Aha, the King-Emperor Turnballs eh? But then he'd have to move to the lower house to run the widebrownland, but maybe Craig's seat when it becomes vacant in a week or two can be filled with the new King Emperor?

I'd rather like to see Faulkner drop a level and run the ALP.

KKK eh? how unfortunate to own that set of initials and sound like a southerener trying not to.

I've posted a thread suggestion to elevate Belly as the OLO choice although I am sure GY will censor it.

I see Gillard is not dropping the head nodding at all but one day it might just fall off if she's not careful.

It's a real sign of insecurity, like when people say 'hmm, yeah' after making a statement, a visible form of rising inflection, hmm yeah.

Come on Blue.

Faulkner, the Hindmarsh island man. The bloke who wanted a sealed envelop of lies submitted as evidence in a trial. I'm surprised he is not in jail, rather than the senate.

The most suitable leader for them is Turnbull, as you obviously believed, & I'll even spring for a limousine to move him to a new office. He is far from what I would call honest, but probable more so than Faulkner, & probably as close to honest as Labour could stand, without total collapse.

Talking about collapse, did you see the figures for voting intentions in the Yahoo 7 poll. Labor are only one percentage point above independents & others combined at 15%. The Greens are equal to independents, & falling.

Of course some of this may be reflecting the Queensland election. Having finally got past the Beattie grin, Queenslanders are developing a real ability to see through bull sh1t. It is going to be tough for Labor up here for some timer, & who knows, we might just teach a few southerners the skill.

Hoully, of every post after mine yours is the one and only that I like, could have written it myself.
March last year NSW Labor finally fell.
Do many understand we, yes me to, did not flee to the greens.
We did not vote Labor, many for the first time in their life, did not man the booths.
Labor, rightly so, was shamed.
Yet it did not die, it will rise, it has along path, one of learning and yes regret, but it will be back.
LOVE! Greens boots on Labors back Paul TBC are you know dreamers.
Greens they gleefully say, but refuse to take on board 88% of voters disagree.
Our policy's, reforms, achievements will stand forever.
I get a grin, truly, out of Gillards much better performance yesterday and today.
Past middle age she has the job to say yesterday she changed!
Labor is not dead watch the failures of conservatives drive us back in to office.
And watch our dead and dieing branches die, yes die, if Sussex street and power brokers do not return my party to its membership.

Not quite, The Blue Cross.

>>we already have the Guntoters and the 4WDs, the Sex Party, The various God Squads, what next? The Tools Party for tradies? The Black Car Black Window Party...<<

I was thinking more along the lines of genuine political parties with national agendas. Germany has half a dozen Parties represented in the Bundestag: CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, Linke and Grüne, which forces them to form genuine coalitions in order to govern - not the temporary alliance of a handful of fringe-dwelling rent-seekers that we have here at the moment.

>>Sadly, we still seem to need broadly based political parties but these parties need members who will turn up and drive them on policy issues, which is what most of us do not do.<<

That's not what party members do. They are there merely to make up the numbers for this or that faction. It would be difficult to become more disillusioned than the electorate appears to be right now, but the tacky realities of Party membership would be the final straw. Even if they were permitted to contribute to policy formation, there is absolutely no guarantee that those policies would be enacted, once the Party gained power.

It just does not happen.

Pericles, I'd be happy with your German style parties, and the need for a coalition, so long as it was quite different from the time serving one the Nats engage in with the Liberals (imagine the shame of actually owning Sen. Barnaby Rubble, never mind saying 'he's on my side'!).

You are too hasty with condemning brnach structures as mere tools of factions. Even during my era in the ALP branches did create policy items, which filtered through to Conference, and became policy.

True, not all party policy becomes government policy, after all, the ALP still pretend they have a policy of socialising the nation, even though they have never made a move that way.

Belly, I thought you'd be happy to have been nominated for the NSW Senate spot by OLO threadsters.

The next party should be a Libertarian one so power can go back to the people.

Pericle's is right.Labor stand for nothing.Their next leader down the track will probably be Kristina Keneally based on her media presentation rather than intelligence and vision for all Australians.