Economic growth, budget restraint, higher GST collections, higher business profits, less tax avoidance, job creation meaning less welfare expenditure , less companies moving offshore, more companies investing here, etc.

Unless you’re one of those people who thinks you can tax rich people and companies at 90% and they will happily pay it.

You are not stupid for voting Liberal.

Even a low income earner is aspirational and we were all low income earners once.

You are voting for an incentive to work harder and create jobs and more wealth for low income earners.

Throwing money to education and hospitals is wrong answer. BTW, under the last 6 years, the LNP actually increased spending on education and hospitals by 61%

Fuck I love this. Let’s not work hard or even bother trying in life because my parents are born and the empirical evidence shows that I will die poor too.  Let’s not risk starting that venture because academic research completed by smart people with PhDs proves that I will most likely fail.   My best shot in life for an affluent lifestyle is to give up and vote Labor who will increase my wages by 1% and reduce my emergency wait times by 5 minutes, while ensuring extra pencils and paper clips for my children at school.

"I don't know how stats work" - The thread.

Good idea, lets vote against policies that enable social mobility by providing healthcare and education to those who need it most. Brilliant logic. 

433 at parties

Friend: “hey guys I was thinking of stating my own business whaddya reckon?
433: “Pfft your parents were poor”
Friend: “what do you mean?”
433: “empirical research proves that people who are born poor will most likely die poor, so your chances of running a successful business and becoming wealthy are next to buckleys!”
Friend:  oh, i see.  :(. What should I do then?
433: “pfft you gotta vote Labor mate, it’s the only way you’ll make something of yourself.  Not hard work, not ambition, not bloody ‘havin a go’, they’re all capitalist cons mate.  Your voting principles will define what kind of life you have”
Friend: “oh, alright then, guess I’ll quit my day job and join the anti Adani convoy instead”
433: ”atta boy, see I knew you were smart “

Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, that'll work :^)

After reading the Mainstream Media’s commentary on the ScoMo/LNC win. I wanted to see if football fans were mostly Left or Right.

Glad to see not all football fans are Leftist.

Here’s why I think Australia dodged a big bullet by keeping out Shorten, Plibersek, Wong and Turnbull.

It was the Left’s social engineering that was the frightening thing.

I’ll summarise my position.

I do not want to hate. And if or when I do find myself hating, I regret it and recant. Hate should never happen.

But if I DISAGREE with Labor policies, that does not mean I hate the Labor Party.

If I disagree with LNC Liberal policies, that does not mean I hate the Liberal Party.

When I disagree and voice my disagreement with Islamic doctrines, that does not mean I hate Muslims.

When I believe that human beings are either male or female (barring birth defects) this does not mean I hate homosexuals and transgender people.

When I believe that some people have mental illnesses, this does not mean I hate those people who are mentally ill.

I have friends who are homosexual, so don’t tell me I am homophobic.

I will fight a political party that wants to make it a criminal offence for people to publicly state their disagreement on any issue. Do you want a Mark Zuckerberg philosophy to run Australian politics? It seems half of Australians are ok with Zuckerberg-style censorship of anything they disagree with.

This is the flaw of the concept of “hate speech”. It is used to shut up the opposition. For the half of the population that slurs people with hate speech, their definition of “hate speech” is anyone who insists that morality can be defined differently to their definition, or lack of definition.

I agree there are people who do actually hate people for the above examples. But generally, the people I talk to do not hate.

If you wonder why Germany was able to fall under Nazism, I think there would have been a condition in pre-WW2 German society where those who were against Nazism feared for their livelihood if they voiced their opinions. Australians were virtually gifted their heritage of the Westminster system of government, and never had to fight for our freedoms. And so, when a rugby player like Israel Folau loses his contract from quoting a precept of Christianity, half of Australia are ok with shutting him up because they have bought into the concept of "hate speech", and do not care about freedom of speech. Remember, it's only "hate speech" to those who disagree with it, while it is truth to those who agree with it.

For instance, I strongly disagree with Islamic doctrine, but I believe everything should be a level playing field. Let it be a marketplace of ideas, and let the strongest and most compelling ideas win the minds of the people. I welcome debate, particularly from people who disagree with me. The notion of being offended doesn't occur to me, because I enjoy debating with people who disagree with me.

Basically, Australia dodged a bullet - whether they realise it or not - by giving us another 3 year reprieve of Labor's identity politics. The real radical Leftism of the Australian Labor Party seems to reside in Tanya Plibersek and Penny Wong -- and Victoria's Daniel Andrews -- so this U.S.-Democrat-style identity politics will be live and kicking even into the next election in 3 years time.

I have friends who habitually vote Labor because they say the Liberals only support the rich. I’m not sure if those Labor people grasp the overall concept of Libertarianism, where “liberty” is the core value, i.e. give people the freedom to break free and pursue their best, and in so doing gain their riches. This is why libertarian policies would not major on handouts. (For the record, in my lifetime I have for a period, been on social welfare, and so I appreciate the safety net. But that safety net should have boundaries that prevent it from being abused).

While I am at it, for a long time I felt that many Australians were incapable of resisting the brain-washing of the Aussie Mainstream Media. The Age/SMH overtly endorsed Labor, and yet some people are very comfortable with letting their views be shaped by the Leftist journalists.

You might say that the 2019 ScoMo win shows Australians have wised up to the rabid Aussie Mainstream Media, but if you look at the polls, it’s rather close to 50% of the sheep that cannot see through the Media’s bias.

And here is my stance on the climate issue. To begin with, notice how the Mainstream Media slurs its Opponents as “climate change deniers” and brands them as non-scientific.

Here’s where I stand:

(1) The temperature of the planet is progressively getting hotter. This is seen in the glaciers receding, and even Mount Everest having less snow cover in the summers. So, I am a confirmed believer in Global Warming. I am not denying “Climate Change”.

(2) I do not see 100% inconclusive proof that the increase in temperature is caused by Human input. This is because (i) in the recent few hundred years, there are records where temperatures were very warm in the last 500 years. Moreover (ii) reputable scientists have arguments that the models used to underscore the human-caused temperature increase were based on flawed assumptions.

(3) I cannot be denied that massive change by Australian policy will be a drop in the ocean, given that most carbon output is by the giants like China and the United States.

So, I believe we should make reasonable changes of carbon output, subject to not doing it so fast as to damage the Australian economy.

Unlike Tony Abbott, I am all for wind farms and massive solar energy initiatives.

And yet, the Leftist will brand someone like me as a “climate change denier” who is un-scientific, even though I have a university degree in a scientific discipline.

His primary vote dropped, but ON, FACP and UAP all went up, which in turned preference flowed to LNP.

-PB

Sok, you can now have a go.

I do wish Frydenburg the best of luck with the senate and he weakening economy, will have to play hardball pretty well.

-PB

I'll be shocked if anyone can argue with any punt you've made here. Very well said. 

Oof

This. John Smith did you just use I have the gay friends remark? Really ? Really? That's like I have black friends  or I have Muslim friends so I cant be racist.  

Very well said and articulated. 

So, this post is to all you non-authentic ALP supporters.

The ALP was once upon a time a mainstream party that can dominate Australian Politics.

But for that to happen, they need:

1) a leader that is above party politics
2) a non classist unifying figure, and
3) an economic rationalist.

Someone the people can identify with and have a beer with. Someone to withstand the good old fashion Australian pub test. Someone like Bob Hawke.

That is where you went wrong.

You did everything contrary to what Bob Hawke stood for.

The ALP was:

1) divisive,
2) classist, and
3) adopted identity politics and a socialist agenda rather than economic rationalism.

So you paid the price from all the Aussie true believers that said nah! We don't want to have a beer with Shortfused and he failed the pub test too.

So good riddance.

This advice was for free.I hope some of it sinks in. But somehow, I doubt it because I think you guys are sloooww learners.

mcjules, been vewyvewy quiet.

The Labor party is fucked mate.  It will never recover.  A leader that is 'above politics', 'non classist & unifying' and an 'economic rationalist' would be described by Labor and maintstream parts of the media as a right wing nut job.

The Labor is no longer a party that represents mainstream people and tradition values, it has been infiltrated by left wing nutters hellbent on leading the party towards a path of communism.  What's most concerning is the oppressive streak the party has recently adopted as a campaigning weapon, it no longer practices free speech, they realise they can achieve their ideological goals more quickly and effectively by silencing their opponents, actively wrecking careers and describing everything they disagree with as "hate speech".   Free speech is no longer a force for good, now it's just an obstacle to overcome.

The Labor party will rule again, and the more and more we trend to a kooky left wing socially engineered world , the more the Right will throw up its own extremists and folks like Anning will become more prominent.  It will take a rebellion within the Labor party from to expose and supplant the Left wing zealots, but to be honest I think they are probably now the majority.  A similar thing is happening among independents , far leftist radicals masquerading as Liberals trying to take over Liberal strongholds.

I know, he's probably still in shock.   They were very confident they would win,  but like most of their policies, their predictions usually fail.

ThE lIbRuL gUvErNmEnT

ThIs Is BeCoMiNg JuSt LiKe IdIoCrAcY

Big YIKES

Tanya Plibersek has announced she’s not running for leader

Whilst I don't want to quote the entire JohnSmith post I did give it a like.  

Albo has the same ideas as Shorten doesn't he?  

No idea, but i’d say he’s more “likeable” than Shorten. Generally seen in the same vein as Julie Bishop as the “people’s choice”

Well then, its up to Scomentum now to give the people what they want.

We need him to unify the Liberals and inspire confidence by unifying Australians like Hawke did. ScoMo can do it because he comes across as being authentic with an authentic family.

If he puts in a good 3 years, and ALP dish more of the same, then we will win again in 3 years time.

No one is going to look at the polls ever again. The media were so biased towards the ALP it wasn't funny.

Albo's from the Labor *gasp* Left faction. He's definitely more progressive than Bill.

Personally I'd like to see some younger ones take control, maybe someone like Jim Chalmers. I really like Ed Husic but islamophobia is sadly far too prevalent in this country (and especially Queensland).

Plus, did Bill Shorten ever shit his pants at a McDonald's restaurant after a Grand Final?

It's true the 80's were (culturally) a big decade for Australia with the America's Cup in '83, Crocodile Dundee becoming a box office hit in '86 and kick-starting a new found interest in Australia as a tourist destination for people from the most influential nation on Earth (the USA) who were similarly enjoying a sense of newfound optimism under Reagan. There was the Bicentenary as well, which solidified the sense that even though Australia remained a Commonwealth country, it was no longer just Britain's hick cousin down under. We had an identity as a friendly, optimistic nation who could compete with the rest of the world at sport and in the arts.

The other thing with Hawke was that, back when he was PM, Australians collectively knew who we were and were proud of it. These days being proud of our background is considered a negative- or at least we're constantly told its' a negative by the ABC, SBS, Greens, politicised minority voices and over-educated mid-wits. They bemoan how "racist" we apparently are and how despised the archetypal "True Blue Aussie" is. I'll admit I've been critical myself of the "As long as we have a go and lose bravely, all is good" mentality and I discussed this in the WC thread last year during the Peru game.

BUT- the same voices I highlighted above now insist we must be multicultural, multi-religious and automatically defer to the views of anybody who is an ethnic or cultural minority in this country, regardless of how valid their views are. For these people, we're expected to change our "racist" culture. Despite the talk of equality, this will only divide our nation further.

As I've said before, the irony for the ALP is that a younger Bob Hawke prototype is the very person who could save their parties' fortunes and win back disenfranchised voters- but even if he were to exist, he wouldn't be allowed the chance to run because he'd be berated as a toxic, boozing misogynist and a privileged white male. And this is what the Labor voters I've seen having a meltdown since Saturday still fail to recognise.

Yeah I was shocked and disappointed but it is what it is and I respect democracy. If people want to reward politicians that spend a third of their time on personal holidays or be regularly drunk on the job with large swings there isn't much hope for them.

Totally agree.

The Twatterati woke revolution.

Excellent summary of what the Labor/ Greens faithful wailing and gnashing their teeth since the weekend fail to recognise.

> Support the free market and hate socialism/government intervention in the market 
> Get your knickers in a twist over a private company choosing to end their association with a person that says something that doesn't align with their charter of values

Nice meme