The only thing that is standing between the ALP and a second term in office is Kevin Rudd. Apart from him, Labor has done well enough on most issues to warrant a second term and the Libs have yet to show they are ready to return to government. This is all about Rudd.

Rudd is everything that is wrong with politics - a shameless media tart who stands for nothing but the next photo opportunity - a bureaucrat that thinks activity counts as progress - a person who simply hasn't the talent to get anything actually done. Tony Blair without the nice bits. Most worrying for Labor is that Rudd simply doesn't get it - he has no idea why the punters have turned. All of the issues that are currently turning folk away from him are entirely of his own making. For Labor to get back in front by the election, they need to dump Rudd. For the Libs to have any chance of winning the next election, Labor must keep Rudd. The Labor Party could close this down right now. The irony is that Labor has a lot of talent to choose from. They needn't be in this position.

I believe it would be prudent of Labor to dump Rudd immediately and install Lindsay Tanner as its leader. The man is quietly efficient, a good speaker and is actually answers questions, unlike the current crop of pollies on both sides who have made and art form of repeating useless statements.

This act alone could be instrumental in saving his seat from the Greens who may very well take it at the next election, but no matter what happens, Rudd must go if the Labor Party have a hope of being re-elected.

There are lots of rumblings at the moment that might mean a leadership change prior to the next election.

First we have David Marr's Quarterly Essay on what motivates the PM - anger being the conclusion. Much talk of Rudd's temper and control issues and failure of the Cabinet consultation process. Then we have the result of the latest polls - a big swing away from the ALP with the underdog card being played by the government.

Is this setting the groundwork for a leadership spill in the wind?

Bishop's article is of course more "duckspeak", but from the woeful Opposition's cheat sheet rather than the Government's.

I agree with other commenters that it seems increasingly likely that a desperate ALP will replace Rudd prior to the next election - my bet would be either Tanner or Gillard to get the guernsey. Tanner has more talent, but he's virulently anti-Green and seems to have had a charisma by-pass.

Gillard, on the other hand, is a good performer who's also a seasoned campaigner with a lot of electoral appeal. Additionally, it's about time we had a woman for PM :)

A contribution from the Australian Government representative of the Lekud Party and lobbyist for the mining interests Ms. Julie Bishop needs some spin stabilisation.The minerals belong to the people of Australia. The mining companies have right to mine these areas and do not own them.
The proposed tax has been subject to much conjecture in the form and actual amount of tax that has been and will be reaped.Ms Bishop certainly does not know, even roughly. Only the ATO is in a position to accurately tell the real story and it will not.
The tax will help increase the workers superannuation contributions because part of the anticipated RSPT will go towards reducing the company tax from 30% to 28%. This will allow employers to pass on 2%of the 3% increase in Employer Superannuation Contribution as a consequence.
The talk communist takeover, socialist dictatorships,sovreign risk and the plethora of ceased projects as a result, has become the hysterical outpourings of a desparate mob of self seeking overpaid individuals whose main interest is the remote possibility of their stock options and obscene executive salaries falling.
As to Bishop writing of "public discourse disagreed to by this government resulting in abuse,denigration andpersonnal attack" is in itself a desparate attempt to deflect criticism from her own abusers.Listen to Pyne,Hockey,Costello and her own leader Abbott if she wants to hear ranting abuse.
As to "Rudds desparate bid to hold onto power" can I remind her of J W Howard who "would stay on as leader for as l;ong as the party wanted me to..." and then when asked to stand down by the leaders of the party did not and decided to stay on after asking Janet and the family what he should do and stayed on to suffer the double whammy of defeat.That is desparately attempting on to power as Bishop knows only too well.He selfishly brought down the Coalition.
As to Bishop and those wanting to get rid of Rudd might I say the best thing going for the Labor Party right now is Tony Abbott as Liberal leader.

Dear Julie Bishop,

It seems to me that the Howard government also used public funds for political advertising. Will the Coalition promise that they will not use public funds for political advertising?

Just like sports commentators trying to create interest in a slow game of test cricket, some parts of the Australian media have decided the Rudd Government is in crisis. Will the bowler break down? Will the opening batsman fail again? Is the captain past it? In both cases the purpose is to change viewer perceptions and expectations, to generate excitement and create interest. However, unlike the cricket commentators who cannot really influence the outcome of the game, media commentators work hard to shape public expectations, building a sense of impending and inevitable crisis.

Where is the real crisis? Have public affairs in Australia become so superficial that public discourse and policy is turned into a three ring circus? A new Government with a clear mandate has been thwarted at every turn by an opposition gazing fondly at the past. At virtually every election the false and hysterical paradigm created by some in the media is exposed as complete rubbish, and when this occurs the strident commentators go quiet for a while so that everyone forgets. At the next election voters will have to decide between a Government that has worked for major change, and an Opposition that has blocked. I have a good idea which will prevail once the rhetoric, cynicism, distortion and artifice is gone, and all the wishing in the world will not change this inevitability. In the meantime enjoy the circus and the thrill that the lion will escape or the trapeze artist will fall.

It's no wonder that so many lawyer become Polly's. Both can say one thing and believe another, with a click of the fingers, or the smell of money in the air do a complete about face without a hint of shame.

Kevin Rudd's great big tax on the filthy rich is a stroke of genius, the genius with which his policies saved thousands of jobs and Australia from recession. And what splendid entertainment is his rope a dope bout with Tony Abbott, the more publicity the better to counter the cacophony of mining quacks in the nation's interest albeit that Mr Rudd has no need to explain his record in full until the final two weeks before the election when all will become perfectly clear, along with Mr Abbott's agenda whatever that might be. Should Labor win Malcolm Turnbull will return and next up for the nation is the celebration of the rite of passage to a truly Australian republic. Ms Bishop should consider that a simple majority of the parliament can remove all women members and prohibit all women in Australia a vote before denigrating the determination for reform.

I don't care about the spin-doctoring, the broken promises, any of it really (as a Labor Stalwart be suprising if I did).

What I do care about (and what will, in the absence of something extraordinary to the contrary in the meantime, cause my vote not to count), is the way we are being treated. I don't like being talked down to, by anyone, anytime or anywhere.

This sanctimonious twit has the cheek to not only lecture us on why He's decided to ignore his election promises, but also why we should ignore it. You can treat the Australian Electorate a lot of ways and still get their vote, treat them like idiots and watch what happens (remember Latham?).

After his off the cuff condemnation of the IDF the other day, without even taking the time to examine the evidence, the question is there to be asked, is this how he will treat Australian Soldiers if they are ambushed in the same or a similar way? I mean, Australian Defence Force Members are engaged in these SPECIFIC operations, and those like them, daily.

How long before the brainwaves behind this debacle decide to use it against the West period? Will we see our Prime Minister simply hanging diggers out to dry, for cheap political points? Given the amount of thought he put into his response on 1 June, I'd have to suspect it is.

The man does not really stand "for" or "behind" anything, he cannot be nailed down because he is shifty as hell. Abbott on the other hand is a tool, but an honest one. If a decent spell in opposition is what the Labor party needs to realise the error of its ways, then so be it. I will not vote for them (I will vote, just not so it counts) and will not vote against them.

I encourage those from the ACTUAL (not the loony) Left to consider doing the same. I honestly wonder if it is time for the party to split, Rudd is so far to the right, Abbott has nowhere to stand.

Custard, what the f... are you on about- again. Oh, I remember a chance to promote Israeli victim-speak.

C J Morgan, "Additionally, it's about time we had a woman for PM :)"

Well, 'Hiya C J' and 'High fives to that', eh?

Fair dinkum, you never miss a chance to grovel. Stand on your feet man.

Besides, it is so very damn patronising of you to think that women would waste their ballot voting on gender lines. It didn't work for Hilary in the US and it didn't work for Anna Bligh, the Qld Premier, who sadly for Labor and Qld still managed to be dragged up clinging to Peter Beattie's coat tails.

A perfect example of Meyer's rules of online discussion.

See:

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3691&page=0

Gazzaboy opens by comparing the Libs to Likud.

Custard brings up some question Rudd refused to answer about what the ADF would do if they found themselves in a similar situation to the IDF.

Gazzaboy takes the bait and away we go.

A textbook example of IOD.

Get a life folks.

CJ MORGAN

Re you post above methinks Gillard is the only "man" in the cabinet. All the rest are wimps.

david f >> It seems to me that the Howard government also used public funds for political advertising. Will the Coalition promise that they will not use public funds for political advertising? <<

David the amazing thing is that Kev had the hide to strip control of the arbitration on what is deemed to be a "party political advertisement", or not, from an independent umpire and give it to one of his acolytes. He has is weak and can not control power.

He added 60 staff to his department last year; so far this year he added 86. Perhaps he can hire a chef to sort out the air force food that was not to his liking, you know the one, where he yelled and swore at the air force flight attendant for not having the Emperors food just right. He is a liar and an imposter, the latest accuser is former NSW premier Morris Iemma. Everything and everybody runs a poor second to his ego.

The guy is out of his depth, he is an imposter and he knows it. He rose because there was no one left that hadn't lost an election. He "became" out of a meeting with both factions and the spin doctors. They revisited Goughs "It's time" campaign and renamed it Kevin 07, Howard and his politically stupid "work choices" did the rest.

I enjoy imagining the back-of the envelope calculations that must be going on in Labor party rooms now: "We can ditch Peter Garret, that should claw back a couple of percentage points. And Stephen Conroy, there's a few more..." Meanwhile Rudd paces the bridge, clinking two metal balls together in his palm, trying to look like Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny.

But 'sanctimonious' says it all, really. He is a man who has never before had the experience of actually being asked to justify his beliefs. It has obviously come as a shock. A few rounds with Richard Dawkins would probably have done him (and us) the world of good.

Cornflower: << Fair dinkum, you never miss a chance to grovel. >>

Fair dinkum Cornflower, you never miss a chance to have a gratuitous snark at me, do you?

And who said that only women would vote for Gillard? It certainly wasn't me. Perhaps it's your own assumptions that are "patronising".

You seem to be a bit put out by the evident fact that your hero is on the nose with the electorate.

C J Morgan,

You do protest too much.

No, I have never been a member of a political party and I don't vote according to Party lines. No appeal at all in being an automaton, signed up for a particular 'team' and forever spruiking the rhetoric whether it makes any sense or not.

Kevin Rudd along with the word disappointment are often heard today.

Oh and the deferred recession is about to hit.

Did I hear a whisper that Hugo Rudd now wants to go to the polls early? Maybe it's because he knows what's in store for us ... soon?

38 mill for ads ?

ummmm...what happened to your ewe beaut Broadband thingy ?

Well said Julie.

The voice of liberal reason

I see one or two sniping comments including one from david f about the coalition making promises

I suppose we should point out that the coalition did not make it an election point, Mr Rudd did and now he has contracted the cancer he demanded be surgically removed when campaigning.

I guess the chemo and radiation treatment failed, just like his promises and policies.

To the matter of a replacement leader…. That is a possibility…

However, to go that route would be an admission of absolute defeat by the collectivists

and something which would stick in their arrogant throats like a swallowed chicken bone.

Generally disappointing, shallow, ill informed, opportunistic and sometimes unintelligible.

Not you Julie, I refer to OLO.

Not OLO’s finest hour. What ever happened to staying on thread, incisively responding to issues, analysis of facts, demonstrating an understanding of various perspectives and achieving some balanced opinion?

This thread has turned into a mitigation exercise for ALP supporters. Just by seeking to trash Rudd and exonerate the rest of the ALP you are giving tacit recognition to the case of a failed ALP government.

It may be convenient to “blame” Rudd however, the rest of the government are part of the problem and not the solution. If government ministers cannot manage policies and implementation they should not be in charge of anything.

Rudd’s spin-doctoring is hurting ALP credibility, the $38 million advertising campaign is an attempt to counter mining industry perspectives, which were caused by “springing” a knee jerk tax policy on the public on May 2, after sitting on the Henry Tax Review until April.

We have to believe the mining company perspectives that “some miners could pay up to 58 per cent under the plan” and that “resource companies had some legitimate concerns”.
Why should we believe this? because Wayne Swan said so. (AFR June 8).

So who is doing the Quacking?

Dear Stern,

It is not sniping to ask that a political party out of party promise not to follow the policies they criticise by those in power.

I apply that to any party out of power. The ALP supported the Fitzgerald Inquiry which investigated corruption in the Bjelke-Petersen government. Fitzgerald recommended changes to eliminate future corruption. When the ALP got into power they did not implement most of the recommendations. When I asked our local ALP representative why, she responded, "Fitzgerald is not God."

I hold no brief for any party and ask they not do what they criticise in others.

Brought to you by Julie Bishop, front-bencher for the party who bombarded Australians with a cartload of Orwellian spin: "WorkChoices" (restricting choices for working people), "Non-Core promises" (the ones they never meant to keep), the "never ever" GST (never ever, that is, until it was introduced), "children overboard" (words fail me), "Australians for Honest Politics" (a front for the Liberals, aimed squarely at being dishonest with the electorate), "energised fences" around detention centres (read: electrified or electrocuting), "management units" also in detention centres (read: solitary confinement for punishment) and many many more. Breathtaking.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173025

huonian, When you talk to disgruntled EX labour voters as i do, daily, you realise that Krudd is not the problem at all. The top of their disappointment, disillusionment list, with the Red/green/getup/labour coalition is the naked, male hatred, of the Radical, Extremist, Loony, Left, Lesbian, Fauxmanista Factions.

I am commonly told jokes like, What are the 4 scariest words in the English language? Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The Metrosexual, Male Apologists, of the Loony, Left, Factions are Hated, even more, by the average Ex Labour voter both male & female.

Replacing Krudd with a woman, or any member of the Loony, Left, Factions will annoy them, even more & drive even more, former ALP supporters away, towards the conservatives.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173028

Aime, read the above. The "Proletariat" are not as dumb as the ruling elite, loony, left, humanities academics, have fooled themselves into thinking. They are awake to the "Presidential" style politics, change the leaders game. It does not matter which "Poster Person" you put out front, you still end up with the Red/green/getup/labour coalition.

If you think the "dumb blond bimbo" from NSW is going to stop the Red/green/getup/labour NSW state, coalition from going into oblivion for decades you are seriously deluded.

Do you remember the wall poster with a cartoon about a flock of turkeys milling around like idiots and the punchline delivered by the one intelligent looking one, in the middle saying. How can i soar, like an eagle when i am surrounded by turkeys?

That is, whats wrong with the Red/green/getup/labour coalition. Any sensible, intelligent, centrist politician among them will be dragged down by the Loony, Left, Factions.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173038

Pelican, have you joined the http://www.democrats.org.au/ yet, they would suit you politically. If not, why not? Your country needs you, don't sit back & wait for an opportunity, to just vote for a minor party or independent, pick one & join up now.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173039

C J Morgan, read the above. A female ALP leader will lose, more than, gain any voters.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173040

gazzaboy, agree, about J W Howard. Oppositions, never win elections. Governments lose them. There were 2 reasons, swinging voters, gave me for switching to Kevin07.

1, Work Choices.

2, J W Howard, hanging around too long.

Without Work Choices, if they had arranged an orderly hand over to Costello, Hockey, Abbott, etc, a year or 2, out from the election, the conservatives would have won, even against Popular, "Sunrise" Kevin07.

The problem for the Red/green/getup/labour coalition, is that it has been completely infiltrated, corrupted, by the criminally, insane, teachings of the "Frankfurt School".

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8630135369495797236#

If Henry Lawson, Jack Lang, Banjo Patterson or any other, ALP hero's could see what the Red/green/getup/labour coalition has degenerated into, they would be turning in their graves.

If either of the Major Mistakes, want to improve their chances, at the next election, they need to adopt a bipartisan approach to the Red/greens, like they did with Pauline Hanson.

Don't kid yourself, about the alleged "Unpopularity" of Tony Abbott. The popularity of Fe"Man"Nazism with swinging voters & more importantly, disgruntled, EX Labour voters is ridiculously over rated.

Pure, on a whim, Free on Medicare, abortion on demand, would be voted down, easily, if it went to a referendum.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173045

david f, 2 wrongs, don't make a right, as low an opinion of ordinary voters, as you have, they have all worked that one out. If you want to save your glorious party you will read all of the above, take it, all to heart. The Left is killing the ALP, in fact already has.

The ALP brand, has in IMHO been damaged beyond repair, the Red/greens are seen, by normal, swinging voters as being even worse.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173046

Donkey, i agree about your characterisation of the MSM commentariat. But i have been actively blogging on several influential, news & current affairs blog sites like OLO. For over a year now, plus having been actively observing politics for 3 decades now.

The entire, Red/green/getup/labour coalition, has completely lost, the ability to listen to constructive, criticism. They have been spinning, too long, http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/ believe, their own bulls*%#.

The single biggest issue is that from the numerous bungled policies and back pedaling, a stench of incompetence hangs over the Labor federal government.

The other two Labor celebrities, Julia Gillard and Peter Garrett have between the insulation batts and the education BER rort also reek of sheer ineptitude.

The Mining Super Tax was supposedly the last chance to rescue the budget and Labor's credibility, but again was so badly handled that instead of negotiating with the mining companies up front and announcing an unchallenged compromise, he has created a powerful enemy with a huge vested interest in ensuring that Labor is a one term government.

To top this off, the constant government spin that is consistently contradicted by the facts on the ground have left Rudd with the tag "LIAR" indelibly tattooed on his forehead.

Australia can no longer afford to have the three stooges (Rudd, Gillard and Garrett) running things. The sooner they walk the plank of the ship of state the better.

Did Julie write this herself?

I am a bit concerned about people putting Julia Guillard forward as a possible PM. I met her early in her career and she was very poll driven, rather right wing of labor.

One thing I do like about Kevin, he is Australian born and is from a working class background.

In America, the president must be born in America, whereas in Australia there is no prerequesite that our leaders are born Australians. I am not even sure if they are able to have dual citizenship.

Dear Julie,

David f is correct:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/work-choices-ads-cost-121m/story-e6frg6n6-1111114652423

Forgotten this one? Perhaps, you have had Winston working hard to re-write the past. But the past can be difficult erase.

If elected, Tony Abbott will re-introduce WorkChoices. Does double-speak trump duck-speak?

Dear Aka,

You wrote: One thing I do like about Kevin, he is Australian born and is from a working class background.

The above are two things that don't matter at all as far as I am concerned. Robert Menzies who was quite subservient to the English was born in Australia. Where you are born and which social class you come from is only one of many influences on a person.

The Nazis made a great thing of ancestry, but I believe one could quite a decent person even if one were pure Aryan. Likewise I believe one could quite a decent person even if one came from a working class background.

Class snobbery is no better than racist snobbery.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173053

Kenny, the Red/green/getup/labour coalition are worst. I always recommend Real minor parties & independents to people.

http://www.democrats.org.au/

http://www.australiafirstparty.com.au/cms/

http://www.ldp.org.au/

Try these, Kenny.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/yes-minister-meets-alice-in-wonderland-20100220-omsa.html#comments

http://www.heineraffair.info/

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Seeking-justice-for-a-forgotten-victim/

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rudd-government-spends-45m-at-queensland-schools-on-closure-hit-list/story-e6freoof-1225876672070

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173059

whistler, When i talk to disgruntled EX Labour voters, about a "Great Big New Tax" on mining. What about the Banks & other CEOs earning way too much & paying too little tax, is their reaction?

We have a greying population whistler. The youth vote is sooooo 1990.

The overwhelming majority of voters deserting Kevin07 is not, "youth vote" annoyed about dropping the ETS, but the ordinary, swinging voters, over 25, who are saying, "no sooner have these loony, left, idiots been sensible enough to drop the ETS, than they come up with another GBNT, that will damage the economy, jobs for my children, grandchildren, my mining shares, super, etc, etc, etc".

They did not however save us from recession. GFC2 is still, on the way & there is now, no surplus to play with. The stimulus spending only delayed its onset & eventual, recovery, only took trades"men" away from building houses, to BER, insulation, etc.

Your last sentence is getting close to the real problem though. Ever since women have had the right to vote, Modern Western Democracy has been weakening. Well spotted.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173072

Custard, i hear what you are saying mate, but don't forget that we have preferential voting, give it a try. Whats happening in politics now is a retreat from both the Loony, Left & the Raving Right, back into the middle, where 80% to 90% of us, always were.

Look seriously at the AFP. http://www.australiafirstparty.com.au/cms/

Loony, Lefties will try to smear Graeme Campbell as some type of crazy neo Nazi, but they are always spinning about anybody who is not screaming CARS, Communist, Anarchist, Radical, Socialist. Check this video of the PC Thought Police, i got from ALGOREisRICH.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8630135369495797236#

When i was in the Australian Democrats in the 1980's, there were always just as many disgruntled EX Labour voters as there were EX Liberals or Nationals. Try this PDF, if you are worried about our diggers.

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/archivos_pdf/nonedarecallit_conspiracy.pdf

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173073

gazzaboy, look at "Zeta" http://www.thepunch.com.au/ always defending the Red/green/getup/labour coalition.

Since the, "storm in a tea cup" he has defended the IDF, facing reality, Israel is surrounded by enemies.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173078

Cornflower, The Metrosexual, Male Apologists, amaze me, women don't want snags. I am your Caring, Understanding, Nurturing, Type.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173080

stevenlmeyer, i tend to agree with you, about your rules, but from which side do you swing?

I have been watching debates like this for decades now & i have always found that the Loony, Left, are always the first to attack with emotional, "in touch with their feminine side" rants.

I will add a third rule for you. Left wing politics is feminine & right wing politics is masculine, regardless of the individuals gender, the style of debate, on both sides always follows a gender, style.

Logic on the right, emotion on the left.

steven, i suggest you read my earlier comments about Gillard & how EX Labour voters, swinging voters will react to her.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=10525#173083

sonofgloin, i think you are being a little hard on Krudd. i am a QLDer, have seen what happened when he was bureaucrook #1 in the Premier Wayne Goss, state government.

It was identical to every other disaster that is the Red/green/getup/labour coalition in government in all states, territories & federal, lately.

The Party machine put him in as leader because he had become very popular with voters on "Sunrise" with Joe Hockey. As a "Media Tart" he performed well.

That is why the disappointment is so deep with voters now. They thought he might change things, but nobody can, the Red/green/getup/labour coalition is rotten to the core.

The only hope for the left now is to take the CARS, Communist, Anarchist, Radical, Socialist roots of the Red/greens out of the closet, drag them kicking & screaming into the ACCC, for false advertising, force them to change their name to the Reds.

Then the ALP could be deregistered, the Loony, Lefties could go into the Reds, where they always belonged. The right factions could go into sensible centrist parties like http://www.australiafirstparty.com.au/cms/ or http://www.democrats.org.au/

Formersnag >> sonofgloin, i think you are being a little hard on Krudd. i am a QLDer, have seen what happened when he was bureaucrook #1 in the Premier Wayne Goss, state government. <<

Snag I actually surprise myself with the vitriol that seeps from me when I consider the Rudd govt, and Kev in particular, with such passion. When I came to analyze my disgust for the Rudd govt, there were two major issues. Firstly the incompetence and dishonesty of this govt is unsurpassed, and in the past that has been my only reason for me wanting a govt gone. But there is a second with Kev. That is Kev viewing the office of Prime Minister of Australia as a stepping stone to the U.N gravy train, the ultimate cocoon for the bureaucrat. I had never felt that any of my previous PM's had any schemes on their agenda that did not involve Australia. It is disconcerting knowing that your PM is constantly job hunting. Everest is shadowed by Kevs ego, he is an "impostado" in the words of Gomez Addams..

Formersnag, I agree with you emphatically that Kevin Rudd's great big tax on the filthy rich should include all the filthy rich, as I would suggest, do the shareholders who pad their pockets. Much of the rest of your post about a youth vote has absolutely nothing to do with my comment. Neither have you bothered to explain what you imagine might be the relevance. However, the problem with a woman as Prime Minister is that a majority of the parliament can rescind the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 with the effect of removing all women members including a woman Prime Minister. A Prime Minister should have greater security of tenure to preserve sovereign certainty. The solution is governance conducted by agreement between women's and men's legisatures, courts and corporate committees with conjoint male and female Prime Ministers. In future please avoid using my comments as an excuse to make wild, spurious and absurdly irrelevant claims. In any event your final, personal insult to the author of this thread renders your views impotent. This evening I'm captivated by a rare and precious procession of the filthy rich and their supporters parading on the evening news making laughable claims about Australia becoming a communist nation. The overwhelming majority of Australians know exactly what Kevin Rudd is doing and not before time. How many dopes can a dope roper rope when the dopes on the ropes are so many?