[Doggie 1]

....Gillard out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/26/labor-returns-kevin-rudd-election-wipeout

[Shambles]

He'll never make president though

[beerman]

There fighting over the wheel to the Titanic.

With all the bad stuff his party has said about him, all the disloyalty and leaking to nearly cost his party in 2010,  The Lib. advertising machine must be really looking forward to getting stuck into him.

His Deputy is an snake as well.

[Dazzler]

Yeah, I didn't think he would want to be the leader of the opposition... 

Unfortunately for those who don't like labor I think he will reduce the size of the landslide ...

A lot of people don't realize he is a wolf in sheeps clothing (can be a proper ba$tard apparently)

[rustynutz]

So, he's human.....is that a bad thing? 

[Phil №❶]

There fighting over the wheel to the Titanic.

I like that 

I truly hope that Australian voters don't forget the absolute & categorical statements he made about NOT RUNNING FOR PM before an election. How you can make statements like that and expect voters to trust anything that issues from his mouth in future, is beyond me.

To add insult to injury, the justification is that he felt it was his DUTY to accept the position, so that the Labor Party could have the best opportunity to prevent Australia falling into a Liberal / Abbot government.

With half the senior ministers resigning as well, we might end up with Peter Garret, as treasurer. 
There again, Gillard said there would not be a carbon tax. Trust a politician, never. 

[rustynutz]

C'mon, Phil....you should know there's no such thing as "never in politics!
Have you forgotten a certain Liberal leader said we'd never have a GST? 

Oh, and Peter Garrett resigned....

[Phil №❶]

 
 Peter Garret resigned, still means he could be treasurer, he's a pollitician after all. 

GST,,,, what GST. 

[Doggie 1]

So, he's human.....is that a bad thing? 

He's human?   

[Surferdude]

He'll be worth a few extra seats in the next election for Labor.

And just by being there, he will make the Coalition try harder. maybe even formulate some policies which they haven't had to do yet. Just been letting Labor self destruct.

BTW. I'm not pushing a Labor OR Coalition barrow here. Just making observations.

[beerman]

He is a petulant snake, who did everything in his power to ensure Labor lost the last election just so they would pay for dumping him.

I didn't like Julia much either. But old Kev showed his true colours after he resigned.

[Phil №❶]

I'm no fan of Abbot either, which is going to make this election very hard indeed. Voting for either of the major parties is virtually a waste and it's difficult to know which way preferences go, with the minor dudes too. Last thing we need is another hung parliament.

Wonder if Julia's finished the kanga yet. She'll have enough time for a full coat of arms now. 

[Doggie 1]

Need to vote for the policies, not the personalities. 

[Phil №❶]

Labour squandered money and is sending the country broke & Libs will attack the debt and WE have to repay it.

I don't fancy either of those policies. 

[Aussie Keith]

Maybe it wasn't a core promise.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=non-core+promise

[Phil №❶]

Like I said, not keen on either party. 

Labour squandered money and is sending the country broke ...

According to this http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/rating Australia has a AAA credit rating.

Not going broke just yet Phil!

[The Gonz]

Why do our mindless masses keep thinking they're voting for a person when the parties will determine the person? Why do the mindless masses believe the drivel about 'working families' when none of the politicians are working class?

Short memories, low political interest, easily misled voters.

[Surferdude]

Why do our mindless masses keep thinking they're voting for a person when the parties will determine the person? Why do the mindless masses believe the drivel about 'working families' when none of the politicians are working class?

Short memories, low political interest, easily misled voters.

Everything is aimed at the 10 - 12% of swinging voters. They're the ones who'll make a difference come election day.

My take on the effect of the party leader is that, because most people can't get truly accurate information on policies (the fault of both the media AND the politicians), they have little choice but to make a call on the public persona of the leaders.
In Julia's case, the average Australian felt they had voted for a party led by Kevin Rudd and their choice was overturned by a realtively small group of politicians. So she was never going to appeal to the masses.

I consider myself politically savvy enough to make a reasonable assessment of what's put in front of me but I've got little hope of knowing what's REALLY going on behind the scenes. The average punter has no hope.

[eye30]

It is the civil servants who run the country.

[Surferdude]

It is the civil servants who run the country.

That's not the case here.
But then, we haven't dropped to the level of Jim Hacker yet.

[Ugly Mongrel]

Well, I suppose Tony's human too

 I really want this bloke driving the bus.

[rustynutz]

Well, I suppose Tony's human too

I wouldn't go that far! 

[Ugly Mongrel]

Well, I suppose Tony's human too

I wouldn't go that far! 

 

[FatBoy]

Do people actually know who their local member is?  This is the person that was voted in and should be representing their constituents in Parliament, regardless of political persuasion.

BTW, my local member is Julie Collins (ALP)(I didn't vote for her).  In other areas my MP has been: Toowoomba - Don't know.  Williamstown - Nicola Roxon (ALP).  Nowra - Joanna Gash (Lib).

[Surferdude]

Federal member is (unfortunately) Peter Slipper.
State member is Mark McArdle who does an excellent job but has recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Local rep is Tim Dwyer who also does a pretty good job.

I knew my reps when we were in Sydney but have long since forgotten them.

[FatBoy]

My MIL said that she wasn't going to vote for either Abbott or Rudd.  I told her not to worry, because neither of them were in our electorate, so it wouldn't be a choice anyway.  She looked confused.   

[The Gonz]

She looked confused.   

[Doggie 1]

Well, I suppose Tony's human too

 I really want this bloke driving the bus.

 
That's a quite funny Labor propaganda video.
Fact is he's no dummy, he's a Rhodes scholar with particular views and happens to be leader of the Liberals, and hopefully, the country come the election.

[rustynutz]

I know a few supposedly intelligent people and they can still be as dumb as dog shit.... 

And God help us if Abbott becomes the next PM....