Congrats Nicholas- yes - Kevin's message is well on the right track. Happy Christmas to you both.

From a middle-roader looking for fair play.

George C - WA

Isnt this great.
How long did it take the labor spindoctors to find this, and make it happen.

It is a shame that the people only believe that either liberal or labor can promote change, and this in itself is like labors policy's that we have been told about but nowhere to be seen.

When we the people stand and say this is wrong, when we say oh not another pollie being shipped into our electorate, and this last one you have to think are we the people just stupid and too gullible to act and fight for ourselves or do the leberal and labor party know all.

What we have seen is that these party's have only one thing at heart and that is themselves, I had thought they are there to represent us, their electorates but no, how can this be, when they all stand in unison and say no/yes to labor or liberal policy.

Even Rudd might be a nice change of face but that is all it is ,face so it is time we fought back and we see this everyday from us normal everyday people trying to make a real change, with real candidates.

email:swulrich@bigpond.net.au
Australian Peoples Party

‘Rudd puts a different kind of economic future on the cards.’

Really? Well it’s not very evident from the article. In fact all the things mentioned amount to a slight rearrangement of the proverbial deckchairs.

What IS the envisaged ‘different kind of economic future’?

We should surely be looking at a scenario much broader than just economics. What about quality of life and environment, and the sustainability of these fundamentals.

THIS should be our bottom line or dual bottom line if you like, NOT the economy, especially when economic growth and prosperity is rather poorly correlated to these parameters!

The new future that Rudd needs to steer us towards is one that is based on sustainability and on real average per-capita economic growth rather than gross economic growth associated with population growth, which simply doesn’t lead to improvements in per-capita economic growth or quality of life for the average person, but which does rapidly increase demands of all sorts on our already stressed resource base.

If Labor did this, they would set themselves up as a very different alternative to the Libs, and they would have a great deal of support within the community.

If Kevin Rudd is really half-proficient at social entrepreneurship then he will know this, or get to know it very quickly.

A PROPHET SPEAKS......

No.. don't get ur nickers in a knot.. it aint me. But I often reflect on what John the Baptist would say if he walked around Melbourne today.

I know one thing any serious prophet would say "Politicians, say what you actually MEAN, rather than giving spin"

FAIR PAY FOR FAIR WORK.
I long for an Australia where a builders laborer receives a fair days pay for a fair days work. I don't consider that $27/hour is fair relative to the training and value adding done by thousands of others in the community who spend time and money on specific training. It is grossly excessive.
The only reason a laborer can obtain this much is pure and simple POWER. Its brutality, its coercion, its bullying, its extortion, and is morally reprehensible and criminal.

At the other end of the scale, commonly called the 'big end' of town, the rapacious and self serving, greedy, economically in-bred, incestuous, scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, bonus upon bonus for mediocrity, remuneration considered by most obcene.. yes.. John would have words about that too.

But what can RUDD do ? or more accurately what can he SAY and really mean.....that will actually mean something to us OTHER than "We can do better, elect us" which sounds as believable as "new improved Rinso" how much 'better' or 'improved' and for whom ?

Give me a politian who can say "We will tax slavery at customs" and then will say "And this is the most likely impact on us in the bigger economic connectivity picture"

Does 'Labor' represent anything other than 'laborers' ? Does the Coalition represent anyone other than Newsagents, Pharmacies, Miners and Graziers ?

John... we need you again mate..and bring along Elijah also, maybe we can see the 450 prophets of Baal go up in flames again and start over.

Ludwig, yes mate, we need more than just rhetoric. Right now as a worried great-grand-papa, with one going on sixteen, guess we thinkers should be Onlining about what our great great gandkids will be inheriting in the future.

So much selfish greed with a craziness to use up all our nature-given pit-stocks, from precious gold to gas, et al, et al.

Can't we leave a bit for our precious progeny? Have we got any plans for when all the priceless stuff runs out?

Furthermore, an intriguing question is why our leadheaded politicians and greedy corporatists cannot work around our ancient Aboriginal's magnificient Burrup rock art? If they are after gas, deep bores can be drilled at amazing angles, even to deep-down horizontal shafting, as proven in Kawait and southern Iraq, when oil and gas was stolen from both sides of the border.

Finally, if our politicians have not got the nounce to do it, our Schools of Humanities should be biting the bullet and warning our kids how our governments have been mostly on the make, with little thought about the future of babies being born in our hospitals right now.

Sorry getting carried away, Ludwig, but it seems the older I get the more disgusted I get with our leader's lack of forethought.

Anyhow, a very happy Christmas, mate, both to you and your family.

PS Grandkids on our farms, finished up averaging around 12 bushells to the acre up at Buntine. Would have paid at one time, but certainly not today. Lot better than some of the other cockies, however. Cheers, G, BB

Your right bushbred but the problem is nobody wants to stand, they just want to winge about the problems and do nothing.

Here i am ex army med discharged with a disabled daughter and what am i doing standing,fed up with all that is going on.

What makes it worse is that people just dont care.

Well i hope all have a good Christmas and if you want to try for real change at the next federal election you might consider being a candidate or members.

I can make a stand but help is always needed.

Email:swulrich@bigpond.net.au
Australian Peoples Party

Correction to my previous post;

“THIS should be our bottom line or dual bottom line if you like, NOT the economy, especially when economic growth and prosperity is rather poorly correlated to these parameters!”

I meant “SO-CALLED prosperity”

Merry Christmas George, and to all OLOers.

Well said Tapp and Ludwig. Money is the focus of everything today, sadly. Government decisions are made, or forced, on the basis of cost effectiveness. Good idea but when lives are lost because we "can't afford" the prevention it's way past time for both major Parties to hang their heads in shame and toddle off into the sunset, arm in arm.

Boaz_David. Could I suggest an addition to your "Politicians, say what you actually MEAN, rather than giving spin" statement? As below :

"Politicians, do what you say and mean what you say".

This comment from Nicholas re Rudd's thoughts(?) :

"He comments on how the old timers in his branch used to greet newcomers to the neighbourhood with a box of groceries on the back step - compliments of the local ALP branch. It was good PR and good politics. Just like Rudd’s Christmas card."

I note that such a welcome was extended at the back door, not the front. Who paid for those groceries and how has anything changed? Today it's not groceries but it's still the back door, both major Parties.

Your right

but the problem is as i have said over and over againg that nobody wants to make a stand for themselves and make change

They are happy to talk about it and when the federal election comes and goes will be back complaining about why people dont stand up.

For one i can say at least i am trying.

also i hope that you all had a good christmas day.

Nick says “we might pay some attention to a huge labour market failure - namely this - you usually don’t know what it’s like to work for a firm before you start working there!” My worst example of this was when Kevin Rudd recruited me to Queensland’s Office of Cabinet, the Queensland Public Service having been far and away the worst employer I’ve had in three continents. But things are changing – my daughter had a wealth of information last year to persuade her that a particular global engineering consulting firm was far and away her best post-uni opportunity, and it has lived up to its promise, with the kind of approach I applied in isolation as a QPS manager. (KR, incidentally, had no people or managerial skills when I worked for him. More recently, his reply to a leter of mine suggested that he either hadn't read it or completely missed the point.)

As for staff questionanaires, they’ve been extensively used within the QPS, but given the appalling management standards, they were a waste of resources.

As an aside on “doing well by doing good,” I worked with Karl Christ, a physicist on the Manhattan Project (which created the WW2 atom bombs). Christ abandoned physics in remorse, and became a leading econometrician. His wife remarked to me that “He hasn’t done good, but he’s certainly done well!”

New economics cannot be built on traditional social affairs, and threats to have more not-well connected and simply not-Anglo-Australians pushed into creating the jobs for the allowed being employed in Australia at TAFEs and English courses are nothing new in Labor policies unfortunately.

unfortunately there is nobody within australia willing to stand up for those rights that we soon wont have.

unfortunately we will soon be calling this nation That what was Australia as labor and the liberal party's will still be selling off everything

unfortunately people dont care and just will tick any box

unfortunately the labor and liberal party's only interest is themselves, ever wondered why people still vote for those people dropped into electorates at election time. You cant tell me they are to represent the people, what would they know of that community.

Labor and Liberal party's know how much the people care, how much damage and pain and corrupt behaviour that the people will take.

The stupidity of the people will destroy this country and do they care not one bit, and you lot will just keep fighting tit for tat and when it is all gone that should make you all feel much better as these two pathetic, corrupt and decietful party's are happy to pay you off and sell whatever is required to keep your mouths shut.

There is no future for ourselves,our children and our country with the corruption and deciet and when you realise that this country will then turn around.

Hi Tapp,

There are some who will stand up and oppose the stranglehold on our government and mismanagement of our country. You for one. I'm with you.

Anyone else? Or are you all just happy to whinge after the fact? I'm afraid comments on blogs do not achieve change, you need to take action as Tapp has stated previously.

I was stunned to hear that Mr Rudd has been or is a licenced pistol shooter and may be a member of a gun club.

How can we elect a man like that?

How can we elect a gun-license holder?

SIMPLY.

The question remains for any voter is, would it be of contribution to him/her personally?