Sorry Mikk, but Labor ran a negative campaign in Queensland and won. There's you "gutter politics". It's your side. That's why they are winning. Of course you wouldn't want the other side to adopt successful tactics.

Rhrosty is also playing from the typical "gutter politics" of the left. He claims that privatising electricity will "quadruple electricity prices" when all the evidence is that it will decrease them. The most recent evidence provided by UnitingCare, not naturally a Liberal Party ally! http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/the-economy/australian-households-pay-different-amounts-to-access-national-electricity-network-20150210-13b47s.html

It's people on the left who have cheapened political debate, and continue to.

I'm sceptical about Graham's 'readings' of the OLO crowd responses, but he did pick the QLD pole so we'll see.
The major problem with this analysis though is he doesn't mention the federal factor, in QLD or NSW. Abbott's just bought more time, but he and Hockey and the the team are surely still affecting the vote in the states. This in fact is the more interesting aspect of the election; will it kick off another leadership spill?

Looking at Graham's link to the report by Carbon and Energy Markets, and looking further at their recent presentations, on their website, it seems clear to me that privatisation, in the name of efficiency.
Regulated industry is an easy target when ruthless efficiencies is the alternative.
The trouble is the more we go down the privatisation path, the more we burn our public bridges.
The greater the take-up of private health, education and the like, the greater the attrition and redundancy of public institutions.
The brave new world of user-pays looms large (the big take-up of private schools will be regretted by a great many when they lose their jobs! Especially as the public sector concomitantly degrades). And when the public sector has finally shrivelled and died, those who can't afford to pay will have to suck eggs.
What could be more efficient?

One of their presentations, btw, exposes the economically retarded position of the LNP on coal and protection of the industry. It seems solar is much more efficient and their for letting centralised electricity generation go the way of the railroads. The lesson is to never interfere with creative destruction. Those who can't afford solar panels in the future can go back to making candles once they've separated the fat from the offal.

How many of the Overseas Companies that have bought Australian assets, do not engage in tax avoidance/minimization schemes, actually pay their fair share of tax?

So even if assets are sold, Australian's are deprived of ongoing taxation receipts from these companies.

So on one hand, we have energy companies engaging in gold plating the network, and raising energy prices faster then inflation, yet paying the smallest amount of taxation that they possibly can.

"It's people on the left who have cheapened political debate, and continue to."

Seriously Graham? After abbotts ongoing years of sewer politics with character assassination, spite and LIES as its hallmarks you can really blame it all on leftys? Unbelievable. Delusional. Blind.

Just look to abbotts display in QT today to see what "cheap" means.

And your sudden change from impartial forum moderator to partisan shill for the right and slagger of the left is looking a little petulant. Your side lost. Get over it. Stop the born to rule tantrums.
I hate to think how upset you are going to be when rabbott and the rest of the lieberal party get what is coming to them at the next election.

Bravo mikk!

I've never seen such a mob of bad losers.
Labor certainly didn't carry on like this when they lost.
I wonder how much longer we're going to have to listen to the conservatives from Abbott down, winging how it's all Labor's fault, or the electorate voted under the influence of some mass delusion.
It's about time the conservatives manned-up and realised that unlike them, the majority of Australians are not the dupes of neoliberal ideology.
Pathetic!