Hi Trumpster,

On another point YOU make; "The cliff is out there but still off in the distance. But the sky isn't currently falling."

Given Australia is one of only ten countries with a AAA credit rating with all three major credit agencies (Don't see Japan on the list!), and has one of the lowest government debt to GDP ratios in the developed world (ours sits at about 18% of GDP, Your second favourite country Japan, has a ratio of 230%, and Donald has push Americas to 127%). Although inflation is at 4%, one percent above what is considered acceptable, its far less that the world average, and well below that of Venezuela's rate of 387%, managed by your folk hero Daffy Donald. Unemployment here sits at 4.6%, unlike Span and Finland with unemployment at over 10%. Australia rates 14th on the Quality Of Life Index, your folk hero Daffy Donald has managed to push Americans quality of life down to somewhere near that of Venezuela! All in all, Australian's, when compared to the rest of the world, are doing extremely well, thanks to a decent Labor government in Canberra, no cliff to drive off, no sky falling, and hopefully no One Nation to upset the apple cart!

Yes $15T, I'm sure with judicial use of AI you can find all sorts of countries that have worse this or that economic figures than Australia. One country with worse inflation, another with worse debt, another with worse something else. But that's entirely beside the point.

The point is that, in Australia, large numbers of people have lost faith in the majors to deliver prosperity given the worsening numbers for inflation, employment, real wages growth, read per capita GDP. And that large number are flocking to One Nation.

Now you might want to tell these people that they are fools and that they should be thankful that things aren't as bad as Venezuela or Spain or whatever other nation AI found for you. You might even want to tell them to go down on their knees in gratitude to Albo for not being as bad as Maduro. Good luck with that.

But the fact remains that One Nation is gathering adherents because they are offering hope where hope is in short supply and dredging up a few AI stats won't change that.

BTW, why is it that those who claim to be for the downtrodden are always the first to tell said downtrodden what fools they are when they don't reach the right conclusion and support the right party?

Hi Trumpster,

Other than winning a couple of minor by-elections One Nation has not actually achieved anything of note, a lot of hoo-haa but little of substance. To say; "One Nation is gathering adherents because they are offering hope where hope is in short supply", it may be a case of offering false hope. I'm very much of the opinion that One Nation, given the calibre of its leadership in Hanson and Joyce it would be unable to deliver long term for the Australian people, it may have undisclosed talent I'm not aware of, but I doubt that is the case. I would very much like to see One Nation win the Victorian State election, outright, not in coalition with the Liberals, that would be a working disaster in no time. Put them in charge, and let us see them in action when the real decisions of government have to be made, I think that would show the Australian people how incompetent and false One Nation really is.

You try and paint a grim picture of Australia saying; "worsening numbers for inflation, employment, real wages growth, read per capita GDP" We're not batting 100, but we're not out for a duck either. In the scheme of things we are doing better than the vast majority in this world. Can things be better, things can always be better, but I don't think you're going to make things better by running with a bunch of far right wack jobs! You can and should see that with Trump in America, a failing fool!

"You can and should see that with Trump in America"

Actually, the US economy is going gangbusters due to Trump.

Quick, run off to AI to beg for some obscure stat that puts the US in a bad light.

I'm not arguing that One Nation have the policies or the ability to resolve the economic mess that the previous couple of governments have created. But they do offer hope to those suffering from that mess, that things could be turned around. I agree with them that immigration is the absolutely first step in the fightback. After that I depart from their policies.

Whether they are capable of running a government is in the unknowable sphere. But you carry on as though the other leaders like Albo and Chalmers and Taylor and Wilson are seasoned professionals at running an economy. But none of them had/have an experience in such things prior to getting into power. They all are just mouth-pieces for the public service and the various think-tanks they adhere to. Hanson may not talk in the clipped tones that comes from a publicly fund university degree. But then again Albo wouldn't have the faintest idea as to how to run a fish shop.

This is from the ABC so the luvvies just know it must be true.....

"When, way back, the opposition started talking about cutting immigration, it would have thought on the basis of polling it was tapping into a vein of political gold.

But since then, Pauline Hanson has taken ownership of the mine and pretty much locked it away for One Nation.

Simon Welsh, from the Redbridge Group political consultancy, says: "The Liberals talking about migration doesn't create more Liberal voters, it creates more One Nation voters.

"Immigration offers people a simple explanation for the pressures they are feeling. When the major parties talk about it, it validates that. [Voters] then ask, who is the strongest voice on immigration? It's a massive strategic error [by the major parties],"

Hi Trumpster,

The Noalition can't out One Nation with One Nation. ""Immigration offers people a simple explanation for the pressures they are feeling." A bit like your folk hero Donald blaming all of America's ills on the Mexicans! AND that other folk hero of yours Adolf blaming all of Germany's ills on the Jews, in earlier times.

Some time back YOU claimed YOU were not a One Nation supporter, when did YOU convert