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The Forum > Article Comments > 2012: the Australian Situation > Comments

2012: the Australian Situation : Comments

By Peter McMahon, published 16/1/2012

Gillard and Abbott have been in many ways a double act, each making the other look better than they are.

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"Abbot shows no capacity to respond to the real threats, especially climate change".

Those increasing numbers of us, who do not define the above as any sort of threat, may well see Abbots responce to this as being precisely the capacity we seek in the lead?
Posted by Prompete, Monday, 16 January 2012 8:02:01 AM
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< Gillard and Abbott have been in many ways a double act, each making the other look better than they are. >

Really? Not from my perspective. They both just look completely dismal!

< … they both represent the bankruptcy of the two major parties and their rise to power signifies big problems for the Australian political system. >

Yep. I’m with you there Peter.

< Bob Brown must retire soon, and the leadership succession process will be tricky. >

Now wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Greens’ next leader took the party strongly in the direction of a sustainable society philosophy. Yeah…..fat chance!

I share your pessimism Peter. 2012 will indeed by interesting… although I expect the same old grossly antisustainable momentum to be further entrenched and exacerbated.
Posted by Ludwig, Monday, 16 January 2012 8:52:30 AM
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"Gillard and Abbott have been in many ways a double act, each making the other look better than they are."

"Really? Not from my perspective. They both just look completely dismal!"

Ludwig, your reading of the author's comment was mine too, but then I thought that yours and his might be the same.

Gillard is a dunce, without a doubt, yet Abbott is somewhere beneath even that high award, but maybe even that assesment is too high for them both?

One can only hope the ALP wash their hands of Gillard at the same time as the Libs flush Abbott away, resolving our immediate concerns.
Posted by The Blue Cross, Monday, 16 January 2012 10:06:56 AM
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This bit of political fluff has got to be one of the worst yet.

Not only do we get the discredited global warming bull dust dragged out of the cupboard, the man actually stoops to the "well resourced" anti AGW rubbish, after billions of tax payer money has gone into the warmist camp. I wonder how much, in research dollars, has gone into sustainability & AGW at Murdock?

Surely they haven't missed out.

We get a little ode to Turnbull, common for the lefties looking for someone they can admire. With Turnbull they must be desperate.

Then we get the final straw from an argument, looking for justification, of all the natural disasters. Heaven help me, it is so hard not to say what I think of this rubbish, & not be banned. Paper after paper has detailed the low level of cyclones around the world, & less tornadoes despite the publicity.

If we are getting worse fires, of which I'm not sure, we can lay that down to greenie pressure, preventing good forest management causing that one.

Yes it must be hard to see that for half a career you have backed the wrong horse. Watching that horse break down would be worrying, but get real man. Read something not promoted by your mates, & join the real world.
Posted by Hasbeen, Monday, 16 January 2012 10:22:50 AM
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One hopes that Dr McMahon has a better grip of the Mayan world view than he does of the concept of Human Induced Global Warming, but suspects that he has more work to do on both topics.

In case he had not noticed, the ‘evidence’ supporting the notion of catastrophic global warming is simply not in good shape. The phrase ‘consistent with predictions related to global warming’ is simply – well, not sustainable!

I will concede that those who live in the virtual world created by mathematical models of climate may have good reason to be afraid, perhaps even very afraid. The ‘end of days’ seems to be approaching as rapidly as a terminal and low flying hypothesis, and the grants to investigate sustainability might dry up even faster than a computer generated model of the Murray Darling basin.

However, those who live in the rather more prosaic real world, where observations trump ‘projections’ every time (not even the mathematical modelers are prepared to call them predictions) it seems that AGW and all the AGW related catastrophes may well be as accurate as Mayan speculation on the end of everything.

I am not sure what the Mayan’s predicted about the capacity of Tony Abbot to react to threats such as climate change might be but my money is on Abbot, or anyone with reason, who can spot a dud.

But look on the bright side. I am sure that if Faculties of Sustainability in universities everywhere find that their work is done, and they need no further funding as the Mayan era draws to a close, the Faculties of Engineering or Science will be happy to absorb any surplus funds. There are still a few promising and potentially lucrative leads they can follow.

Who knows, this might even go some way to perking up production in those countries which found themselves in such an impecunious state worrying over a catastrophy which was never going to happen.
Posted by CARFAX, Monday, 16 January 2012 11:15:41 AM
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<< One can only hope the ALP wash their hands of Gillard at the same time as the Libs flush Abbott away, resolving our immediate concerns. >>

Yes Blue Cross, they should get rid of their current leaders, but to be replaced with whom?? And would it resolve our concerns, immediate or longer term?

Crikey, if Gillard goes, Rudd’ll probably rise from the ashes, and that is one thing this country needs like a huge hole in the head!

Someone who’ll break the mould of never-ending expansionism and really concentrate on achieving a sustainable society, that’s what we so desperately need.

Who has Labor got that might be able to do this? No one!

Would Turnbull possibly fit the mould for the Libs?

Or is the system so hopelessly tied to the wishes of the big business sector and economic growthists that no one could ever achieve this?
Posted by Ludwig, Monday, 16 January 2012 11:46:44 AM
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Yes Peter, good summary of the issues to face us in 2012 and the state of politics. I too am underwhelmed by the leaders though Abbott parroting the 'Conservatives' relentless spin doctor inspired negativity strategy is most odious to me.

I am dismayed with the shadowy power politics being played by various factions of a Labour party run by the interests of 10% of workers (mainly high paid) who belong to powerful unions. We have got to a situation where corporations (both private and state) work mostly to 'pad their own nests' not the good of the world and this rot is 'top down'. The majority, who live on what they can eke out of their own micro-businesses, low or modest wages or benefits need to realize the power they could have if only they organized and mobilized.

But I disagree with your statement that Gillard hasn't achieved reforms; they claim over 200 pieces of legislation passed and at least now we have a carbon price and action on carbon, albeit watered down by the corporations who really rule this country. Yes it is her ability to negotiate and include that got her there (they'd all had a gut-full of Rudd's autocracy). Politics being in reality the 'art of the possible', I think that's actually more important in a leader than charisma, of which I agree she has little.

My tip for an improvement in Australian politics: follow our cousins across the Tasman and adopt the mixed member proportional representation. Having lived in NZ I can say their debate is much more sensible and things are achieved without the bad feeling we have here. (OK it does tend to centre on Rugby and end at the Chatham Islands but it's the process I'm talking about).

PS Hasbeen - me too "it is so hard not to say what I think of this rubbish(that you write). Go back and join the Tories of Dickensian England.
Posted by Roses1, Monday, 16 January 2012 11:58:25 AM
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Gillard should not have bastardised the Speakers position instead Jools could and should have smiled demurely at Malcolm Turnbull .
Posted by Garum Masala, Monday, 16 January 2012 1:52:57 PM
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Given all the Gillard got through a hung parliament, she simply has to be a bit smarter than the Abbott/Gillard, Punch and Judy show would suggest? She does seem to lack communicating skills; given good communicating skills would have seen her explain why she simply couldn't keep her no carbon tax commitment and still govern!
It was not like Bob Brown and the Greens gave her any other choice. However, an Abbott govt, would have likely been a lot worse, with reduced spending and belt tightening; the very worse response to the GFC?
It does seem the both major parties have morphed into pale reflections of the other, with both moving further to the right; and or, focusing almost exclusively on the needs and wishes of very big business; rather than the electors, who placed them in their very privileged positions?
My solution would be for every thinking voter; to simply place the incumbent, [except where the seat is retained by a true independent,] last on the ballot paper, every time for several elections, with their preference partners directly above!
The very first outcome would be to stop that one third of voters, who simply don't understand politics or the issues; from effectively deciding the outcome on personalities, spin and theatre?
The second outcome would be the progressive removal of all career politicians; but particularly those who have not held a real job in the real world; and simply have no real ideas?
Just endlessly recycled party political mantras?
We do need new blood and new ideas and a real not a pretend democracy! Pre-selection by the people would be a useful start; as would proportional representation that effectively ends the shameful manipulation of the preferential system!
Yes, we need a recycled Rudd almost a badly As a self appointed endlessly pontificating potentate; or as another poster put it, a hole in the head!
New blood and new ideas! Really, why not?
Surely it would be very hard to do much worse?
Posted by Rhrosty, Monday, 16 January 2012 3:38:42 PM
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This author was going OK untill he started on about the effects of climate change and later about global warming.

I dismiss as lacking common sense writers that persist to try and validate the AGW hoax.
Posted by Banjo, Monday, 16 January 2012 4:24:03 PM
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respond to the real threats, especially climate change".
Prompete,
What response will stop this threat ? A Carbon tax ?
Posted by individual, Monday, 16 January 2012 7:50:53 PM
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