o sung wo! do not put your self down, and do not be overly concerned about the signs of ageng, you are as bright as any of us.
I think I need to make this clear, and in doing so, for a short time divert my own thread.
Labor in my view has jumped many fences to be where voters want them.
And left much behind, I approve of both actions.
The NSW FILTH, and Rudd,s fate, the HSU, by implication, Gillard all her own work, take Labor to its lowest point in 40 years.
That will stick, be thrown back at us for decades.
Unions must not control my party, they have work enough raising membership, and alway bring pain when controlling the party.
Labors policy,s include great ones, history will see greatness in saying sorry, NDIS, Gonsky, Carbon reduction, Pensions and education.
BUT my friend Lexi, Abbott is not playing a roll, dislike of him will not match distrust of Unions/NSW FILTH/give me a word that better describes those ugly filthy Labor power brokers and mates who stole from NSW and saw Labors task to ever be trusted again almost imposable!
PICKET THEM! let the same rank and file who would be marched from work sites to scream abuse if THE FILTH had been a company.
Rechtub, you here as is your usual, look for policy,s you golden halo wearers are not intending to use!
What do you think you are getting?
Abbott,s policy is to reward firms who cut emissions, and to fund some to do it, he plans to plant that many trees to do it he will need to plant some at sea! we do not have enough land.

I am not sure my words have been enough to convince some that Labor is gone.
How many understand we once held every state and territory?
How many saw QLD fold?
And my very early warnings about the FILTH that was NSW/Sussex Street Labor?
Remember seeing the SNAIL TRAIL? left by a Sussex Street tool as he stepped down leaving his senate seat for Carr? [ must have steam cleaned that seat!]after being the general behind Rudd,s knifing? ANY ALP voter still believing other than Rudd wish for reform drove him from office should consider getting out more.
Why would the federal election, showing the same polling, be different that those states.
Yet a Victory is there for Labors taking.
IF after the defeat Union control is stopped, if branches stop being the private property of slugs.
IF labor is to re connect with those it constantly ignores , the very folk they claim to represent it should bar the suit wearing slugs who infest it.
Voters wanted Rudd they got Gillard, evidence the party thinks it need not hear the voice of its people.

Dear Belly,

Many thought that the minority government wouldn't
last. It has. It will have served its full term of
3 years. Also the collapse of trust in politics is
a defining feature of our current political culture
driven largely by the ruthless exploitation of the
Abbott Oppostion. As a result there are declining
levels of trust in most aspects of our entire
political system, including the media and its role
in reporting on it.

Historically Julia Gillard's Prime Ministership
will be seen as an unusually active and reforming
period in Australian public policy. Her legislative
achievements have not translated into public understanding
let alone support.

But when you have big media, big business, and big money,
against you, it is difficultd to get any kind of message out.

Labor depserately needs to become more open, transparent, and
democratic. But Labor knows this, a Committee of wise men,
one of which was Bob Carr, told it so back in 2010.
Let us hope that they will eventually listen.
Sooner rather than later.

Betty - For what its worth, algae in the oceans is infinitely more significant as a CO2 to O2 conversion factory than trees. Personally I prefer to live around trees even if they aren't quite as efficient as algae. I wouldn't lose too much sleep however about your favourite mob of bloodsucking parasites losing their way, the problem certainly restricted to the ALP. If truth be told, **NONE** of the present political breed have a clue. If perchance you can put aside the ALP devotion for a few minutes you might find the new thread 'Clive Palmer slams' enlightening. The video of a recent media interview is extremely impressive, in fact I can't recall a more inspiring contender in living memory.

Lexi "a defining feature of our current political culture
driven largely by the ruthless exploitation of the
Abbott Oppostion"

I sow wish you were joking but suspect that you are serious.

It goes back much further than that. Richo's whatever it takes mentality has been with us for a long time.

Abbott has his team have been fortunate to have a government that's an easy target with plenty of obvious stuff ups and failures and little if any for most people to see by way of benefit from the reportedly record number of pieces of legislation they have passed.

Rudd was fortunate in the previous governments poor handling of industrial relations reform. That stuff up on Howards part was exploited ruthless by Labor and the unions in a very successful negative campaign. Likewise a few other issues where Howards unwillingness to pay lip service to the issue created an opportunity even if the real outcomes were no different. The apology and Climate Change being two that come to mind.

The coalition are not the first opposition to ruthlessly exploit the failings of a government nor are they likely to be the last.

R0bert

Dear RObert,

As political commentators have pointed out:

In politics a degree of rhetorical flourish and a
pinch of hyperbole is to be expected. As is holding
the governmentd to account. However when the whole
basis of an Opposition campaign is a lie about a lie, then
the bar is not being set very high.

There is a gulf of difference between a broken promise
in the context of altered circumstances and a deliberate
decision to mislead. As such, to accuse the PM of lying
and to argue that the carbon pricing scheme is based on
a deliberate pre-meditated lie in itself displays some
towering mendacity. That it has persisted for so long and
spawned the meme "Juliar" (a term used only by the
ignorant, and spiteful) says more about Mr Abbott's
guile and ability to manipulate the facts for his own
destructive ends than it does about the PM's trustworthiness.

And as I asked earlier, what about Mr Abbottt telling
SkyNews in 2009 that, "if you want to put a price on
carbon why not just do it with a simple tax?" or
claiming that the cost of a lamb roast will soar to $100,
whole towns and industries will disappear and that our
entire economy will be laid to waste.

By all means lets have a discussion but lets stick to the
facts. I am sick and tired of the beat ups in the tabloid
press misrepresenting things and not giving a balanced
account. If the Opposition wants to hold the government to
account - it too needs to be placed under scrutiny and
have a blow-torch placed on some of the nonsense it
espouses. The collapse in trust in politics is a defining
feature of our current political culture - driven largely
by the kind of negative politics that has characterised the
carbon debate. And for the the Opposition is solely
responsible.