Lexi,
I will not bother going back to the anti Howard thread. I accept your word that you did apply balance. I apoligise to you for my incorrect assumption. Considering the form of the last, and current PM, I cannot see how anyone could fairly rate Howard poorly. As I said to Butch, I have several critisisms of his government, but nothing compared to the current mob.

Like you, I rate government on performance and policies that make sence. Have a look at the list of Labor stuff ups and objectively see how many are simply stupid and ill thought out, or badly mismanaged. The illegal boat people issue is a classic example of stupid ideology being put before common sence. I certainly do not blindly follow any party, I go on performance.

I may vote for Labor some time in the future, but they will have to lift their game and put common sence into their policies for that to happen. In my opinion Labor needs a lot of new blood.

Labor needs a lot of new blood.
Banjo,
Labor needs to rid itself of the ALP. (Academics, Leeches, Preposterous).

Dear Banjo,

Thanks for being big enough to apologise.
That means a great deal to me. I agree with you
that neither side at present has any reason to
feel smug about things. Hopefully we will see
some changes for the better this year - on both
sides of the political divide. The year has only
just begun - so I guess we can only hope.

I think that whatever Government is in power at the time is fodder for everyone else's gripes, and that includes Howard's Liberal Party when he was in power.

That is just the nature of politics here in Australia.

I really don't care which party is in power, as long as Tony Abbott is never in the hot seat...

Those people who dig in the ashes of past civilizations often find more about them from the rubbish dumps.
This thread may one day provide such information.
Not however of the whole, but of those willing to glance at issues then form the wrong opinion, insisting it has worth.
Our Author started with a swipe at my words in another thread.
Miss quoted, changed the intentions I gave them,and hurled them, in the wrong direction.
Lists followed of nonexistent Labor crimes.
Mops and buckets had to be introduced to mop the floor as frothing mouths ran.
Still, better than a re run of Monty Python, even if less believable.

"It just a shame you don't recognize what a great set of numbers they inherited"

Maybe you are correct. They did inherit some good numbers but the world was heading for the GFC.

Also it is a fact that four years later, following the GFC, the numbers are still good or better.

What the doomsayers have been screaming from the roof tops in regard

Mr. Howard also, and he now acknowledges it, benefited from the good work done by the Hawke and Keating government.

it is getting a little boring to hear any of Labors achievements throbbed off by saying what great things the Howard government left.

The Howard government also left falling productivity and structural deficit within the budget. The Howard government may have done some good, but it was far from perfect.

No government is or can be perfect.

Each government has to be judge on how it behaves within the world wide environment of the times.

I do not believe that the Coalition would have cope with the GFC as effective as Labor did.

The Coalition would have went down the track of relying on tax cuts, which have been proven on their own not to work.

Saying what Mr. Howard did is not material, especially since it is over four years since he was in power.

Saying that the PM is the worse ever does not mean much. Say what you really mean. That is I do not agree with the Labor and the PM policies. It would be nice if one identifies what they did not agree with and why.

I suspect that many that criticise the PM would never agree with what she did.

Not liking or disagreeing with the PM, does not necessarily means that she is wrong. It only means that the government has different priories.