Hi PeterC,

As a conservative are you in favour of the Morrison government handing taxpayer money out in a socialist way, so called stimulus. Example $750 of taxpayer money is this week being once again given to aged welfare recipients. In 85% of cases last time the aged welfare recipients simply "stashed the cash in the bank" it failed to stimulate the economy what so ever. What is your opinion, and what is your parties policy on such handouts?

Hi Paul1405, this is part of what I have said in a previous post:-…
……….I voted for the Liberal party all my very long life, except for when Turnbull was unjustifiably PM. I did vote for Morrison at the last election as he was the least worst available, whether I will vote Liberal party again, who knows. They are going to have to show they are worth voting for. Losing very good Matthias Corman is very bad for us conservatives.

We badly need a Donald Trump to make Australia and the Liberal party, great again..........

There is no doubt in my mind that Labor and the Greens would throw much, much, much more borrowed money around and damage Australia and our futures much more than Morrison is. It appears to me that the funds Morrison is handing out is badly needed to try to keep Australia going and in a recoverable position.

Also to add to my previous comments about the very, very great disgrace that is the greatly over funded Lefty/green ABC, I comment that the ABC should NOT be tax-payer funded but funded by subscription from those that want it so that the great number of people like me who do not want the ABC are not burdened with COMPULSORILY helping to pay for it. I expect the ABC would disappear - and good riddance to it - if it had to survive from subscriptions from viewers.

Peter, I think the ABC would survive, but would not be as grandiose with its spending habits and scope.

I am firm believer that you can always lift your game from scarcer resources, as long as there is enough.

AS SBS proves, the ABC would attract advertising.

I also assume that more affluent ABC viwers would part with some donation money, but who knows.

Hi again PeterC,

I hate the terms left and right, blame the French for that, it implies there is some great disparity between those of the extreme when there is not. I much prefer the tags progressive and conservative, certainly as applied to Australian politics. Having spent over 40 years as an active member of political parties I have some understanding of the thinking of the "voter". A clear cut example, the question of gay marriage, why an overwhelming yes vote? In the mind of the average voter, there was nothing of a moral dilemma, simple the voter no longer harboured any animosity towards gay people, and there was no impact from the result on the voter personally, so people had no problem voting yes.

Why the popularity of the Liberal and Labor parties with the voters, its not their differences, its their similarities that polarise in their favour. There is no great divide between the two main parties, its more a matter of emphases rather than any great philosophical difference. There is lots of tinkering around the edges at times, but very little change in direction is evident as a result.

To say, "We badly need a Donald Trump to make Australia and the Liberal party, great again" Trumps politics of the personality would not go down well with the average Australian voter.

"I comment that the ABC should NOT be tax-payer funded but funded by subscription" That's a desire of yours, but has little traction with voters. I as a pacifist could say; that Australian militarism (euphemistically called defence spending) should NOT be tax-payer funded but funded by subscription" Again a totally unacceptable idea to put to voters.

Paul1405,
I'm curious, how do pacifists stay alert to the need to defend themselves ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvz8tg4MVpA

Here is Margaret Thatcher spelling out one of the fundamental principles and a defining difference between conservatives and "progressives". (Liberals vs Labor)

Conservatives will spend only what is absolutely necessary to achieve the required ends and the $1500 /fnight was calculated to keep the wolves from the door while peoples productive work was hindered, while progressives want this to continue indefinitely. In the GFC Labor sprayed money around with a fire hose, Liberals would have spent a fraction and achieved the same result.

Similarly welfare with regards to a safety net, education and health care are not the sole preserve of the socialists as having a healthy educated population that can be productive is the cornerstone of capitalism.