Dear Belly,

Minor parties try to keep the bastards in the major parties honest. Big parties fracture and contain people who build personal empires rather than concern themselves with the general welfare. I know you hate the Greens. Could it be that the Greens have the dedication that the Labor Party once had but doesn't have any more? Somebody like Graham Richardson would have no place in the Greens. We have some of the feeling that the Labor Party had once but will be unlikely to regain. We have no moneybags like Clive Palmer. We don't have a rural power base like Bob Katter. We want to preserve the environment so Australia will be a livable place for future generations. That's bad, huh?

david f - Quote "We want to preserve the environment so Australia will be a livable place for future generations."

Labor have destroyed the economic lifestyle for the current generation, there was not enough money to give pensioners a decent raise, there was nothing to lift the people on welfare from below the poverty line (although some do not deserve it bludgers).
We still have tens of thousands homeless (not 1 homeless refugee.)

The economic invaders are not to blame for everything but they are a considerable contributing factor, the real problem is Labor incompetence and the repercussions of the deals they made with Independents and Greens to stay in power.

Philip S

I think you'll find that refugee migrants tend to be happy to have a roof over their heads. Their community is far more likely to house people in crowded conditions so that they're not out on the street - unlike the locals who may put someone up for a while, but turf them eventually.

So refugee families are often living three to four families in small apartments so that they can access support in particular communities. I suppose you would come back and say that that behaviour creates ghettos...you might be right, but if a refugee chose to range to a wider community choice, he or she would be confronted with no support from a xenophobic public, like the ones who abound on OLO.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-05/numbers-of-homeless-rise-but-rough-sleepers-on-decline/4735160

....A deep not well informed and getting worse display comes from my mate.

Belly, I told you that Gillard would take Rudds job, you laughed.

So, if Rudd does not take the top job, or, he leaves politics, perhaps then you could consider me as, less il informed.

We will know by weeks end.

He is labor's only hope, not of winning, but of saving more than just a cricket team.

Another tip, if labor changes to Rudd, I suspect the libs will change to Turnbul.

A few months ago, on an earlier thread, I suggested that both Rudd and Gillard should be expelled as soon as possible from the Labor Party, and it should immediately begin the huge task of trying to understand what it stood for, and to re-build, perhaps in time for an election before, say, 2025.

Seriously, if both Rudd and Gillard win back their seats in September, and are still in the shambles of the Party, picking their way over the wreckage like survivors of a carpet bombing, won't they leap at each others' throats as soon as they see each other across the rubble ? Can the Party remnants re-group if they are both still prowling around ?

The Labor Party needs clear air. They both must go. Perhaps Abbott could offer each of them junior positions in our Mongolian and Malawi embassies, once all the court cases over the AWU slush fund are over.

Joe

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/unions-set-to-abandon-julia-gillard-their-floundering-skipper/story-fni0cx12-1226666542549
First the black dog, I may start a thread, but a well wisher linked it to what? manic depression?
Some of this worlds greatest suffer from Depression, in all fields.
But it in no way has any effect on intellect, some think it is a side issue it is not..
o sung wo yesterday and this morning that black dog had me in its hold, never mate ever give in.

Link? I value Kevin Rudd first.
But any minute or hour in the next week, could see Shorten take Gillards job.
So bill and as information to readers here are some words for you.
My single best skill as a unionist was hearing and understanding my members words.
Knowing many of them had never voted Labor.
And even more many ignored our on the stump t gee up to vote Labor.
Many of them are generations past my youths lifestyle, hunger and moving from town to town just so dad could find work.
Yet until you Bill, my hero, dumped Rudd, with my life love the AWU I had hopes.
Long gone the dream we could give freely welfare and government housing to every one.
But faith my party was in its self, moving toward changes we could sell to voters.
Bill we are about to leave office, with great achievements and greater policy,s behind us
To be smashed with the wrecking ball Tony Abbott.
We can blame no one but us, unable to choke down the failure Gillards is, you too my ex hero.
And unable to stop the rights dash away from our party, its clearly shown ownership of the party, its refusal to hear our membership.
Yet Bill you are a brilliant bloke, who can lead us for a very long time.
If you understand it is time not for you but Rudd.
Time for my ALP to say sorry, we got it wrong.