Kipp: .#...The referendum on a Republic…#.

...Thanks a million; you just nailed my comment beautifully. See, here alone, is a fine example of connivance from a bunch of lawyers in Cabinet, ungarciously summersaulting Democracy to land on its ear!

Naturally the Queen rewards such connivance in her favor. How can one "not" be cynical at the presentation of this award to such as Howard?

Dan..

This article illustrates why academics are losing the prestige they once had. This sort of copy earns you $160000 a year now? Gee and he is supposed to be a professor and director of an institue! He is nothing but a second rate political hack.

How could any student attendending that institute expect to receive a balanced view? Anyone doing a course there would not want to submit an essay saying anything positive about Howard. How is that academia?

We should strip public funding from universities. They are out of control.

According to our conservative friends on here John Howard did the following:
(1) Brought us World peace.
(2) Eliminated World poverty.
(3) Turned water into wine.
(4) Fed the multitude with a few fish and a loaf of bread.
(5) Walked on water.

But the best thing I liked about Johnny Howard was when he dressed in his baggy green track suit and went on national TV looking like Kermit the Frog. Now that's an achievement, not just anyone can look like Kermit.
vanna: you say there has never been a war between 2 commonwealth countries. I can tell you if a certain Kiwi woman, I know, doesn't leave the credit card alone, a certain Aussie bloke, me, will declare war on New Zealand. Skirmishers have already taken place and the battle lines are drawn! When the war comes I expect all Aussie men to do their duty.

Paul,

Politics is about compromises, and if you can improve the lives of all the country you are doing well.

By comparison to disaster of KRudd and Juliar, Howard was a visionary and an achiever.

There, thanks to paul1405, you see the essential difference in the politics of Australians .. between the left and right

Paul1405 reads the comments of conservatives and through his view of the world, sees all the comments that are positive about a popular politician, who was PM for 11 years .. as one eyed rusted on types.

I read them and saw that while people thought Howard had his faults, he was a good leader.

The left however worry not about the man but hate the side that is not theirs. They feel it is OK to insult, call names and generally lambaste a good man. If someone had called Julia Gillard a lying bitch who resembled a cheap pickpocket, might they have been offended, one expects so. it amuses me no end when the left complain that no one should insult their leader, or her past, but feel free to delve into the past of the opposition leader endlessly, but hypocrites are well known inhabitants of the left.

I don't hate the ALPGreenIndie coalition, I think they are fools who have no idea how to use power beyond getting it.

The left though, hate, and hate anyone who is not like them, look at the insults collecting here.

There you have it ..Australian politics in a nutshell, conservatives who consider principle and do not think John Howard was by any means perfect, but a good leader and the left/liberals (who consider themselves "progressive" whatever that means) who just hate anyone not like their "side"

To top it off we have a lefty hater, author who is a recipient of academic welfare who uses his time to complain and whine. Such is our education system .. and what is a "peace Center" but academic welfare .. what other possible use is it but to prop up otherwise unemployable academics .. and people wonder why respect for academics is on the wane.

I have more to add to the above post.
My justification for war with New Zealand. Firstly they have developed a weapon of mass destruction, they call it The All Blacks Rugby Team, and it has already been unleashed on Australia more than once. Secondly I visited Rotarua where the Kiwi's have developed some kind of nerve gas, the place couldn't stink like that naturally, must be a secret weapon. Thirdly the 'Plane People', forget about the 'Boat People', its the Plane People flying across the Tasman in rusty old 707's and landing in Bondi we have to worry about, they are coming in droves. I do think the Aussie Government should consider off shore processing for these Kiwi refugees I propose the 'Antarctica Solution' whereby Gillard and Abbott with some bipartisan agreement, alone with the Government of Antarctica, of course, set up off shore processing of people flooding in from NZ. For my better half all I can say is "stop it with the credit card or get your woolies on."
As for the war I propose we send in the shock troops, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, fresh from their annihilation of the Ingin bowlers at the SCG, I think they were Comanche's or some tribe like that. Anyhow, if Ricky and Mick can sail into Auckland Harbor, undetected, that's after 6pm, cause all Kiwi's got to bed at 6 and the place is shut up for the night, Kidnap their 'netball' team and we will hold them to ransom until they give us back the cup they stole which Bondy and Hawkey won for us back in, I think it was 1927 or about then! If the Kiwi's don't play ball we will send over John Howard and make him their Prime Minister, then they will be really sorry.