I've been watching both "The Insiders," and ABC News
this morning - fascinated with the events that
unfolded.

An election has been called. May 21st 2022. Voters will
now have to decide between Scott Morrison or Anthony
Albanese as their Prime Minister. The ABC tells us that
"both men have spent part of their lives in politics, but
come May 21st one will be PM and the other will likely face
the end of his political career."

It's pointed out that "Scott Morrison heads to the election
as the first PM since John Howard more than 14 years ago to
serve a full term as a nation's leader. The man trying to
stop him from securing the Coalition a 4th term is Labor's
Anthony Albanese, a 26 year veteran of the federal
government."

What do we really know about both men? One is probably
better known to voters than the other. Does that mean that
one has a better chance of winning? "The devil you know...?"

Interesting times ahead.

Foxy: "Voters will now have to decide between Scott Morrison or Anthony
Albanese as their Prime Minister."

Hmm, nope. ScoMo is not a president and this is not a presidential vote. People vote for a representative of *their* electorate to represent *them* in parliament.

a 26 year veteran of the federal
government."
Foxy,
Imagine the massive Super he'll be on even if he doesn't become PM. Good lurk alright for actually doing nothing but criticise Scomo & the others over these years !

thinkabit
In theory you're right, but not in practice;
I wouldn't vote for a SocMo supporter to represent me in my electorate.

As thinkabit says; as I have said on occasion, only about 100,000 voters in Morrison's electorate will decide his fate; similarly for Albanese. It is not inconceivable that both could get the flick. The party rooms, not the voters decide who the PM will be. This is something the wannabe republicans never mention: we do not get to choose our leader.

Compare them? Ok
Well I compare them to a feces sandwich.
It doesn't matter which half of the sandwich you choose.
- Both sides are shite -

Actually we do elect the PM - albeit indirectly - by voting for the party he/she represents in the hope they will get a majority of seats in the Lower House.

I think the Republican model that was discussed last time was that a President would be elected by members of Parliament, unlike the Governor General who is directly appointed by the Prime Minister.

Despite the media hype it shouldn't be a celebrity-type popularity contest between two contestants but about policies that benefit the nation.

Imperfect as it is, that's the system we have.

I'm quietly confident THE GREENS will pick up another 75 seats and form government with my mate Bernard as PM. Bernard spends every weekend down at the local markets with his signs, if comittment wins government Bernard is a shew-in. Big Clive will lead the "Oppression" from across the floor.

The ads are coming to enlighten us all on the hot political issues of today.

There will be Daggy Dad at the BBQ, whilst Jan and the girls wait patently for a burnt snag. That ad will cover most of the economic issues.

Then, "Hi, and hi again, I am Albo, you don't know me, but I have been in the parliament for 147 years, I have a Boys Scout merit badge, if you vote for me, I will vote for you." That should win em over.

Then there was yesterday Barnyard texting Big Nose in NSW; "The bastards called an election, now I have to go and tell the media how much I love him, singing.... I love him, I love him, and where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I will follow him......he makes me sick!"

We DO NOT elect the PM, indirectly or otherwise. People we elect cannot be removed from the job as the PM or Opposition Leader as they often are by their parties. The same applies to Ministers - or we wouldn't have the idiots who get the jobs given to them. We vote for a party, or an independent if one is available. If Morrison or Albanese were to be voted out by their electorate, either party could still form a government, with a new leader, chosen BY THE PARTY, as has occurred several times.

I would like to see both the PM and Opposition Leader both get voted out by their electorates, giving the parties a chance to pick us a decent leader - something we have not had for years. I would have thought that the bumholes we keep getting would have been used by the republicans to show us that we need to elect a bumhole of OUR choice. Instead, they have some crackpot idea of a figure head president and a PM.

The meaningless 'preferred PM' polls give me the pip. It doesn't matter who we plebs prefer as PM when the party machines can whip them off us at the drop of a hat, without consulting us.

This is going to be hard to predict.

On the one hand we have a PM who all but
single-handedly led his party to win an election
few thought possible. Can he do it again?

Well, he's faced condemnation when taking a holiday
to Hawaii while Australia's east coast burnt. Not a
good look.

Then there were problems with the vaccine roll out
and lack of antigen tests when Omicron hit.

Party dis-unity and the recent personal attacks on him
from within the ranks does not help.

However, Russia invading Ukraine and China a threat -
Morrison appears to be doing well on national security.

If the Coalition loses the election - few would expect
the PM to continue as leader. Josh Frydenberg and Peter
Dutton will likely replace him as candidates for the
job.

Anthony Albanese on the other hand has spent just six
years out of 26 years in office on the government benches.
He's no stranger to federal politics. And he has spent
the past year trying to re-introduce himself to the
public - also with a new image.

People may have forgotten that he was a former deputy
PM during Kevin Rudd's stint as PM and the fact that
he's been on Labor's front bench for more than 2 decades.
He's kept a low profile however now we shall see more
of him and what he has to offer.

Whether it will be effective - we shall have to wait and see.

The ABC has been tracking both leaders. They predict that
it's the seats in WA, Northern Tasmania, Central Queensland,
suburban Brisbane, NSW South Coast and Western Sydney that
will determine who wins the election.

Is Albo loses - there will be a host of candidates waiting
in line to replace him.

Hi Foxy,

What do you mean? Its not the Melbourne Cup, its a two horse race, and besides 'Ladbrokes" will give you your money back in bonus bets if your nag runs second.

Check with Issy, he backed the winner each-way last time, after the race, got 10 to 1. Won himself a Goggomobile for his trouble, he's still racing that three wheeler around the backyard. One day he'll get in and have a drive for himself! See politics can be fun.

Just because you were born in England doesn't
mean you have to play cricket?

OOOOps - sorry - wrong thread.

To 'thinkabit'.
I also agree with you in principle.
But in practice, local representatives are chosen, even if indirectly, by the leadership team of a party.
They are chosen to represent its values and outlook.
They are effectively carbon copies of the leadership.
They vote unerringly in line with its recommendations.
Of the leadership team, we pay most attention to the leader of that team?
We see him as representing who they, and the rest of the party, are.
Quite reasonably we are guided by the leader's qualities when making a decision on how to vote.
So it does come down to assessing Morrison versus Albanese when deciding?
But we should also take the trouble to find out about the local hopeful?
We don't want to elect an absolute drongo, even if he is part of the team we want?

And then there's the Pauline Hansons......Thank God.

T paraphrase part of a speech of Paul Keating -
given decades ago:

" If we begin to allow fear, ignorance, or prejudice
govern us - it will not be you, or me, or our older
generation who will pay the greatest price. We'll
simply drop off the cart. It will be young Australians
who will have to ride it into the next century - and just
now they should be seriously planning the means by which
they can get hold of the reins."

Still relevant today.

Cheers for James Paterson and Peter Malinauskas.
Future hopefuls.

Here's Katharine Murphy's take on the recent politics
Australia News:

"Labor has a tendency to treat campaigns like a
conversation rather than a pitched battle, where, at the
end, there's one winner and one loser."

"Morrison never treats an election campaign like a
conversation. For him, elections are about nailing your
message, day in and day out - not treating the media
or the voters like they are grown ups."

"Albanese has an appearance problem with failing to recall
pertinent stats. Appearances do matter."

Then there's also the problem for Morrison of Alan Tudge.
Who's apparently both on and off the Front bench.

I've long believed that Australia has been run since the 1990s by the TNCs, the USA military, and whatever Washington DC administration is in power. Australian pollies are just puppets who do as they're told by their CIA minders for fear of video footage of them bu*g*ing boys and assorted animals during their most indiscreet USA-funded "holidays" being released to the media.

After all, during office hours they get up to jerking off on each others desks and the like; and if you can remember reports of what goes on in the Fed Parlt "prayer room" between sessions you'l know that's just the tip of a VERY odious iceberg. So what they do OUT OF office hours is probably only available on the most expensive porn channels. AND Australians PAY them for all of this!

So I don't believe a single word ANY of them say, and voting for me is just a matter of avoiding the fine for not doing so.

Makes life MUCH simpler and laid back.

It appears that for some conspiracy theories do abound
even when it comes to our politicians, elections, and
system of government.

We've heard so many of them. The Apollo moon landings
were faked, 9-11 was an inside job, climate change is
a hoax, JFK was assassinated by the CIA, the earth is
flat, the pharmaceutical industry is supressing a cure
for cancer, vaccines cause autism, Princess Diana was
murdered by the royal family, Barack Obama was born in
Kenya and is secretly a Muslim, the world is ruled by
Jewish bankers. And so on.

It is easy to dismiss conspiracy theories as unhinged
beliefs by a small number of paranoid idiots, but that
seriously underestimates them. Belief in these theories
can become extremely influential and dangerous especially
if they grow.

Look at the damage that former US President has done to
the US. And here in Australia we have Pauline Hanson and
her ilk.

The conspiratorial mindset today is a liability when it comes
to dealing with important issues. It is a major obstacle to
reasoned debate and evidence-based action.

Hi Foxy,

All those theories are bunk, except one, the earth is FLAT! All the rest are crazy ideas, except the Moon landings were faked, and if you take a close lot at Obama, he looks Kenyan to me, haven't you noticed his left eye . Then there is Lady Di, that's gotta be true, and you can add in JFK and the CIA that's a given. We all know 9-11 was an inside job, how else did the planes get inside the buildings. As for climate change its a well known fact its all a commie plot! You know you can't trust Big Pharma. Jews, well we all know about THEM! Muslims don't even mention the word, they spend all day getting up to no good, planting pork chops in synagogues and other evils!

Hi Paul,

Seriously, we're really one of the best countries
in the world to live in. That's why so many want to
come here. There's so much on offer here. We should
be grateful. And we now have the opportunity to
vote in the government we think will serve us best.
Can't complain.

one of the best countries in the world to live in.
Foxy,
Most of the good we're lucky enough to experience is generally due to luck & the legacy of European migrants !

individual,

I think it's due to so many things.
From our system of government, our values,
and our uniquely Aussie way.

No one told Albo it was a hurdle race, the poor bugger fell at the first obstacle.

Anyone backing Craig Kelly to retain his seat? Should be interesting.

Foxy,
Despite the spin, Morrison didn't "all but single-handedly lead his party to win an election".

There was indeed a swing against the ALP but there was also a swing against the Liberals too. What happened is that the Queensland LNP managed to get a large swing because of the Adani fiasco (how are those promised 10,000 jobs going by the way?) plus Palmer also took away ALP votes and gave the preferences to the Liberals, propping up some Liberal and National seats.

In the end Morrison picked up just one seat - hardly the surprise landslide that is usually touted and it was more a "Bradbury" win than a resounding statement of support by the voters.

This time we have the same oligarchs (Palmer, Reinhart and Murdoch) in play and it will be another uphill battle for the ALP but there are a number of skeletons in the Government closet yet to be discussed.

There are still many weeks left to go with potential stumbles for both sides despite Sky commentators and others already declaring a win for Morrison because of Albanese's stuff-up today.

According to Newspoll, the "preferred PM" poll is meaningless and is just a way of creating headlines and fodder for the media but in the end the result is always determined by a small group of undecided voters.

As one polly said many years ago, "always back self-interest. It's the only one trying".

Albozo had two questions on economics and jobs and cocked both of them up i.e. the cash rate and the unemployment rate.

This twit is not fit to run the country.

> the result is always determined by a small group of undecided voters.

Wrong! The result is determined by the computer at the Australian Electoral Commission. All over the country, groups of dedicated vote-counters beaver away in every electorate totalling up local votes, then send them to the AEC.

The AEC then feeds them into their computer. NOBODY knows what goes INTO the computer. The best anyone can manage is some idea of the local count. EVERYONE is told what comes OUT of the computer.

But how does WHAT GOES IN relate to WHAT COMES OUT? The only people who know THAT are those who wrote the software.

It is, of course, an AMERICAN computer, and its software is a CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET. An AMERICAN secret guarded by AMERICANS!

So guess who decides who wins Orstrayun elections?

Anyway, it really makes no difference. No matter WHO you vote for, all you'll ever get is an Orstrayun!

As much as I abhor Albo and his leftism, I think the hooha about his inability to come up with the unemployment figure is boorish and uncalled for. I doubt that the media clown who asked it could retain every little bit of information that some richard head like himself called for during the election frenzy.

The unemployment figure is not an election issue. It is low, not because of any political genius, but because of the halt in mass immigration, which both parties of bludgers will start up again ASAP. Mass immigration is what the dipstick media should be interrogating candidates on, not smartarse let's-make-fun-of-Albo trivia.

And, as if we needed anymore clowns here, we now have another one telling us that computers decide elections. The same poster who tried to palm off on us a fake video.

> telling us that computers decide elections.

Not computers, dummy! The PEOPLE who write the SOFTWARE!

Dear Foxy,

There really isn't much to compare.

One seems like a decent bloke with some good policies the other is the incumbent and widely considered to be completely untrustworthy, a bully, and incompetent.

The result shouldn't be in doubt but with the support of Morrison of the Murdoch media empire run by a foreigner and help from an obscene billionaire who will spend 10s of millions of dollars duping Australians to side against Albo this will be a close election.

Quite depressing really.

Even the normally level-headed Terry Barnes thinks that Albo 'made a goose of himself' by not knowing the unemployment figure.

But, no. It is the media doing all the honking.

Zbygnyu,

Same thing, dummy.

> Same thing, dummy.

Ah, I SEE! Computer = Person.

Pure Transhumanism, at its worst. You're obviously a machine yourself, with that level of "logic".

Zbygnyu,

What I meant to say: it's the same type of conspiracy theory that you seem to relish. Your sort of comedy act could be a relief from from stale nutters already here.

> Your sort of comedy act could be a relief from from stale nutters already here.

Well, thanks indeed for the compliment. But seriously, all Albo needs is a software upgrade. He's an early model and the code may be wearing out.

The grubs from the ABC with ads, Chanel 9, couldn't even get John Howard to side with them. When asked to comment on Albo's lack of knowledge on a trivial matter, Howard replied, "Alright. So what?

As with all tiresome electioneering periods, the most irritating and silly participants will be the media.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

There's a couple of quotes that may be relevant:

1) We don't get governments by the majority.
We have governments by the majority who participate.
(Thomas Jefferson).

2) Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don't
vote.
( George Jean Nathan).

3) Not voting is not a protest.
It is surrender.
(Keith Ellison).

As you can tell - voting to me is very important.
I firmly believe in having my say and I also believe
that little by little people can achieve great things.
Drop by drop even mountains can be changed.

SteeleReflux claims that Albozo is a good guy with good policies.

Funny, for a proposed PM with a far-left socialist background and bugger all concept with economics I would struggle to find anyone less qualified.

As for policies, Labor after the last election when Labor's policies pissed off too many voters, is running on such a small target profile that Labor is essentially a policy free area.

shadowminister,

Which of the Labor leader's policies do you object to
please be more specific?

And how do you know what his economic knowledge is?
He has a Bachelor of Economics and one of his
portfolios dealt with infrastructure - regional.
He's been a deputy PM during Kevin Rudd's stint as
PM and he'd been on Labor's front bench for 2 decades.

He's no stranger to federal politics.

Slurring off at him personally does not do your credibility much
good. You have to do much better if you want to be taken
seriously. Also calling people derogatory names demeans you
more than anyone else.

Here is the information from both parties:

http://alp.org.au/we-stand-for/policies-and-commitments/

http://liberal.org.au/our-plan

Sorry ttbn, one of Albo's major policies is more jobs.

How the hell is he going to judge if it's working if he doesn't know the starting point.

How the hell is he going to know if it is a worth while objective, if he has no idea of the present employment rate.

He has quickly proved he is an empty vessel, simply taking up space.

Surely others remember him sitting in the ABC tally room, looking like a stunned mullet, muttering "it's early days yet" continually, until some minders came & got him out of there, before he could make an even greater fool of himself. He had gone there expecting to be basking in the glory of victory, & couldn't readjust to the reality of defeat.

He couldn't face reality then, & is definitely no better today. Bet he actually believes windmills can save us from a nonexistent CO2 problem. Like Biden, too thick to be allowed out alone, or have any idea of which way is up.

How the hell does Labor chose these people. Whitlam, Krudd, Gillard, & now this dill. If it weren't there in history for all to see, you wouldn't believe they could do such a dreadful job of picking leaders, continually.

Hasbeen, the starting point isn't the unemployment rate; that's just the minority of people without jobs who think applying for a Centrelink payment isn't more trouble than it's worth.

The real key to getting more people into work is increasing the participation rate, and that means addressing the obstacles that are keeping people out of the workforce.
Obviously the cost of childcare is one of those obstacles.

Zbygnyu wrote: "Wrong! The result is determined by the computer at the Australian Electoral Commission. All over the country, groups of dedicated vote-counters beaver away in every electorate totalling up local votes, then send them to the AEC.

The AEC then feeds them into their computer. NOBODY knows what goes INTO the computer. The best anyone can manage is some idea of the local count. EVERYONE is told what comes OUT of the computer."

Well Zbygnyu is completely, utterly wrong.

I've worked as 2IC in my local electorate in the last two elections. The process is that people employed specifically for the task count each and every vote in the electorate. These people are broken into two groups who cross-check each other. Only when the two completely agree on the count, is it finally entered into the AEC computers. Before that everything remains local although preliminary counts are given to the AEC.

As 2IC I was able to check to make sure that the manual count completely agreed with the figures published by the AEC. Indeed, not only was I able to do that, I and others who controlled the count were REQUIRED to check. There is ZERO chance that the numbers used and published by the AEC don't agree with the final count. This same process happens in all 151 electorates.

Unfortunately, there are a number of people like Zbygnyu who, while not having the slightest idea how the count is done, have fabricated this notion that its all fixed. Equally unfortunately, there is zero chances of convincing these fools that their fantasies about the election are rubbish. But rubbish they are.

Dear mhaze,

Spot on for once.

I am starting to see this narrative playing strongly with the anti-vax pro-Trump crowd.

Having worked at a polling station before on election day my experience echoes yours. We went an hour over time trying to work through a discrepancy of just 2 votes which was finally resolved.

It is frightening to think this will get traction here but the drums are getting louder.

Thank You mhaze.

Hi Hasbeen,

You criticize Labor and the hiccup of Anthony Albanese
recently. However Housing advocates have accused the
PM of misunderstanding how the National Housing Finance
Investment Corp works. Scott Morrison claims to have
increased Commonwealth funding for the agency by $2 billion.
The community Housing Industry Association says the private
sector provides loans - not the government.

The PM was factually incorrect.

Anyone can make a mistake.

At the moment Labor leads in national polls and is the
slight favourite in most betting markets.

This could becauwse secure jobs tops the agenda with policy
changes across child care, aged care, climate change,
manufacturing, government contracts, stronger medicare, and
so on.

However after 3 terms Libs have been in office for 9 years
and where''s their big economic reforms, social policy
reforms, environmental agenda?

I guess Scott Morrison's path to victory depends on voters
casting their ballads on May 21st based on his promises for
the future, not the disasters of the past.

It's a choice.

Foxy,

There are a number of key economic indicators that are critical to future policies two of the most important are the unemployment rate and the cash rate. Anyone with his finger on the economic pulse of the nation would know these figures. Albozo was clueless and his guesses were so far off that for someone that is fighting the election on the cost of living and jobs he is a complete joke.

As for the link you provided Labor's "policies" is a wish list of what it wants to achieve with no details on how they are actually going to do it.

> I would struggle to find anyone less qualified.

Of COURSE! That's WHY HE'S THERE! Albo is the just the sort of clueless, factoid-challenged twit that no-one with an IQ above room temperature could EVER picture as a leader. You HAFTA VOTE for Scomo because at least he's got his tinnies in a row. Albo's still trying to figure out what a tinnie IS!

Problem is, anyone with an IQ higher than room temperature is, by definition, NOT an Orstrayun. And we're talking Centigrade here.

As I've ALREDDY explaned, the election result has ALREDDY been programmed into the AEC's American computer.

> As 2IC I was able to check to make sure that the manual count completely agreed with the figures published by the AEC.

Of COURSE they agree! But that's got Sweet Fanny Adams to do with what comes out the other end. It's like feeding a cow rotting offal and analyzing its droppings to find out why it died. It's the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (sc. Mad Cow Disease) in between that's to blame.

But don't try telling that to Orstrayuns. After all, they're the Clever Cuntry. Just a pity that they no longer own ENYOFIT!

Unreal, thanks for the info.

> Unreal, thanks for the info.

My pleasure, I'm sure!

Re Zbygnyu's response. As I said....

" Equally unfortunately, there is zero chances of convincing these fools that their fantasies about the election are rubbish. But rubbish they are."

I suspect some of these dills have zero understanding of the maths involved in these issues and zero understanding of how compilation of statistics works. Nonetheless they've (laughably!!) convinced themselves that they've uncovered some great conspiracy.

While working on the polls, I came across some of these morons. The thing that pissed me off the most was that some of them refused to actually put their ballot in the ballot box, thinking that they had confounded a great conspiracy. But this simply made the booth worker's jobs significantly harder trying to balance the the count. But at least they haven't had their vote counted. Its to the nation's benefit that they don't vote.

The Usual Suspects are on the 'Kool-Aid' again.

> Its to the nation's benefit that they don't vote.

It's six weeks for a reason, the most likely being that, the longer it drags on, the more fed up all will be with the endless "commentary" and speculation. They'll just want the damn thing to be FINISHED AND GONE THANK GAWD.

Probably Scomo by a short head, a more fractured "Opposition" consisting of a smaller Labour and sundry "Independents" too diverse to organize a REAL opposition, and then it'll be the next phase of the "pandemic" around September.

By then the correlation between booster jabs, severe to fatal heart conditions, and impaired lung and brain functions will be too obvious to ignore for those willing and able to access whatever reliable stats are still available. Forget ALL "projections" of future population-related "problems". The REAL problems will be a world population in accelerating decline, both numerically and functionally, along with new and unexpected events to accelerate the acceleration. There's a HUGE number to be gotten rid of before it's REALLY over.

Obviously the cost of childcare is one of those obstacles.
Posted by Aidan.

Yes Aidan & who is responsible for that? Remember the left having campaigns for years to increase the pay of child minders. Hell they even tried to change the description of child care to early education, & introduced degrees in baby minding, by another name of course.

Even the blind Freddies should have seen where it was going, but not the left. They always need the "unexpected" disastrous result of their stupidity to hit them in the face, & even then deny it was their fault.

It is just so depressing to think we might see this dill in the lodge, pity it is only a little less depressing that Morrison might be returned. Even more depressing the fact that with our damn fool compulsory voting, & even worse the preferential system, there is no chance that we won't get one of them.

How much more proof do some mutts need before they click that raising wages solves nothing, on the contrary !
More value for money is what's needed !

Nice try, Hasbeen, but if pay rates had continued to stay ridiculously low, there'd be the kind of problem we're seeing in age care, with place availability becoming an even bigger obstacle despite inadequate service quality.

If you really want to assign blame to a government, you should go with the one that favoured an overwhelmingly commercial childcare industry in the first place. I think that was Howard's first term, though I'm not entirely sure - it could even have been Keating.

And although I expect you to remain unconvinced, the importance of early childhood education is increasingly recognised. European studies have repeatedly shown it does lead to substantially improved outcomes in school. So it's not just about enabling parents to go out and work, though of course that does remain an important objective.

We've had dills in the lodge for so long it's unremarkable, and I think the current one remaining would be the worst outcome. But the preferential system is unequivocally a good thing - firstly it generally favours small parties because the big ones prefer to direct preferences to the small parties over each other. Secondly it encourages small parties and independents to run, knowing that doing so won't harm their cause by preventing their supporters from determining the outcome.

Aiden said "And although I expect you to remain unconvinced, the importance of early childhood education is increasingly recognised. European studies have repeatedly shown it does lead to substantially improved outcomes in school. So it's not just about enabling parents to go out and work, though of course that does remain an important objective."

Answer- That's why women used to stay home and look after the children. Personally if the government repackaged and published the same early childhood notes for parents rather than teachers/ minders then then both the cost and the education problems could potentially be solved- open education is becoming very popular. Both parents going to work have interesting social effects- it tends to push up housing prices caused both by the choices that are opened up and makes couples less likely to work through problems rather than working them through as well as an increase in the money that couples hold increases demand for a more constant supply of housing- also if divorce occurs two homes rather than one is now required. In effect allowing both parents to work probably causes more scarcity and inflation and hardship in the community than if only one parent worked- it also causes more turbulence in the relationships in the community leading to more mental illness- etc.

Also men and women in the same uncontrolled environment opens the potential for the instability caused by infidelity.

Last time under Labor childcare costs increased by nearly 65%? Is Labor going to undo its policies that increased the cost or are they just going to throw taxpayer money at it?

I guess Albozo will do the latter.

Childcare is so important and if a different funding
model would be provided by the federal government it
could mean so much for Australian families and the
economy.

Today many people regardless of where they live or their
politics are now realising that early childhood services
are actually a critical piece of social and economic
infrastructure. Childhood services support parents to
contribute to our society and to our economy in
meaningful ways and of course it provided children with
the early education they need to get the best start.

Today, two incomes are necessary for most people.
Past events have caused many people to question old
assumptions, and to value things we previously took for
granted.

It will be interesting to see which party can come up with
the best policies and whether they will really be implemented
or just simply promised to win an election.

As the old adage tells us - no matter who you vote for -
you'll always end up getting a politician. We can only hope
that the ones in leadership positions do have the vision
and are able to take action for the betterment of all our
futures. Hope springs eternal.

In the last week the Coalition has managed to hike the price of a loaf of bread by 20%, not to mention all the other cost of living increases, no worries with the Coalition policy of no real wage increase and a trillion dollar debt to be repaid. In a year they have added $80 to $100 to the cost of fuel per month for the average family. They doing well shonky!

So, some insipid mutts think that despite bush fires, floods & pandemic & add to this those silly mutts who, along with their opposition supporting bureaudroids sabotage Govt at every turn, think the show can go on without trying to re-fill the coffers ?

On a lighter note....
When I first saw the title of this article, I had to bite my mental tongue.
That was to stop myself from making some fatuous, and perhaps inappropriate, comment.
I switched my mind to Tv advertisements instead.

Hi IF,

Great to hear.

I do that all the time.

I'd probably get kicked off - if I posted my
first thoughts.
_________________________________________________________________

Anyhoo - back to the topic.

It's going to be hard to predict this election.
Even harder for me - who to choose to vote for.
Morrison is a great campaigner and it looks
like Albanese will be tested by attacks in all
directions.

Predicting a national trend is going to be difficult.
The pandemic seems to have given priority to state
authority and local identity. There appears to be no
uniform swing. It looks like being a seat by seat battle
where everything will turn on a few electorates and
candidates.

I find the seat of Wenworth interesting where Dave Sharma
is being challenged by Independent - Allegra Spender.
Daughter of the much loved fashion icon - Carla Zampatti.
An interesting challenger.

In the safe seat of Menzies - The Green candidate - Bill
Pheasant is stirring up some waters. Again another interesting
challenger.

Too hard to predict the end results.

I received the first electioneering circular from the local MP (Labor) today. Lots of bribes but NOTHING about China or national defence.

ttbn,

I also received a flyer from the Liberal candidate.
The same - nothing about either China or national defence.
Almost word for word from Labor's brochure.

Not much difference between the two.

___________________________________________________________________

Morrison's confected "daggy dad" or "ordinary bloke" cap-wearing
image that helped him win the last time has now changed into
" Scotty from marketing." And Morrison has now got to convince
people to once more believe in his authenticity.

This is what happens in politics I guess. Somebody's strengths
can end up becoming their weaknesses.

On the other hand - as far as Albanese is concerned - he's got
to convince voters he would make a better PM than Morrison.
Armed with a small-target strategy of jobs, aged care, medicare,
et cetera, and a personal re-brand that's been dubbed the
Albanese "glow up"- the question is - Can he inspire enough
voters?

We'll have to wait and see.

Isn't comparing the pair fun?

> Isn't comparing the pair fun?

Crikey! How MINDLESS can you get?

Zbygnyu,

The world is full of boring, identical and mindless
people.

But being present and able to contribute changes you.

However, in your case, don't allow what you don't
understand or aren't capable of contributing anything
of any substance to, stress you out.

There, there.

Breathe and let it go.

"Ten members of one family -- including seven children -- are dead after a US drone strike targeting a vehicle in a residential neighborhood of Kabul."

Jose', a war crime in need of independent investigation. Nothing was done, except the Americans white washed the whole atrocity.

> Breathe and let it go.

How AWESOMELY New Age! I'm already in the Lotus Position!

zbygnyu,

Nemaste.

Now back to the topic.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has predicted that his party
is going to hold onto what it already has ( 9 senators
at present) and that he hopes to add 3 more on May 21st
so that it can make them the largest 3rd party contingent.

Can this happen?

Well Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has ruled out increasing
(or even reviewing) the JobSeeker allowance during the 1st
term of an Albanese Labor government.

This means that across the two major parties - there's now
a consensus. It means that Australia's poorest people
will not receive any more money at all - while the
richest will receive from 2024 nearly $20 billion a year
in tax cuts.

If enough voters object to this deal in South Australia,
NSW and Queensland - who knows how this will pan out?

Perhaps there might be a chance that the Greens Leader will
get his wish and he just may get the opportunity to
try to include dental care in Medicare.

Bandt also said that the choice was between a government that "deserves top be turfed out" and one "without a vision for the future".

Hewson also said that the current government is only in it for what they and their mates can get out of it which sounds pretty accurate to me.

The ALP may indeed no longer be the party it used to be (but neither are the Liberal/National coalition) but at least they leave things behind.

Their previous idolised LNP predecessor only left four long-term things behind - a GST, a structural deficit, a dud railway up the middle of Australia and a divided country riddled with xenophobia. This one has left even less and did not pass a single piece of legislation that materially advanced the nation's long term interests.
They are inept, totally self-absorbed and inward-looking and only interested in image-making and making the same grandious announcements many times. Employment growth is in line with population growth and just as he promised 450 GL of water to SA but delivered just 2 GL, or a billion trees and grew only 2 million, or 12 submarines and commissioned none for $5.5 billion.

All the talk of previous Labor waste and mismanagement pales into insignificance when it comes to rorts, economic mismanagement, dodgey handouts and contracts and scandals and there are likely more to come.

No matter who you give your preferences to to ensure a valid vote, put the Greens last; they are dangerous lunatics, and they have never had a more dangerous lunatic leading them than they do now. If they get the balance of power, we won't need to worry about China - the Greens will do us in first.

The party....
We need to know:
What are the real differences in the political parties and groups?
Will the policies of one suit us more than another?
Can we trust the party we favour?
Will it do as it says it will?
What is its track record?
How has its local member responded to us when we approach him with a genuine concern?

The voter....
I think many voters will vote for the same party every time, regardless of what is said.
It is the remaining (swinging) voters who shift the balance and bring about change.
It is facts which sway these other voters. Facts which change the way they vote.
I think many of us don't have access to the truth we need to allow real assessment of candidates.
Instead, we allow ourselves to be influenced by all the 'hype' at election time?
In effect, we allow someone to tell us how to vote?
The bottom line is: whether good or bad, we get the government which WE vote in to office.
It is our decision to make, and we make it.

Hi Foxy,

The Greens is the only party in the Federal Parliment, with a strong social justice platform. The conservatives never did have one, and Labor have lost most of theirs. Sure, the economy is important, and it has to be managed correctly, but its not the be all and end all of our existence. To quote the Elephant Man; "I am not an animal, I am a human being", sometimes we lose sight of that fact, and people like Morrison want to label us as "economic entities" and nothing more, and if we accept it, then it's a sad day for us all.

At the core of Conservatism is fear, fear of others not like us, be they gay people, homeless people, the Chinese people, whoever. The fear is these undeserving lot will take away from us what is rightfully ours. Fear leads to greed, and greed leads to hate. Its through fear that some politician's stay in power. The Coalition has been very successful at manipulating peoples fears, and Labor is trying the same tatic.

When some crusty Old Fart says The Greens are dangerous, mad, evil, crazy, put them last, I'm reassured that in fact The Greens are on the right track.

ps There are a couple of Independents in the Parliment that also have a social justic conscience as well, and worth boring for.

Pauliar,

The greens are the party of virtue signalling and wild hyperbole. For example:

"Greens Leader Adam (Bum) Bandit says Prime Minister Scott Morrison is putting lives at risk, by agreeing with the Liberal candidate for Warringah, who lobbied to stop transgender women from competing in women's sport."

Which why these fringe parties such as one nation and the pedogreens will never govern in their own right.

that should read "voting for"

A simple question to determine your vote;

What do you want most of all, a shiny new car, or the love of your family and friends, you can't have both?

If the answer is the former then you should look for some ultra conservative party, if its the latter then a radical progressive party should be the party of choice. I would like to think there is a middle ground, a moderate position that can deliver some material gain, whilst at the same time lifting people out of poverty and giving us a fairer society.

I note a new Liberal Party, called the TNL, from their advertising they could be an independent party with liberal principles, then on the other hand they could be a stooge party, like Palmer, wanting to white ant the Green vote and like Palmer direct it to the conservative side. This TNL party makes liberal use of the colour green. I will have to ask Bernard.

I see Fat George is standing as third Qld One Nation candidate for the Senate. As George is a 1,000 to 1 of winning, a cynic might say Fat George is only in it for the $105k bonus he will receive as a defeated parliamentary member at an election. A cynic might ask; Fat George why don't you run in the seat of Dawson for ON (George is the sitting member) where you could possibly win?

I watched some of Bandt's speech yesterday & it became clear that things & a little power in particular have gone to his head.
He did have some good points re Dental care but in general his proposals were pie in the sky material. Making "better decisions" without explaining how is meaningless.
What he fails to understand is that those whom he impresses are generally the most idealistic & non-contributing members in society. The useless who have no idea that a society functions by people doing work that creates goods & services & then lives off the snow-balling effect. Simply saying that we must get away from all the polluting enterprise is fine but there has to be a method of doing that apart from just waffling on about it.

I believe that Adam Bandit is transitioning to a male and as such calling for Medicare to be expanded to include gender-affirming surgery.

As such Adam (previous known as Eve) has been comparing the "pairs" from various Australian animals and was considering the soft and fuzzy kangaroo nuts. However, the animal lover Sarah has offered to help as she doesn't need hers anymore.

Behind Bandt's deadpan stare lies a real nutter.

I notice that Albozo is now ducking out of pressers whenever asked hard questions on economics.

both could get the flick.
ttbn,
Wow, what a scenario that'd be !
Has that ever happened ?

This is really going to be a close election judging
from the varied comments here. I was truly surprised
to see George Christensen jump ship. A year ago he'd
announced that he wouldn't re-contest at this election
telling everyone "I think my time is done." Now he's
opted just days after resigning from the Lib. National
Party to run as a 3rd candidate on the One Nation
Queensland Senate ticket.

He won't win a seat but is he after the "$103,000
"re-settlement allowance" that he thinks he's entitled to?
Who knows? Christensen has been a member for the North
Queensland seat of Dawson since 2010. His been a pain in
the bum for his party during that time. His party has
treated him with kid gloves (as have his colleagues) despite
his outrageous behaviour.

There's also his spending 300 days in the Philippines - which
he did between April 2014 and June 2018 - which earned him
the title - "Member for Manila."

Poor Pauline Hanson must be desperate to take this bloke
on board. Shades of Mark Latham.

Hi Paul,

I'm still undecided as to who I shall vote for.
I am looking at all the candidates in my electorate.
There's no Independents.
I don't like the Labor candidate. She doesn't appeal
to me at all. The Liberal candidate has impressive
credentials and is young. And although
I've never voted for the Greens - I prefer to vote for
one of the major parties - the Greens candidate is also
looking good. There you have it. eenie, meenie, minie,
moe.

Still I suppose there's still plenty of time to decide.

Foxy,

I don't think that the 'varied comments here' should be given much weight. People in the real world, who have never heard of OLO, who never use social media - the majority - will decide the result of the coming election, as they always do.

We should know from the last election that opinions, polls, media fussing, all mean diddly squat. An hour or so after the polls close, and the 'experts' get excited on TV, then, and only then, will we start to get an inkling of what might happen.

ttbn,

Thanks for your opinion - which we can either give some
weight to or ignore. Of course none of us really know
what the end results will be but this being a public
forum which gets a variety of opinions is interesting
for most of us to read otherwise we wouldn't be
commenting. You of course don't have to take part if
you don't like what's being said. However - I do welcome
your opinion - as I do all the others (smile).

Pauline's dropped quite a few notches on my scale for taking on this bogan !

Foxy,

You advise me: "You of course don't have to take part if you don't like what's being said".

You get odder by the day. If I didn't take part, I wouldn't be commenting on what you said! And, you haven't noticed my opinions? Really? You are are always quick to have go at my opinions - and everybody else's :). Is there another medical problem that you haven't felt the need to tell us about?

And, I don't like or dislike anyone's opinions. They are just opinions, even though some of us think that ours are Ten Commandments quality.

I think that Christensen has proved that he is NOT a bogan by quitting the Nationals where bogans abound. All the Nationals are good for is helping the Liberals get elected. The Liberals should be going after country seats, and leaving the inner city to Green Labor.

ttbn,

You sound a little frazzled.

I did not say that I haven't noticed your opinions.
On the contrary, what I said was - I welcomed them as
I do all the others.

Talking about getting odder?

I am beginning to realize that we can only be responsible
for what we actually say - not for what someone thinks we
said or what others understand. After all things are
understood from our own level of perception.

One of the biggest communication problems for so many on
this forum seems to be - people don't read things to
understand. They just read to reply. And often jump the gun.

Never mind - we all do it.

_________________________________________________________________

Once again - back to the topic.

Larrikins, bogans, and BS artists.

George Christensen may not be a bogan, but he's definitely a
BS artist as well as being the most absent and incompetent MP.

Nothing about his work (or lack of it) over the past 3 years
warrants his re-election to parliament on any ticket.

shadowminister,

No matter what you say about Adam Bandit, one thing he is not, is a pathetic Nazi lover, who hangs around online forums anonymously getting his rocks off posting paedophilia nonsense.

Hi Paul,

I looked up Adam Bandt's background.

It's actually quite impressive.

As of 2019 he's held the seat for Melbourne by the 3rd
largest margin of any Australian MP receiving 72% of
votes after preferences.

He's of German descent on his father's side. His mother
arrived in Australia as a "ten pound pom." Bandt has
tertiary qualifications (BA and Bachelor of Laws)
He's one of 11 MPs in the 46th parliament who possesses
a PhD. He's worked as an industrial lawyer. Is married
and has two children, and the list goes on.

Nothing to sneeze at.

Hi Foxy,

I've never met AB, but he has built his margin up over the years, in what was once a very safe Labor seat. For too long Labor took the inner city seats for granted, failing to advocate in opposition, or deliver in government the much need services in areas of health, education, housing, employment etc. Now they whinge that the Greens are intruding into areas that according to the ALP, are rightfully theirs. The Liberals are finding much the same in their "safe" affluent urban seats, like Warringah, where Zali Steggall has proven to be an exceptionally good independent local member. I think Zali will be returned with an increased majority.

I have one dear friend Mehreen Faruqi in the Senate, and I am confident anther friend in David Shoebridge will join her shortly.

Hi Paul,

I think politics is slowly changing as voters begin
to look more closely at the candidates on offer in
their electorates. The two party system will perhaps
have to offer people more than just making pre-election
promises to win and not delivering. Also people are
becoming more concerned about authenticity. They're
starting to spot phonies a mile away.

Perhaps things will change for the better for us all.
Parties should no longer take voters for granted.
People want the real deal and good reasons as to why
they should vote for them.

Change is coming. This election should be interesting.

The end of week one of electioneering; also the end of what Labor thought was going to be a referendum on Scott Morrison - thanks to Albo's ignorance on just about everything, and his refusal or inability to answer simple questions like 'will you put taxes up'? It’s now a referendum on Albanese. There is already talk of a 'second miracle for the Coalition.

'will you put taxes up'?
ttbn,
In defence of Albo, that is an unfair question unless a great number of the populace of this Nation can guarantee they won't get any more insipid than the present status !
How can anyone plan ahead with the threat of such mentality hanging over them ?

Perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on the Labor Leader?
He's being attacked unfairly from a well funded and
well resourced shadowy right-wing group called
"Advance," that's apparently crashing Albanese's press
conferences, trying to stir him up and also driving trucks
around with billboards that read:
" CCP SAYS
VOTE
LABOR "

It's a well funded and well-resourced group that has been
seen in Australian cities - including Melbourne, Gold Coast,
Newcastle, and Perth.

Dirty pool!

Hi Paul,

Some exciting morning news.

Federal Labor has decided to prioritise a referendum
to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which
allows First Nations peoples a say on policies and
laws affecting their communities.

Last election Labor set aside $160 million for a
plebiscite to determine support for a Republic.
This time they've decided and were concerned that
holding 2 significant votes on constitutional
change within a short period could confuse people
so they've decided to prioritise the referendum
to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

It's a big step and long overdue.

Before I forget -

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Today is Good Friday - and we're having fish for dinner -
Yay!

I asked my husband to buy Rockling fillets for us yesterday. He
came back with something called "Basa fillets."
I'd never heard of Basa so I looked it up.

It's apparently a catfish from Vietnam. And it was given a
thumbs down on the web - saying it's toxic.

Well I ended up throwing it out.

Luckily I had frozen Dory in the freezer.

Anyway - you live and learn I guess. The Basa was very cheap -
so I don't feel guilty. So be careful when buying fish.

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely Easter - full of
family joy - and don't eat too much chocolate.

Take care.

"Basa fillets."
Foxy,
Mekong Brown Trout ?

Hi Foxy,

HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS,

Yes, that is good news on proposed referenda, these issues are worth putting to the people, and will be welcomed by many, including me.

On Basa fillets $7/kg, or Vietnamese Catfish, I'm not sure about the toxic aspect, it is cheap, boneless and rather sweet. Often called "Cod" $8 a battered fillet when sold as fish n' chips. Remarkably it can morph into other species of fish, even Barramundi $35/,kg when the fish shop owner so desires. Basa can even turn into a mythical fish called "Pacific Dory" at $25/kg so be careful when purchasing fish, your $35 Barramundi might be little old $7 Vietnamese Cat Fish.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the information about fish and for your advice.
It's been a learning curve. We'll go to the local fish
shop that we know and trust next time - even though it's
further away.

I watched Q and A this morning. Excellent show. Very relevant.
It raised the topic of the parties ignoring raising the
JobSeeker allowance which apparently is just $46.00 dollars
a day. Who the heck can live on that? But both parties
are avoiding serious discussions on the subject.

Chris Bowen was one of the guests - and even he deflected
when asked some serious questions by a member of the
audience.

Disappointing.

To paraphrase some of Dr Seuss and make it my own:

I moan and groan when I try to walk
I repeat myself when I do talk
I need glasses to help me see
And I'm far to old to hold my pee

So bear with me - the church bells are ringing
Faithful voices are joyously singing
Christ has risen, Easter is here
The Easter bunny is drawing near

Chocolates and eggs, big and small
Will gladly be shared by one and all
Happy days with family
Will be spent with joy quite happily

HAPPY EASTER TO ONE AND ALL!

Hi Again Foxy,

A story, some years back we had a friend and his wife visit us in Sydney from the South Coast. We took them to a rather flash resistant in the city. Joe ordered the 'Surf and Turf' in the menu advertised as rump steak topped with Barramundi , which is a little usual as its normally topped with lobster in the best restaurants, but fish it was. After the meal the head waiter enquired as to how was the meal, Joe our friend said "Well, the turf was lovely, but the surf was disappointing." HW; "Why is that sir?"...Joe: "The fish wasn't Barramundi, it was Gem Fish"....HW; "Oh no sir it was Barramundi"....I said to the HW; " I wouldn't argue with the gentleman, as he's a commercial fisherman (showing his licence in his wallet) and knows Gem Fish from Barramundi." We got free glasses of Grandfather Port, for any "misunderstanding" as the HW put it, but no apology for the deceitful substitution.

I have basa quite often. I'm pretty sure you'll find that all basa sold in Australia are sourced from fish farms on the Mekong that meet our standards of cleanliness and are pollution free.

I bake it in a parmesan and parsley coating. Only the most discerning fish eater could distinguish it from barramundi. My kids were raised on it.

Barramundi's a type of Sea Bass, so I can see how some people might confuse it with Basa. But they taste quite different, and to sell Basa as Barramundi (or indeed as Cod) is illegal under the Fair Trading Act (1987 in SA, the exact year may vary among states but they did try to harmonise the legislation).

It's not toxic and I have eaten it before, but the texture's not good and I'd rate it as worse than Hoki.

Albanese has not learnt anything about illegal entry to Australia since Rudd's disastrous open border policy that had boats doing a conga line, people drowning , and survivors put up in hotels before the inevitable release into the community and the dole, medicare and housing for life. Now there is not enough housing for people already here.

No offshore processing for Albo, who reckons 'stop the boats' removes the need for it. He has forgotten or doesn't care how 'well' that policy worked for his Ruddian government.

Under an Albanese - or any other Labor government - we would be again flooded with illegal arrivals when we still have some, recently and stupidly released, who have been detained here for 10 years. Who knows how many more we are paying to keep.

A Labor/Green/Voices Of coalition would take us back to Year Kevin O7; even Year Zero a la Pol Pot if that maniac Bandt could manage to get our coal and gas exports banned as he says he would like to. Greens last on the lower house ticket; nowhere on the senate ticket.

And to complicate things still further, I just got some Barramundi (from Aldi) out of the freezer, and noticed that it too was farmed in Vietnam!

Hi Paul,

It makes you wonder how many other restaurants
substitute Barramundi with goodness knows what.
We often used to eat at the Anchorage (now Pier
Farm) restaurant in Williamstown. I often ordered
Barramundi. Maybe in the future I'll switch to
something else. Although I suppose anything can
be substituted.

Hi mhaze,

Thanks - but it's too late. We've chucked the basa
out. I was influenced by what I'd read on the web.
I wasn't going to risk it. Mind over matter.
Anyhow, it was only a little over $6.00 dollars.

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for that. My husband did not like the look
of the Rockling next to the Basa in the fish shop. He
said it looked old. The Basa to him looked like
Flounder so he bought the Basa unfortunately.

Sorry to hear about your Barramundi. We're eating Dory
tonight. I've taken that out of the freezer.
I can't find where it was farmed on the package.
Who knows - we may be eating Basa afterall without
knowing it. Maybe it is better not to question things
or know?

Crazy world.

Hi Foxy,

It was once very common for Ling to be substituted for Barramundi, both when filleted are similar in appearance. Although Ling has increased somewhat in price in recent years, and also there is a lot more farmed Barramundi on the market theses days. The farmed variety is not as tasty as the wild animal, a bit like prawns.

mhaze, I think we have some common ground, a liking for fish and seafood in general. One good thing about Basa is its cheapness which allows poor people in the community to have access to "fresh" fish, something generally to pricey to afford. Frozen Basa fillets from Aldi are priced at $7/$8 Kg.

Fish substitution is common, some years back I recall a segment on 'A Current Affair' where they took an expert around the fishmongers, and he identified heaps of substitutions. A bit like a "Texas T-Bone" in the butcher shop, it ain't from Texas and it ain't a T-Bone.

One thing over in NZ for my wife's people, no one goes to the shop to buy seafood, its all caught fresh by the cuzzy-bro's, and it's alway free for 'Aunty and Uncle' and all the other relos who can't go out fishing themselves.

Latest electioneering tripe from the Leftist MP for Warringah trying to cancel the Liberal candidate who is standing for the protection of women from males faking it as females.

80% of Australians support laws that would protect women playing women's sport from being forced to compete against biological males.

But, Steggall MP accuses the PM, who backs such laws, of "intimidating and excluding some of the most vulnerable in society".

What rubbish! It is women and girls who are vulnerable to hulking great men pretending to be women, and the Leftists lunatics like Stegall and others of the Green ilk encouraging them.

I admit that I don't understand what all the fuss
is about with this transgender business in sport.
I would have thought that there are rules and
protections in place to protect women's sport
and these would stand. Medical experts surely would
be able to determine whether someone is or is not
eligible to be counted as a female and should be
allowed to play?

If a male is transitioning into becoming a female -
then surely they are receiving the appropriate
hormones and changes are taking place that makes
them less "male" and therefore takes away their
"Male" supposed advantage? Making them like any
other female competitor.

Foxy the advantage of maleness is built up through childhood & adolescence. It may diminish over time, but it would be many years, not just a few treatments.

Hi Hasbeen,

I think it's more than just a "few treatments."
But anyhow - why not introduce transgender sports?
Like they have for the disabled? People play sports
in wheelchairs, et cetera.

I think the really only possible way to see how competently each of the two major sides can administrate the country is by not letting Public servants vote & only someone who served a term in National Service is eligible for a Public Service position !

individual,

Not going to work in a democracy such as ours.

Indy, your hatred of public servants is well documented on this Forum, do you include police officers and nurses in public hospitals as public servants, not only do you want to force people into some concentration camp style national service, now you want to disenfranchise the same Australians as well. How spiteful can one get.

Foxy,
>Sorry to hear about your Barramundi
Don't be! It tasted good.
Wild caught Barramundi would have been better, of course, but I knew it wasn't that - it's too expensive in my state.
I expect your Dory was wild caught.

Doesn't know the unemployment rate or cash rate. Wants to close offshore processing?

Looks like Labor doesn't know its arse from its Albo

Not going to work in a democracy such as ours.
Foxy,
it'd work flawlessly if we had a democracy however, the way things stand nothing will ever improve as the past five decades have proven !
A lot of self-centred people selfishly hanging onto a system that promotes opportunism rather than sustainability is not what Democracy is about. Democracy is about fairness & adherence to a majority supported outcome ! Democracy is not about minority groups perpetually derailing a democratic outcome ! Democracy is about every able-bodied, able-minded resident accepting decisions made by Govt for the good of the Nation. That's why we're not anywhere near being a Democracy in the true sense of the term.

"But anyhow - why not introduce transgender sports?"

That's not what they want. When a man declares that he is now a woman, he/she demands that we all concur with the claim. They demand to be not just treated as a woman but thought of as actually a woman. Thus they demand that they be admitted into woman's sport since they are truly female, despite what the chromosomes say.

Of course, even though they demand to be treated as women, they sometimes revert to old habits....

http://nypost.com/2022/04/14/edna-mahan-womens-prisoners-pregnant-after-sex-with-transgender-inmate/

What say we ignore the silly, attention-seeking freaks. What say we - the non-involved majority - leave the freaks, and those affected by the freaks, to slug it out, work it out, get over it and themselves; whatever.

When sexual perversions are allowed to take over a thread that started comparing two politicians in the the run up to a election that actually does affect everyone, we really have lost the plot.

mhaze,

If they've transgendered into a woman - why can't they
be considered female?

Especially if medical experts concur that a complete change
has been made?

ttbn,
Whatever happened to travelling circuses & their freak shows ?
Would provide quite a lot of employment these days !

I think that a part of the problem is that some
people think that we're going to be inundated
by hordes of hairy men in dresses in our female
sports which is ridiculous. I think that the
sporting organisations do have things under control
and that all this is just a storm in a teacup.
The reality is nothing like what's being portrayed
by some.

individual

That wouldn't be very entertaining, would it? And it might clash with Foxy's Transgender Games.

Foxy,

Is being "... inundated
by hordes of hairy men in dresses in our female
sports…." really that "ridiculous."?

It is not all that long ago that most of us thought it would be ridiculous for two people of the same sex to be legally married; for two people of the same sex to be swallowing each other's tongues on primetime free to air TV entertainment; people stating publically they are a different sex from the one they clearly are, and being encouraged to do so, and being raucously defended against normal people who suddenly became 'bigots' for their commonsense and decency. And sportsmen deciding to be women because they were not good enough compete against their own sex.

ttbn,

I think that many people today do see things
differently from what they were being taught as
they grew up. Many are not as judgemental as they
once were.

Our society today has more understanding
and many do try to show empathy to those who are
different.

Imagine what people must have suffered
and had to live with in the "good old days," when
pregnant unwed girls had to give up their babies
or suffer from mis-handled abortions. When young
people were bullied because they were "different."

When names such as - faggot, poofter, were commonly
applied and worse - people were actually beaten up.

I'd like to think that we're better than that today.
Although we've probably still got a long way to go.

"If they've transgendered into a woman - why can't they
be considered female?"

Well Foxy, you were the one suggesting they be considered to be something other than female by creating a new transgender sporting category for them.

"Especially if medical experts concur that a complete change
has been made?"

There'll never be a complete change. The chromosomes will always be there. The uterus won't.

Here's someone who has made a "complete change" and now plays in women's sport....

http://a.scpr.org/i/0d68e80c19231d980c2c367ca3bdd2e2/57094-full.jpg

"I think that a part of the problem is that some
people think that we're going to be inundated
by hordes of hairy men in dresses in our female
sports which is ridiculous."

It doesn't have to be hordes. One or two can do it. Imagine you're a women who has trained all her life for some swimming event only to be defeated by someone who has all the benefits testosterone can provide....

http://purelyfact.com/read-https-nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/lia-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all

Allowing transgender men into women's sport will destroy many women's sports just as they were getting traction.

"They demand to be not just treated as a woman but thought of as actually a woman."

They might see themselves as a woman, but all I see is a man in a dress.
- possibly suffering some form of mental illness

So what happens now?
Are they the ones in the wrong for seeing themselves as a woman?
Or am I the one in the wrong when what I see is a man in a dress?

In a business environment it may be prudent to avoid referring to people by their biological gender because of legal ramifications, but outside of this environment, there's no reason for me to waste 2 seconds caring about other peoples 'chosen' genders.

- And I don't -

They can identify as a hippopotamus for all i care.
But that doesn't mean I will recognise them as such.

There's an old adage that says you should give
up pretending and just be who you are because:

"Those who mind don't matter and those who matter
don't mind."

The case of Cate Elizabeth McGregor is an interesting
one. It took her more than 50 years to have the courage
to stop pretending:

http://nowtolove.com.au/news/real-life/cate-mcgregor-talks-transitioning-from-male-to-female-10273

Cate Elizabeth McGregor.. What team does he/she play for?

We were discussing transgenders in sport. I've got no problem with transgenders pretending, or believing, they are the opposite of what their chromosomes say. But let's not change the subject.

But the issue is whether they be allowed to use the benefits of their early exposure to testosterone to their advantage in sport and, even more importantly, whether women should be forced to complete against people who have that advantage. Anyone interested in the success of female sport should be concerned about this.

But in the end it comes down to a competition between so-called minority groups. Women claim to be discriminated against in salaries etc by male dominated sport and transgender women claim to be discriminated against by being denied to right to play against women. Whose rights are you most concerned with?

Foxy,

We probably don't have "far to go" before we are replicating Sodom and Gomorrah. It is not being "more understanding" by allowing people who at worst are perverts, at best very ill or mere political white-ants, to normalise themselves. It is the beginning of the end for the West. You don't find this nonsense in non-Western cultures who have stuck with their religions and beliefs for much, much longer than we have. We are discarding 2,000 years of beliefs and values that have made us what we are. Giving in to these people will never make us "better". The descendants of Lenin and his mob (who also used sexual deviation) would have been in charge today if had not been for a better class of person, with the morals and values of the Christian West, than we have today to resist them.

My only consolation, as an old white man with traditional values, is that I won't have to watch the disintegration for much longer.

As for Malcolm McGregor: in this steadily rotting society he is able to call himself Cate, dress like a woman; but, the truth is, he will always be a man named Malcolm, who cannot expect anybody except a few fools to agree to with him.

Coincidentally, a young bloke much smarter than I am, Douglas Murray, observes how "a justified pride in Western civilisation" has been reduced over just 50 years to "shame and a grovelling, irrational debasement".

Activists:

Call for equality, but ignore equal rights.
Talk of anti-racism, but sound deeply racist.
Speak of justice, but seem to mean revenge.

The era in which we live is defined by a civilisational shift that is "rocking the deep underpinnings of our society …. It is war on the society".

New generations are taught an "ignorant view" of our history. All the West's failings, with no corresponding time spent on its glories.

We have surrendered.

Douglas Murray is an openly homosexual man who does not, unlike many, demand any acknowledgement or special treatment.

mhaze,

Regarding the transgender issue in sport?

Sports scientists and researchers will continue to
debate and try to advise on what the best steps
favoured will be. Feb support a blanket ban on
transgender athletes. Most agree that the
regulations should be determined on a sport by sport
basis, especially where safety is a factor (like in
rugby).

The transgender issue is important however protecting
the women's category in sport is also important.
They have fought long enough to have fair competition
in sport.

It's been pointed out that there is not very much information
out there and even less that is really specific to trans
athletes. People have to make the best decisions they can
with the data that is availabe now. That's what sporting
organisations are trying to do.

Foxy,

Good to see you've come around to the sane side. While this isn't a big issue here yet, its gigantic in the US and will hit here at some time.

In the first week Dumbo Albo has managed to beat himself up, not once but three times. AND he cheers for the same team as I do, not the Labor Party, but the mighty South Sydney Bunnies.

As I said months back Labor needed Mark McGowan in their corner. McGowan would wipe the floor with Morrison. So far Albo has managed two black eyes and a cut lip, all self inflicted.

Foxy,

Unfortunately for your argument, the science is clear that hormone treatment while reducing the physical advantages transwomen enjoy over real women, the advantages are in no means eliminated. Boys going through puberty get bigger, stronger and faster than girls. The hormone therapy does not erase all these advantages.

While playing at lower levels the advantages can be ignored, but elite levels where tiny advantages make the difference between getting a medal or not, the transwomen see massive advantages.

The reason that there is a separate categories for women is to enable them to compete fairly. This fairness is being trashed in favour of trans rights.

"getting bigger, stronger and faster"

What happened to you shonky? You were a big lad. Now at 27 you are three foot six, 37kg and it takes you 10 minutes to make it from the telly to the fridge.

Did the femminy pills not work for you? Maybe they worked too well, but you can still compete with the girls in the tiddly winks competition.

Pauliar,

I see you still like to play with children. Typical green, just don't get caught.

I see that Albozo's cock ups on the campaign trail have seen labor's vote plummeting along with his popularity.

For what they are worth, the polls now have the Coalition's primary vote ahead of Labor's; and preferred PM 38 to 30 in Morrison's favour. Albo's Rudd-like open borders policy would have had something to do with the change. Actually, all of Albo's electioneering to date has been pathetic. One commentator just this morning compared him with that UK idiot and extreme leftist, Jeremy Corbyn.

Neither contender is much chop, but Morrison is certainly the better campaigner. Albo's performance suggests that he knows he doesn't have much hope.

shadowminister,

I stand by what I posted earlier - sports scientists and
researchers will undoubtedly continue to decide and
try to advise on what the best steps forward will be.
There's not very much information out there and even
less that's really specific to trans athletes. People
have to make the best decisions they can with the data
that is available now - and that's not an easy thing to do.

The trans gender issue is important as is the woman's
category in sport. Experts agree that the regulations
should be determined on a sport by sport basis especially
where safety is a factor (like in rugby) but few experts
support a blanket ban on trans gender athletes.

ttbn,

I'm now starting to doubt Scott Morrison's ability
as a "good campaigner." So far he's sewn safety
harnesses, thrown basketballs, inspected native timbers,
but avoided meeting voters. Which you'd think would be
a priority in a re-election campaign. Most of his
appearances have been to businesses. He's met very few
voters and his appearances have been highly stage-managed
and almost exclusively in marginal seats which included
making funding announcements.

Disappointing all round.

On sexual confusion, Boris Johnson has had the guts to say that men claiming to be women should not be competing in women's sport. Say what you like about Boris, he doesn't beat about the bush like our lot, who won't even defend their own candidate in Warringah, Katherine Deves, with her no BS attitude to sexual appropriation.

The PM supported her, but not the Minister for WOMEN, Marise Payne, whose presence in any parliament is a complete mystery, and who should be put last on the Senate ticket by voters in whichever state she infests. The Coalition allowed a great female operator to be driven out - Nicolle Flint, whose seat of Boothy will almost certainly go to Labor - but they keep rewarding a dud like Payne with ministries that she is incapable of administering.

I said that the PM had supported Deves. Well, yes he did, but he quickly cowered in the face of left-wing screeching about Deves' alleged "Nazi slurs" and "bigoted" comments. He was pleased that she had apologised - unnecessarily - and squeaked that the Bill to Save Women's Sports was a private members bill, and nothing to do with the government.

How can we trust such a ducking and dodging man?

The "party of free speech" has also had Deves' Facebook and Twitter accounts deleted.

The man who would have still been our PM, if not for Turnbull and Morrison, supports her, unlike two misplaced (party-wise) wet Liberals Bragg and Kean who want her disendorsed, for honestly speaking her mind.

Australia is in a terrible position, with most of our current politicians really not fit for office.

Someone said a problem can't be solved at the level of the problem- must go deeper- to the underlying principles. The Coalition has a crisis of principles.

The Coalition has a crisis of principles.
Canem Malum,
Definitely, among the voters !

Unlike citizens in many countries Australians can go
ahead about their daily lives without having to worry
about who they'll have to pay a bribe to
to receive basic services or that money that should be
used for services will find its way into the pockets
of politicians.

However it is concerning that trust in our politicians
and institutions seems to be declining for some
Australians because trust is fundamental to our
functioning as a society.

Mistrust also send a note of caution to those likely to
invest in Australia.

Our political history is littered with unsavoury events.
No party has been exempt. The standard reply has been -
"No rules have been broken," and that is not good enough.

What is needed is a better commitment to integrity from
the top. We need not just codes of conduct within
government agencies but we need leaders who call out bad
behaviour.

Striving for better standards must be done at the highest
levels and there must be a better way of holding our
leaders to account.

Therefore we should have a national integrity agency that
will have a demonstrated commitment to raising the bar.

We need this because trust in all level of government
appears to be down and it is interesting that support for
an integrity commission appears to be the greatest among those
who have worked in federal government.

That speaks volumes.

An integrity commission is commendable Foxy. It would be a busy place with a lacklustre pm, and for Albo I think that he could be that if he tried hard enough. No, what we need more than an integrity commission is a feasibility commission. For example, there are so many garbage claims for renewable energy and the hydrogen economy. I read the alp and greens spouting about them like they are proven technologies. Sri Lanka is in a total mess atm because their pollies thought that they knew better than the soil scientists and decided that they could go organic and dispense with chemical fertilizers. Australia could face a few problems if it continues its foray into renewable energy.

Fester,

Most new innovations and attempts at trying new
things run into problems and hiccups. However
they do eventually get sorted out - some faster
than others of course. But that's how changes
happen and we learn and grow - even from mistakes.

Foxy,

I like your optimism. I have reservations about renewable energy. It might make sense in special cases like Iceland, but I don't think it anywhere near as cheap and reliable as nuclear. Then there are the disposal issues for solar and wind. Australia usually follows the example of other countries after a few decades. I'm hoping the pollies might pay attention to the problems emerging with renewables in other parts of the world a bit sooner.

Fester,

I'm no pundit. It is a learning curve that's for
sure. However I feel optimistic. We're muddlers -
and we've muddled through in the past. I trust
we'll continue to do so. That's what we do until
we get it right.

Foxy said "I'm no pundit. It is a learning curve that's for sure. However I feel optimistic. We're muddlers - and we've muddled through in the past. I trust we'll continue to do so. That's what we do until we get it right."

Answer- Well I suppose we'll find Foxy in the shed putting together MOSFET's, rectifiers, batteries, solar panel's, and dynamos. Maybe she can tell us how to build a bromine flow battery. There's a difference between muddling a solution or just muddling- doing verses talking. Both Einstein and Marie Curie struggled with the technical sides of their chosen profession- Curie spent two years stirring dirt- at least they were wise enough to seek advise. If Foxy could at least ask intelligent questions that would be worthy of respect.

Foxy,

There are plenty of studies that show transgender "women" retain a significant edge in most sports, and there are no studies that show that trans women have no advantage.

Considering the draconian penalties for using substances for tiny improvements in performance it is clear that the issue is almost entirely political.

Hi Foxy,

Do you not feel inadequate in the presences of the great intellect The Kudos Kid! Don't you know he can quote that famous old Greek fish shop owner Arsethrottle, chapter and verse. A famous quote from Arsethrottle, "MATE! Do ya want lemon with dat fish 'n chippppppps". Interpret that as best you can, The Kudos Kid will no doubt find the deeper hidden meaning from Arsethrottle. All I could come up with was Arsethrottle was speaking of the denial of vinegar on yah fish n' chips on a Friday night. What do you think? Maybe The Kudos Kid can help us out.

Hi Paul,

There's some postings that I no longer read on this
forum. And they're not worthy of a response. They remind
me of the unhinged paranoid nutters with placards telling us
the end of the world is coming.
If I want a good laugh I'll watch "Horrible Histories" on TV.

That's what we do until we get it right.
Foxy,
In that case you can look forward to doing it forever !

Just got this in an email;

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Liberal and
Labor/Greens, I'm all ears.

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a Liberal supporter doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a Labor/Green doesn't like guns, they want all guns outlawed.

If a Liberal is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a Labor/Green is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned
for everyone.

If a Liberal is gay, he quietly leads his life.
If a Labor/Green is gay, he demands legislated respect.

If a Conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A Labor/Green wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Labor/Greens demand that those they don't like should be banned.

If a Liberal is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A Labor/Green non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

If a Liberal reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A Labor/Green will delete it because he's "offended.

"Man is a predatory animal and this aspect is nowhere
better suited by environment than in the world of politics."

(Dame Enid Lyons - first Australian woman elected to
Federal Parliament).

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition are
to go head-to-head on Sky News tonight.

At the moment things are heating up. We shall see if
fear tactics do work. Fear tactics seem to be a
weapon that politicians like to use.

Interesting times ahead.

You mean like labor's mediscare campaign?

If a Liberal is on welfare, he hands it back.
except if he is Indy, then he pockets it, and demands more!

Hi Foxy,

The conservative side of politics has used FEAR as a weapon as long as I can remember. Back in the Vietnam Wars day the Conservatives peddled FEAR of the 'Yellow Peril' its Vietnam today, its Australia tomorrow, the "domino effect".

Foxy, you must FEAR Asians, FEAR Muslims, FEAR Aboriginals, FEAR all Black people, FEAR Gays, FEAR Unionists, FEAR Labor people, the list goes on. In fact if you want a great life in this fantastic economy of ours, no such thing as a decent loving society any more, YOU MUST FEAR EVERYONE! Conservatives tell us so. BTW please change your (real) name to $10AC45, it will fit in well with living in this fantastic economy.

BTW, Charge your grandchildren $1 every time they want to visit you. In no time you will have enough money to buy an extra large bed to hide under, from those who make you FEAR, isn't life wonderful.

shadowminister,

You forgot to mention the death taxes, cashless debit cards,
high energy power bills, and so many others.

A bit slack on your part.

Hi Paul,

People can be influenced when they feel threatened
and afraid. Fear fuels viewpoints. Feeling safe
strong and secure, endowed with strength, people
become more analytic and reasonable. Politicians
tend to rely on fear. They use it as a weapon.
And it usually works. Hence the divisions in politics.

Oh God, the lefties yabbering on about fear campaigns.

The greatest fear campaign in the last half a century is the lefty global warming scam, & it leaves all the rest they imagine, & waffle on about so far behind, they are totally invisible to any sane human.

Foxy and Pauliar,

Labor and the Greens are the masters of scare campaigns. What they lack is competence.

Abba dabba dabba dabba said the monkey to the chimp...

The government's campaign thus far is a reminder
to us all of how little this political party believes
it can do - and still win!

Albanese has changed his mind again, this time on the Solomons/China deal.

First, he blamed the threatening situation on how the government had mishandled climate change. Seriously! And no, he didn't explain that mad, mad claim.

Now, it is not the climate, but a foreign policy failure by the government. No, he didn't say what the government should have done. They now have to 'step up'. Again, no hint on what stepping up entailed. And nothing about how he would have handled it. Nothing about how he will handle it if he gets to be PM.

The man is cracked. He just tells us how bad the government and Morrison are, and thinks that should be enough for him to get the job. No policies. No ability. Just that Ocker whine about how bad the other bloke is.

The Lefties should be scared-of themselves !

individual,

They probably don't want to take the job away
from you.

Did anyone watch the debate between the two
leaders this evening?

Nah Foxy,

I believe it was on Murdoch TV, according to the ABC it was a 50/50 affair with the hand picked audience in the peanut gallery giving io Dumbo Albo. A bit surprised after a couple of slip ups last week by Albo, I said not realising 'The Election Cup' is a 3 mile hurdle race, Albo fell at the first jump, but he's back up and on board, and getting that tired old nag Labor up and running again. I think jockey ScumO' nearly came to grief on the gelding Liberal when he said the dole was $46 a week, that was more like wishful thinking on ScumO's part than fact.

Anyway, I understand Doris from Dandenong, an undecided voter, poor Doris doesn't know how to use pencil and paper, so she's undecided about voting or not, anyway Doris put the big question of the night to both leaders; "What have you got for us voters (should Doris actually decide to vote)?" Albo said he's got a "SH!T SANDWICH" for voters, and ScumO' replied that he's got a "TURD BURGER". The audience seemed satisfied with those offerings, and clapped both leaders, except Doris who is still trying to figure out what you do with pencil and paper.

I think that if Timmy from Southpark had debated Morrison instead of Albanese, the "unbiased" audience and pundits would have scored the debate a "decisive win" for Timmy.

As per usual, the media claims Labor 'won'. Who cares? The only win that matters will be decided by voters, few of whom will have watched a gabble match between two totally uninspiring people.

I missed watching the debate. We had our niece
visiting us from Sydney. She was so excited to share
with us news of the latest film she's going to be working on.
On which she's a script supervisor. However I did manage to
finally watch a re-run of the 7.30 Report with Leigh Sales
later in the evening where she discussed the debate with
Laura Tingle. From what I could gather - it was a well-matched
and good debate. A few stumbles on both sides - but both
leaders did well and were well-matched. According to Tingle -
there weren't any "losers or winners."

I'm hoping that more analysis will be shown on TV today.

Foxy,

Reminds me of listening to a composer talking of his latest work, then I hear some of it played.

there weren't any "losers or winners."
Foxy,
If that's the summary of the ABC then that means Scomo made more sense !

Fester,

Well put.

Very clever.

I have never watched one of these 'debates' before. If this one was like those before it, they should not be called debates. This one was a question and answers session, the questioners being set up just like the Dorothy Dixes in parliament. A waste of time for the 100 "undecided" voters in the room and those watching. We learned we learned nothing new about either politician or their parties than we already knew.

Morrison said he is "blessed" (don't forget Jan and the girls) not to have a disabled child in his family, seems they are all in working order. The inference is those with a disabled child are NOT blessed. It must be God's will, the parents of such children must be sinners, and not God's chosen people Like the wonderful Morrison family! Children must be like vacuum cleaners, get one, if it don't work properly, take it back, get a "refund". We have a severely handicapped moko, he is loved and cherished as much as all the others in our extended family. His parents our nephew and niece have battled night and day, because of their sons disabilities, and they are many, but they wouldn't swap him for one second for all the girls in Morrisons clan.

individual,

I don't know about the PM making more sense but the
Sky News audience declared Albanese the winner.

ttbn,

I wish that I could have seen the debate for myself
instead of relying on other's interpretations. It
would have been interesting to hear both the questions
asked and the answers given first-hand.

There's quite a few issues that need answers. I think
that corruption is a bread-and-butter issue as it
does impact on people's daily lives.

When taxpayer money that should be prioritised for
things such as - healthcare, aged-care, education, welfare,
disability support, and building a climate resilient country
is either cut in funding or re-directed into the coffers of
fossil fuel companies or used for highly questionable
projects in marginal electorates - the voters are aware
they are missing out.

People do want a federal ICAC - and it is one I gather when
questioned in the debate about the Coalition's broken
promise the PM first tried to blame Labor but when that
didn't work - he had nothing new to say - and he changed the
subject.

It would have been interesting to watch.

Hi Paul,

I don't think the PM meant anything derogatory with his
"blessed," comment. I saw it on the news re-cap. I think
that he was trying to show empathy to how difficult it
must be for those parents who had children with disabilities.

Hi Foxy,

Maybe so, but then again Morrison does have some way out fudo Christian beliefs, which surface from time to time. The disabled don't want Morrisons condescending platitudes, they want meaningful assistance to give them the descent life all Australians expect. The patronising attitude towards our Pacific island friends, the years of cutting much need aid is now coming home to bit us. This attitude that Australia through aid has bought and paid for the people of the Islands, is typical whiteman good, blackman bad attitude.

Australia should be working towards a demilitarised Indo/Pacific, instead of taking a belligerent attitude and beefing up as we are now doing. Aggressive America has militarist stationed in over 150 countries, in our region they have bases and troops in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Australia. The Pacific Island nations should be rightly concerned, and not just about China, but about all those who seek to dominate the region to their own advantage.

Hi Paul,

I'm not sure about any feelings that our government
has about "superiority" towards the Solomon Islands.
I believe that we've helped them financially in the
past. And hopefully will continue to do so in the
future - and maintain good relations with them.

Former PM Kevin Rudd has warned us about China. And
the comments that Xi Jinping has made about Taiwan
being an "unshakeable commitment" and that he vowed
to take "resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt
toward "Taiwan independencw," is concerning. As is
the treatment of the protesters in Hong Kong.

I think our government has to navigate carefully with
China that's for sure - but I am grateful that we do
have the US as an ally. I feel that without the US
support we would be in serious military trouble in the
event of any conflict. Of course I wish China well
and that they go about their "business as usual," and
continue to trade with us. But in the meantime - I
would watch them closely.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has tested positive
for COVID-19. He's announced the diagnosis tonight.
He says he plans to continue campaigning whilst
isolating at home for the next seven days.

What does that mean for all those who came in contact
with him - including the PM? Do they have to isolate
as well?

Goodness me.

Foxy,
>I wish that I could have seen the debate for myself instead of relying on other's interpretations

Tada!
http://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/watch-live-scott-morrison-and-anthony-albanese-face-questions-from-undecided-voters-in-the-peoples-forum-debate/news-story/c7a42b2c3f40497643aa28f1b2124171
(and if it doesn't work in your normal browser, try Firefox)

>What does that mean for all those who came in contact
>with him - including the PM? Do they have to isolate as well?
No, the requirement for close contacts to isolate has already be abolished. As long as the RATs keep coming up negative, they can go on as normal.

_________________________________________________________________________

Paul
>The inference is those with a disabled child are NOT blessed.
Does anyone without an anti-ScoMo bias make that inference?
There are enough real reasons to oppose him - we don't need to distract people with fake ones.

Hi Aiden,

Morrison did cop flack for his "insensitive" comment about the disabled. Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott took to Twitter to criticise Morrison. Morrison would have been advised to hose the thing down, and he did so by apologizing to Alcott.

Am I biased, I make no secret of that fact, unlike others on here who claim no such thing, when they obviously are.

Some years back when Shorten and Albanese were going toe to toe for the Labor leadership, the Labor poster Belly was an Albo man, I said Albo will never be PM, I stick to that belief.

Only the most moronic offenderati take offence that SM is grateful that his children aren't disabled. What do these fwits want? SM to wish for his children to be disabled?

This is a sign of desperation as Albozo and Bum Bandit are making such idiots of themselves. I wonder if Albozo really has covid or is just hiding from the public?

I do sympathise with Mr and Mrs Shonky, unfortunately little Shonky was born with only half a brain, fortunately the doctors were successful at removing Shonky's other half of brain. Now at 47 years of age Shonky has little side effects from having no brain, except wetting the bed twice a night, and pissing his pants every time the telly is turned on, but he does manage to vote LIBERAL.

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for the link.
And the information.

It was most helpful.

Hi Paul,

I hope that the Labor Leader will get over COVID easily
and quickly. I heard the PM on the news this morning
trying to re-assure the Opposition Leader. Apparently
the PM had COVID last month. I thought the re-assuring
comments were very gracious of the PM. He didn't have
to make them - and it speaks well for him to have done
so. I thought - "well done.

Looks like the minders have decided to hide Albo for a while. They want to pry that foot out of his mouth, but are probably frightened he'll probably jam it straight back in if they let him out of the basement.

Hi Hasbeen,

The voters who came to the debate arranged by Sky News
declared Anthony Albanese the winner of the debate.
So you're way off in your take on things.
And it is the voters who will decide on election day.

I watched "The Insiders" program filmed from Gladstone
this morning. Gladstone to me seemed like such a lovely
place to live. It was interesting to hear the concerns
that its residents had. Job security seemed like a
priority as did healthcare. No surprises there.

Concerns about China figured high on the list also. From
what I could gather - it was hard to tell where the voters
choices lay. Many people seemed to looking for answers from
both major parties. Alternatives kept cropping up.

I watched as the Deputy leader - Barnaby Joyce was being
questioned by Speers. It got annoying after a while.
Speers has the bad habit of not letting a person finish
their answers to a question asked. Speers keeps jumping in
and interrupting with more questions. Very rude!
I kept yelling "Shut Up!" at the TV. With hubbie telling me
"Yell louder, he can't hear you!"

Someone should reign Speers in a bit.

Foxy,

The debate voters between Juliar and Abbott gave Juliar the victories and Labor got thrashed.

Hi Foxy,

I also watched "Insiders" and Speers was right to interrupt Barnyard Joy, every time he asked Barney a direct question about Coalition policy the fool would launch into a diatribe of how bad the Labor Party is. The thinking voter is turned off by that kind of rhetoric.

Yes the voters woke up to Abbott, like Howard before him, and the pie eyed spats and straw hat man Stanley Bruce back in the day, they booted the three fools from the parliament, all conservatives.

Just on old Stanley Bruce, he did bravely fight in WWI, unlike the coward and founder of the LIBERAL PARTY 'Pig Iron' Bob Menzies, who hid under a bed with the communists when the recruitment march came around. 'Pig Iron' Bob was all for the war, but just not having him fighting it. Anyway old Stanley was so confident of winning the 1929 election that once he called it, he hopped on a boat and headed for England, no need to campaign in Australia, campaigning was below his dignity, better to tell the English how great he was than campaign in Australia, besides the election was in the bag. Not only did Bruce lose his seat, but the conservative Nationals lost half their seat in parliament.

ps Bruce was so conservative he was still wearing spats and a straw bota 10 years after they had gone out of fashion. That's nothing, some
of the conservative hard right on here are still wearing that same outfit.

Labor sucking up to China, but rubbishing Chinese Liu because she is a Liberal. How about Chinese Wong!

Speer's technique sound like standard pressure tactics. Piers Morgan and others are well know for these- but he seems to use them more equally than some- not sure he's not biased but less biased than some

Kudos Kid

To quote that famous Chinese noddle maker, Confusion; "He who does not watch tee vee program, speaks with ignorance". Confusion was very intuitive considering he said that 2,000 years before tee vee was invented.

shadowminister,

Is the Liberal MPs were asked to name all the things
they loved, how long would it take to name themselves
and their party.

ttbn,

Chinese Liu has links to the CCP.

Penny Wong was born in Malaysia to an Australian mother
and a Malaysian father of Hakka origin. Her father was
an architect. When her parents separated Penny Wong
moved with her mother to Adelaide, SA. at the age of 8.

She has degrees from the University of Adelaide (BA, and
LLB) and the University of South Australia (LPC).

Thanks Foxy

Tell a Korean, a Vietnamese or a Japanese they are Chinese, what an insult, you will quickly be corrected, they are all very proud of who they are. My very good friend in Sydney, tell her she's Chinese, "PAUL,I am not Chinese, I am Tawianise, those Chinese want to kill us".

They all look the same to ttbn, he met a Chinese person once, down at the Golden Dragon takeaway when he was picking up his Short Soup order.

Dear Paul,

We have to be careful I guess and not make assumptions
about people. It's not always easy.
Remember the commercial where a black
man shopping in an English super market is asked -
"What part of Africa do you come from?" And he smiles
and says - "Manchester."

Liu admits that she had been an honorary member of the Guangdong provincial chapter of the China Overseas Exchange Association between 2003 and 2015.

Only an idiot would believe that the Liberal party did not vet her thoroughly, before she beat Labor's ethnic CHINESE candidate, Jennifer Yang in the seat of Chisolm.

As a member of the Australian government, she supports the government's stand on China. Wong often criticises the government's stand on China. If Wong gets to be Foreign Minister in a Labor government, she will be soft on China, as is Labor's deputy leader who is already all over the Communists like a rash, defending the Communist dictatorship's move on SI, and anywhere else it wants to set up shop in the Pacific.

Some on here are supporters of the Palmer and Hanson Parties.

Jefferson Earl; Palmer endorsed candidate; quits, support of Russian President Putin.

Sean Ambrose; Palmer endorsed candidate; Resigned in protest NATO's (and Australia's) stance against Putin.

There are other Palmer endorsed candidates still running that support Russia's actions in Ukraine.

The Hanson Party is also very quiet on Russian murders in Ukraine. When you cast a vote for a Palmer or Hanson candidate you might be casting a vote for a Vladimir Putin sympathiser. I'm sure, given the chance some would welcome that fascists into Australia.

Gladys Liu was listed by the Chinese government's online
records as a council member of the Guangdong provincial
chapter of the Chinese Overseas Exchange Association between
2003 and 2015. This Association was the arm of the Chinese
government's central political and administration body and it
has since merged with the CCP's propaganda arm - the United Front
Works Department.

Gladys Liu has repeatedly refused to criticise the regime of
President Xi Jinping. She had ties with various Chinese
institutions who are linked with the CCP. Her interview with
Andrew Bolt on Sky News was embarrassing.

Liu could not "recall" her memberships and she struggled
to answer a series of questions about China including
China's activities in the South China Sea.

It's interesting that Sam Dastyari was forced to resign for
a minor infringement.
Yet this woman is allowed to remain? How much has the CCP donated
to the Liberal Party?

Liu was a test for Scott Morrison - just as Sam Dastyari was
a test for Bill Shorten's leadership. Sam's gone. Liu's still
here. Pathetic!

As for Jennifer Yang?

Her I know very well. She was the former Mayor of the City
of Manningham. An excellent and hard worker with impecable
credentials. She was a previous principal multicultural
Adviser for Bill Shorten. An Executive Member for the
Australian Local Government's Women's Association. President
of the National Chinese Women's Association. No links to the
Chinese Communist Party - and to suggest otherwise - is
absurd, malicious, and a slur!

Palmer makes a great song and dance that he has 151 lower house seats and the Senate covered with candidates. Where did these candidates come from, it seems out of the woodwork. The United Australia Party has only been in existence since December 2018, a bit over 3 years. Free party membership only requires a click of a button on a computer (how many people have complained they have been signed up without their knowledge). Unlike the Greens where ALL candidates for election are vetted and voted on by the branch members before endorsement is possible. In every ballot there is always a "no candidate" option if the members find the nomination(s) unacceptable. With other parties there are Captain's picks, parachute candidates, executive endorsement, faction nominations etc etc, even Palmer picks. Without proper vetting the Palmer Party is like the street corner prostitute, takes anyone, decent folks, Nazi's, Far Right Nut Jobs etc. As I say when you vote Palmer or Hanson, you're getting a "pig in a poke" and once in they're there for 3 to 6 years.

ps; I once voted "no candidate" in a Greens ballot as there was a "new" branch member nominating. She was okay as far as membership credentials, had been a branch member elsewhere. But following the interview and questioning by party members, at the vote the majority voted "no candidate" I think the vote was about 20 to 3 against. We simply called for new nominations and got someone else.

There is always a lot of shite posted, particularly by She Who Must Have Last Say, no matter how irrelevant, on weekends when there aren't any new threads. Boredom? Nothing better to do? Need a life?

Let's hope there are some new threads tomorrow.

That's right Pelican Dick!

BTW; YOU made 17 posts on here over the long weekend.
Boredom? Nothing better to do? Need a life?

Palmer wants to impose a 15% tax on the iron ore trade, to payoff the trillion dollar Liberal Debt. Of course there will be no additional taxes on Palmer enterprises! Does Fat Clive believe China (iron ore tax) is going to payoff our trillion dollar Liberal debt.

ALSO Palmer claim he will "bring home" a trillion dollars of Australian overseas investment that private supa funds are holding. How is he going to do that?

Maybe the Palmer poster ttbn can tell us how these policies would work.

ttbn,

For someone who's on the forum every single day - you
really have no credibility criticising anyone else
who make comments on the forum.

I explained a long time
ago that the forum is my "life-line." And then you also
attacked the explanation.

Attacks seem to be your reason
for being. What would you do without them.
Think how boring it would be for
you. This is your life - or so it seems. It's what you do.
And heaven help anyone who dares to provide evidence-based
information or any links as references. Opinions are what
matter to you - but of course -
not ones that disagree with yours. You will pander to every
nutter whose views match yours. Proclaim "free speech,"
all over the place - but hell - you wouldn't know the meaning
of free speech and it's not OK to be a bigot!

But what the heck - as some famous Aussies once said:

"There are people who wish to draw attention to themselves
by attacking me."

(Don Bradman).

"It isn't what they say about me, it's what they whisper."

(Errol Flynn).

LOL.

May your day be as pleasant as your are!

Dear Paul,

Don't worry about Clive Palmer - "The bigger the hat,
the smaller the property!"

As for ttbn?

He always attacks when he's wrong.
Bully tactics. But he forgets that he's dealing with
that "awful woman," "The Wicked Witch..."
"She Who Must Have The Last Say!," et cetera.

BAZINGA!

Foxy,

You are firing blanks at Gladys Liu who held an honorary role in a Chinese organisation a decade ago and has not done one single thing against Australian interests unlike Shanghai Sam who for money advocated directly for the CCP.

Similarly Richard Marles the ALP deputy leader has advocated for the same CCP interests and even had the Chinese ambassador vet one of his speeches. Why hasn't the ALP given him the boot?

shadowminister,

It seems like you're the one firing blanks.

The Chinese Communist Party's propaganda outlet
"The Global Times" has published a series of
articles not only endorsing Liberal Party
Leader Scott Morrison but it has also commended
Morrison's "reason and judgement" for his staunch
defense of Gladys Liu.

The party owned publication which strongly promotes
the CCP has praised Morrison for his "confucian wisdom"
in supporting Gladys Liu.

There's plenty on the web regarding this - including
Chinese donations to the Liberal Party News outlets
have covered all of this.

Now back to the topic.

We've got a strong push from independent campaigns in
many vulnerable Coalition seats as well as the Greens
polling well in a handful of target seats. There is a
good chance we shall see a much larger cross bench
after the election with a strong mandate to fight for
bold policies, for integrity, and equality, and climate
change, in politics.

That would really be no small win.

Independent Allegra Spender has emerged as a
favourite to win the formerly blue seat of
Wentworth.

shadowminister,

Only in a rather deceitful mind like yours would 7 years become over "a decade" ago.

"Having previously denied any association, Ms Liu confirmed she was an honorary member of the Guangdong provincial chapter of the China Overseas Exchange Association between 2003 and 2015."

And how on earth would we know if she has or has not done this country any harm? Trust her? Well she has put the kybosh on that after failing to acknowledge her association with the CCP.

Why are you such an apologist for this person?

Paul1405 said- "That's right Pelican Dick! (in regards to ttbn's comment it seems)"

Answer- It seems that Paul1405 has a fascination with duck billed speculum. Most finished with this before algebra- but there you go.

I guess this can be put in the same classification as the infamy of Loudmouth2's hairy alternate side- that he seemed to constantly refer to in different states of appreciation. I suppose this is what I'll remember most about Loudmouth2.

Sorry I posted this to the wrong thread...

Foxy said- "The government owned publication which strictly promotes the CCP has praised Morrison as well as his "confucius wisdom.""

Answer- I would have thought that correlating Morrison with Confucism was a criticism rather than praise given that Mao Communists tried to destroy Confucism as a competing ideology. Despite the Communist parties mouthpiece "The Confucius Institute". But I'd need to see the articles context.

The Confucius institute has been going into Australian schools and getting them to sing the Chinese Communist National Anthem.

Confucius believed that the family is the atom of society- in contradiction to the nihilist Communists.

Paul1405 said- "They all look the same to ttbn, he met a Chinese person once, down at the Golden Dragon takeaway when he was picking up his Short Soup order."

Answer- I think perhaps Paul1405 is one "Short Soup order" short of a menu.

I think Taiwanese are ethnically, genetically and somewhat culturally Chinese even if they are not of Chinese nationality. They both eat Paul1405's "Short Soup" perhaps. It's fascinating that the left will deny the existence of nations and ethnicity when it suits themselves.

It appears that Japanese are related to Korean's genetically and 5% of Japan is apparently Korean. Japanese tend to have longer torso's than Korean's probably due to the interbreeding with native tribes after migration thousands of years before. Asian's have the distinctive Eye Fold as well as other traits that mark them as belonging to the genetics of the Chinese diaspora which seems to be the root power of the region historically- which is probably why it's known as the middle kingdom.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4536062/

Kudos ttbn

Scott Morrison seems to be running out of cards
to play. The cost of living has sky rocketed to
20 year highs which is a serious threat to the
government's final weeks of the campaign.
The issue of Solomon Islands is still being discussed.
Questions being asked are Australia's intelligence
agencies complacent or just incompetent - nevertheless
it puts Australia in a perilous position.

Morrison is spending money like there's no tomorrow
to worry about. And voters are not buying it. Throwing
money sort-term to buy votes is no answer. It smacks
of Clive Palmer. Not a good look.

ttbn- I thought your comment about "sexual appropriation" was innovative. Kudos.

Some voters may be concerned about any change in
government. It's a question of "The devil you know."
type of thing and they don't want to risk any
changes.

It is true that we don't know what we've got until
we lose it but it's also true that we don't know
what we've been missing until it arrives.

SR,

I see that you are lying and being deceitful again. I did not say over a decade ago. As for GL, there is no record of her involvement in anything that compromises Australia. So as yet there is nothing to apologize for.

Secondly, Richard Marles has been actively compromising Australia and even went as far as getting the Chinese Ambassador to vet one of his speeches.

Why are you and Foxy being apologists for this treasonous behaviour of the ALP deputy?

shadowminister,

The facts are on the web regarding Gladys Liu.

But I guess - winning at all costs is what matters
in politics. The truth doesn't

Foxy,

The facts are freely available on the internet on Richard Marles actively pushing the CCP's agenda against Australian interests. Yet you freely endorse him.

On the web, there is a long list of statements that GL has made that are critical of the CCP. Not something that the Labor party can claim.

"In July 2019, Liu backed anti-government protesters in her birthplace of Hong Kong, lauding their “passion and commitment to democracy”. She told The Australian she firmly endorsed the protest movement and its aims. “As a proud Hong Kong-born Australian, my position has been clear,” Ms Liu said.

In May 2020, Liu penned an op-ed for The Age in which she supported the Coalition Government's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also stressed that Chinese-Australians ought not to be the victims of scapegoating, and noted that the Chinese-Australian community had responded early and compassionately after the outbreak, following isolation protocols and donating to hospitals and non-profit organisations.[15]

In a separate interview with The Age also published in May 2020, Liu criticised Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party for their 2018 Memorandum of Understanding with China, which nominally signed up the state as part of the Belt and Road initiative. The most important thing is, what are Victorians, what are Australians getting out of it? How many jobs have the projects been able to provide? What are these companies getting these projects? Have [the projects] been put up for public tender? Do they pay Australian tax? We don't know. If there is a benefit, then show us."[16]

In November 2020, Liu joined with several other Australian MPs in condemning the disqualification by China of four members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Liu told The Sydney Morning Herald, she was saddened by the move as it meant "the democracy that I enjoyed is disappearing".[17]

shadowminister,

Sorry - don't buy it.

From 2003 to 2015 is a heck of a long time to be
a member supporting the CCP. And then not recall it
until found out.
Arranging dinner parties
and helping well known CCP Chinese business men get a
foothold into the Liberal sphere of influence and power
is all a bit suss for me.

Of course it's all going to be brushed over.
It suits both sides to do so.

Foxy,

You don't buy it and never will mostly because you don't need anything to confirm your prejudices. You have still failed to show a single thing that GL has done or said against the interests of Aus.

However, Richard Marles who like Sam Darstardly has given the tick to China's annexation of others' territory in the South China sea, you are deliberately blind.

shadowminister,

Talking to you is about as effective as a fart in a blizzard.
If you can't find anything suss on the web about Gladys
Liu, (and there's plenty there - including ASIO reports and
recommendations to then PM Malcolm Turnbull)
then you're not interested in doing so.

No surprises there.

I won't be responding to you any further.

Foxy

Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall.

DO YOU CONDONE Richard Marles' behaviour or not!!

If you do the tenuous drivel you have against GL is irrelevant.

As Michelle Grattan points out -

"A feature of this election is that it has multiple
fronts. Apart from the national campaign there are
regional battles, the individual seat contests,
and about an almost separate election revolving
around the "teals (independents) who have become a
defining feature of this election."

Grattan tells us that "nowhere are things more intense
on the Liberal side than Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's
electorate of Kooyong where money does not seem to be
a problem... the stakes are huge. " And as Grattan
says the loss of the seat once held by Menzies could have
practical and symbolic implications for the Liberal
Party.

Monique Ryan is challenging Frydenberg. It will be interesting
to see how far she gets. Frydenberg's advertising in the
electorate is immense - his pictures are everywhere. However
Monique Ryan as a children's neurologist is well known.

It won't be a dull race.

Monique Ryan talks through her backside and even caused warmist, hard Left Patricia Karvelas on RN to be sceptical of her raving. Let ratbags like her in, and you will have an unelected climate commission telling the government what to do on climate. They 'have a plan', or a bill, that will not be stopable if the Teals and Greens have the balance of power.

In the meantime, Albo's henchman are doing a better job of campaigning than he is capable of. The more the voters see of Albo, the less chance he has of being PM.

Some people are talking through their backsides
but it's not Independent Monique Ryan. Apparently
Josh Frydenberg finds her to be such a threat
that he's had his picture pasted all over his
electorate - which is a turn-off to many.
It just may have an opposite effect to the one he
wants.

The tactic of looking for advantages from negativity
is also wearing thin. And taking this stance - means
chewing on meagre bones. It's not working. Both parties
need to pay attention. Voters are more and more
turning to alternatives.

Morrison's controversial pick of Katherine Deves - who
has a trail of offensive anti-trans posts many in the
party want her to step down - "for the good of the party."
They want her to step down fearing she will hurt the vote
in Wentworth and North Sydney where the Libs face the
"teal" independents. Local Liberals have abandoned hope
of dislodging independent Zali Steggall in Wentworth.

What we're seeing in the election campaigns currently are
personal attacks, scare campaigns, photo ops,
and "gotcha" moments but no really serious debates
on major issues. No wonder there are so many
undecided voters at present. Lets hope we'll see
more debates soon.

More money being thrown around by the Coalition
this morning. Smacks of desperation. The PM
remains well behind in the polls and now faces
two major failures on the Coalition's core issues
of national security and the economy.

The cost of living is now the highest its been in
20 years. It is just another reminder and undermines
the Coalition's repeated assertions that Australia's
economy is one of the best in the world.

Scott Morrison once said:

"Just let awareness have it's way with you completely!"

This is going to be an intense week because early
voting starts on 9th May 2022 so it's a final week
for some voters to decide who to vote for. This
week is going to be an important time for both the
Government and the Opposition to showcase as to why
voters should vote for them.

We saw from the 2019 election that every election is
winnable by either side. Labor appears to be in better
nick this time than last time.

Anthony Albanese looks like a leader who's worked
hard to make himself fit and look fit for office.
He's made himself look electable. He stands tall,
dresses professionally and speaks more clearly.

His campaigning is good. He is disciplined and focused
on government bungles. He's resisting the temptation
to exploit the Liberal Party's of NSW divisional problems.
He's letting them continue to keep digging their own
hole.

Labor's continual showcasing of its best Frontbenchers
prominently in the campaign is having a positive effect.
As is its drawing on voter goodwill by association with
Labor's successful state premiers. Labor has benefited
from the Labor premiers'pandemic leadership.

The upcoming Leader's Debate next Sunday will be very
telling. Anything can happen.

Can anyone who has ever seen Albo try to answer anything other than a Dorothy Dix question actually believe his IQ is higher than 80?

I might be too generous in even that assessment. He obviously knows nothing, & can understand even less. He is even more unsuited to governing a modern country than Whitlam, if that is humanly possible.

Hello Hasbeen,

You're questioning Anthony Albanese's IQ?

Well he's managed to survive in politics for
decades. Has a degree in economics from Sydney
University and much more.

We all think of changing the world, but few
think of changing themselves.

As Stephen Hawking once said:

"We are very, very, small
but we are capable of very, very, big things."

Anthony Albanese deserves a chance to show us what
he is capable of.

We've all seen what the other guy can do.

What would the IQ be of a bloke that believes we should drop atomic bombs on Pakistan and kill 200 million innocent people on the grounds that; "We should get them, before they get us!" This is exactly what the clown HASBEEN suggested on this very Forum, His IQ would have to be lower than Hitler's 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1? LOWER?

Dear Paul,

I watched part of the Labor Campaign Launch in WA
this afternoon. An impressive list of attendees
from Kevin Rudd, Paul Keating, to Labor state premiers,
and all of the front-bench. Most impressive.
Albanese's speech was strong. And he had a strong
finish as well which was pretty good considering
he just got out of isolation. He finished saying:

"Vote for an Australia that recognizes the privilege
of sharing our vast continent with the oldest continuous
culture on earth. Vote for a country that celebrates our
success as a multicultural nation. Vote for an Australia
that believes the doors of opportunity should be open to
every Australian, no matter where you live, who you pray
to, or who you love."

"I think people know all about Scott Morrison - they've
worked him out. Australians understand that we can't bet
out future on the 3 more years of a PM who looks at every
challenge facing our country and says:

"That's not my job!"

Hi Foxy,

Yes, it went down well for the Labor Party. Albo spoke with a great deal of confidence.

International Labour Day,

Its been almost 10 years of the Coalition government in Canberra applying the economic thumb-screws to Australia's 13 million workers. With Coalition policies resulting in poorly paid insecure work and flat wages, Australians are now facing the double whammy of rising inflation and soaring mortgage rates. Whats Morrison's response; "Its not my job" and sarcastically "If you can afford the rent, go buy a house"

Dear Paul,

The government has had more than a decade to act on
the enormous threat of climate change and to create
an economy that can benefit from that transition.
They haven't. They won't even implement basic
measures to clean up corruption and the chronic
mistreatment of the elderly. So it is time for us to
stand up and speak out with out votes. We need real
alternatives to what's currently being offered.

Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison will go head
to head in a crucial 2nd election debate on the
Nine Network, less than 2 weeks before millions of
Australians cast their vote.

The hour long debate will take place on Mother's Day,
Sunday 8th May at 8.30pm at Nine's Sydney studios.

While the first debate was on Sky News "People's Forum"
with questions asked by selected voters on the pay TV
platform. The Nine debate will adopt the traditional
approach of using a panel of 3 journalists to question
the two leaders. Albanese was declared the winner of the
Sky News debate.

The Host of the debate will be 60 Minutes journalist -
Sarah Albo. And the three journalists asking the questions
are - Chris Uhlmann - Nine's political editor, David Crowe -
political journalist of - The Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald,
and Deb Knight - 9 Radio Host. All experienced journalists.

It should be an interesting debate. And the last chance for
each leader to tell the voters as to why they should be
elected.

Compare the pair indeed!

Some are doing well under Morrison, the BIG END OF TOWN are doing okay. Morrison's mate the ANZ BANK kicked up profits by a whopping 20%. While the WORKERS get Jack Sh!t.

We had Car Park Rorts from Morrison now its Dog Park Rorts.

Another Morrison mate, QANTAS takes billions from the taxpayer, and sacks 2,000 works at the same time, so they can employ coolie labour at a pittance of a wage. Found to be totally illegal by the court, but supported by Morrison.

The COALITION supports low wages as a policy.

Pauliar,

I see your racism against "coolies" coming out again.

The worse kept secret in this election is out. The Liberals and Nationals have stitched up a preference deal with their Nazi mates One Nation, Palmer and LDP. Vote for a Coalition candidate and you could get a Nazi.

shonky,

Like Morrison you support the sacking of 2,000 QANTAS workers. $1 billion of taxpayer money paid to QANTAS.

shonky, where is Touchy Tudge? $500k paid out to protect this scumbag. We need a Federal ICAC to protect us from corrupt Coalition politicians.

This Liberal - National Government has had more than a
decade to act and now throwing money to win an election
is not going to work. Voters are not stupid.

"How will you vote?
Re-elect Morrison so he can gloat?
Or make it easy with Albanese?
Or is Pauline Hanson in with a chance?
Perhaps Big Spender Palmer can lead the dance?

The outspoken Greens are climate aware
Concerned Independents really do care
No matter who you decide will provide
It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Pauliar,

Do your homework, the number of people that lost their cushy union jobs wasn't 2000.

Regarding the "it's not my job" phenomena- I remember that Malcolm Turnbull warned about not trying to educate the electorate about the constitution and constitutional responsibility. However Scott Morrison has done an amazing job through the Corona Crisis- he's put his head down and quietly gone about his job. While I believe that others are more politically appropriate to protecting British Australian interests it's good to see people that are calm in a crisis.

The Labor Party appears to be trying to distract the angry Victorian people from Daniel Andrews dismal record. Bait and Switch. If the Labor party can direct the anger towards Scott Morrison in the Federal Election then they will be in the mood for reconciliation when the Victorian State Election comes around.

The Victorian People have suffered world renowned grievous treatment by Daniel Andrews- as they grieve they will pass through the stages of Denial, Anger, Depression, Acceptance- but they will remember the evil of Dan- can they ever trust the Labor Party again

shonky, keep in mind, if not for the work of unionists "parasites" in the workforce such as yourself would not be enjoying the cushy lifestyle you now do.

Dumbo Albo is at it again. We know Morrison is a failure, and Albo is a fool, the decent alternative is to vote for the GREENS or Independents.

There are big differences between the two major
parties. For example, people who are focused on
designing, building, and constructing a product
are not focused on selling the product.

While people who are focused on selling the product
are not focused on designing, building, and
constructing the product. Selling is what they do best.

I'm sure that you can figure out to which group Scott
Morrison belongs and to which group Anthony Albanese
belongs.

I watched Q and A last night where David Speers had
Anthony Albanese on as a guest. Anthony Albanese
took questions from the very mixed audience. Scott
Morrison has been invited on the program but has
declined.

Regarding the "It's Not My Job," phenomenon?

That is a perfect example of spinning the situation.
By a PM and his Party. We've had the "bungled
vaccine rollout" plus the consistent blaming of the
states and others when anything goes wrong and taking
credit when it is the states that have done the greater
part of the job on dealing with COVID.

It's the states (with Premiers like Dan Andrews)sticking
to the medical advice, being quick to keep the public
informed about what's going on in a tough situation and
dealing with changing circumstances and taking a considered
and proportional response to the threat.

Morrison on the other hand is clearly seen as not taking
responsibility for anything and not being accountable for
the mistakes made in the government handling of COVID as
well as not being honest about what has caused problems
and being more interested in spinning (selling) a situation.

No wonder the man gets attacked during his public appearances
by so many disgruntled voters.

This is interesting...

He was 'mobbed' by locals who took selfies and chatted with the Prime Minister

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10625333/Federal-election-2022-Scott-Morrison-mobbed-pub-Perth.html

CM,

Who said Morrison can't win this election? ScumO' is a better campaigner than the Labor twit, and that wins votes. I may not agree with Coalition lack of policy etc, but I expect the margin to tighten on polling day. I believe Labor has a team that can match it with the conservatives, but they are weak on top leadership.

Hi Paul,

How do you win an election when Scott Morrison is the
problem? Scott Morrison has lost standing over the past
12 months. He's consistently attacked by irate pensioners.
Voters have cooled on the PM particularly in the cities
to such an extent that some government MPs want the focus
on them and not on the man in the Lodge - hence the PM
is not campaigning with the MPs. He's staying away from
them.

As for Albanese? Lets watch the debate on Sunday - Channel
9, at 8.30 - and see who comes across as stronger. Albanese
won the first debate on Sky News. Lets see who wins the
second debate. As for who will win the election?
I guess the old adage applies here - Only time will tell.

It appears that Labor is hoping Albozo keeps his mouth shut as he seems to cock it up every time he speaks.

As for Adam Bent the more he speaks the better it is for the liberals

Anthony Albanese gives us more than a slogan and
spin. He wants to be PM not Chief tactician.
Scott Morrison's government is incoherent and
idling. There's no reason for them to exist other
than allow Scott Morrison to occupy a
position.

By contrast Anthony Albanese wants to leave a legacy,
to make a difference. and to give battlers the same
opportunities as he had. He may not be full of slick
soundbites but he's got lived experience. He can tell
a journo what the disability support services are
for.

Services restore dignity to people like his mother who
had to bump down a flight of stairs on her backside because
she couldn't walk. This isn't soundbite politics. This is
politics with purpose. Politics about something.
Politics with some skin in the game.

Morrison, and his team of supporters try to paint his
opponent as a hapless parliamentary tragic with no grasp
of the practicalities of running a government or an
economy. This is ridiculous, given that Anthony Albanese
sat at the heart of 2 governments and steered an agenda
through the 43rd government when Labor lacked a
majority in both houses.

He fully understand governing is an institutionalized game
and Albanese understands just how fast a transition from
opposition to government goes and how events can blow your
agenda of course. He's proud of those 2 parliaments and
the Labor achievements but he also is aware what not to do
so the wheels don't come off. He is a man who knows what he
is doing. And given the chance he will show us.

Foxy,

After your last couple of posts, you have lost any credibility in calling yourself unbiased. A huge stream of bollocks from the Labor talking points.

If labor were so proud of Krudd's and Juliar's achievements why do they permanently steer away from discussing any of their policies?

Why is Albozo making so many basic cock ups in his interviews?

shadowminister,

I will be happy to take your questions seriously and
have a genuine discussion with you when and if - you lose the
derogatory name-calling of our former Prime Ministers
and the Leader of The Opposition. Until then you can't
be taken seriously.

cont'd ...

shadowminister,

Talking about credibility?

You are in no position to question anyone's credibility.
You are someone who's totally bankrupt. Look at who
you support. A person and party that makes promises
to win an election. I prefer to support people with
character who keep their promises. Who take responsibility,
and who turn up to do their job. And if that makes me
biased - its something I will wear with honour.

Hi Foxy,

A person such as yourself who is unbiased and impartial is not the same thing as a fence sitter. Just like a referee in a football match rightly calls out foul play by one side, you are being unbiased by calling it as you see it with the Coalition. Well done.

shonkyminister, just because your politics is clouded by National Socialism and your love of Hitler, doesn't mean that one day you to can also see the light.

Foxy,

Firstly I was talking about your pretence of being unbiased, however, I see no finger-wagging from you at your dim-witted habitual liar of a sidekick Pauliar who does nothing but mangle names simply demonstrates either your mental deficiency or zero credibility

Secondly, you support a party that never bothers even to try and keep its promises, especially Juliar who not only kept a single promise but actually lied shows your moral bankruptcy.

That you are happy that your champion Albozo can't even remember his own policies shows your lack of credibility. The twit is Australia's version of B B B Biden.

shonky, sorry you were thrown out of the 'Hof' just before you got the chance to blow the candles out.

Pauliar,

Just because your politics is clouded by paedophiles doesn't mean that you won't see the light out of your jail cell.

shadowminister,

git gud Imao

( Sun Tzu).

shadowminister,

Did you really write: "who does nothing but mangle names" and "your champion Albozo" in the same post?

I do love a bit of lunatic hard right hypocrisy on a Sunday morning but this was just too easy.

Give us a break.

shonky,

When have I ever referred to the ScumO' mob in derogatory terms. I can not say a bad word about 'Cry Baby' Porter, Barnyard Joy, Bonking Barney (same bloke) Touchy Tudge, The Upskirter, etc.

See you are back onto your favourite subject, calling others a paedophile. Got to wonder about YOU.

Today's a big day for me. My husband and I are
going to vote at an early voting location.
I'm quite excited and think it a privilege to be
able to cast a vote. Our electorate has been a
safe Liberal seat for decades. It shall be
interesting to see what the end result will be
this time around. We've got some excellent candidates
running.

I find it interesting that on the how to vote Liberal
flyer - they've put the United Australia Party candidate
second on the Senate ticket.

A vote for the Liberals is a vote for Palmer, and vice-versa. Morrison want to see a real wage cut for the lowest paid workers. For Morrison its interest rates UP!, inflation UP!, profits up!, wages DOWN!.

Watched last nights "leaders" debate on ch 7, nothing in it, but Scomo did tone down his argy-bargy smurky approach he employed last time. Where he did fall down, was when asked "what he liked in his opponent" he showed himself to be somewhat disingenuous with negative comment, Albo didn't retaliate in kind, which won him a brownie point. I can't help but think, despite all his "Cum-By-Yah" Morrison has a very mean streak within, which sometimes surfaces when pressured. I think with Albo its WYSIWYG, I can't say the same about Morrison, and some of his "political friends" have said as much.

Hi Paul,

I also watched the debate last night.

Morrison seemed to dodge some questions. He kept
having digs at Albanese, and he certainly seemed
out of touch with many realities that voters face
daily. His arguments against both Albanese and
Labor did not wash. And overall it was not a good
night for Morrison.

Albanese on the other hand came out as a focused
leader who spoke from the heart. He appeared to be
genuine - Morrison did not. I also liked the fact\
that while Morrison kept using the term - "YOU,"
Albanese used the term "We" which for me said it all.

"Scotty from Marketing," should stick.

"Albo for PM and a better future!"
should stick.

And No - I would not buy a used car from Morrison.
But I would try to sell him a hose. He needs one.

SR,

Only you would be moronic enough to read a post out of context and then try to berate me for your idiocy. To avoid looking like a complete twat try reading further back in the conversation.

Pauliar,

You forgot Adam bum Bandit, Syphilic Hanson Young, David bully shoebridge, Bill rapist Shorten, etc.

shonky,

LNP candidate for the seat of Brisbane, Vivian Lobo, is looking at criminal charges by police for lying on his candidate application. Looks like this sod is learning from Morrison even before he gets a chance to be elected. He can now bend over and kiss his political aspirations goodbye. When asked about this liar, Morrison said something like; "What's wrong with lying, I do it all the time myself."

That should read the seat of Lilley, hard to keep up with these lying Liberals, Robbie Beaton the Liberal candidate for the seat of Isaacs in Victoria has been caught out as well, he'll be off to court soon to face criminal charges, just like Lobo.

Pauliar,

Compared to the two green candidates convicted of paedophilia that is small potatoes.

shonky, all you have is something from 2012 when a person was a failed Green candidate at Marrickville local council elections. Nothing to say about 'Cry Baby' Porter, an accused paedophile/rapists of a 16 year old girl. Bonking Barney and Touchy Tudge shown to been having sex with junior office staff. A taxpayer payout of $500,000 to protect Tudge. These reprobates are in Morrison's Cabinet, not running at local council elections. With luck they will be A-Holed next Saturday. Oh, the one you claimed had nothing to worry about Porter, has been A-Holed already. When it comes to politics you are such a pillock.

Pauliar,

You are a liar and a fraud. Porter is accused of nothing.

As Twiggy Forest said, "the greens are a party for paedophiles".

It's no wonder that the Independents are gaining
in popularity. The recent election campaigns have
been particularly nasty ( Gollum adds). Election
campaigns as I wrote on another thread - put many
people under pressure, not just the candidates and
their staff but political journalists as well.

Journalists are not perfect - but with the recent
campaigns could the media have done better? Or is
there a deep flaw in the profession? The coverage of
the NDIS has created an emotional and physical distress
for its dependents. And the list goes on.

I can't help but wonder what will the Liberal Party
look like if it loses moderate Josh Frydenberg?

Will it be the death knell for the party?

Hi Paul,

Just a bit off topic.

Have you ever heard of Uncle Wes Marne?

Uncle Wes Marne is a Bigambul man and community elder
who has lived in Mt Druitt, Sydney for 45 years. When
he was 9 years old the government walked his family off
tribal lands from the Stanthorpe Hills to Dreambird
Mission, Queensland.

Now at age 100 he's committed to sharing the traditional
knowledge of his grandfather's creation and dreaming
stories and his personal experiences of his life as an
Aboriginal man over the last century.

He's written a book - "Through Old Eyes," which is a
collection of stories, poetry, and his life to mark his
100th Birthday. Uncle Wes comes froma long line of
storytellers. His show "Fire Bucket," premiered at the 2016
Sydney Festival and played to sell out audiences. He's
toured Melvbourne and other parts of the country.

I watched his interview on TV. A fascinating character.
With much to tell. His book - "Through Old Eyes," which
was published in May 2022 - is worth getting a hold of.
I'm going to buy several copies from Readings. They don't
have it in stock, but they will order it for me.

Hi Foxy,

I've heard of Wes Marne, but never met him. The latter part of my working life was in crisis housing in the inner burbs of Sydney. Mostly finding, and settling, older men into affordable accommodation, blokes on a pension of some sort mostly, such as the Aged Pension. Many were destitute, no family, problems with alcohol, mental illness, other illnesses, blokes who had given up on life. When some jerk comes on here and slags off public servants, I take offence, as I know PS guys who work hard to help others, and make a difference.