Is the Labor Party really so bereft of talent that there is not a single member, [other than Rudd], with the ability to be made foreign minister?

Obviously that's what our Julia thinks, or she would not have had to parachute in that clapped out old state politician Carr to do the job.

Regarded by many as the dropkick responsible for much of NSWs troubles, who's only experience with matters national or international was his fights with Canberra, I suppose she could have chosen worse, but I'm damned if I know how, from our point of view.

From Julia's point of view, I suppose she has bought herself an ally with experience in hanging onto power, despite proven incompetence. This type of experience is obviously more useful to Julia, than the old duffers lack experience on the big stage is to us.

Well done that girl, again.

Hasbeen

I have to say that I agree with you here. It beggars belief that Labor had such a dearth of talent on its front bench that they were required to go shopping for a Foreign Minister.

I call it the "Bunnings Effect" - if you don't possess the required talent, you simply pop down to the nearest outlet and grab what you need.

Nuff said.

It’s an interesting move Hasbeen.

Here’s an angle on it that no one’s gunna see ‘cept me….

Bob Carr is a great advocate of stabilising our population and heading towards a sustainable society. So for Gillard to have him on board and for him to have her ear has got to be a good thing.

Labor will now have two sensible politicians, the other being Kelvin Thomson, who can …. hopefully … start to move that dinosaur party off of its addiction to never-ending expansionism and onto the right path towards a sustainable society.

Perhaps old Bob can convince her that the only way beat Abbott is to set Labor right apart from the Libs by reducing immigration, following up on her earlier denouncement of Rudd’s Big Australia and actually convincing the electorate that she will be taking the country towards a sustainable future, instead of very strongly away from it as the Libs would.

Ok, every feral pig in Australia will learn how to fly first! But at least it’s a worth a thought. ( :>|

Sometimes dreams do come true - even in politics.

Apparently Bob Carr has wanted this job for the past
decades. He's now got it.

I wonder if another cherished ambition of his might
be to be PM?

I guess we'll have to wait and see what develops next.

One thing that can be said is - you've got to admire
the political skills of our current PM - she out
maneuvered everybody - and got what she wanted!

Perhaps now the media will finally put more scrutiny
onto the Coalition and call them to account? I'm surprised
at how little of this has occurred.

Well members of the Opposition and supporters will spin this to their advantage. Carr's appointment was clearly not about a lack of talent on the front bench but choosing the right person for the job.

Regardless of personal opinions about Bob Carr, he was not plucked from obscurity. He is an experienced politician and policy maker with many years experience.

The negative aspects were more about the obfuscation around the appointment and negotiating internal pressures.

Pelican why would a bloke who is responsible for much of the problems in NSW today, with no international experience, be the right man for the job of Foreign Affairs?

Sorry but Julia has bought herself an ally, with no thought what so ever of his suitability for the job, or what good he will be for Oz, just what he can do for her. Granted he is unlikely to be any worse than Rudd, who was only indulging himself, & never worked for us, ever.

Ludwig, if he could do that, it may be worth having a twit in foreign affairs, but I wouldn't hold your breath mate.

Hasbeen
I don't think it is about gaining an ally, if anything Carr may one day contend for leader - who would know?

Foreign Affairs is about diplomacy and communication. What sort of experience does one need if not either directly working for DFAT (as Rudd did) or dealing with foreign dignitaries and leaders in a political environment. Carr's experience cannot be denied in this area no matter what one thinks of his past leadership in NSW.

Rudd was mainly good in the foreign affairs portfolio but he did make some mistakes as all foreign ministers do. It is that sort of area of politics. Diplomacy means that at some time somebody will probably be offended, that does not mean decisions were necessarily wrong.

Previous ministers for foreign affairs have been a mixed bunch on both sides, most never having worked for DFAT. What did Downer bring that Carr couldn't? Downer was an embarrassment in many cases and I reckon Carr will be better than Downer by a long shot.

Don't take my words as indicative of being a Carr supporter, I just reckon the spin so far about the appointment is not balanced or rational.

one needs ask why the lies?
what part in this all do the faceless men play

are they the elected caucuss?

as the pm isnt accorded any mention..in the constitution
who is best to pick the min for foreigners affairs

do corperations actually 'have affairs'

or was this 'role'/position' created..for a minester
dealing with forweigners.." affairs'.. in his own cuntry
ie on behalf of the govt of this state foreigners visit

see i dont think foreign affairs
extends to being a mouth piece..for govt ...overseas

lol where he would be the foreigner..
needing the help of that state's..forreign affairs dude..serving foreigners afairly

it just all seems so rote
spin is in[commin spinner]..

no i didnt..no i wont
oh yes i will

BUTT
not for long you wont

The thread is evidence that for some the ALP can do no good.
Mr Bob Carr is one of Labors finest, a true living treasure he, no leg pulling is as good as Kevin Rudd.
Labor has, avoided rewarding a Gillard hanger on, with less talent than any candidate, getting his petulant way.
The man with the hair, and not much under it Steven Smith.
Poirot, as a green are you aware Carr created more national parks in this state than any one.
He as was the case with Whitlam, and is with Rudd, is an intelligent man who history will regard as a great minister.
Gillard , no Friend of mine, has been advised well, I hope both party's continue to select the best person for the job.
And that more such outside Parliament recruitments take place.
I could pick ten well past use by date on both sides, and Greens pick them selves.

Poirot,

I agree with you, and I think the Labor Party will regret not appointing Warren Mundine to the Senate, and Stephen Smith to the position of Foreign Minister.

Does politics always have to be dirty and opportunistic ? You sort of expect it from one side of politics, but from both/all sides ?

Cheers,

Joe

It doesn't really matter what labor does, no matter how pointless or incompetent, there'll always be enough selfish non-thinkers to support them. That's why they pander to the Public service for that is their backbone. The coalition on the other hand knows that it is business & not mere funding that creates an economy. Business is what provides the ability to fund not just emptying the coffers. You can only withdraw for so long without any depositing until your account is overdrawn. That's what Labor did & the Coalition will put it right again. quite simple really.

As someone who lived in NSW throughout the reign of Bob Carr, I can confirm that the man has oodles of style, but absolutely zero substance. He postured and pontificated to great effect, but achieved precisely nothing of benefit.

The man's a flake.

A perfect example, in fact, of a politician's politician.

<< Mr Bob Carr is one of Labors finest,…. >>

Agreed Belly.

<< …. a true living treasure he, no leg pulling is as good as Kevin Rudd >>

Holy snapping duck poo….he’d have to be at least four orders of magnitude better than that krudd character!!

<< The man with the hair, and not much under it Steven Smith. >>

What, you don’t like Stephen? Why not Belly?

I would have thought you’d consider him to be one of the best in the Labor ranks. Didn’t he do an admirable job as Foreign Minister before Rudd?

I wonder why he is not being considered for that role again.

Good question, Ludwig.

Stephen Smith seemed quite comfortable and adept in the role of Foreign Minister. And although he seems one of the more humble politicians, if anyone has ever watched him co-host the ABC's election coverage with Kerry O'Brien, you'd soon ascertain that he is an extremely astute political commentator, and therefore certainly not one "...with the hair, and not much under it...".

Some contributors, at times me too, should confront this truth.
Opinions, ours too, are often wrong.
Hasbeen you got it so very wrong, may be unaware but scraped the very bottom of the barrel with your Carr is the NSW problem type quote.
HE was in a way, AFTER HE LEFT my party fell to pieces!
Carr has no smear no smell to him from the Sussex Street lard heads, look to the man who had the senate seat he takes not this breath of fresh air.
Lexi Carr at one time was asked to go in to federal Parliament.
About the time of Crean/Latham/Gillards troika.
He is was and always will be a statesman.
Watch him carry out his roles,being as good as Rudd was in the role, keeping the leaking young turks under control and reminding all of a thought they forget party unity.
Sorry your view of Gillard is funny but if she stood for an election without opposition our next government would be INFORMAL.

Lexi says, I wonder if another cherished ambition of his might
be to be PM?

I guess we'll have to wait and see what develops next.

Now wouldn't that be a laugh!

To be honest, I think the only reason why he got the nod, was Julia flexing her muscles, as she was looking a bit 'puppet like' when big brother said no.

It will be interesting to see how they get along if he does start to eye off the top job, but he will have to hurry, as labor are headed for the scrap heap.

At least Julia and Anna Bligh will have something in common, they will both be tossed out after just one term.

Meanwhile, old Bob is looking like a fat kid in the candy store, but I wonder if he realizes there's work to be done, rather than just jet setting about.

Belly I think you are right in one way, as far as the Labor party are concerned he governed well. This means he stayed in power.

As far as the people of NSW are concerned he was a dead loss.

It is not enough just to stay in power, & let the unions loose. Government must do at least a little for the people. He was a back seat driver, & did not do that too well either.

Give the man a break. He hasn't even started the job yet
and already the knives are out.
How pathetic.

Lexi,
when you prepare dinner you bring the knives out before you eat don't you ?

He hasn't even started the job yet
and already the knives are out.
Lexi,
What then makes Tony Abbott a fair target in your mentality ? You've already condemned him long before Carr yet Abbott's still got some time to go.

Yes Imdi, and Abbott was a minister in our most successful government of recent times.

The trouble with Lexi and Co, is that no matter how bad labor get, they just can't admit to it and simply because of their inability to change.

When we mention an election, they often come back with, we only have one term to wait and see what happens, yet, when it comes to giving the coalition a go, it's a straight out NO.

They will never change.

No reason for change, the noalition have the 1% in their pocket. The 1% are funding the push against the carbon price, admitted by Palmer.
His share is not big enough, it's a dangerous situation, don't you think so Butch.
Abbott will get torn to shreds over that one. He is being commanded by Palmer.

199,000 Job ads for the 5.3.12
The noalition are going to cop a lot of flack over the latest row. Abbott is taking orders from the nations wealthiest people.
This is why he has been talking up the carbon price, he is under instructions.
And denies nothing, that is not going to go down to well. He is a 1% commando.

The quicker we get Turnbull the better of the coalition will be.
Toni is stuttering badly today, he is trying to explain why he is taking orders from mr Palmer.
Pledges in blood, no, crap, will be the downfall of mr abbott.

579,
ANOTHER RECORD, YOU'VE HIT A NEW LOW TODAY.

579, even KRudd suggested the $23 per ton was to high.

A trading scheem perhaps, but just another tax grab, no thanks.

As for jobs, pull your head out of the sand and see what's happening in the 'non mining ' world.

when no mean's know
so now know

no mean know

I don't think it matters what mr rudd says.
The 1% coalition is at it again. Having conferences with the elite business billionares.
Big Joe is not well favored with business, probably got something to do with figures.
It doesn't matter how much money you have you only get one vote.

579, an additional tax, any tax, is quite simply another expense that business has to find.

Now there are several ways to find this additional expense.

Out of profits. I doubt this will happen.

Cut consumables, can't see that happening, if anything, this tax will increase consumables.

About the only avenue to cut costs, to make up for the tax, is to shed staff.

On the one hand government is going to impose this tax.

On the other they are going to give SOME of it back. But the rest is going to be a burden on business.

Make no mistake, this tax will filter down and will cost jobs.

It's about as certain as night following day, as they say.