Belly,

Here's an interesting article from 2009, written in the wake of Abbott becoming Opposition leader.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/the-accidental-leader-how-abbott-won-20091205-kbc8.html

"But he was also partly serious. Minchin had not expected Abbott to win. Nobody had expected Abbott to win. Not even Abbott. Contrary to widespread impressions in the media, Minchin did not even want Abbott to win."

"Minchin wanted to install the avuncular Joe Hockey instead."

LOL You are desperate to attack Abbott.

Meanwhile Kevin13 is confronted by continuing Labor Party fraud and scandal with branch stacking.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/rudd-tied-in-knots-as-branch-stacking-scandal-escalates/story-fni0cx12-1226680415604

The Left know how flakey Kevin Rudd is and worry that the support for him is superficial and will evaporate when voters with pencil stubs in hand remember how the Ruddy reality of 2008-10 returned in '13.

otb,

This thread is titled "What Does Mr Abbott Stand For?"

So far, none of you LNP supporters have been able to tell me anything on that score.

Thought so......

(Lol)

Branch stacking fraud is endemic to Labor. So much for Kevin13's 'reforms'.

Branch stacking occurred under Gillard too. It is a regular event,

<Labor's Ethnic Branch-Stacking Cancer
March 4, 2013

The ALP's genuine western Sydney branch members are being undermined by power games.

Which way for Labor? Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Sydney's west.

Julia Gillard is in western Sydney this week, where there is a tectonic shift in political loyalties.

At the 2011 NSW election, the people of Smithfield elected an Iraqi-born Liberal.

The current Liberal MP for Granville is a Maronite from Lebanon.

Last year, a Muslim Arab became the Liberal mayor of Liverpool, having earlier left the Labor Party in disgust.

Two neighbouring branches have been stacked with 300 new members. They are almost all Lebanese Sunnis. Their sole task is to unseat sitting MP Barbara Perry – herself a Lebanese Australian - at the next pre-selection. There's no secret here – 46 of the new members share the surname of the man who covets the seat. Labor's head office knew this when it approved these new members.

Incidentally, South and East Asians outnumber Lebanese in Auburn by more than five to one. They are all but unrepresented in the stacked branches.
...
People outside Labor find it hard to conceive, but legitimate branch members are held in contempt by the factions. Unlike MPs, their staff, and union officials, they are not ''players''.

They hold normal jobs in the real world, but their life experience and self-sufficiency counts against them. They aren't trusted because they don't have skin in the game.

Veteran reform advocate and senator John Faulkner condemns this perverse calculus, saying ''grassroots members are an afterthought and for many in the machine, an inconvenience''.

For power brokers, branch members are like speed humps on a country road – they don't influence the vehicle's direction, they simply make the journey irritating.>

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/labors-ethnic-branchstacking-cancer-20130304-2fgmw.html

Poirot,

Again you are being deliberately disingenuous. No matter how you try and wiggle, you need the IQ of a squirrel not to understand the difference between Slipper and TA.

Slipper was not being investigated for incorrectly claiming expenses, (which is covered by Minchin protocol), he was being investigated of falsifying documents or Fraud.

TA's trips for which he repaid the money were not solely for promoting his book, but included legitimate government business. Notably Finance had no problem with his expense claims until it was raised by an external party.

You have also failed to respond to Juliar's $140 000 use of the government jet solely for non government business.

Poirot hope you find SM comment as funny as I do.
Slipper had what was it 9 terms in the house serving Libs/Nats and Abbott at his wedding.
No way around that.
Just a thought if both wed that day who would be the best ,man?