Fuck it. Let people marry dogs. Best episode of Judge Judy EVER.

Running the country.

Plus if tony gets injured at the front ,there will be all Hell to break loose . I understand his passion and his views on doing it but once your the leader of a nation ,you have to do via different means

He looks like a goblin. He has to do SOMETHING to seem like a normal guy.

[youtube]VRyu-hGqwmI[/youtube]

"Australians will get a windfall benefit".. 20 seconds later, "These are not windfall benefits."

What a fuckwit.

Joe Hockey will blame it on predecessor


Peter Martin
Economics correspondent
It's called ''clearing the decks'', and there isn't a chief executive who hasn't at least thought about doing it. If you are appointed when things look dodgy, you act as if they are even more dodgy: you write off losses (in this case, lift the debt ceiling) by more than you need to, knowing you can blame it on your predecessor. If things turn out to be not that bad, you end up looking good. If things do turn out that bad, you won't look that bad.

The government's debt ceiling is like a personal credit card limit, only sillier.

The government's debt ceiling is like a personal credit card limit, only sillier. Unlike a credit card limit, it need not take account of ability to repay. It is a political limit imposed by the Parliament rather than an outside constraint imposed by the lender. As such it is vulnerable to politics, as the US discovered to its cost this month in a stand-off which threatened to prevent the government borrowing the money that it needed to function. Labor's Wayne Swan had to lift the ceiling four times - to $75 billion, then to $200 billion, then $250 billion, and finally to $300 billion. On some of those occasions his opposite number, Joe Hockey, made things difficult for him. ''Enough is enough,'' he said in May.


Lifted the debt ceiling four times: Former Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan, pictured with former finance minister Penny Wong. Photo: Andrew Meares
Hockey is Treasurer himself now, and he doesn't want to go through the torture of having to go back to Parliament each time he needs a bigger limit. So he has asked for a very big one - $500 billion, the need for which he can blame on his predecessor. Hockey made the point that he is not proposing to lift the debt, merely the debt limit, to give himself headroom free of political sniping should he need it.

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His Commission of Audit is looking like a subsidiary of the Business Council of Australia. It will be chaired by council president Tony Shepherd and its secretariat will be run by council director of policy Peter Crone. It will be examining what fields the Commonwealth should abandon, what it should contract out and what it should privatise. These are topics on which it already has views.

Twitter: @1petermartin

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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/joe-hockey-will-blame-it-on-predecessor-20131022-2vz9t.html#ixzz2iU8VXaIj

Comment

Now that federal Labor has chosen its leader and its frontbench, it has to clarify its policy positions on a number of significant issues.

In particular, it has to decide how to respond to the new government's approach on climate change and pricing carbon at a time when the ferocious bushfires in New South Wales have injected a dramatic and poignant relevance into such considerations.

There has been no shortage of advice. The message has been consistent. The electorate has spoken, the government has a clear mandate, and Labor should stop ''talking about itself'' and go along with what Tony Abbott wants. With the Coalition lacking a Senate majority, the new ALP leader, Bill Shorten, should direct Labor's senators to vote with the government to enable it to put an end to pricing carbon.

A series of commentators have reiterated that this is obvious, a no-brainer. They contend that if Labor musters the temerity to avoid doing what the government wants, Abbott will have ALP MPs right where he wants them. He'll be able to maintain that Labor is opposing the people's will, and this will be one of those gifts that keeps on giving.

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But is the situation really so straightforward?

It's hardly surprising that Abbott is trumpeting the mandate line. If he can get Labor to acquiesce, it solves his problem with the Senate numbers. But the chorus of commentators insisting that Labor has no sensible alternative to doing what Abbott wants betrays a collective amnesia about recent events.

It is only four years ago that the federal Coalition was in disarray, with a key factor being conflicting perceptions of climate change and what to do about it. The parliamentary Liberal Party (then led by Malcolm Turnbull) had agreed with the Rudd Labor government to vote in favour of Labor's carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS).

This was, after all, consistent with the policies that both major parties had presented to the voters at the previous election in 2007. Labor under Kevin Rudd had made clear its intention to introduce a carbon-trading scheme in government, and clearly had a mandate to do so; even the Coalition under John Howard had promised to do the same.

In 2009, however, when Abbott unexpectedly became opposition leader by just one vote, he decided to adopt a different approach. He ignored the agreement that his party had made with Labor - it somehow didn't apply to him, apparently - and scorned the notion that the ALP had a mandate. The Coalition under Abbott proceeded to oppose the Rudd government's measures on climate change (and practically everything else), with the result that the CPRS was rejected in the Senate.

Abbott became the least constructive opposition leader that Australia's Federal Parliament has ever known. His relentless negativity suited his intrinsically combative style and was politically effective as well, in that it contributed to the difficulties Labor experienced in government under Rudd and Julia Gillard. So he persevered with it, even at considerable cost to his personal popularity. Eventually his approach paid dividends, and he finds himself in office leading the nation.

In his new position, Abbott now has the effrontery to invoke the mandate argument that he spurned in 2010. In fact, his most conspicuous rejection of it as opposition leader concerned the very issue that is currently prominent - how to deal with climate change.

In calling for Labor to accept his 2013 mandate and present him with the Senate numbers he needs, Abbott is displaying blatant hypocrisy. However, his cheer squad in the media have ignored this in their repeated assertions that Labor should of course comply with whatever Abbott wants on climate change policy.

Moreover, this assertiveness is predicated on the basis that conceding on the removal of carbon pricing would be a politically astute manoeuvre for the ALP. Some observers even seem to believe that doing anything else would be unthinkable. Yet there is clear evidence to the contrary - none other than Abbott's path to the prime ministership. Opposing everything in opposition ended up working for him.

Shorten, though, has already signalled that he is not intending to emulate Captain Negative. As he and his Labor colleagues weigh up their options on climate policy, they will be contemplating short-term and long-term factors, considerations relating to political tactics together with the importance of adhering to principle on issues of substance such as climate change.

Meanwhile, instead of trying to influence Labor's caucus to do what Abbott wants, media commentators should be highlighting the Prime Minister's brazen hypocrisy.

Ross McMullin's most recent book is the award-winning Farewell, Dear People: Biographies of Australia's Lost Generation.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/abbott-is-benefiting-from-selective-amnesia-20131022-2vz1y.html#ixzz2iU9mHpkv

Bob Carr confirms he is leaving the Senate
10:35am October 23, 2013

Former foreign minister Bob Carr will enter academia after formally tendering his resignation from the Senate on Wednesday.

Senator Carr has confirmed weeks of speculation that he is leaving politics following Labor's election defeat on September 7.
"It's been a very great honour for me," Senator Carr said of his 18 months as foreign minister.
"Life is a learning experience and the last 18 months has been the richest learning experience imaginable."
Senator Carr said he believed he had also done some good in the role.
Senator Carr was recruited by former prime minister Julia Gillard in March 2012 to take over as foreign minister after Kevin Rudd resigned to challenge for the Labor leadership.
He filled a Senate vacancy triggered by the retirement of former minister Mark Arbib.
Senator Carr says he will submit his resignation to the president of the Senate on Thursday.
He says he now plans to "reinvent" himself as an expert on Asia and is going to take up two part-time academic posts.
He will become a professorial fellow at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at Sydney University.
He will also take up a role as an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales.
Senator Carr said it was "irrational exuberance" that led him to suggest he would stay in the Senate for many years when he first took up the role in federal parliament.
"I was very high spirited about taking this job, but my enthusiasm probably got ahead of a more calculated approach to it," he said.
He said his view on whether he would resign or stay after the September election had "ebbed and flowed".
"But I think this is the better course on balance," he said.
Had Labor won government he would have served for at least three years, he said.
Turning to the process to replace him, Senator Abbott said the idea of a plebiscite of Labor members had "a lot of merit".
But "if they (the ALP) were going to do that I think we would have heard of it by now", he said.
He refused to nominate a successor for his Senate spot, with former lower house MP Deb O'Neill tipped to be elected by the NSW Labor administrative committee.
"I think it is bad form for someone vacating a position to baptise a successor," he said.
"I've got no influence on that. I've leave that to the process, whatever the process is going to be."

So the federal government is going to challenge the ACT'S same sex bill. Why? Tony's personal views shouldn't come into play into this

Really? You could say that about mány on both sides of the aisle, but I for one thought Carr was one of Labours better performers.

Haha. Remember the PM is a man who had his power as a Health Minister stripped away because of he let his personal views over-ride his duty to the Australian people.

The argument is that 'it is a commonwealth matter'.
Same Sex marriage has so much support in the ACT that the Canberra Liberals can't come out against same sex marriage, they had to argue based on 'we don't think its our role'.

And not just once but twice.

The ACT are going to try and argue that the states get to retain some semblances of sovereignty in the constitution, but they'll just be told "shut up, you're not a state". But given that Births, Deaths and Marriages are state organisations there's no reason why they shouldn't be allowed independent stances on the issue. This fight is going to go on for a while and frankly all it will do is see Abbott tying up federal resources arguing with the states and looking overly conservative and unpersonable.

He's done all this work to appear to the Australian people as a more relatable person and all it takes is this one affair, involving his own sister, to make him look like a cold and unfeeling bastard.

You know what would be a great wedding present for his sister? A wedding.

Oh yeah forgot about that . As a religious person I don't really care about this issues . We have bigger fish to focus on . Hell were a first world country and we worry about this.... Ffs

What a legend.

-PB

has he got a brother named Mike???

Yeah, but what does Wikipedia say?

TBF the guy is a complete and utter drop kick and is actually the biggest in closet homosexual. Hangs out with girls, bitches like girls and talks EXACTLY like a stereotypical homo yet is the biggest gay basher out there. I dunno but its projection IMO.

[youtube]VAQz_g3qTO4[/youtube]

Tony Abbott says his government stopped the boats in 50 days

OCTOBER 26, 2013 13 comments

FIFTY days into the job, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he's already delivered on many of his election promises, and that includes stopping the boats.
Mr Abbott emphasised the minor milestone, which he'll reach on Sunday, as he addressed Liberal members at the party's Tasmanian state conference.
His "stop the boats" pledge was already being realised, the Prime Minister said, despite Labor shifting to a hard line policy on Kevin Rudd's return as PM in June.
"I don't want to underestimate the difficulty of that challenge but they are stopping," Mr Abbott said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he “inherited a mess’’ but “made a very strong start”. Source: News Limited

"Over the last month, illegal arrivals by boat have been scarcely 10 per cent of the peak under Labor in July."
Mr Abbott said immigration officials had been "managing a problem" under the ALP.
"Our determination is to end the problem," he said.
"Our determination is not to guide the boats, our determination is to stop the boats."
The Coalition's asylum seeker policy was one on a long list of achievements Mr Abbott said the government had already ticked off.

“It’s an uncertain world’’, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Liberal members in relation to the health of the economy. Source: News Limited
They also included a day-one move to axe a fringe benefits tax hit to the car industry and plans to repeal the mining and carbon taxes.
"We inherited a mess but we have made a very strong start," the PM said.
"Never forget the trough into which our country had fallen."
Mr Abbott warned there were economic challenges ahead as much of the rest of the world battles recession.
"It's an uncertain world," he said.
"We've seen consistent long-term economic mismanagement in so many of the countries that we are accustomed to look to for leadership."

http://www.news.com.au/national/tony-abbott-says-his-government-stopped-the-boats-in-50-days/story-fncynjr2-1226747309368

Stopped the boats ? He means we stopped the flow of information on the boats, there are stills boats coming in ffs .

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-26/abbott-attacks-shortencarbon-tax-socialism-labor/5047758



:lol:

Abbott calls the Carbon Tax disguised Socialism, but then keeps only the socialist aspects of the scheme.

All hail the great Socialist Leader Tony Abbott.

How do we know this is the truth when the government is now covering up arrivals?

Also note how he says it's only 10% of the "peak" in July.

From what I can recall in July we had 3 boats with over 100 people on them arrive, so even with the two boats that we've been told about this month, both of which were carrying more than 30 people, we know that's bullshit.

It's just 1 percent of all refugees who come to Australia by illegal means in boats.

So the other 99 percent of refugees come here by perfectly normal and legal means.

But stoppp the boatz cuz it's such a huge problem. :roll:

But but but . Stop the boats. The best way to get the votes is dehumanise those less fortunate then us and make them lower than low so people hate them

Tony Abbott's ALP criticism could affect US links

Date
October 28,

David Wroe
National security correspondent

Tony Abbott's use of a Washington Post interview to brand his Labor predecessors as ''wacko'' and ''embarrassing'' could set back his working relationship with the Obama adminstration, a leading US commentator says.

Norman Ornstein, an author and political scientist with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said he ''winced'' when he read the interview in which Mr Abbott put the boot into the Rudd-Gillard government in unusually strong language for a foreign interview.

''It really does violate a basic principle of diplomacy to drag in your domestic politics when you go abroad,'' Dr Ornstein said. ''It certainly can't help in building a bond of any sort with President Obama to rip into a party, government and, at least implicitly leader, with whom Obama has worked so closely.

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''Perhaps you can chalk it up to a rookie mistake. But it is a pretty big one.''

Politicians around the world typically refrain from engaging in fierce domestic political argument when they are speaking to an overseas audience.

Dr Ornstein, a resident scholar at the AEI - one of Washington's oldest think tanks - was one of Foreign Policy magazine's 100 ''top global thinkers'' in 2012.

In the interview, Mr Abbott told The Washington Post that the former Labor government's conduct was ''a circus'' and was ''scandalously wasteful''.

''It was an embarrassing spectacle and I think Australians are relieved they are gone,'' he said.

Asked about Labor's plan to extend fibre to every household under the national broadband network, Mr Abbott said: ''Welcome to the wonderful, wacko world of the former government.''

Julia Gillard in particular forged what observers say was a warm and constructive relationship with Mr Obama, which included the deal to station US marines in Darwin. She was one of just 12 world leaders whose calls Mr Obama returned personally after they had called to congratulate him on his 2012 re-election.

Former diplomat and senior public servant John Menadue said it remained to be seen whether Mr Abbott could ''make the transition from a critic in opposition and an attack dog to a responsible and constructive prime minister''.

In 2007, then prime minister John Howard caused an international stir when he said al-Qaeda in Iraq would be praying for an Obama victory in the presidential race - a criticism of Mr Obama's plan to return US troops home from Iraq.

Meanwhile, the White House has refused to comment on - or rule out - whether the US National Security Agency has ever tapped the phones of any Australian prime minister.

In the wake of revelations that the NSA may have bugged German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, Fairfax Media asked the US government whether it could rule out ever bugging Australian leaders.

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: ''We are not going to comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity, and as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.''



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-alp-criticism-could-affect-us-links-20131027-2w9lv.html#ixzz2ixTj0pMu

Eh Abbott making a fool of himself abroad is the least of out worries (and shouldn't surprise anybody anyway).

-PB