Whilst I don't agree with batfink in a number of areas, I haven't seen anything that suggests he is socially conservative, let alone extremely so. Economic right and socially nuetral would have been about my guess :)

His approach to asylum seekers should see it over to the right a little.

sorry about that....i just don't think that the majority of these people are not true refugee's

stating that the LNP will raise the GST.....Abbott and hockey have already guaranteed they won't but that won't stop the fear and smear campaign

His approach to asylum seekers should see it over to the right a little.

If the ALP can be considered left in spite of their asylum seeker policy, batfink can be considered neutral with his :P

tonight we had the ads on TV from KRUDD, lies lies and more lies.....stating that the LNP will raise the GST.....Abbott and hockey have already guaranteed they won't but that won't stop the fear and smear campaign.....and you talk about Abott being negative.....OH PLEASE..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we playing the "lets count the lies" game?

"have raised a few well-manicured eyebrows"
Maybe it's just me, but isn't this line a little insensitive initself?

I swing to the left on the Asylum seeker issue but apparently these are some of our new arrivals.:-k :lol: EDIT: Looks like it is not resizing itself , one sec.


Edited by db-pgfc: 7/8/2013 09:39:30 PM

Edited by db-pgfc: 7/8/2013 09:42:47 PM

Edited by db-pgfc: 7/8/2013 09:45:45 PM

To be fair, looking at the guy I'm guessing he's talking from the first perspective...


Edited by afromanGT: 7/8/2013 09:43:38 PM

I'm kind of getting a "registered sex offender"/"prepare your anus" vibe off that photo too :lol:

Would you risk your life on a rickety boat if you weren't?

Well...Both parties have admitted that they need to increase tax revenue in one way or another in order to balance the budget. If he's going to keep his promise to cut company taxes then he's got to make up for that lost income somehow. Either he breaks his promise to cut company tax (unlikely) in order to keep GST at the same level, or he breaks his promise to not raise the GST (far more likely) in order to increase tax revenue.

I'm inclined to agree with RedKat, I'm not a fan of Abbott as a man but I'm willing to give him a chance as a politician, Rudd's had the chance to prove he's a shit leader so I'm going to try and give Abbott the chance to see if he can be less shit.

I'm a centre rightist but regardless of party preferences I think Rudd is an abysmal leader, he's proven to be a horrible PM and is universally despised by his own party, as much of a prick as Tony is at least he has the support of his fucking party.

No, he can just cut spending like crazy. Public school students- fuck 'em. people with a disability, fuck 'em, working parents - fuck 'em, the elderly - fuck 'em, nbn- fuck it, indigenous communities - fuck 'em, people with bad teeth - fuck 'em, young people who have shit work conditions -fuck 'em (and the fags, the refugees, universities, hospitals, the unions, etc etc) loss of income is hardly a problem if you have no intention of spending on anything.

Although the proportion of asylum seekers arriving by boat has increased significantly in the last few years, and boat arrivals continue to be the focus of much public and political attention, they are in fact more likely to be recognised as refugees than those who have arrived by air. For example, the progressive protection visa grant rate for asylum seekers from the top country of citizenship for boat arrivals (Afghanistan) has varied between about 80 and 95 per cent since 2009; while the final protection visa grant rate for those applying for asylum from the top country of citizenship for air arrivals (China) is usually only around 20 to 30 per cent.[34]

Dr Khalid Koser (Lowy Institute for International Policy) notes that:

The reason this ... point is important is that it means that arguably Australia is worrying about the wrong asylum seekers. Whereas the majority of those arriving by boat are refugees, the majority of those arriving by air are not.

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/AsylumFacts

]

Are boat arrivals ‘genuine refugees’?

Asylum seekers who arrive by boat are subject to the same assessment criteria as all other asylum applicants. Past figures show that between 70 and 97 per cent of asylum seekers arriving by boat at different times have been found to be refugees and granted protection either in Australia or in another country. For example:

according to the Refugee Council of Australia, in 1998–99, approximately 97 per cent of Iraqi and 92 per cent of Afghan applicants (the majority of whom would have arrived by boat) were granted refugee status and given permanent protection visas[39]
under the ‘Pacific Solution’ a total of 1637 unauthorised arrivals were detained in the Nauru and Manus facilities between September 2001 and February 2008.[40] Of those, 1153 (70 per cent) were found to be refugees and ultimately resettled to Australia or other countries[41]
during the Rudd Government approximately 90–95 per cent of assessments completed on Christmas Island resulted in protection visas being granted.[42] For example, of the 1254 claims assessed on Christmas Island between 1 July 2009 and 31 January 2010, only 110 people were assessed as not being refugees.[43] These figures suggest that 1144 (approximately 91 per cent) of those claims were successful.
under the Refugee Status Assessment (RSA) process previously in place (introduced in July 2008; continued under the Protection Obligations Determination process introduced in March 2011; and continued under the single statutory Protection visa process for boat and air arrivals announced in November 2011), people who arrive unauthorised at an excised offshore place are prevented from lodging a protection visa application until they have had their claims assessed by DIAC.[44] Of the 2914 RSA assessments completed in 2009–10, 2126 individuals (73 per cent) were found to be refugees and 788 (27 per cent) were found not to be refugees and would not have been able to lodge an application for a protection visa. In 2009–10, 572 requests for review of their primary negative RSA outcome (Independent Merits Review) were received and 184 completed. Of those completed 81 (44 per cent) were found to be refugees.[45]
the final protection visa grant rate for 2009–10 for people from Afghanistan (the majority of whom would have arrived by boat) was 99.7 per cent (this figure does not include those boat arrivals with a negative RSA outcome who would not have been able to lodge an application for a protection visa). Grant rates to people from Iraq, Iran and Burma, many of whom would also have arrived by boat, were also high, ranging from 96 to 98 per cent.[46]

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/AsylumFacts

No, he can just cut spending like crazy. Public school students- fuck 'em. people with a disability, fuck 'em, working parents - fuck 'em, the elderly - fuck 'em, nbn- fuck it, indigenous communities - fuck 'em, people with bad teeth - fuck 'em, young people who have shit work conditions -fuck 'em (and the fags, the refugees, universities, hospitals, the unions, etc etc) loss of income is hardly a problem if you have no intention of spending on anything.