Dunno, I saw that She refused to pass the buck over the advertising campaign, She just undertook to remove it immediately.

She also stated that She is aware of the Communities concern about "Boat People" and "Border Security", which is what the majority of voters are seriously concerned about. It is not a political issue for mine, or it shouldn't be, neither party should have any intention to allow "Boat People" (or queue jumpers with dubious claims to refugee status as they should be known) to arrive in this Country, thereby entitling them to more consideration than someone who has chosen to comply with the legal requirements of seeking Asylum. That is the best outcome I can imagine, I see absolutely no reason why EITHER major party's policy should differ on that. Illegal immigrants are just that, illegal and should be dealt with as such.

She also stated that She is willing to negotiate with the Mining Companies, but that they need to negotiate or the consensus will be that of the policy makers NOW. Failure to negotiate means their views will not be taken into account. I note in passing that Mr Gutnik has bought into Phosphate Mines in this Country (after an absence) this month, obviously there are independent buyers who are not put off by the "Super Profits Tax". If the other miners want to sell out, I'm sure Mr Gutnik & others will happily buy their shares for a pittance.

As to the rest, I was quite happily suprised to see a Politician accept their share of blame for the decisions that have been made whilst She has been in Cabinet. A pleasant change, someone actually taking ownership of the problems they deal with, let's hope it continues.

She represents Union Members, She is there to ensure they are fairly treated and that we are fairly compensated for the assets that belong to all of us, and appears to be less than overwhelmed by the noisy minority opinions. I'll actually have to put in a vote that counts (for the first time in a while).

Congratulations Julia

I realise that you're over the moon about Gillard's succession as PM Custard, but what's this capitalised "She" business?

Is it short for 'She Who Must Be Obeyed', or has she achieved divine status by becoming PM?

As stated by someone on another thread, I rather think that Gillard is just Rudd in a frock and we won't see much in the way of substantial policy change. Rather, we'll see a change in leadership style - indeed, I think the reason Rudd was dumped is simply because the ALP numbers men think that Gillard is more electable according to the polls.

It's quite appalling how personality-driven Australian politics have become. While I think Gillard is likely to be at least as good a PM as Rudd (it wouldn't be hard) and certainly better than Abbott, I'd be more supportive of her if she was likely to be able to make some substantive changes to those ALP policies that suck - like the me-tooism on asylum seekers and the spinelessness on climate change, for example.

However, it ain't gonna happen. I predict a Federal election around October, with Gillard taking almost exactly the same platform to the electorate as Rudd would have, albeit in a more populist way.

C J Morgan, "I rather think that Gillard is just Rudd in a frock "

Why stoop to gender stereotyping when even the local village idiot would be aware of Julia Gillard's education, skills and her many real accomplishments?

Another self-appointed male 'feminist' with feet of clay.

Who's "gender stereotyping"? I thought I was doing quite the opposite, by pointing to the unlikelihood of substantive policy changes and to the weakness of personality politics.

Since the present government was elected, Gillard has supported and promoted exactly the same policy vacillations and bungles as did Rudd. Gillard has got the job because she's thought by the ALP number crunchers to be more personally attractive to the electorate and thus more likely to win the forthcoming election.

Her elevation has little to do with feminism, but everything to do with populism, as you well know - but you can never resist a personal snark at me, can you Corny?

C J Morgan

Once again you protest too much.