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afromanGT
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She's not under investigation, the company she formerly worked for is. Nice spin, right wing media.
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WaMackie
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Ha Ha... why do I even bother.
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Joffa
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Quote:The poll that could undo the PM by: Malcolm Farr, National Political Editor From: news.com.au February 25, 2013 1:22PM JULIA Gillard is preparing for another opinion poll bruising tomorrow which will likely strengthen the chance of a leadership challenge. The last Newspoll on February 3 showed Labor's primary support had plunged six points to 32 per cent with that of the coalition strengthening four percentage points to 48 per cent in three weeks. Labor sources say no one has declared they want to move against the Prime Minister and that the most prominent possible contender, Kevin Rudd, had said in public he would not challenge and would not allow himself to be drafted. Trade Minister Craig Emerson said today Ms Gillard would continue to the September 14 election. "So my proposition is that Julia Gillard has and will continue to make decisions in the interests of this nation 20, 30, 50 years on through our education reform, through putting a price on carbon, through the National Disability Insurance Scheme," Mr Emerson told Sky news. "And your answer is but shouldn't she be responding to polls? The Australian people want a tough and resilient leader who has a vision and the national interest at heart, that's what Julia Gillard offers." However, Labor figures expect the prospect of a the party being wiped out in September will draw more attention to opinion poll findings. The next round of major opinion survey torture will arrive when the Caucus returns to Canberra for sittings in mid-March. However, Labor sources anticipate the toughest period for Ms Gillard will come after the May Budget. The full Parliament will not return until March 12 when Ms Gillard's opponents will have seven sitting days to use their numbers, should they have them, to remove her. When Parliament rises on March 21 it will have a seven-week break before returning for the Budget. This week the Senate alone is sitting and the Opposition is using the sittings to add to speculation the Prime Minister is under threat. Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said former Labor leader Kevin Rudd had to show he had the ticker to get the job back. "If he was fair dinkum, have the ticker, stand up and say this is ridiculous and get this show back under control," he told reporters in Canberra today. "If he is not just doing that, it is just some fit of pique where he is sulkily going around, trying to throw mud on everybody." Liberal Senate Leader Eric Abetz said there were no leadership options which would save Labor and maintained Opposition attacks on the Prime Minister's handling of the mining tax, border protection and the Budget outcome. "Julia Gillard has scored a failure on each and every one of those issues and might I add it’s not only Julia Gillard's fault, it's not necessarily the Labor leaderships fault, it is simply bad policy which Labor have been unable to stitch together," Senator Abetz said. "So irrespective of whom they might choose as their leader in the future, they will be stuck with these policies which are devastating to the Australian economy, devastating to Australian families and will leave a huge debt burden for future generations." Ms Gillard is chairing cabinet today and has no public functions scheduled for tomorrow. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/the-poll-that-could-undo-the-pm/story-fncynkc6-1226585082244
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lukerobinho
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She isn't already undone ?
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lukerobinho
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Poll shows clear Abbott lead over Gillard Quote:TONY Abbott has a clear lead over Julia Gillard as preferred prime minister for the first time since July last year, the latest Newspoll shows. Voter satisfaction with the prime minister has dived to its lowest since August last year and Labor's primary vote languishes at a seven-month low, according to the poll published in The Australian. The survey, taken at the weekend, shows Labor's primary vote is just 31 per cent and the coalition's is 47 per cent. Based on preference flows at the last election, the coalition has a two-party-preferred lead of 55 per cent to Labor's 45 per cent. After formally breaking away from Labor, the Greens' primary vote rose from 9 per cent to 11 per cent. Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/poll-shows-clear-abbott-lead-over-gillard/story-e6frfku9-1226585490044#ixzz2LuuPVVu7
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macktheknife
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She's gone.
Only issue now is when.
I'd probably let it ride until April/May. 4 months before the election, replace her, get Rudd back up and make a speech about getting the Party and Country back on track, as a united front, no-one likes Abbott anyway.
Edited by macktheknife: 26/2/2013 01:46:03 AM
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thupercoach
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notorganic wrote:So she's not personally under investigation, then. No, just the slush fund she set up to hide the cash trail. That's all kosher, right? Nudge nudge, wink wink...
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notorganic
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WaMackie wrote:Ha Ha... why do I even bother. Excellent question
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Carlito
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Wamackie the Andrew bolt of the forums
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thupercoach
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MvFCArsenal16.8 wrote:Wamackie the Andrew bolt of the forums Play the ball not the man
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notorganic
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thupercoach wrote:MvFCArsenal16.8 wrote:Wamackie the Andrew bolt of the forums Play the ball not the man There's no ball to play here. To continue to assert that Gillard is personally under investigation for fraud is the same as Americans that won't ever be convinced that Obama was not born out of the United States.
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Carlito
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Or that bush is an idiot or that abbott has no idea
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TheSelectFew
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Anarchy > farcical democracy
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WaMackie
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Slater & Gordon secretary quizzed as police step up AWU inquiries
BY:HEDLEY THOMAS, NATIONAL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian January 17, 2013 12:00AM
A HIGHLY sensitive investigation by Victoria Police into the union scandal that has dogged Julia Gillard for 17 years has been stepped up, with a detective travelling to Queensland's Sunshine Coast to take a detailed statement from a key witness.
The witness, Olivia Palmer, is a highly regarded former legal secretary who worked with Ms Gillard at Melbourne-based firm Slater & Gordon lawyers when the fraud involving the Australian Workers Union unfolded.
A Victorian detective who arrived in Queensland on Monday spent most of Tuesday and yesterday interviewing Ms Palmer at Kawana police station near her Caloundra home. Ms Palmer - formerly Olivia Brosnahan - also provided evidence to detectives in Melbourne last week about her recollection of the firm's role in the funding and conveyancing of a $230,000 terrace house in Fitzroy, in the city's inner northeast.
The Kerr Street property was bought with cash from the AWU Workplace Reform Association by Ms Gillard's then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson, in 1993.
Ms Gillard, who had provided legal advice to Mr Wilson to set up the association, attended the auction.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing, saying she knew nothing about the workings of the association. The association, which Ms Gillard later described as a "slush fund" for the re-election of union officials, was used by Mr Wilson and his union colleague Ralph Blewitt to defraud hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ms Palmer, a retiree, told The Australian yesterday: "I am unable to comment to the media about this." Her husband, Garth Palmer, said police had asked his wife not to discuss her evidence or the probe in public.
Victoria Police's fraud squad has examined hundreds of documents including the Slater & Gordon conveyancing file for the Fitzroy property.
The file shows that Ms Gillard signed and witnessed a power of attorney that enabled Mr Wilson to buy the terrace house on behalf of Mr Blewitt, a confessed fraudster and union bagman.
Ms Palmer's role at Slater & Gordon at the time is outlined in conveyancing documents that show she made file notes, particularly about the power of attorney document signed by Ms Gillard.
It is understood that one key element of the police investigation concerns whether stolen union funds were dishonestly used to buy the Melbourne property. The establishment of the AWU Workplace Reform Association following Ms Gillard's legal advice, which was at the heart of heated exchanges between the Prime Minister and Tony Abbott in the last week of parliament last year, forms part of the renewed police probe.
Mr Blewitt, who admitted to The Australian last year that he was part of a fraud designed by Mr Wilson, faces possible criminal charges after telling Victoria Police of his role with the slush fund. He has alleged that the power of attorney was a false document.
Ms Gillard, who left Slater & Gordon abruptly in 1995, fronted a media conference on November 26 and angrily denounced Mr Blewitt as "a complete imbecile, an idiot, a stooge, a sexist pig".
Asked about the power of attorney document and whether it was done lawfully, Ms Gillard said: "I've said publicly on more than one occasion that I did nothing wrong, and I did nothing wrong in the witnessing of this power of attorney. So it's going to come down to Mr Blewitt's word against me.
"You can work out who you believe: the person who is standing here, Prime Minister of Australia, who has done nothing wrong; or the man who says he's guilty of fraud and is looking for an immunity."
She also referred to file notes made at the time by Ms Palmer.
Victoria Police said last month in response to a Freedom of Information application that the documents held by detectives would not be released as investigations were ongoing. A spokesman reiterated this week that "the investigation is ongoing and we will not be providing a running commentary".
West Australian police said they were liaising with Victoria Police and "ready to assist our Victorian counterparts".
A source close to the Victoria Police investigation has confirmed that several detectives are actively pursuing a number of leads and speaking to witnesses.
It is understood that Victoria Police have also visited the builder, now retired, who renovated Ms Gillard's Melbourne cottage.
Ms Gillard says she paid for the renovations herself.
Another witness, an AWU official involved in the renovation, Bill Telikostoglou, is expected to return to Melbourne from his home in Athens this month to assist police.
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Joffa
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WaMackie wrote:Slater & Gordon secretary quizzed as police step up AWU inquiries
BY:HEDLEY THOMAS, NATIONAL CHIEF CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian January 17, 2013 12:00AM
A HIGHLY sensitive investigation by Victoria Police into the union scandal that has dogged Julia Gillard for 17 years has been stepped up, with a detective travelling to Queensland's Sunshine Coast to take a detailed statement from a key witness.
The witness, Olivia Palmer, is a highly regarded former legal secretary who worked with Ms Gillard at Melbourne-based firm Slater & Gordon lawyers when the fraud involving the Australian Workers Union unfolded.
A Victorian detective who arrived in Queensland on Monday spent most of Tuesday and yesterday interviewing Ms Palmer at Kawana police station near her Caloundra home. Ms Palmer - formerly Olivia Brosnahan - also provided evidence to detectives in Melbourne last week about her recollection of the firm's role in the funding and conveyancing of a $230,000 terrace house in Fitzroy, in the city's inner northeast.
The Kerr Street property was bought with cash from the AWU Workplace Reform Association by Ms Gillard's then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson, in 1993.
Ms Gillard, who had provided legal advice to Mr Wilson to set up the association, attended the auction.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly and vehemently denied wrongdoing, saying she knew nothing about the workings of the association. The association, which Ms Gillard later described as a "slush fund" for the re-election of union officials, was used by Mr Wilson and his union colleague Ralph Blewitt to defraud hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ms Palmer, a retiree, told The Australian yesterday: "I am unable to comment to the media about this." Her husband, Garth Palmer, said police had asked his wife not to discuss her evidence or the probe in public.
Victoria Police's fraud squad has examined hundreds of documents including the Slater & Gordon conveyancing file for the Fitzroy property.
The file shows that Ms Gillard signed and witnessed a power of attorney that enabled Mr Wilson to buy the terrace house on behalf of Mr Blewitt, a confessed fraudster and union bagman.
Ms Palmer's role at Slater & Gordon at the time is outlined in conveyancing documents that show she made file notes, particularly about the power of attorney document signed by Ms Gillard.
It is understood that one key element of the police investigation concerns whether stolen union funds were dishonestly used to buy the Melbourne property. The establishment of the AWU Workplace Reform Association following Ms Gillard's legal advice, which was at the heart of heated exchanges between the Prime Minister and Tony Abbott in the last week of parliament last year, forms part of the renewed police probe.
Mr Blewitt, who admitted to The Australian last year that he was part of a fraud designed by Mr Wilson, faces possible criminal charges after telling Victoria Police of his role with the slush fund. He has alleged that the power of attorney was a false document.
Ms Gillard, who left Slater & Gordon abruptly in 1995, fronted a media conference on November 26 and angrily denounced Mr Blewitt as "a complete imbecile, an idiot, a stooge, a sexist pig".
Asked about the power of attorney document and whether it was done lawfully, Ms Gillard said: "I've said publicly on more than one occasion that I did nothing wrong, and I did nothing wrong in the witnessing of this power of attorney. So it's going to come down to Mr Blewitt's word against me.
"You can work out who you believe: the person who is standing here, Prime Minister of Australia, who has done nothing wrong; or the man who says he's guilty of fraud and is looking for an immunity."
She also referred to file notes made at the time by Ms Palmer.
Victoria Police said last month in response to a Freedom of Information application that the documents held by detectives would not be released as investigations were ongoing. A spokesman reiterated this week that "the investigation is ongoing and we will not be providing a running commentary".
West Australian police said they were liaising with Victoria Police and "ready to assist our Victorian counterparts".
A source close to the Victoria Police investigation has confirmed that several detectives are actively pursuing a number of leads and speaking to witnesses.
It is understood that Victoria Police have also visited the builder, now retired, who renovated Ms Gillard's Melbourne cottage.
Ms Gillard says she paid for the renovations herself.
Another witness, an AWU official involved in the renovation, Bill Telikostoglou, is expected to return to Melbourne from his home in Athens this month to assist police. Please provide links to articles otherwise they will be deleted. thanks http://gooseinlabour.com/slater-and-gordon-secretary-quizzed/
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lukerobinho
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Julia Gillard defends silence on fund Quote:JULIA Gillard has hit out at suggestions that she failed to tell authorities about a union slush fund she helped to set up, arguing yesterday she could not report what she did not know.
Departing from her previous refusal to take further questions on the affair, the Prime Minister said she could not report the fund's operations to the Australian Workers Union or the police because she had no role at the union and no involvement in the fund's activities.
The Prime Minister has attacked the Coalition for probing the AWU scandal in parliament in recent weeks after she told a press conference in Canberra on August 23 that she would take questions on that day but not go into the matter again.
With Tony Abbott and deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop expected to ask more questions when parliament resumes on November 26, some Labor caucus members have privately said the Prime Minister needs a stronger response than a refusal to take further questions.
Working as a lawyer at Slater & Gordon in 1992, Ms Gillard provided legal advice that helped her then boyfriend, AWU official Bruce Wilson, set up an entity called the AWU Workplace Reform Association. Mr Wilson and fellow AWU official Ralph Blewitt are accused of using the association to defraud the union of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The AWU launched an investigation in August 1995 and Slater & Gordon interviewed Ms Gillard about her role the following month, when she described the association as a "slush fund" for the re-election of union officials. Ms Gillard, who denies any wrongdoing, left the firm soon after the interview.
Asked in parliament last week why she did not "report the fraud", Ms Gillard replied: "By the time the matters . . . came to my attention, they were already the subject of inquiry and investigation."
However, union officials learned of the existence of the slush fund only in April 1996 and former AWU official Peter Trebilco told The Australian this week that he would have acted faster to secure the funds if Slater & Gordon had told him of it.
Yesterday Ms Gillard rejected the assumption that she could have alerted the union or the police to the matter when she had no involvement in the associations, bank accounts linked to the association or the union.
Speaking to reporters in Laos, where she was attending the Asia Europe Meeting of dozens of heads of state, Ms Gillard said nothing had emerged to contradict what she had said in an internal review by Slater & Gordon, which included a tape-recorded interview later revealed in The Australian.
"That internal review is out there in the public domain and what I said in that internal review is not contradicted in any way by any other things that have been said," Ms Gillard said.
"What I said in that internal review is the truth."
Fending off a further question, Ms Gillard said there were "issues with the coverage" of the affair and therefore there were issues with the questions put to her.
"My role here was that as a lawyer I provided advice on the incorporation of an association," she said. "I was never connected with the operation of any fund, never connected with the operation of any fund.
"I was not an office bearer of the association, I was not involved in its activities, I was not involved in any bank accounts it may have held, I was not an official of the AWU, I was not in charge of the conveyancing file. So you are effectively asking me why didn't I report to authorities things I did not know." http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/julia-gillard-defends-silence-on-fund/story-fng5kxvh-1226511803809
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WaMackie
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/investigations/awu-slush-fund-probe-nearing-end/story-fng5kxvh-1226587510191AWU 'slush fund' probe nearing end BY:PIA AKERMAN From:The Australian February 28, 2013 10:58AM THE Victoria Police fraud squad investigation into the AWU "slush fund" scandal is drawing to a close. The story goes on to say Acting Chief Commissioner Lucinda Nolan today said the investigation was still ongoing but was expected to conclude shortly. "There is an end in sight and again, it isn't that far off," she told the ABC. "I couldn't give you an exact timeline but we've interviewed most of the key people." Ms Nolan said the outcome of the investigation was "not a decision for me". Former AWU national secretary and current Fair Work commissioner Ian Cambridge this month called on witnesses to co-operate with the investigation. Victoria Police have sent detectives to Sydney and Queensland to interview witnesses, including a legal secretary, Olivia Palmer (formerly Brosnahan), who worked at Slater & Gordon with Ms Gillard and became involved during the purchase by Mr Wilson of a Melbourne terrace house with union funds.
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TrueAnglo
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No12
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Julia Gillard's Labour camp could not picked a better week to come to West Sydney.
Today Rosella Tomato Sauce factory shut the door in Seven Hills and about 100 employees are now out of work, also 2GB Radio announced that they will be broadcasting from Rooty Hill Club next Tuesday, where PM will be staying for a week. PM is boycotting the radio station and was not available for interviews for over two years, choosing to appear on ABC and other FM stations.
I guess next week PM will have to face some questions that really matter.
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KenGooner_GCU
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Joffa
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Quote:Labor facing wipeout: poll DateMarch 2, 2013 Mark KennySenior political correspondent FEDERAL Labor faces electoral annihilation, losing seats previously considered ultra-safe, unless the party switches back to Kevin Rudd, a new poll has found. It raises the prospect of double-digit swings ousting Sydney MPs on buffers of up to 12 per cent - including two government ministers. It also suggests Prime Minister Julia Gillard's five-day visit to shore-up marginal western Sydney electorates from Sunday may be futile, with lifelong Labor voters in far safer seats walking away. The exclusive Fairfax Media/ReachTel automated poll, taken in four safe Labor electorates in Sydney's west, has found much of Labor's collapse can be attributed to negative perceptions of Ms Gillard's leadership. It also suggests western Sydney could be saved if Mr Rudd were re-installed as leader. The automated phone poll surveyed 2550 voters across the four Labor heartland electorates of Chifley, Blaxland, McMahon and Werriwa. It has a margin of error of 3.9 per cent. Chifley and Blaxland are held with margins of 12.3 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively. McMahon and Werriwa are also held with solid margins of 7.8 and 6.8 per cent respectively. However, the poll, conducted on Thursday evening, showed all four seats would be surrendered to the Liberal Party in a shift that would redraw Australia's political landscape were an election held now. McMahon is held by senior minister Chris Bowen, Werriwa by party stalwart Laurie Ferguson. Blaxland - Paul Keating's old seat - by frontbencher and rising star Jason Clare and Chifley by Labor first-termer Ed Husic. Strategists on both sides of politics believe the September 14 election will be decided predominantly in NSW and Queensland, where a swag of marginal Labor seats are vulnerable, although this poll suggests seats on much higher margins could also fall. In Victoria, where Labor's standing is stronger, as few as three of its seats, Corangamite, Deakin, and La Trobe, are considered marginal, but several seats on margins above 5 per cent, if the ReachTel figures were replicated here, would also be in danger. These include Chisholm (5.8 per cent) held by Speaker Ann Burke, as well as Bruce (7.7 per cent), and Melbourne Ports (7.9 per cent). The poll confirms Labor faces its biggest challenge in NSW, where its brand has been hammered in the ICAC corruption hearings, and by links to a dysfunctional former state government and the Craig Thomson debacle. Asked who would get their first preference vote in Blaxland if an election were held today, 34.2 per cent of the 662 residents polled nominated Mr Clare, who is the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice. That compared with 44 per cent for the Liberal Party, giving it a 54/46 two-party-preferred vote. However, when asked to re-consider their vote if Mr Rudd were leader of the ALP rather than Ms Gillard, the numbers reversed, giving Labor the 54 per cent share of the vote. The poll showed that in Chifley, Mr Husic would have been turfed out after just one term, with his share of the vote dropping from 62.3 per cent in 2010, to 46 per cent. However, when the 641 residents were asked to factor in Mr Rudd instead, the poll suggested Mr Husic would retain the seat easily. In McMahon, Higher Education Minister Chris Bowen's almost 8 per cent margin would be obliterated, leaving him with just 38 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. In a speech last night in Sydney, the Treasurer Wayne Swan defended Labor's reform record including his underperforming mining tax. He said carrying out reform was always hard, citing the recent American presidential election, where President Barack Obama did not blink with ''all the guns of the vested interests and their cheerleaders in the conservative media'' trained on him. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/labor-facing-wipeout-poll-20130301-2fc6u.html#ixzz2MHsBLpAa
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Joffa
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Quote:Labor facing wipeout: poll DateMarch 2, 2013 Mark KennySenior political correspondent FEDERAL Labor faces electoral annihilation, losing seats previously considered ultra-safe, unless the party switches back to Kevin Rudd, a new poll has found. It raises the prospect of double-digit swings ousting Sydney MPs on buffers of up to 12 per cent - including two government ministers. It also suggests Prime Minister Julia Gillard's five-day visit to shore-up marginal western Sydney electorates from Sunday may be futile, with lifelong Labor voters in far safer seats walking away. The exclusive Fairfax Media/ReachTel automated poll, taken in four safe Labor electorates in Sydney's west, has found much of Labor's collapse can be attributed to negative perceptions of Ms Gillard's leadership. It also suggests western Sydney could be saved if Mr Rudd were re-installed as leader. The automated phone poll surveyed 2550 voters across the four Labor heartland electorates of Chifley, Blaxland, McMahon and Werriwa. It has a margin of error of 3.9 per cent. Chifley and Blaxland are held with margins of 12.3 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively. McMahon and Werriwa are also held with solid margins of 7.8 and 6.8 per cent respectively. However, the poll, conducted on Thursday evening, showed all four seats would be surrendered to the Liberal Party in a shift that would redraw Australia's political landscape were an election held now. McMahon is held by senior minister Chris Bowen, Werriwa by party stalwart Laurie Ferguson. Blaxland - Paul Keating's old seat - by frontbencher and rising star Jason Clare and Chifley by Labor first-termer Ed Husic. Strategists on both sides of politics believe the September 14 election will be decided predominantly in NSW and Queensland, where a swag of marginal Labor seats are vulnerable, although this poll suggests seats on much higher margins could also fall. In Victoria, where Labor's standing is stronger, as few as three of its seats, Corangamite, Deakin, and La Trobe, are considered marginal, but several seats on margins above 5 per cent, if the ReachTel figures were replicated here, would also be in danger. These include Chisholm (5.8 per cent) held by Speaker Ann Burke, as well as Bruce (7.7 per cent), and Melbourne Ports (7.9 per cent). The poll confirms Labor faces its biggest challenge in NSW, where its brand has been hammered in the ICAC corruption hearings, and by links to a dysfunctional former state government and the Craig Thomson debacle. Asked who would get their first preference vote in Blaxland if an election were held today, 34.2 per cent of the 662 residents polled nominated Mr Clare, who is the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice. That compared with 44 per cent for the Liberal Party, giving it a 54/46 two-party-preferred vote. However, when asked to re-consider their vote if Mr Rudd were leader of the ALP rather than Ms Gillard, the numbers reversed, giving Labor the 54 per cent share of the vote. The poll showed that in Chifley, Mr Husic would have been turfed out after just one term, with his share of the vote dropping from 62.3 per cent in 2010, to 46 per cent. However, when the 641 residents were asked to factor in Mr Rudd instead, the poll suggested Mr Husic would retain the seat easily. In McMahon, Higher Education Minister Chris Bowen's almost 8 per cent margin would be obliterated, leaving him with just 38 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. In a speech last night in Sydney, the Treasurer Wayne Swan defended Labor's reform record including his underperforming mining tax. He said carrying out reform was always hard, citing the recent American presidential election, where President Barack Obama did not blink with ''all the guns of the vested interests and their cheerleaders in the conservative media'' trained on him. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/labor-facing-wipeout-poll-20130301-2fc6u.html#ixzz2MHsBLpAa
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TrueAnglo
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Joffa
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Quote:Abbott wants to win over three Victorian seats DateMarch 5, 2013 (0) CALL it a sign of confidence. Having declared Sydney's outer-west is now ''the new Liberal heartland'', Tony Abbott is about to hone in on Melbourne's outer-east. While the Prime Minister continues to govern from Rooty Hill, Mr Abbott has switched his focus to the one state where Julia Gillard and Labor are still ahead in the polls - Victoria. Mr Abbott flew into Melbourne on Monday night and will spend the morning campaigning in the seat of La Trobe, where lawyer Laura Smyth, who was elected in 2010, has a margin of just 1.7 per cent. The seat is one of three Labor-held electorates the Coalition has targeted - the others being Corangamite in the south-west, with a margin of 0.3 per cent and Deakin (0.6 per cent). But Mr Abbott appears to be aiming higher. In recent visits he has had functions with Liberal candidates for the seat of Chisholm, held by the popular Speaker in Anna Burke by a margin of 5.8 per cent, and Bruce, held by former minister Alan Griffin with a 7.7 per cent buffer. The Opposition Leader claims Melbourne is his second home and is making his 86th visit to Victoria since becoming Liberal leader - an average of one a fortnight. While last month's Age-Nielsen poll was diabolical for the government, Labor's primary vote in the PM's home state was a healthy 37 per cent. Victoria was also the only state where Ms Gillard was ahead as preferred prime minister, Labor was ahead in two-party preferred terms and Mr Abbott's net approval rating (approval minus disapproval) was worse than negative-20. But Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane rejects the notion that attitudes in Victoria are at odds with the national mood of disaffection. ''Right across Australia, Labor has forgotten ordinary families and Victoria is no different - and we're seeing a strong response in Victoria to our plan,'' he says. Mr Abbott insists the centrepiece of that plan, the abolition of the carbon price, will reduce costs for families and manufacturers, many of them in Melbourne's outer-east. After Ms Gillard moved to neutralise his commitment to funding his Sydney's WestConnex transport link, he can be expected to challenge Labor to match his $1.5 billion commitment to start building the east-west road link during this visit. Earlier this week, Mr Abbott made what he described as his 49th or 50th visit to western Sydney, telling the Nine Network: ''This is now the new Liberal heartland because Labor has neglected it for so long.'' Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-wants-to-win-over-three-victorian-seats-20130304-2fgwc.html#ixzz2MZK8UELJ
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catbert
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I actually quite like Julia Gillard.
Fuck me right?
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WaMackie
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catbert wrote:I actually quite like Julia Gillard.
Fuck me right? It's bliss that you aren't old enough to vote this year. Meanwhile Police extend AWU slush fund inquiry By MARK BAKER 24 January 2013 The Age © 2013 Copyright John Fairfax Holdings Limited. www.theage.com.auNew disclosure on Gillard document VICTORIAN detectives have expanded their investigation into the purchase of a Fitzroy house with union slush fund money controlled by the disgraced former boyfriend of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. A former legal secretary at law firm Slater & Gordon who handled conveyancing work on the purchase in 1993 is believed to have provided significant new information during an extensive interview with police earlier this month. Part of the investigation is believed to involve a power of attorney document prepared and witnessed by Ms Gillard - then a salaried partner at Slater & Gordon - that her boyfriend and senior Australian Workers Union official Bruce Wilson used to buy the house in the name of union crony Ralph Blewitt. Mr Blewitt, who is assisting the fraud squad investigation, has claimed he did not see the document until after the auction, which was attended by Mr Wilson and Ms Gillard. Mr Blewitt returned to Melbourne from his home in Malaysia this week with further documents relating to what he describes as "a major fraud" involving hundreds of thousands of dollars taken from the AWU Workplace Reform Association - some of it used to buy the Fitzroy house. Ms Gillard, who helped establish the association, which she later described as a union election slush fund, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the misappropriation of AWU money. Mr Blewitt said a meeting scheduled with police on Wednesday to expand on a series of sworn statements he gave in early December was postponed. "I will be talking further to police but I am not sure when or where," he told Fairfax Media. "On the advice of my lawyers, I do not want to make any further comment that might impede this investigation." Olive Palmer, the legal secretary who managed the conveyancing work for the Fitzroy house purchase and a mortgage through a Slater & Gordon loan facility, met detectives in Melbourne earlier this month. One of the investigating detectives later flew to Queensland and conducted interviews with Ms Palmer, formerly known as Olive Brosnahan, at her Sunshine Coast home. The power of attorney document drafted and witnessed by Ms Gillard that Mr Wilson used to buy the Fitzroy property in Mr Blewitt's name was dated February 4, 1993. But a note in the conveyancing file handwritten by Ms Brosnahan and addressed to Ms Gillard on February 16 says: "We need P/A or certified copy". Mr Blewitt claimed last year that he had not seen the document prior to the auction and that Mr Wilson had later brought it to him for signature in Perth, where he was AWU state secretary. In an online interview yesterday with former Sydney radio presenter Michael Smith, Mr Blewitt said he wanted to "come clean" about his role in the AWU scandal. "I am sincerely sorry to anybody that I might have caused any harm and that's not the least any AWU members and the AWU at large," he said. "The fact of the matter is, I was involved in a major fraud . . . I regret that now and I need to clear the decks." Sources close to the investigation say additional police resources have been made available since the questioning of Ms Palmer. It is believed the Victorian fraud squad is also liaising with its counterpart in Western Australia. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/police-extend-awu-slush-fund-inquiry-20130123-2d7d2.html
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notorganic
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Interesting that Abbott has the gall to accuse Gillard of "demonising" foreigners when he's based an entire leadership stint on doing just that.
Old Tony is back!
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thupercoach
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notorganic wrote:Interesting that Abbott has the gall to accuse Gillard of "demonising" foreigners when he's based an entire leadership stint on doing just that.
Old Tony is back! Really? He is pretty inclusive actually. Haven't met a migrant yet who feels otherwise. Ans he doesn't come over all condescending to Sydney's west. I just hope Labor don't dump Hyperbowl Jools, she is the Libs' best asset.
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KenGooner_GCU
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thupercoach wrote:notorganic wrote:Interesting that Abbott has the gall to accuse Gillard of "demonising" foreigners when he's based an entire leadership stint on doing just that.
Old Tony is back! Really? He is pretty inclusive actually. Haven't met a migrant yet who feels otherwise. Ans he doesn't come over all condescending to Sydney's west. I just hope Labor don't dump Hyperbowl Jools, she is the Libs' best asset. Doesn't come across as someone born with a silver spoon(whether or not he actually is, I don't know) but when one of your main policies is "stop the boats at all costs," you're playing to people's intolerance. I can assure you that he will win votes purely on that policy.
Hello
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Carlito
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KenGooner_GCU wrote:thupercoach wrote:notorganic wrote:Interesting that Abbott has the gall to accuse Gillard of "demonising" foreigners when he's based an entire leadership stint on doing just that.
Old Tony is back! Really? He is pretty inclusive actually. Haven't met a migrant yet who feels otherwise. Ans he doesn't come over all condescending to Sydney's west. I just hope Labor don't dump Hyperbowl Jools, she is the Libs' best asset. Doesn't come across as someone born with a silver spoon(whether or not he actually is, I don't know) but when one of your main policies is "stop the boats at all costs," you're playing to people's intolerance. I can assure you that he will win votes purely on that policy. howard did that for years . That's how Pauline Hanson became popular .
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