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The Forum > Article Comments > Holding babies won't cut it for Gillard > Comments

Holding babies won't cut it for Gillard : Comments

By Kellie Tranter, published 13/8/2010

Julia Gillard’s gender should be her greatest strength, not a political weakness.

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Kellie, you state

"Gillard needs to immerse herself in the company of trusted and informed external experts. If she believes in man-made global warming then she should get on the blower to the best climatologists in the country - the real, practising ones - and have them flanking her at press conferences".

Do you mean the ones that agree with you? I am sure if Gillard listened to you at the expense of public opinion and reality, she would not even be competitive in this election. Costs about change are a real issue. To think that Gillard should change her ways at this stage of the election cycle over this issue borders on the ridiculous. Her position on the issue puts Labor in the best position of the major parties to pick up green preferences.

It may not be good enough, but short-term political considerations are real. For that reason I don't think Gillard will take your advice at this stage. Sorry.
Posted by Chris Lewis, Friday, 13 August 2010 8:59:55 AM
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"Did you notice that a Daily Telegraph online survey suggests that those polled felt that Gillard is a sneaky, calculating schemer while Tony Abbott is an intelligent, determined man driven by passion."

Funny about that. She has proved herself to be exactly as described. One day proclaiming her full support for KRudd whilst scheming with the ALP powers that be to slip in the blade.

At least the liberal leadership spill was open and we all knew what was happening. Unfortunately it is unlikely we will never know what went on behind the scenes in the labor dustup.
Posted by Sparkyq, Friday, 13 August 2010 9:59:37 AM
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'Gillard’s gender should be her greatest strength'

Is her vagina stronger than her intellect or policies or her ability to sell her policies?

BTW: Always love a lefty that uses surveys from The Telegraph to make a point. The results couldn't be to do with the political leanings of the readership of course. Nothing also to do with a more recent leadership spill fresher in the publics mind, and one from a first term governmnet. Naaah, it's really all to do with gender schemas. Riiiight.
Posted by Houellebecq, Friday, 13 August 2010 10:19:01 AM
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I don't care about Gillard's gender. I find her insufferable because of her actions against Rudd, and her ridiculous attempts to send refugees to East Timor, and her alleged lack of compassion towards pensioners and parents.I also am very irritated by her pedagogic and patronising manner, and I really wish she'd stop stroking everybody.

Tony is a tool. I find absolutely nothing about him to like, and that's nothing to do with his gender either. I am very irritated by his ignorance on just about everything that matters, and that he apparently doesn't care about his ignorance on just about everything that matters. He reminds me of George W Bush, without the recovering alcoholic syndrome.

We are in deep excrement, given these are our choices for PM.

Gillard learned early on to play the patriarchal games extremely well, otherwise she would not be where she is. Tony is the patriarchy.

Like I said. Deep excrement.
Posted by briar rose, Friday, 13 August 2010 10:22:55 AM
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"Did you notice that a Daily Telegraph online survey suggests that those polled felt that Gillard is a sneaky, calculating schemer"

hahaha LOL .. yes, I did, and there's evidently a very good reason people think that and it's not because she's a woman, it's because she led a team who backstabbed PM Kevin Rudd and now is lining up to enjoy the benefits personally of doing that - some folks out there would find anyone who did that a sneaky, calculating schemer, like Bill Shorten and Mark Arbib are also now considered to be.

The ALP has spent years attacking Tony Abbot as being unpopular with women, a long and poisonous campaign.

I believe the first negative advert attacking his leadership went out 20 seconds after he was elected as leader of the Liberal Party, about how women hate him .. oh, and all the negative campaigning about his background, and there's Comrade Julia who doesn't want anyone invading her personal life - what hypocrisy.

The ALP machine is managing Julia's role, it's not as you describe in your article, poor Julia all alone against the world of men.

The ALP are horrified their Cinderella is unpopular with men, that's why so much is being done on the baby hugging and being kissed by men in hard hats oh dear oh dear it's so heavily stage managed and spun .. how ironic, maybe there is justice in this world.

It will be interesting to see if the ALP get away, once again, with massive spin .. they truly are the masters, if they get in, we deserve the rogering we'll get.
Posted by Amicus, Friday, 13 August 2010 11:11:01 AM
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This is typical sexist drivel; the 'have it both ways' that we have come to expect from Feminists.

For one argument it is that gender should not matter, and for another it is that gender should be her greatest political strength.

Hello !!

The quotations from favoured whining psychologists who have never led a pack of girl-guides into a pub, about how hard women leaders have to work to gain attention, ignores the same hard work that male leaders have to do.

Whining is the empowered female lawyer's stock in trade.
Posted by Amfortas, Friday, 13 August 2010 11:11:37 AM
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Sorry those of you crying about the"stabbing of Rudd in the back" but he was just not getting the message across and had no hope of changing his style or method of doing things. He was a control freak like Howard.
At least Labor told him so, offered him the opportunity to put his name up and he did not and Gillard was chosen.That is the way it should be and was done.
Remember when suggested he should hand over to Costelloe,Howard stated he would step down when the party wanted him to and when they did he asked Janet and the kids (who were the party he was referring to) and stayed on and not only lost government but thankfully his own seat.
To elect Abbott is to elect the "love child of Howard and Bronwyn Bishop"- then you will have a real true blue, right wing, neo liberal fascist. And God help us all.
Posted by gazzaboy, Friday, 13 August 2010 2:45:48 PM
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you can try to spin the backstabbing of PM Rudd however you like, but you just add to the legend of ALP spin

the one liner for PM Julia Gillard in the history books, will be "she backstabbed a man she had only just finished pledging allegiance to"

I don't like Rudd, never have, but to try to pass it off as politically essential is just underlining the state of ALP politics

"Whatever it takes"

The ALP is so power hungry, they would backstab the leader who led them out of the wilderness
Posted by Amicus, Friday, 13 August 2010 3:13:12 PM
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"Sorry those of you crying about the"stabbing of Rudd in the back" but he was just not getting the message across"

Hah !

He was getting the message across too well, you mean. "I may be naked, but I am your effin' Emperor. Et tu, Gloriana".
Posted by Amfortas, Friday, 13 August 2010 5:01:58 PM
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Kellie, maybe - just maybe - we are actually capable of judging Julia Gillard by something other than her gender?

You know, like policies, record, etc.? Silly things like that.

I mean, c'mon, these "women's studies" gender politics are so 80s.
Posted by Clownfish, Friday, 13 August 2010 7:43:36 PM
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I couldn't give a hoot if our PM is a man or a woman. I look for competence in a person who gets put in place to control us. I'm afraid.Julia Gillard just doesn't appear to be from this planet when it comes to rhetoric in relation to everyday life. I have been in the Public Service for some years & I have had mainly female bosses who without exception have proven to be totally absorbed in their own importance & proven utterly unsuitable & even destructive to the cause of which they were entrusted to. Without exception they all were so like Julia Gillard & this concerns me greatly.
Posted by individual, Friday, 13 August 2010 10:39:04 PM
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So true Individual. Little Julie has about as much in common with the majority of Ozzies, as I have with Captain Cook.

Labor have stuffed the public service almost totally, [as if it weren't bad enough before], with their affirmative action. They have run around in circles, looking for any woman they could jam into senior jobs, thus we have the bureaucracies full of women promoted to their fifth or sixth level of incompetence, rather than men promoted to their second or third.

They have found it a useful tool for buying votes, so why not go the whole hog, & stick one in the lodge.

I must say, however, she will have to go some to be any where near as bad as Rudd.
Posted by Hasbeen, Friday, 13 August 2010 11:32:46 PM
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At this stage the Coalition is the lesser of two evils.Both the major parties do the bidding of the large corporate interests. Labor want to saddle us with more debt for new fibre optic cables,censor the web,and drive us into poverty with carbon taxes.

It won't be any easier under the Coalition,it fact it may be harder but in the longer term,we will have less debt.

There is a way out of this mess.ie We make the Reserve Bank of Australia create the new currency that equals inflation and our Gross Domestic Product.It averages our at 6.5% of GDP or $78 billion pa.We could reduce taxes enormously and pay off the debt in a few years.Currently this new currency is created as debt both by foreign banks and our banking system here.Banks can legitimately loan out depositors money,but when they create new money in their computers through this scam called the Fractional Reserve Banking System,they are diluting the value of our currency,thus are stealing from every Australian.

Also consider this;our Govt used to create enormous amounts of cash ie bank notes and coins but now we elect to use credit cards which enables foreign companies like Visa & Master Card to create our money as debt.Our outstanding card debt is $45 billion.Our national personal debt is now bigger than our GDP of $1.2 trillion,which is over $50,000 for every person or $200,000 per family of 4.Add the Labor debt of $140 billion and this means total debt is over $300,000 per family of 4.

In reality we cannot trust either of the major parties.They do not serve the people.
Posted by Arjay, Saturday, 14 August 2010 8:42:05 AM
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I've decided that your posts on economics are so completely riddled with nonsense, Arjay, that I will restrict myself to one question only, on each.

If the pattern then unfolds as it normally does, you will a) avoid the question, then b) change the topic until finally you c) give up, only to reappear on another thread, saying the same old tosh.

Today's question is:

>>We make the Reserve Bank of Australia create the new currency that equals inflation and our Gross Domestic Product.It averages our at 6.5% of GDP or $78 billion pa.<<

Who will use this "new currency", Arjay, and what will happen to the "old currency"?

That may appear to be, technically, two questions. But they are really just two sides of the same coin (boom-tish!).
Posted by Pericles, Saturday, 14 August 2010 9:50:06 AM
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What has a new currency to do with Julia's sex appeal? Will the new notes have a piccy of Gloriana with a 'make over' and blown hair? Let's at least stay on topic and talk of gender and power.

When can we expect our Prime Minister to model underwear for Elle McPhereson.
Posted by Amfortas, Saturday, 14 August 2010 11:39:54 AM
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(Helen Reddy and Ray Burton)
"I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back and pretend
Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again"

Oh yes the old fem equity anthem from our Helen. Our society is much changed from the era that produced this song, and modern women are no shrinking violets, particularly when it comes to the political arena.

I looked up "politics" in the Concise Oxford and it uses these following terms in the descriptive; sagacious, prudent, scheming, crafty. Males have always attributed the last two descriptives to the fairer sex but it is the first two that males believed women are alien to, the wise and practical bits. We know that is rubbish.

My point being that politics is a filthy deceptive business that offers the ultimate aphrodisiac, power. The women in politics are as ruthless and self serving as their male counterparts. The consensus that women bring a humanist touch to their roles is laughable, yet most believe this humanistic maternal aspect to women’s natures will display itself in their decision making process. I example Gillard’s comment that pensioners should get bugger all as most are conservative in their political choices, what a woman, what a nurturing bitch Gillard is, a woman that that is as morally corrupt as Ilse Koch also known as "The Beast of Buchenwald" and "The Bitch of Buchenwald."

Gillard is no woman, she is a product of the leftist university humicrib that has delivered us an indoctrinated, myopic, genderless bag of water who's first thought is herself, her second the party, and we the multitude are dead last.
Posted by sonofgloin, Saturday, 14 August 2010 11:51:02 AM
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Pericles,It is not new currency.The currency already exists in the productivity of Australian people.We just get the RBA to create in their computers what is rightfully ours.As I've said before;why let the IMF generate our money in their computers,when our computers can perform the same function and we don't have to pay them back the capital or interest? You seem to have comprehension problem here Pericles.

As for Julia Gillard she is just a puppet of big business.When she made her first pronouncements as PM from the Lowy Institute,I knew she was in their pocket.The boyfriend then gets a job with Dadon a Jewish lobby group.That's why she is pushing fibre optic cabling and the carbon tax.It is all about servicing the big end of town.

The hypocracy of Julia holding babies does not need explanation.How would she know on her salary how hard it is to raise a family on rapidly decreasing income? Kellie Tranter says that Julia's greatest asset should be her gender.I thought we picked a leader or party on their ablity to manage and lead? Obiviously a lot of female voters want to see a first woman PM being fully endorsed,but is she the one?

Women waxed lyrical about Obama the first black President,with many espousing his virtues on their bumper stickers.Obama like Julia is puppet of large corporate interests.Obama has been disaster.So don't expect a major player in the gang of 4 to be any different.Her worst is yet to come.
Posted by Arjay, Saturday, 14 August 2010 1:34:45 PM
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Come on Amfortas, Julia & sex Appeal in the same post. That's going a bit too far mate.
Posted by Hasbeen, Saturday, 14 August 2010 1:36:17 PM
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It's amazing. Since the election was called, the world is suddenly filled with experts who pontificate about all manner of things. Some even talk about 'emotional intelligence' as if it wasn't a contradiction in terms.

I would urge the punters who haunt these pages to listen carefully to Gillard and then Abbott when they speak. It is clear which one is the most intelligent and can think both laterally and consistently (and it's certainly not Tony).

Tony would be perfect as the ringmaster in a small circus!
Posted by David G, Saturday, 14 August 2010 2:27:00 PM
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Sorry, my mistake, Arjay.

I thought that when you said...

>>make the Reserve Bank of Australia create the new currency<<

you meant...

"make the Reserve Bank of Australia create the new currency"

Clearly I was in error, as you now tell me...

>>Pericles,It is not new currency.<<

Silly me.

We can come back to this, when you are able to make sense of your own posts, Arjay.
Posted by Pericles, Saturday, 14 August 2010 2:59:07 PM
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Kellie,
"Holding babies won't cut it for Gillard"! Neither will this piece for the equality of women.

This piece can be equated with a discussion on last nights low temps in a discussion on Global warming.

Did it occur to you that the 'experts' may simply not want to be associated with Labor for other reasons
Posted by examinator, Saturday, 14 August 2010 4:02:05 PM
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Pericles,you have serious cognitive disorder.Money only represents human productivity and potential.So GDP of Aust should belong to all Australians,hence our Govt via the RBA should be producing money to equal our productivity.This is clearly not the case as I've demonstrated,since the RBA pays the Aust Govt just a small percentage of GDP + inflationary money.Money is just the symbol.It is not real without human productivity.
Posted by Arjay, Saturday, 14 August 2010 7:40:57 PM
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Julia Gillard demonstrates that she has the capacity and power to listen to a "whole" nation.

This is not the time to play gender politics. As we see from comments above, articles like this are unhelpful at a time on the eve of a critical election.

We need to move together as a nation. Not in front of ourselves, nor behind.

The three women you quoted are wonderful women. Elizabeth Warren, Maya Angelou and Arundhati Roy. They to have wonderful ideas and like Ms Julia Gillard and others in Australia, they represent a number of cultures, working among many sectors, with degrees and depth of knowledge.

Your article drives with much passion. However as a piece of wisdom, I say it is a bit too strong to be taken seriously.

Community Engagement is the essential next step for Climate Change, for the Disadvantaged and Middle Class alike.

Reason with the Mining Companies, Banks, Pharmaceutical , Telco's, Housong Developers, Multi-national companies and all their controlling Shareholders. Reason with Farmers and Public Servants. May a bridge be built toward greater understanding, for what we need to do as a nation, to change. To bring about the pace for reform.... as human race.

We do have the knowledge on Climate Change. We do know we each need to down - scale our desire for energy and power, using so many cars, eating so much fresh fish. We each know exactly the risk of continuing with those consumer aspects that contribute to unhealthy consumption and unhealthy degrees of desire driven economic growth.

The task ahead is more then a Prime Minister or a bunch of "expert" advisors can do.

No one will succeed this task without citizens.

Leadership is not about one person. It is about us all.

If I didn't think Ms Gillard knew something about this, I'd not vote.

Unlike the Liberals, and especially with a opposition leader like Abbott. Ms Gillard with the ALP, and the Nation will try, as they have been doing, to work through these factors.

We all need the courage.

http://www.miacat.com/
Posted by miacat, Sunday, 15 August 2010 1:01:19 AM
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Miacat,you say that Julia has the capacity to listen.I think not.None of our leaders Govern for the people.They Govern for their corporate masters.

A case in point is carbon tax.Carbon is the basis of all life and the primary source of our energy.The real agenda behind taxing carbon is Corporate greed.Large Corps love high taxing Govts since it is the ordinary tax payer who ends up with the bill.Socialised medicine is great for their bottom line since anything perceived to be free will be abused.Thus we cannot possibly ever have health costs under control.

The same will apply to carbon taxes.In conjunction with these taxes they want a derivative carbon market that feeds off them so that the the most powerful companies can control most of the energy.

A carbon tax will be a nightmare,since they can tax cow flatulance ie food,people for exhaling CO2,emitting methane,and taxing all our energy supplies.

If we believe that oil is running out or if CO2 is a problem,don't tax carbon.Have more alternate energy tax whereby all the money goes into clean alternate energy research and subsidising solar for example.In this way we stop the large corps from profiting in another derivative share market scam.The large Corps ar going to push up the price of fossil fuels anyway.

Gillard and Labor will never listen to reason since they do not serve the people.Labor will put us in more debt to ease the short term pain and the Coalition will try and address the debt increasing our agony.They can blame Labor and justify severe austerity.

There is a solution as I've suggested.Address the problem of where our money comes from.We can all do something right now.Stop using credit cards and go back to cash.This forces our Govt to create more hard currency which is not created OS thus adding to our debt.

The harder problem will be getting our RBA to produce what is rightfully ours ie our GDP + inflationary money of $7000 for every working person pa.
Posted by Arjay, Sunday, 15 August 2010 6:33:11 AM
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That's odd, Arjay.

>>Money only represents human productivity and potential.<<

That it is exactly the rationale behind fractional reserve banking. You lend money, on the basis of observed productivity, and the potential of the borrower to repay.

Productivity and potential. Pretty straightforward, really.

Incidentally, you do yourself no favours when you say stuff like this:

>>The harder problem will be getting our RBA to produce what is rightfully ours ie our GDP + inflationary money of $7000 for every working person pa<<

Take a look through this page...

http://www.rba.gov.au/monetary-policy/about.html

And then tell me how the RBA "produces money".
Posted by Pericles, Sunday, 15 August 2010 11:09:03 AM
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Hi Kellie,

I found myself nodding in agreement with the following.

'When we speak of gender we are highlighting our psychological and social conceptions of what it means to be a man or women. "Gender Schemas" refers to our intuitive hypotheses about the behaviour, traits, and preferences of men and women and boys and girls. Correspondingly, the term "gender roles" refers to expectations, to our ideas about how men and women are expected to behave.'

I think the great mistake of Labor was to ignore or try to gloss over the perceptions the vast majority of us have formed or had had formed for us of the behaviours of 50 year old bacholars or spinsters.

We've never elected a bacholar as pm before and that's likely because Political Party's in the past would have assessed the negatives in chancing of such a person... probably mostly of the perceived lack of a fully rounded life experience.

Whyever would we expect that to have changed?

Suspicion of never married spinsters is a raw behaviour and truely ugly when witnessed ... and it is widespread especially among long married women. Among such a group bachelors are looked upon with sympathy much along the lines of that given the sick or infirm.

Well sadly that's my experience anyway.
Posted by keith, Sunday, 15 August 2010 11:29:15 AM
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It didn't take long for 'moving forward' to crop up here. What a mindless phrase. I have yet to see lemmings go backward over the cliff. I see no sunny pastures ahead of us with Gloriana in charge.

Another mindless phrase used by 'listening' Gloriana and her faithful (for the moment) sidekick Whyne Swan, is 'back in surplus'. This drivel covers up the fact that when we get back into the surplus the Labour wreckers started with, given to them by the Coalition, we will be in a position to start paying the interest on the historic debt of $ One HUNDRED BILLION that Gloriana signed off on and have managed in record time to drop us into.

Last time the Coalition took over from Labour we inherited a mere $100 million debt that took all of ten years to pay off. Now it is a thousand times bigger.

I am astonished that the Labout party slogan makers missed the chance to say 'The Debt we had to have'.
Posted by Amfortas, Sunday, 15 August 2010 12:11:52 PM
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miacat:>> Ms Gillard with the ALP, and the Nation will try, as they have been doing, to work through these factors. We all need the courage.<<

Mia, where is the evidence that they "try" and why is "try" good enough?
Gillard was in the hub of the decision making process, one of four key Labor ministers who made decisions, but it was Kevs fault. She was Education minister and I listened to the BER issues month in and month out and Gillard did nothing, no reaction. I listened to the batts fiasco for months, four dead, house fires and the government did not react. Fuel watch, grocery watch, indigenous housing, solar scheme and on and on and Gillard is not at fault, it was all Kev.

Mia they are not good at their jobs, it is as simple as that. Courage of conviction over indisputable facts is a great character trait as long as you wear the consequence of your actions; these amateurs put "us" into debt. A debt that will not impact on their lifestyles given the remuneration they receive and gold plated pension scheme.

keith:>> Suspicion of never married spinsters is a raw behavior and truly ugly when witnessed ... and it is widespread especially among long married women. <<

Keith I have not had one person tell me that Gillards private circumstance is an issue, the media beat it up for headline with the boyfriend, but this is Australia not bible belt America, nobody cares here.
Posted by sonofgloin, Sunday, 15 August 2010 12:15:58 PM
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Even strong, intelligent, hardworking women are more easily lead into strife by those they trust and respect (by a factor of up to 15% over men). In politics they are often then used as fall guys.

Men on the other hand are far more single minded, and at the highest levels too single minded to see the bigger picture at times (as per Rudd, and probably Abbott if he wins).

Gillard has demonstrated both aspects - she should have been stronger against Rudd's excesses and in terms of the dud MySchools website for example she demonstrated a singlemindedness when she should have backed off a bit. I'm hoping this was just circumstantial - there had been too many other problems that Labor had to back away from (the cost of being politically adventurous with their policies).

Gillard is an atypical woman. She is far less prone to making decisions that are tainted by emotions - making her capable of more intelligent decisions than Abbott. Her negotiation experience, fighting spirit and drive are as strong as any male. I just hope she doesn't have to continually prove this strength of conviction, and in doing so overdo it - as that will make seem the vicious hag, the media and the Libs like to paint her as.
Posted by jimhaz, Sunday, 15 August 2010 2:25:37 PM
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"....as that will make seem the vicious hag, the media and the Libs like to paint her as."

Just where in the media and by whom in the Liberal Party has she been likened to a 'vicious hag'?

Straw Woman.
Posted by Amfortas, Sunday, 15 August 2010 3:19:01 PM
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as that will make seem the "mad monk", the media and the "ALP" like to paint "him" as.

there, fixed ..

If the ALP get away with this incredibly negative campaign and all the personal attacks on Abbot, we'll get what we deserve. Once again, devoid of policy but big on pork barreling, the ALP sails on with their state proven method of getting elected, then everyone regrets it (like in NSW and Qld).. till the next time they do exactly the same thing.

Why are we such lemmings?
Posted by rpg, Sunday, 15 August 2010 3:26:48 PM
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rpg,

One could turn that around to define the liberal campaign too.
More negative campaigning than costed, plans.
Posted by examinator, Sunday, 15 August 2010 6:13:37 PM
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"If the ALP get away with this incredibly negative campaign and all the personal attacks on Abbot, we'll get what we deserve"

If the Liberal Party get away with this incredibly negative campaign and all the personal attacks on Gillard, we'll get what we deserve.

Eh?
Posted by Johnny Rotten, Monday, 16 August 2010 5:36:13 AM
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What personal attacks on Gillard? eh?

Have the Libs gone back 30 years to off the cuff quotes, have they attacked her popularity with the opposite sex? eh?

Why is workchoices still around - it's dead, but good for a negative fear campaign .. eh?

any mention of what Julia wears during non business hours, budgie smugglers? eh?

the obvious attack on a left wing atheist spinster, has not been used .. has it .. eh?

fear and being negative .. the Libs are deliberately avoiding it, though the ALP is certainly trying to provoke it.

eh?

eh?
Posted by Amicus, Monday, 16 August 2010 9:48:24 AM
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Hi Sonofglorin,

I think your comment might tend to lend credence to Kellie's statement.

People rarely can verbalise their 'intuitive hypotheses'. It's a bit like inately held beliefs that are racist. People may know or not know them, won't or cannot verbalise them, but they still have them. The wise amomng us usually confront our own and change them but that is usually accompanied with a great deal of community discussion, dissent and compromise.

I think the prejudice against unmarried politicians is still very much part of our system ... and in my opinion a fairly held prejudice if against both sexes, equally.

What the media beat up was utterly pointless and irrelevant as it didn't discuss the issue Kellie addresses, 'our intuitive hypotheses' and my view on bacholarhood and spinsterhood in politics.

It was a pointless exercise as nobody gives a stuff about whether Gillard has an affair or not. And the media gave it favourable treatment and didn't ask the hard questions of Gillard... which is their way of reporting opinion as fact these days.

You know the media are losing more than anyone in this election. That town hall meeting in Sydney is a real turning point. It did something the media don't do. It asked hard questions of Gillard and easy questions of Abbott. That was because the media have only asked the easy questions of Gillard and the hard questions of Abbott. ie they provided their own balance where the media failed them.

I think in future we will see more and more of such Town Hall meetings with genuinely swinging voters questioning not only leaders but also candidates. It will be a vast improvement on what we currently have. ie a bunch of internally focused opinionated political junkies setting their own agenda's, having them published and thereby trying to ram their opinions down our throats.
Such meetings will by necessity produce much much improved party candidate selection procedures and candidates.
Posted by keith, Monday, 16 August 2010 10:18:15 AM
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""I think the prejudice against unmarried politicians is still very much part of our system ""

Crikey, it must be very subtle as I have never noticed it. The marital status of a politician barely approaches my mind, except perhaps to wonder at the tolerance for malignancy that a partner must have.

Down at the Pub, I have never heard it intrude into conversation.

Until this election, I don't think the question has arisen.

Perhaps the assertion quoted above could be backed up with some evidence. Just a bit might do.
Posted by Amfortas, Monday, 16 August 2010 1:37:07 PM
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As we approach the defining line of the 2010 Elections with much trepidation, it must come as a relief to see the final curtain call to this melodramatic soap opera, and it's star tailor's dummy performers.Without doubt, this elections has provided the biggest profitable bonanza for the Fairfax and Murdoch tabloids. Their daily, one sided news polls are dictated by the press moguls. But then, all the TV commercial stations never had so good either. Ch 9 Laurie Oakes, Peter Harvey and bushwhacker Latham also contributed their inexorable share, to the smorgasbord of dirty tricks and character assassination. Those fully paid TV commercial blitzkrieg, are not only a pain in the bum, they pay the public for fools by their obscene grossness. Radio 2 GB owner, and advertising guru Singleton, should stick to what he knows best i.e. " magic millions ", with his soul mate Gerry Harvey. How demeaning.

No wonder, the hapless voter feels violated and debauched !

Whether or not our mojo PM incumbent is heterosexual, agnostic or frequents toe-sucking parlors,it should not relatively encroach on her overall chances to take up residency at the Yarralumla Lodge.ACT - you would think ? Her coiffure, exquisite fashion sense, or the way she bows & scrapes, should make little difference, yet for want of trying, the craparrazi, Kellie Tranter etc, seem to derive enormous pleasure pontificating it's humdrum presence ?

There has never been a serious debate about Monetary Policy nor the Economy. Both Leaders are in denial. Their Treasury Ministers, for lack of fully understanding their Portfolios have made some appalling assertions.

Our Parliament is blessed with an army of bureaucrats e.g. RBA, Treasury, ABS, APRA etc plus Library services, that provide monthly bulletins on the state of our National Economy, yet to hear their spiel, or lack there of, really equates to ignorance.

Costello, when Treasurer, to his credit created billion dollar surpluses, and repaid our shocking Foreign debt and Balance of Payments. His abysmal

cont..
Posted by dalma, Monday, 16 August 2010 4:17:28 PM
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failure, was to provide easy money to adolescent mothers, who can barely take care of themselves. Long term, we will be saddled with a glut of thousands of socially dysfunctional unemployables, who will propagate the quaint legacy. Without skills, and wholly dependent on the Public purse. From one Generation to another. From the cradle to the grave syndrome.

In 2009, Oz had the 13th largest Gross Domestic Product, National economy in the Western World. The Service sector accounts for 68 % of GDP. Our once diminutive Productivity / manufacturing sector have since ensconced offshore. Mining / agriculture accounts for only 10 % GDP, but the bulk 58 % of our exports.

Our existing Chinese coal /iron ore /LNG markets are imperative to our survival. Once dependent on the sheep's back, the Miners now carry the bulk of our export growth. As a small ( comparing USA )Commodity exporting Economy, we are more vulnerable to Trade shocks, then most other Industrialized Nations.

Our Balance of Payments and Current Account Deficit cost, is currently $ 70 b, which incidentally has been in the RED for five decades. Nett Foreign Debt Mar.2010 was $ 654b. Gross Foreign Debt was $ 1.214 Trillion, equal to GDP, of which 86% is racked up by the private sector e.g Bank borrowings and overdrafts. To meet our Interest payments, we subscribe $ 63b annually. Public revenue of $ 323.6 b, is currently negative -9.72 %. Household debt/savings ratio is 157.2 %. Bankruptcies 6842, with 2183 others with debt agreements and insolvency notices. Loan repayments as a percentage of family income is almost 40%, which is causing severe stress on the average family.

The CPI Index is the most disingenuous farcical joke perpetuated on every Australian family. Over 90 years old, it does not reflect the present Day, true cost of living or expenditure. The same methodology employed by the RBA and ABS is Universally adopted, with few exceptions.
The paradox is, no one has challenged their analysis, statistics or rubbery figures. It is not in their interest to divulge the true cost of living. Any Housewife

cont..
Posted by dalma, Monday, 16 August 2010 5:03:32 PM
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will attest the value of their house keeping expenses is shrinking and buying less every week, and over a five year period, consideably less, yet the RBA maintains a consistent 2.9 - 3 % inflation figure for the same period as sound management. The vast majority of working families, age pensioners, social security recipients, War veterans etc are being denied proper benefits which is their due. Seasonally adjusted, and extending over a six year period for reviews / updates, it is subject to quarterly only adjustments. It does not include volatile petrol prices, which vary daily and from one suburb to another; rampant inflationary pressures, indexed based shelf prices in super markets and the ubiquitous corner store delicatessen, and a whole lot of pertinent " real " pressures affecting each and every household. We are all being short-changed.

It is time for : Honesty with the Electorate, and a reappraisal of a dubious form of taxation.
Posted by dalma, Monday, 16 August 2010 5:16:22 PM
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