Please, don't make me laugh. The GST was a far greater and far reaching taxation reform then the carbon tax, it basically transformed the taxation landscape in Australia as well as making fundamental structural reforms to the distribution of wealth between the states. Not only that, but despite it's massive unpopularity, Howard staked his political future on it by taking it to an election that he damn near nearly lost.

Making a promise prior to an elction that you wouldn't do something, getting elected on that basis knowing that you wouldn't get elected otherwise, then to introduced it in order to form an uncomfortable alliance in order to Government, could be described in a lot of ways, ballsy however is not one of them.

Now ozboy, I understand your a Labor fan, and I'm a liberal fan, but ozboy the difference between you and me is that I can acknowledge when my party has done something shit, for example I'm quite prepared to admit that Abbott is a one dimensional tool and will cost us the election if he isn't dropped, you however ozboy are prepared to defend the indefensible when it comes to Labor, or Melbourne Victory, even Kevin Muscat!

Edited by RJL25: 1/10/2012 09:00:48 PM

Free Speech would be great in this country. If people had the conviction to stand by their opinions and cop the criticisms coming their way after they speak up.

If Julia Gillard's father was going to die of shame it would have been when he found out his daughter had red hair...poor form Mr Jones.

But you could just tell that is exactly what they were going to do. They are such an incompetent government that they grab on to anything that comes along just to distract the media and public from what is going on. Just look at this whole offshore processing situation. They are essentially repeating the bullshit that John Howard was rightly canned for 10 years ago. Where is the deafening criticism this time around?

I don't know if its just me getting older/wiser/more cynical but I have become totally disillusioned with both major parties which seem to follow in each others footsteps in policy terms and only fling shit on each other to win votes. Its sickening.

=d>

Speaking of Alan Jones, here's what he had to say on Sunday

"The advertisers aren't queuing up to pull their advertising"

Oh dear :lol:

I'm pretty happy to be living out of the country right now with the state of both parties. I'm looking forward to the day where Labor get polling data that tells them to stop leading via opinion polls. It would also be nice for the Libs to have a leader with a vision for this country that can't be summed up as "whatever it was the ALP said, we're against it."

Are there any credible third parties making sense at the moment?

No, and that's the issue, the Greens aren't a legit 3rd party. The Democrats dies after Lees supported Howard for the GST. But I agree a strong 3rd political voice is needed for Australia.

Greens primary now at 12%. Better than democrats for alot of their existence

Interesting to look at this online petition. Numbers just keeps going up. List of sponsors that have apparently pulled their support. I still get the impression that Jones still has enough supporters for him to ride through this.

http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/2gb-and-advertisers-immediately-cease-association-with-alan-jones-over-died-of-shame-comment-boycott2gb

I hope he doesn't go. Staying will do the Liberal party a world of hurt...:lol: :lol: :lol:

No I am not

what crap

He at least needs to be suspended.

There is no free speech in Australia ](*,) There is freedom of political speech only, and even that is only due to the judiciary.

Good summary of your posts

The Greens are not a legitimate alternative Government.

This is a party that is prepared to reject 80% of something and instead give us 100% of nothing, just so they can say that they didn't compromise.

They don't live in the real world

Wow, what a thorough and well reasoned response to the points that I made!

And don't for a second try and argue that your not a Gillard fan, your too transparent for your own good ozboy

Libs starting to sweat...:cool:


SHADOW treasurer Joe Hockey says he will not be boycotting controversial radio host Alan Jones' program and it's time to focus on real issues rather than commentators.
He said it was "arrogant" of politicians to ignore Jones' audience.
"When you speak on any radio station you are speaking to an audience not to an individual who is asking questions," Mr Hockey told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.
"Frankly, I think it is the height of arrogance to say that you're going to boycott some sort of radio show that has an audience of 5, 6, 700,000 Australians.
"If you are that arrogant that you don't think you need to talk to Australians no matter what their walk of life then you shouldn't be in government."
Sponsors have deserted Jones' leading breakfast talk show following a speech he gave at a Sydney University Liberal Club function in which he said Prime Minister Julia Gillard's father had died of "shame".
Mr Hockey said the comments were hurtful, ill-considered and nasty but Jones had apologised and the focus now should be on real issues.
"I think we shouldn't be in the business of spending days and days in Australia commentating on commentators and their commentary," Mr Hockey said.
"We should focus on the real issues that are impacting on Australians, like the interest rate cut now.
"It is poor form of the Labor Party to start playing political games with this issue."


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/focus-on-real-issues-not-jones-hockey/story-e6frfku9-1226486789279#ixzz288EMDpLo

And it just gets better & better & better...
Go the Libs! :cool:

ALAN Jones must apologise on air for a racist rant where he called Sydney's Lebanese Muslims "vermin" who "infest our shores" and "rape" and "pillage" our nation, having failed in an appeal.

A $10,000 damages payment, which has been held pending an appeal, is also expected to be released in coming days after today marked the end of a seven-and-a-half year legal saga.

The saga was triggered by Jones' comments on air just days before the Cronulla riots in 2005.

In three separate occasions in April 2005, he made inflammatory comments about Muslims.

In one he read a letter which was in response to footage of young Lebanese men taunting police around The Rocks in Sydney on the day before Anzac Day, which was aired on a TV current affairs show on April 27.

The group of men called police "pigs", and mocked the Anzac traditions, but were not arrested by police.

In the other two broadcasts he commented about a Muslim sheik, Faiz Mohammad, who suggested that women who wore short skirts or didn't cover themselves were to blame if they were sexually assaulted.

Sydney Lebanese leader Keysar Trad complained that Jones' comments in the three broadcasts breached discrimination laws and incited racial hatred against Lebanese Muslims.

Trad won the first round of the epic battle in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal in 2009 when the tribunal ruled one broadcast in a radio show on 28 April 2005 "incited hatred, serious contempt and severe ridicule of Lebanese Muslims" and Trad was awarded damages of $10,000.

Trad appealed, in a bid to prove that two other broadcasts in April 2005 had also targeted Muslims because of their race, and Jones appealed in an attempt to overturn the finding of racial vilification.

Both appeals failed, leaving the ruling of racial vilification against Jones standing, but meaning that Trad has failed to prove the other two broadcasts, on April 27 and April 28, breached racial discrimination laws.

Speaking after the ruling was handed down today, Mr Trad said he was happy that Jones was still required to apologise for calling Lebanese Muslims "vermin", but disappointed that the tribunal didn't regard his further comments as vilification.

Mr Trad said the tribunal has ordered Jones to apologise. The apologies are to be both on air and in writing.

"We want a proper heartfelt apology, we have been waiting for seven years for an apology," Mr Trad said.

"We hope that this apology wont add to the insult like the apology he gave to Prime Minister Julia Gillard," Mr Trad said.

Mr Trad said Jones had said many more offensive things about Lebanese Muslims since his comments in 2005, but "you can only run one case at a time".

He said it was a pity that the law made it so difficult to take action for racial vilification.

"The offender can keep offending and it takes almost forever to get any relief [in court]," he said.

Mr Trad said he had borrowed money from friends and family to meet the estimated $100,000 legal bill of fighting the case.

The tribunal is yet to rule on whether Jones should have to pay part of Mr Trad's costs.

Jones' lawyers, Baker McKenzie, have not returned calls requesting comment.

A) what does the Libs have to do with what Alan Jones says? Last time I checked, he isn't a Liberal MP

B) How are the Libs "starting to sweat" by refusing to boycott Alan Jones? I thought what Joe Hockey said was entirely reasonable, the guy might be a nut bag, but his audiance still vote, so its entirely legitimate to go on his program in order to talk to that audiance.

I guarantee you, Labor MP's will return to Jone's program once the next election is called! Willing to put my house on it...

You're trolling, right?

He is a member of the Liberal Party.

This faux outrage from Labor over what Alan Jones said is exactly that, fake!

Yes what he said was diabolical and I'm yet to hear anyone defend his comments, but the Labor Party is absolutely milking it for everything its worth in order to further their properganda that Gillard is unfairly treated because shes a women and even trying to link Abbott and Jones as "having a close relationship" in order to try and get the mud they are throwing at him to deflect onto Abbott! IT HAS NOTHING TO FCKING DO WITH ABBOTT!

Labor is an election machine, willing to say and do anything... But just remember! That exact same campaign was used against Campbell Newman at the QLD election, and backfired spectacularly! When you try and link everything to Abbott in the way the ALP are with the Jone's issue, people will start to see through the facade... The electorate is becoming increasingly cynical towards this kind of political posturingl, as the latest QLD Newspoll suggests (that being despite all of the mud being thrown at Newman by Labor and the unions, the LNP's primary vote remains at 48%, which is exactly where it was at the election...)

Lindsay Tanner is a member of the ALP as well, doesn't mean his comments are reflective of the party. Clive Palmer is a member of the LNP, but has been slamming the Newman Government at every turn, so again, just because your a member of a party does not mean your views are reflective of that party!

If he was an MP, it would be different.

Chris Evans's wife, a member of the ALP, tweeted "The life expectency of an Australian male is 79, Alan Jones is 71. Patience!"

Now does that mean, because she is a member of the ALP, that by extension, Julia Gillard is hoping that Alan Jones would hurry up and die?

I mean lets get fucking real here... The current state of politics in this country, ON BOTH FUCKING SIDES, is an absolutely bloody disgrace.

all is fair game in Australian politics. just don't insult Julia Gillard lest you be labeled mysoginist

pretty much

ozboy is comfortable with that level of hypocricy, just don't call him a Labor fan... :roll:

Yep, what percentage of the population is female?

please explain the relevance of this question

Pretty much just proves that ozboy just doesn't get it. He is, and always has been, a fanboy. In this case a Gillard fanboy