Labour sticking to their promise “No work choices” one promise they actually fulfilled.
They cut the work opportunities so there are no choices.

Economy sheds 27,000 jobs
DateJuly 12, 2012 - 12:19PM

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Jobs are harder to find.

Myer to cut 100 jobs as industry struggles

Australia's employers cut 27,000 jobs last month, sending the jobless rate higher and increasing the chances of another cut in official interest rates.

The jobless rise was felt most keenly among full-time workers. Some 33,500 full-time positions were lost in June - the most since November last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Part-time positons increased modestly in the month.

The figures make it "more likely the Reserve Bank is going to cut again and it could be as early as August,’’ said JP Morgan Australia chief economist Stephen Walters.

Economists had tipped the jobless rate would pick up to 5.2 per cent from 5.1 per cent. The surprise, though, was in the net loss of jobs for the month, with analysts predicting no change.

The country’s jobs market has been surprisingly strong in recent months, with the number of positions increasing even as a series of high-profile companies such as Qantas and Hastie have announced big lay-offs.

The dollar lost almost half a US cent on the jobs news, dropping to below $US1.02 as investors raised their bets that the RBA will cut official interest rates again when it meets next month.

'Screeching halt'

"The rather impressive job number we had has come to a screeching halt,’’ said Michael Blythe, CBA’s chief economist. ‘‘It brings the labour market a bit more in line with other indicators.’’

Even today, Myer has said it will cut about 100 jobs. Earlier this week chocolate retailer and producer Darrell Lea was placed in voluntary administration, placing some 700 jobs at risk.

With revisions, the economy added about 47,400 jobs for the financial year, or about one quarter of the 222,700 jobs added for the previous year. Hours worked last month were also lower than in June 2011.

Still, Australia’s unemployment rate remains low compared with most rich nations. About 8.2 per cent of the US and UK workforces are looking for a job , 7.2 per cent in Canada and 11.1 per cent in the eurozone region.

"(T)he labour market situation here certainly looks a lot healthier than just about everywhere else and 5.2 per cent is still pretty close to full employment," said CBA's Mr Blythe.

"The Reserve Bank is sending signals that they are happy with rates for the moment," he added. "Any deterioration in the labour market...means easing bias is still in."
Mining states buck trend

Among the states, the jobless rate kept up to 5.1 per cent in New South Wales, in seasonally adjusted terms, from 5 per cent in May.

Victoria saw a similar increase, with the jobless rate up to 5.5 per cent from 5.4 per cent.

The big mining states of Western Australia and Queensland led the way in terms of jobs created. WA's jobless rate dropped to just 3.5 per cent from 3.8 per cent in May, while in Queensland it fell to 5.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent.

South Australia and Tasmania, though, posted big rises in the jobless tally. In South Australia, it rose to 6.4 per cent from 5.2 per cent, while in Tassie it rose to 7.4 per cent from 6.5 per cent.

All up about 11.5 million people have jobs, 8.1 million of them in full-time positions, with 3.4 million part-timers. Some 631,300 are deemed as unemployed by the ABS.

RBA outlook


A rise in unemployment is likely to increase the chance of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank while adding to downward pressure on the struggling real estate and retail sectors.

"They're not great really, weaker than expected," said Michael Turner, a strategist at RBC Capital markets.

"The trend has been towards mining employment, there's also been a large employment growth being generated in services and there's a bit of weakness showing up in retail and construction."

Part-time positions, though, increased with the economy adding 6600 such positions last month.

The ABS report also showed aggregate hours worked by employed people in Australia fell by 1.2 per cent in June, seasonally adjusted, after a fall of 0.6 per cent in May.

Aggregate hours worked in June 2012 were at the lowest level since January and 1.0 per cent lower than in June 2011, after a rise of 1.6 per cent between June 2010 and June 2011.

The jobless rate would have risen more steeply if not for a drop in the share of the eligible workforce actually hunting for jobs. The so-called participation rate slumped to 65.2 per cent from a revised 65.4 per cent in May. Economists had tipped the rate to remain steady at 65.5 per cent.

Prior to the jobs announcement, investors were rating the chance of an interest rate cut by the RBA on August 7 as about a 60 per-cent likelihood. In recent trading, the chance of a cut had risen to about a 70 per cent prospect.

BusinessDay with AAP, Reuters




Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/economy-sheds-27000-jobs-20120712-21xf2.html#ixzz20NCcOcj3

That may of been a little harsh.

Why are they clowns?

Australian Sex Party is not just about good times, it has worthy policies too

by: Amber Petty
From: AdelaideNow
July 10, 2012 11:30PM

PEOPLE know the word sex gets attention, so having it in your party name gets you noticed, says Amber Petty.

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I HEARD there was some sort of Australian Sex Party out there, thanks to Adelaide agency Fnuky's cheeky 2010 election campaign for them, aptly titled Jerk Choices.

At the time, I rather naively thought they might be a bunch of randy people whose mission it was to have us all propped up at strip shows or running around nude at the beach. Although why they'd want us nude at the beach, I don't know.

So when I met a smart young man recently who insisted I must meet his friend Fiona Patten, a member of the Australian Sex Party, I was a little intrigued. Intrigued to think he saw more sex in me than I have seen in myself but, as they say, sex sells and I was on board for an introduction.

I walked into our meeting place, eyes darting around to see if I could guess who looked the most like a "sex party" candidate.

Far from being what my gullible self may have presumed seeing - a woman in tasselled bikini top waving a copy of FHM at me - an elegantly dressed lady smiled across at me.

I decided that if anyone was looking sex party, whatever that even means, it was probably more me.

Fiona is clever and committed and just happens to be passionate about a lot of things that relate to sex and the adult entertainment industry. Which I might add is far broader than vibrators and sex workers, people. So many questions, so little time.

Most people understand the word sex is guaranteed to get attention. So having it in your party name is going to get you talked about, and Fiona knows that. However, after learning more about their policies, I was genuinely impressed.

Indeed, the weightiness of some of their major social policies overshadowed the connotations embedded in the party's catchy name.

For instance, there is their stance on drugs and abolishing crime penalties for people found purchasing, carrying and consuming drugs for personal use.

As a headline, this might not sound like a great idea but dig a bit further and there is merit to its premise.

For example, the ASP models its drugs policy on Portugal, a country well known for its drug issues (especially hard-core drugs) in the past.

In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Under that country's current laws, people found in possession of small amounts of drugs are sent to face a panel comprising a psychologist, a social worker and a legal adviser.

The panel puts the person under what I see as a healthy interrogation to find out, first, the extent of their drug use, but with the aim getting to the real root of the problem, which isn't always about the drugs.

Fiona herself visited Portugal and was privy to the process first-hand.

She witnessed one particular young man who did not actually have an issue with drugs as such.

As a result of the non-judgmental and thorough panel discussion, he admitted that he only did the drugs after consuming alcohol.

From follow-up questions on how often he was going out for a drink and all the steps that led up to this, it became clear that this was simply a man with a temporary drink problem.

He drank because he was lost. He didn't have enough of a sense of purpose by way of a job, so this became the starting point of fixing his drug issue and all the dark dots in between.

Not rocket science, just an acknowledgment by a progressive government which accepts that working backwards often leads to the real issue.

The problem with most people who make laws and decisions about drugs is that they themselves have never done drugs. They may well know a lot about what's popular opinion on an issue.

But their mission should be about helping people in society who are beginning to get off course, not treating them like they are already at The End.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/australian-sex-party-is-not-just-about-good-times-it-has-worthy-policies-too/story-e6freajc-1226422867433

The Left cannot handle the fact that the man they threw so much abuse and vitriol at got re-elected 4 times by the Australian people who saw through the abuse. They are trying their best to do same to Abbott, using pretty much the same kind of tactics. Hopefully the people will see through it once again.

And isn't Abbott's government going to have a massive job on its hands to fix the mess again...sigh..."it's just like deja vu all over again..."

Abborrent....Geez](*,) ](*,)

Making the same noises because he thinks it's popular does not make Abbott in the same mould as Howard, as abhorrent as that would be.

What a load of shit

[youtube]ITwaD2ThsfU[/youtube]

Edited by notorganic: 11/7/2012 09:27:18 AM

Abbott, like Howard, has a touch of the common person about him, and comes across as being quite real and genuine - one of those "like me as I am" kind of people. Rudd OTOH was all soundbites, photo-opps, generally the most stage-managed PM in our history, about as in-touch with the real world as Gina Rinehart. (Malcolm Turnbull isn't off with the fairies like Rudd was, but also has no sense/feel for the common person). Which is why thothey b quickly became on the nose with Australia - the people saw through the facade. And don't get me started on Hyper-Bowl Jools...

Edited by thupercoach: 10/7/2012 09:27:51 PM

http://www.petermartin.com.au/2012/07/labor-is-wrong-it-is-greens-who-are.html

Its infinitely amusing to see Thuper assert that Kevin Rudd was nothing but soundbites & photo opps whilst breathlessly moving into Abbott apologetics. The man is a walking soundbite board.

MP's running out of parliament acting like little school girls is a prime example. I noticed you didn't respond to Notor.

Edited by Roar_Brisbane: 9/7/2012 01:24:03 PM

How can anyone but the government be at fault? I just don't get people who want to blame Abbott for the failings of a government he's not a part of.
Like it or not, we have a coalition governmentt. Labor, Greens and 2 independants. They all banded together and put on happy faces when it was oppotunistic to form a government but when it all falls apart, as it was bound to do, everyone wants to point fingers at the Liberals?
Between them, they have the numbers in parliament to make the policy decisions they need to make, and they've failed at that. They've got no-one to blame but themselves.

If you really want to play devils advocate Joffa, the fault is ours. The Australian people voted for this government.
Or the fault is the stupid preferences system that means the party that received the most votes is not in power.
Or how about the Independants who sided with the government despite the majority of people in their electorates wanting them to back the Liberals?
There's plenty of blame to go 'round before you get to Abbott.

not sure what elements you are referring to?? can you be specific???

i agree but we also have a grossly dysfunctional parliament, and who is at fault for that?

i agree but we also have a grossly dysfunctional parliament, and who is at fault for that?

we have a grossly dysfunctional government

You should consider your own quote, this isn't about party politics They're all to blame!

somehow i doubt it....."There's none so blind as those who will not see."