there is plenty of stuff goes through ..
because it suits those..who support..the two party adgenda
ie the stuff the elites..supporting the 2 parties.[susstem]. want

the joke of a debate on iraq..[or was it afganastan]
i had to switch off listening..it was all so boys-own/club

at least the senete debate raised some issues

but the rule is..the govt that governs least
governs best...[for now tony is just keping his head down
and opposing for the sake of oppossing]

ditto usa...soon
uk at least seems to be doing better stuff

sarcastic sar-cosy...is just lashing out with the last bit of right-wiong bile he can muster...as for the media giant in italy..well the media dont report any of that

and israel..isnt in the news
[julia loves israel]...something in the wind there

the joke is the coelition...[lol]..as if the greens..lab-rats..dont have their own coelition..[all parties should be having their own numbers]...what the heck is value in coelition [two party prefered]numbers..thats not news thats spin

but who cares..
they only dig their own graves

I just have to ask, what does the opposition stand for?
May I answer my question.
Read ANY of Shadow Ministers threads, the answer is not much.
However if this Parliament does not end badly for my party I will be pleased.
The group we owe our government to are a motley crew and unless we can craft a DD election we are bound for the rocks, our only single hope is that Tony Abbott continues to lead his dysfunctional mob.

Thankyou dear Pericles for another opportunity to sound the vital alarm over the Fabian socialist Julia Gillard and her ilk with their 'inevitability of gradualism'....

Don't be confused or dismayed by the action of the puppets.. look to the puppet master!

Or at least his ideas.

The too-ing and fro-ing of daily politics is but a side show.

PS...I've signed up to Arjay's club :) Kidding.

PSS.. Watch Beck (Fox news 8.00am and 5.00pm Eastern standard) next TEUSDAY.... it'll be quite something as 'spooky dude' is held up naked for the world to see.

Boazy, [please go back to one of your other names this one is loud and showy but like your over use of caps a turn off].
Well at least we know how you stand, I have rarely seen so much dribble here in OLO.
Fox! no bloke my ribs will crack.
Colbert report much more informative.
Gillard, believe me, is not even socialist, she did,again believe me, stand against pension increases.
You have some how latched on to a 1950,s myth and breathed your own brand of Christian right conservative rubbish in to it.
Oh PS how about stopping the shouting, the over use of caps ,yes we need to show our feelings but better ways exist.
Gillard is a hard headed woman changes her politics as often as her dress but is driven by self interest not your hugely funny and silly idea.

In spite of what Belly says, I actually have not commented on fundamentally what either of the parties stand for, rather focusing on the tactical day to day sparring.

The philosophies of the two parties have one fundamental difference.

The liberals believe that the market is the best supplier of goods, services and infrastructure, and that the government's task is to put in place legislation to enable economic activity and protect against excesses. Economic involvement is only where the "public good" is not reflected in the financial return.

Labor on the other hand believes far more in the direct involvement of government in controlling economic activity, such as building and running public utilities, strict labour laws etc.

However, what one sees in the day to day sport of politics is very different. For example, the coalition is closer philosophically to Labor than the greens, however, both Wilkie and Bandt had significantly less votes than Labor, and only succeeded based on liberal preferences. (I believe that this will be reflected in the Victorian election as well)

The two obvious advantages to the libs are:

1 Labor loses the ability to govern in its own right, and in order to govern has to appease the far left.
2 Labor's move to the left vacates the center of politics for the libs.

Labor having made a multitude of promises to appeal to the center (many of which ran contrary to its core values to win the election), is now in the invidious position that in order to make good on any of its promises it will have to cede votes to either the greens or the libs, and if it doesn't meet them will only cement its reputation as the party of non delivery.

Labor having not got sufficient seats to govern, would have been far better served in the long term to allow the coalition to struggle, but now having firmly grasped the poisoned chalice, it is the coalitions task to beat them like a piñata as they spin helplessly.

Our Govts are now controlled by the power of Corporate money.This is why they are both impotent and incompetent.Julia Gillard's first announcement as PM was made from the Lowy Institute and immediately her companion Tim Mathieson gets a job with Dadon a a Jewish lobby group.So who controls Australia?

The carbon taxes are all about corporate profits and nothing to do with the environment.We pay more for our coal produced energy here than the customers who buy it from us.

The private banks now determine interest rates while Wayne Swan's protests are ignored.The Coalition are making noises but won't do what is necessary ie a new Govt bank to produce the new money to equal inflation increases in GDP.