2014 is shaping up to be a cracker of a year for Kevin. His humiliation at being dumped in favor of Gillard was palpable, his hostility and behavior towards the ALP and the Union leadership, was evidence that his feelings remained very raw.

There was some gratification for Kevin when Gillard was removed in his favor for the last election, but was this enough to sate his desire for retribution? Or did this fuel more self righteous indignation?

He was never on the “inner” with the union’s and as a consequence, nor was he with the ALP. Whether or not Kevin “engineered” the developing scenario might never be known but he is likely to be the only one pleased by emerging events.

Bill Shorten not only represents everything that hurt him, but also the trade union power behind that pain. Did Kevin see the loss to the LNP at the last election as inevitable, was he sure that a win for the LNP would throw up a Royal Commission into the trade unions, did he recognize that a RC will be an open wound for the Union/ALP entity right through to the next election with potentially destructive consequences for many?

If so, might that be part of his motivation to lock in his tormentors to a full term of torture by changing the leadership election process?

“Revenge is a meal best eaten cold” and for Kevin this would be a seven course feast.

Whilst he was very much controlled by factional policy influence whilst in office, I suspect as a career politician he has amply demonstrated the cunning, devious and strategic management of his career progress.

Shorten faces a torrid time in opposition as the RC exposes the infrastructure and processes that bind the ALP to the unions. Just how many other ALP MP’s, union leaders and potentially a wide range of other players might get drawn in is yet to be seen however, I can think of only one person of the ALP that will delight in proceedings.

Kevin Rudd!

Kevin who??

The dud is gone. Please, let's just forget him!

Mr Menzies House/spindoc getting worried are we?
You can do much better than that!
Tell you what here is a tip re look at your party,s founder, in case you are unaware your workplace is named after him.
Look at his views on a workers rights and trade unionism.
Then his support for Australian good/services/ and industry's.
Not tickling you bloke just trying to help a friend get out of a form slump.

Isn't that useless, incompetent, egoistic, narcissist moron supposed to be out of our lives by now ? Isn't it sad enough we have to keep that parasite for the rest of our lives ?
For crying out loud stop mentioning this idiot.

SM I am here to admit I got it wrong.
Yes again, my earlier gloat that Abbott's polling would be bad all year was wrong.

Bill Shorten, by putting his power base *right wing unions* before his voters has hurt the party.
His feeble and quite gutless defense of the CFMEU and bent unions this mornings polls show, has given Abbott his mandate for just about any thing he wants.
Labor must reform or die. at the hands of its own power brokers who stall accountability.
ALP voters must not hide our wrongs, but demand it is us who uncovers and acts first on them, voters are not fools.
Blind loyalty is blind stupidity

The real story here is how a man who gets a magnificent tax payer funded pension way before the rest of us get our pension, is just so greedy.
Now he has, like so many ALP heavies, gone the "charity" route.
What that really means is pontificating, smarmy and unctuous attitude whilst avoiding tax.
New law should be no pension until you are at the same age as the rest of us have to be or you pay extra tax on your total income. Also no special little deals for judges etc.
The absolute unprincipled greed of the public service is a national disgrace.

Hi Belly,

Your dislike of TA clouds your judgment. I don’t know how so many from the left face each day when you wake up every morning with so much poison on your minds.

You have the audacity to point to TA for not serving the interests of “workers rights and trade unions”. Whilst the trade union leadership rips a cool $1.0m of the AWU members, Thompson takes $100,000 of the HSU members cash out of ATM’s, a further $30,000 for prostitutes and personal travel/entertainment. Williamson was caught doing a roaring trade with $20.0M of other peoples money, mostly HSU union members.

Thompson and Williamson also did a great job on money laundering $650,000 of HSU members money through Platinum Amex cards issued through the unions printing company, Gillands.

The CFMEU looks likely to have been using member contributions for internal union elections, paying bribes and funding illegal contracts.

In all this there has been NO complaints from union leaders on behalf of their members. The members just have to sit there an take it.

TA has demonstrated his concerns for membership monies going “walkabout” by calling a Royal Commission. That is called taking action to support workers rights and trade union memberships.

When are Bill Shorten and Co, along with the “blind faith, blind stupidity” followers like you going to ring, email fax your side of politics and tell them to do their job in protecting workers?

Bagging out the government for your lack of backbone is grand hypocrisy. Do something yourself to stop your people ripping off their own.

spindoc sorry bloke meant this link for the live SM one he deserved the I am sorry.
Bloke we clash often yet find a mutual respect for each other.
As that is the case would you mind reading the rest of this post,and judge me on it.

'I never ever can get on with JBower and take his post as aimed at me!
And a foul thing it is!
Once I would have launched into him .
But explore that post who if not me is it aimed at?
I started full time work at 12 years and ten months of age.
Had missed more school than I attended for most of the years before that.
See large country family we miss a lot more meals than we should have.
So ten bob[ten shillings] earned for helping mix cement was food in the house.
22 years on the RTA settled my wandering around from job to job.
And my passion for fair go in the work place saw me work up to eight more unpaid hours a day writing letters or publishing news letters , yep me! but I had a helper, in the end I got a bloke to prof read it first.
Worked sat and sunday unpaid long days faxing and readying others for mail outs.
Continued.

For reasons I can not go in to during almost all of my RTA working life I was raring a siblings kids we, mum but mainly me, paid for that.
But knowing I wanted to be the first to own a home in my mob[I got there!] I banked hard in my super fund on top of employers contribution.
Age 55 mentally dead as a result of working for public service I threw myself into an unknown blackness, driven by the black dog I took a redundancy.
Frightening for a man on his own and one never happy without a job
Legal for all at that age I bought my house.
Then got an unexpected job offer and again as legal, put $200 a week in to my super on top of my boss the union.
So in time for much the same reasons *finding my boss to be as he remains today a rude half wit only half committed to union member ship I left* black dog came with me,not wagging its tail.
So having worked from 12 years ten months to just short of 66 am I a bludger?
I hesitate reporting JBower, rarely have I ever done that.
I have been around others who do,*without doubt* troll.GY must weary of me,And others for crossing the line.
I await poor old JB showing me some one else was the target.
And remind every poster we all are not saints but surely we do have limits.
I am the new Belly and will not let myself explain to anyone again what I think of them unless in praise, be happy for that JB.

spindoc sorry read your post after my two.
Seems you spin your self in to a head spin over little things mate.
Find me a poster more insulted by Shortens gutless betrayal of the trade union movement.
He had a chance to be the fixer but took the stand Labor voters are stupid and he can tell us anything.
Too know if a hangman is needed for Tomson and the NSW Parliamentary filth I bags the job.
And if it helps I do not just dislike Abbott its his whole front bench too!~

Belly seems to have egg on face. He might care to comment on the maiden speech of Sen. John Madigan which to me made a lot of sense. Labour needs workers and workers need a voice.If unions are 'on the nose' they have none. Has Labour any chance of drawing an electoral majority without enlisting the various right of centre bloc which includes Family First D.L.P etc?

UNWILEY
Like others read posts before commenting can be so wrong.
Read my thread CFMEU Ostrich then re read yours here.
PS are you friend to J Bower?
I await a reply was that post JB,s directed at me, if not who.

I wait still for a reply and see J Bower is on line here now.

At truth exists than can not be ignored.
Understanding and the ability to think clearly is not a given for some who post here.
I add to my list,a short one,of folk it is best to ignore.

I am not stalking any one, but highlight the charge,supported by a sock puppet? against me here are wrong.

No use kidding if asked almost all of us could question the metal health of at least one poster.
So I will retreat fromthe thread having given ample chance to answer a question.
We,every one of us, can do better than assault in a verbal fashion those we disagree with.

Hi Belly,

It seems you have faced a great number of challenges in your life, may I express my sympathies.

I guess we are all conditioned by life’s experiences and these tend to make us defensive as a means of self preservation. We react to situations that represent previous angst and your staunch support of your values is a true reflection of from whence you came.

You have picked so many fights with posters its hard to pick a point on which to respond.

I started this thread to highlight the challenges I think the ALP and Unions face. The RC will do what it will do for good, bad, indifferent and politically. It seems clear that it will be going for some time and has no upside for the ALP/Unions.

The scenario I set was that the ALP has a leader that is now in the RC firing line and thanks to Kevin’s changes to leadership election processes, the ALP is stuck with that leader.

These changes were presented to the electorates as a move to “democratize” the ALP and to avoid public perception that multiple changes of leadership at the behest of factional groups was not a good look. They are now stuck between battling it out with Shorten at the helm or changing the rules yet again to be rid of him.

I note your gradual transition to vilification of those you see as responsible for damaging the Union movement, these include ALP MP’s and many trade union officials.

To criticize your own is admirable and realistic however, like so many of your beloved union members and so many grass roots ALP members, you are impotent. You have no voice, no power and have been completely disenfranchised from your own movements by parasitic elites who now control and abuse the memberships.

This my friend, is what will be exposed and fixed by the RC and regardless of any political or legal fallout, it has the potential to give you back your rights. Sadly, there may be little left to support or vote for.

spindoc I can not lie or can I truly read you.
IT IS apparent from your posts you do not often read others, your claims against me up the thread are just silly, see CFMEU thread.
I am a happy type and have few enemy's, however an ex work, lets not say mate, haunts me here, he once produced a far right mag telling us Hitler is alive and well on Mars, no true.
Can you get your head around this, very nearly half of our country votes Labor.
Yet spin master that you are you blindly condemn us all.
I can not take the silly, maybe based on an illness? hurled at me here, by one provocateur.
Had my boss not been the product of unwed parents would have worked till death, no free loader here bloke.

Dear Belly,

I have once again extended to you an olive branch of compassion, understanding, sympathy and unconditional acceptance of your personal circumstances. Your responses have their origins in your own pain, confusion and your animosity towards those who have damaged your own value/moral allegiance.

I cannot offer you any further relief from the pain you are suffering. I am reluctant to “go Hard” because of your declarations in relation to your background issues. I will not go beyond this point.

I’m sad for you, I’m also sad that so many of those to whom you have offered your unconditional allegiance to have “pooped on you”.

There is little OLO’ers can do for you. Don’t give up, don’t let those who convert your support into personal gain get to you. I might not agree with your sentiments, I might not support your reasoning, but I absolutely recognize your right to feel the way you do.

Belly, the “sides” of politics do not negate compassion for those who support the opposition in times of strife. Respect for those in opposition has its roots in differences of opinion. Respect for opposition goes well beyond the boundaries of politics, it goes to the very heart of humanity. Respect is earned, not demanded.

You have earned respect, not because you are right or because I am right, but because we stand by the principles we hold dear to our hearts.

Don’t let ideological differences divide humanity