full blown cronyism.
Abbott aside, it's an opposition leader's lot to be barely visible. He's given many appearances, including a speech at the National Press Club three weeks ago, but opposition leaders find it hard to cut through, and he's not got the charisma or wit for the sharp soundbite that media producers so love*.
If he did, you'd hear much more about him. But keep in mind, visible or not, Labor's policies would still be the same.
*Despite his sharp mind, a sharp tongue like Keating's would never last in modern politics.
Further to my comment above, keen observers have spotted the precise moment Scomo realised he'd lost the Murdochs when he had an involuntary blinking spasm after Van Onselen got up at the press club and hit him with the "complete psycho" text leak. Like Bart Simpson showing the exact moment Lisa broke Ralph Wiggum's heart.
stunet wrote:Roadkill wrote:Just another really bad Labor leader following on from the previous 4 useless labor leaders
If you're including Gillard in that assessment then you're only outing yourself as a follower of fables.
Based on time as Prime Minister, Gillard passed more legislation than any PM in Australia's history, and if that wasn't impressive enough, she did it with a minority government.
More than any leader in recent history, she led without ideology, and included all stakeholders at the negotiating table, pursuing outcomes that kept everyone happy.
Compare it to the culture war bullshit we're being fed daily now. Or ScoMo having parliament sit till 5am, not for an important outcome for the nation, but just so he can wedge Labor over religion going into the election. Wasting our time pursuing power for its own sake.
If we had more leaders like Julia Gillard Australia would be in better shape.
But yeah, ditch the witch.
So passing as much legislation possible = a good government???
Didn't Trump also pass a lot of legislation?
I see good governments duty more as ensuring the economy is healthy, unemployment rates low, interest rates and inflation kept low etc providing stability and balance and generally tinkering things where needed rather than making too much change at once and then crossing their fingers the result is a good thing.
In the same way if you really want a good custom board, you tinkering small things over a number of boards rather than making huge changes that are more a flip of a coin.
Change for sake of change is not a positive thing, im sure it could be argued many of these changes made under Gillard were wrong and should be changed back.
The LNP have been in power for most of the last 50 years so have been in control of the direction of things for most of the time and tinkered things along the way hence why they dont always need to propose crazy big new policy or legislation and with 25 years plus of growth and prosperity its hard to argue that they havent done a good job.
Labor have very different ideas of what a government should be and direction of things hence why if get in power might try to change things much more, but sometimes these drastic changes are extremely damaging to our future for example Krudds scrapping of Howards border control policy that was working fine, his change on this that even he flipped on has cost us billions.
"So passing as much legislation possible = a good government???"
Well, it's not as clear cut as that, but in a sense, yes, it is good government. It's a government that is keeping abreast of the times, adapting laws across the breadth of our economy so organisations and businesses can all operate fairly.
Much of it is minutiae buried deep in clauses - not "crazy big new policy" as you say - but it's what creates a just system that keeps the economy ticking.
EDIT: "Change for sake of change is not a positive thing, im sure it could be argued many of these changes made under Gillard were wrong and should be changed back."
She was in a minority government. If you don't understand why that's important to the point at hand then look it up.
fitzroy-21 wrote:I find it interesting that no one can really point out clearly who is Albo and what does he stand for.
You can’t take VL seriously as he is an ALP tragic. Everything ALP is seen through rose coloured glasses and all VL can offer is how fucked Scumo is and the LNP, but cannot articulate what Albo and the ALP will represent. A true political opposition stance and talk from VL.
Syp was closer to the mark and I’m hoping Guy will come through.
I know who Albo is and where he has come from. What I don’t know is, what is he bringing to the Australian public. We are months away from the election, he has been leader of the opposition for what, 3 years(?), what has he been doing in that time to sell himself and his party? I can’t honestly say what he is going to do to influence getting my, or any one else’s, vote, other than to be an alternative to the current shitfuckery.
Labor learnt from last election that the public doesn't want crazy change just moderate well balanced change, so now Labor are taking the smart road of basically becoming Liberal lite, even Albo is mirroring Scomo on trying to be more relatable to the public in this instance even complete with the dog prop.
It's kinda like Nirvana and Bush, or the Beatles and Oasis.
Only fair after he copied his nickname and persona.
I think Labor's strategy is keep a low profile and just point out the fuck ups that are bound to happen in a pandemic as have happened under every government around the world during Covid.
Then move back into the centre as much as possible with policy and then win government by people voting for you not because of who you are or your policy but more because it's the only alternative and people generally focus on the negatives rather than the positives.
I wish now LNP had called and election at the start of Covid and just put all the cards on the table and said either back us now but it won't be all smooth sailing or take a risk on the unknown.
Because now LNP have done all the hard lifting got us through the worst of Covid with the economy very healthy considering, with one of the lowest Covid death rates in the world, and one of the highest vax rates in the world, and the Labor are just going to claim all the good work done and have very little challenges to deal with.
But hindsight is always a bitch.
You do recall they gave $40 billion to profitable companies, right?
As in, an astronomical sum of public money that could've been used for nation building but instead gifted to people who didn't need it.
Take your blinkers off for a second: If the shoe was on the other foot we'd never hear the end of it.
And perhaps you'll recall that Howard was the first opposition leader to go to an election with no fixed strategy. In fact, it was he who coined the phrase "core and non-core promises" - i.e just lie to the public.
Indo, you know I’m impartial when it comes to politics and reject the tribalism of the parties and assess each purely on their merits?
Well mate , I’m here to tell you that Scummo and his band of merry rorters are the most blatantly selfish and corrupt federal politicians I’ve ever seen. They are a proper fucking disgrace. They’ve achieved a couple of ways, such as determining we should live with covid, but even then it was for the wrong reasons ie appease their donor masters instead of acknowledging the reality of covid.
Australia is a much, much worse place for the Summo government. Unfortunately the ALP are basically Sugar Free Pepsi to Scummocchio’s Coke. Same basic beholden- to donors neoliberal flavour but the ruination of the IPA sugar is replaced by the destruction of the Unrepresentative Union artificial sweeteners.
@indo Labor's strategy is nothing new. To me, Albo is Scomo 2.0. No clear-cut policy implementation proposals but loud on demonising the other side. It's populism and I hate it. One just needs to look at labor instagram account, you see scomo more than you see albo. They are doing the same thing as coalition in the last election.
For those who remember, in the mid-nineties the ASP World Tour was in turmoil, mainly owing to a rolling list of sponsors, questionable locations, and a judging criteria that no-one could quite figure out - airs were so new no-one really knew how to reward them.
Rebel tours were announced, some even made it to the planning stage, and somewhere in the mix Kelly said, paraphrasing, "Change either gets forced from the outside, or you take hold of the reins and create change it from within."
History shows KS took a greater role as a surfer rep, judges legitimised airs, and better locations were sought spawning the Dream Tour. He changed it from within.
That quote by Slater is relevant though, as it has been across the ages.
No-one knows what the next order after neoliberalism is going to be, it doesn't have a name yet, or even a distinct shape, however, the drive to reduced globalism, increased sovereignty is upon us. How it plays out, a slow and controlled change from within, or an ugly and violent revolution, will be decided through politics.
The spear point is breeching American society now and it'll get worse. Same goes UK. Continued on the same path we'll be there soon too, and if you believe that's just scaremongering then you're a very poor student of history.
Point being, what we're seeing in the US is the result of one end to the 'no such thing as society', free market, liberalism - the ugly and violent revolution. Think that's crazy? Ask Ray Dalio, a cool-headed investor who made his fortune predicting human behaviour, who now believes America is heading for civil war.
The LNP has American liberalism stamped into its DNA; the free market will always prevail, small government is better, regulation is red tape etc etc etc. Those same mantras got America to where it is now.
Labor has a great many faults but it's our best hope to, as KS said (and did), "take hold of the reins and create change from within." Peaceful change. Spread wealth, avoid creating an underclass, create regulatory frameworks that protect our environment, rid Canberra of lobbyists, and politics of corruption. Some of those goals were evident in Shorten's platform.
Apologies for the surf/politics mash up, but the one thing I'm absolutely sure of is that the current course, the one being set by those with their hands on the tiller, will end in disaster.
PS: As bad as it is, eschewing the two-party system will only empower one side.
stunet wrote:For those who remember, in the mid-nineties the ASP World Tour was in turmoil, mainly owing to a rolling list of sponsors, questionable locations, and a judging criteria that no-one could quite figure out - airs were so new no-one really knew how to reward them.
Rebel tours were announced, some even made it to the planning stage, and somewhere in the mix Kelly said, paraphrasing, "Change either gets forced from the outside, or you take hold of the reins and create change it from within."
History shows KS took a greater role as a surfer rep, judges legitimised airs, and better locations were sought spawning the Dream Tour. He changed it from within.
That quote by Slater is relevant though, as it has been across the ages.
No-one knows what the next order after neoliberalism is going to be, it doesn't have a name yet, or even a distinct shape, however, the drive to reduced globalism, increased sovereignty is upon us. How it plays out, a slow and controlled change from within, or an ugly and violent revolution, will be decided through politics.
The spear point is breeching American society now and it'll get worse. Same goes UK. Continued on the same path we'll be there soon too, and if you believe that's just scaremongering then you're a very poor student of history.
Point being, what we're seeing in the US is the result of one end to the 'no such thing as society', free market, liberalism - the ugly and violent revolution. Think that's crazy? Ask Ray Dalio, a cool-headed investor who made his fortune predicting human behaviour, who now believes America is heading for civil war.
The LNP has American liberalism stamped into its DNA; the free market will always prevail, small government is better, regulation is red tape etc etc etc. Those same mantras got America to where it is now.
Labor has a great many faults but it's our best hope to, as KS said (and did), "take hold of the reins and create change from within." Peaceful change. Spread wealth, avoid creating an underclass, create regulatory frameworks that protect our environment, rid Canberra of lobbyists, and politics of corruption. Some of those goals were evident in Shorten's platform.
Apologies for the surf/politics mash up, but the one thing I'm absolutely sure of is that the current course, the one being set by those with their hands on the tiller, will end in disaster.
PS: As bad as it is, eschewing the two-party system will only empower one side.
"create regulatory frameworks that protect our environment, rid Canberra of lobbyists, and politics of corruption."
Yeah, the unions want that..lol The grubbiest lobyists and the standard bearer for corruption of politics.
@stunet a really good post. I love Ray Dalio and I read all his work. What is happening in the US is horrendous. They drifted far away from some core values that they regularly promote. For example, they love 'free market' but do nothing against obvious monopolies and oligopolies. An original concept of free markets is to allow buyers and sellers to negotiate their own prices without government intervention. I believe in that concept. However, that doesn't mean that one can:
- Bully and destroy the competition to the point of being a sole provider in the market
- Pay an army of lobbyists so governments introduce legislation that is crushing for your competitors
- Ban government from participating in the same market as a stakeholder, shareholder, or a 3rd party who implemented services we all use to conduct transactions (for example, taxation to build roads we all use to move around on etc...)
A defender of the free market should crush any attempts to monopolise. US is not that, if I really had to put them into a bucket I would call it feudalism.
Called ALP win here on these pages as soon as it became apparent Gladys was dithering and letting it out, mid last year. Still hold that call.
I see parallels to Trump being voted out, which made no sense at the time from here. The stories of Biden motivating 82million or so votes, when he scraped to get a few hundred people at speeches, while Trump was pulling 10's of thousands... but it rests on people's perception of safety. Trump was unique in that he gave the manufacturing middle class (massive value-adding and wealth creating sector in US, abandoned after mid 1990s and 5 million jobs lost) a voice and promised to kick back into gear that section of the economy. But in his management of the pandemic, it was rampant through these very communities and people voted accordingly. Not a threat to their jobs but their perceived health. This also explains how many of the Biden votes were mail in - if a voter doesn't want to get infected but really wants to have their displeasure heard in a purely voluntary electoral process, they are mail - voting for Biden but really against Trump. The tragedy is, he was a strong borders man, but didn't put them up when really needed. (I'm sure there was also a bit of shenanigans in some electorates, like closing at 10pm and sending the observers home, reopening at 4am with a miraculous change in vote).
The honest perception of the Liberal party for me at the moment is they are sociopaths who care not one iota for the people they are supposed to represent. Further, I think they've killed the 'caring Australia' that was the birthright for all of us posting here. It probably isn't true that way, but it's about perception and this is mine. The hope is ALP will restore this, for they advertise their strengths as being about people. Also, reading their policy regarding manufacturing, value adding, buying one's own - all good, hope they can follow through. There might be cheap pink batts for the ceiling though.
Reading through excellent 'Koombana Days' at present (set: NW WA, 1910s) , and many of these concerns have been faced by former generations of Australians (immigration, cheap foreign labour, ALP protecting workers, the degree of conciliation and arbitration, government making huge mistakes in trying to run businesses/predict economic conditions). It seems we go through it all over again for the amusement of the almighty.
So yeah, ALP win at present. But make sure you go read through Sustainable Australia's policies.
flollo wrote:An original concept of free markets is to allow buyers and sellers to negotiate their own prices without government intervention. I believe in that concept.
flollo go take a look at the entire interest rate and bond markets. It's appalling. A free market it ain't.
Stu, your posts today are spot on ....
Relating in a more direct manner to Slater’s attitude is the opinion I heard from a commenter over at Macrobusiness who claimed that the rank and file could completely reclaim the ALP with only about 50,000 new members. These new members could take the framework of the party and reposition it away from neoliberalism and back to the original imperative of the party.
That’s a lot less individuals than it would take to achieve outright control of Gove for any new political party. It would also be a unifying and signifying event reclaiming a part of Australia’s cultural heritage from those who’ve hijacked it and subverted it against Australia’s interest.
50,000 new members and we could tell the current mob filling the chairs and drawing a salary for voting against the working class. Look where the state ALP have taken us if you want to see where the federal equivalent is headed.
Any ALP politician who pushes for privatisation or weaponised mass immigration is an enemy of the people and the halls of the ALP are stacked with them.
They need to be routed by a grass roots rejection of their pro - capital ideology.
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