With an election due in the next 12 months do people think it will be Gillard v Abbott or will either side make a change?

Personally I think Labor would rather lose than have Rudd, but I think he is their only chance. Abbott is likely to win but I doubt anyone including the Libs really want Abbott as leader...interesting times.

to be honest who would want to take over the country in the state its in.....perhaps abbott is the best for dishing out tough love......our debt levels and ATO receipts are way out of whack and we are borrowing $100 million a DAY from the chinese so typical labor government, get in fuck it up blow the cash and leave a fucken great mess...IE proof is NSW & QLD

WTF are you talking about? We have the lowest government debt in the OECD. I'd say its typical batfink spewing Liberal rhetoric.

to be honest who would want to take over the country in the state its in.....perhaps abbott is the best for dishing out tough love......our debt levels and ATO receipts are way out of whack and we are borrowing $100 million a DAY from the chinese so typical labor government, get in fuck it up blow the cash and leave a fucken great mess...IE proof is NSW & QLD

to be honest who would want to take over the country in the state its in.....perhaps abbott is the best for dishing out tough love......our debt levels and ATO receipts are way out of whack and we are borrowing $100 million a DAY from the chinese so typical labor government, get in fuck it up blow the cash and leave a fucken great mess...IE proof is NSW & QLD

fuck off......i dont care about the OECD we are fuck loads in more debt than when these fucken clowns got in, so stop talking shit

and i am not a LNP member , when they get in and fuck things up i will rip them another arse as well.....


Edited by batfink: 10/10/2012 02:11:24 PM

ultimately none of the above even matters, because we have our own currency and a central bank that can create or destroy that currency at will with a keyboard stroke. this means the government can never ever run out of money; it can never be burdened by its debt; it can never default; it actually has no financial constraint on its spending. the government doesnt even technically use your tax dollars when it spends; when the government purchases something it gets the RBA to credit bank accounts, magically creating money out of thin air. when you pay your taxes, that money goes into the government's bank accounts and the RBA actually just debits those accounts, destroying your hard earned tax dollars, which ultimately mean nothing to the government. why would the government need your money when it can create money? in the modern economy, tax serves the role of controlling aggregate demand in the economy. although most people (even the government) don't really realise this

I overwhelmingly agree with this. It's a wonder nobody notices.

LOL.........

I didn't realise I was a comedian? Tell me sir, which one of my jokes do you find funny?

Gillard reveals true nature in playing gender card

October 10, 2012 - 6:50PM

Paul Sheehan

The dictionary defines misogyny as "hatred of women". It is an ugly word, an ugly accusation and an ugly fact of life. It is now the word that has driven Australian politics to its lowest point in decades. Yesterday, the mask fell away, the curtain dropped, the real driver of the politics of personal abuse was revealed.

After sending out two attack dogs, Gutter and Sewer, to do the dirty work, after hiding behind two political zombies, Insufferable and Unspeakable, to stay in power, after using the Minister for Innuendo and the Compromise-General to play the gender card, the mask has finally dropped away to reveal the driver of the politics of hate in Australia.

The mask fell at exactly 2.42pm in the House of Representatives. Looking on were the member for Gutter, Anthony Albanese, the member for Sewer, Wayne Swan, the Minister for Innuendo, Tanya Plibersek, and the Compromise-General, Nicola Roxon, and the independents who will do anything to avoid facing their electorates, Mr Insufferable, Robert Oakeshott, and his fellow regional zombie, Mr Unspeakable, Tony Windsor.

Someone had to set Gutter and Sewer loose. Someone directed Innuendo and Compromise to play the gender card. Someone paid the bill for Insufferable and Unspeakable. Someone's authority still rests on the vote of Craig Thomson. And someone had to approve making Peter Slipper the Speaker despite his being manifestly disrespected by either side of the house, a low point of political opportunism.

At 2.42 pm on Tuesday that someone rose to speak. The mask fell away. Julia Gillard came out snarling. The Parliament had before it a great issue, the dignity of the house itself, which had been traduced by the scandal that had attached itself to Slipper.

Instead of directly addressing the issue of a discredited speakership which had become engulfed in an expensive and degrading legal action that did no credit to anyone involved, least of all the Attorney-General, the Prime Minister wasted no timing in using misdirection and personal abuse.

She even invoked the name of dead father: "My father did not die of shame!" she thundered across the dispatch box.

No one in the Parliament ever said he did. Tony Abbott had said exactly the opposite when he spoke of her father.

Why tip a bucket of bilgewater into a fierce wind? Why invoke the accusation of misogyny, hatred of women, against an Opposition Leader whose chief of staff, Peta Credlin, is famously one of the most formidable woman in politics, whose mostly female staff is devoted to their boss and who has raised three daughters?

But then why did she mislead the Australian people before the last election on the carbon tax? Why did she leave her law firm under a cloud? Why did she shaft her own leader? Why did she depose a prime minister who had a mandate from the people? Why has she methodically deployed the politics of personal abuse?

The answer was manifest in her speech, recorded in Hansard. Here are some highlights:

"I hope the Leader of the Opposition has a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation, because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he does not need a motion in the House of Representatives; he needs a mirror…"

"I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition went outside the front of the Parliament and stood next to a sign that said 'Ditch the witch'. I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition stood next to a sign that described me as a 'man's bitch'. I was offended by those things.

"It is misogyny, sexism, every day from this Leader of the Opposition. Every day, in every way, across the time the Leader of the Opposition has sat in that chair and I have sat in this chair, that is all we have heard from him …

"I indicate to the Leader of the Opposition that the government is not dying of shame — and my father did not die of shame. What the Leader of the Opposition should be ashamed of is his performance in this Parliament and the sexism he brings with it …"

"This Parliament should today reject this motion, and the Leader of the Opposition should think seriously about the role of women in public life and in Australian society — because we are entitled to a better standard than this."

Yes we are.

Editors Note: This story was changed post-publication and, in the 9th paragraph, a reference to the Prime Minister was deleted.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/gillard-reveals-true-nature-in-playing-gender-card-20121010-27cnq.html#ixzz28t8g1tSs

Not really sure you can call it a 'smear campaign' when it only takes going through his public statements and actions to reveal the extent of his misogyny.

You do realise if the government was just getting the RBA to print money it would result in hyper inflation? But are inflation figures are so low. How does the conspiracy theory explain that?

Interesting stuff Hoff. The debt crisis in USA crippled the banks in 08 saw a massive bailout from the Fed. Bernanke just announced more quantative easing but my question is can the US sustain its currency on the coarse it's on given that no fiat currency in history has survived this long?

Edited by leftrightout : 10/10/2012 11:43:49 PM

My problem is the word 'destroy.' It doesnt ever destroy money. What it does is sell or buy bonds to influence the overnight cash rate between deposit taking institutions, or the cash rate. It doesnt 'destroy' money at all. It merely changes the amount of money supply. And it doesn't do this over the net either. So for example if it needs to tighten monetary policy the RBA sells commonwealth government securities (bonds) to the deposit taking institutions. This reduces the overnight funds and as any supply/demand curve will tell you, a lower supply means a higher price. Theres not 'deleting' money. What you are saying on its basis is right. Its just the terminology is very misleading.

And of course we could in theory have very high interest rates. What keeps our interest rates so low is our AAA credit rating. If we lose that, the RBA would seriously have to consider raising the cash rate significantly to attract overseas investors. But high interest rates can cripple the economy if the whole economy isnt booming (and at the moment only the mining sector is but how long that lasts is the question)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

You do realise if the government was just getting the RBA to print money it would result in hyper inflation? But are inflation figures are so low. How does the conspiracy theory explain that?

You will never convince the Abbott haters that he is the subject of a smear campaign, even though its pretty bloody obvious that he is.

Not really sure you can call it a 'smear campaign' when it only takes going through his public statements and actions to reveal the extent of his misogyny.

That said, don't approve of the race to the gutter from either major party. Neither side has the moral high ground to take.

thank you........ tell me what the chinese expect us to pay off our loans with monopoly money, or do we just crank up the xerox?????

Labor says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been caught out in his use of a "pensioner's" electricity bill as part of his anti-carbon tax campaign.

In questioning the Prime Minister about Hetty Verolme's bill, Mr Abbott said the customer "nearly had a heart attack" when she got her most recent power bill.

It had more than doubled since her previous bill to $1,563 for the months of June and July, and Mr Abbott wanted to know what advice Julia Gillard had for the Perth pensioner.

He followed up with a supplementary question: "With an $800 increase in just one bill of which 70 per cent is due to the carbon tax, how can the Prime Minister possibly claim that Hetty Verolme's compensation is in any way adequate?"

Labor challenged Mr Abbott to table the bill in Parliament so it could verify Mr Abbott's claims, meaning it has now been made publicly available.

An electricity consumption graph on the side of the bill shows that most of the increase was due to a dramatic increase in power usage at Mrs Verolme's home.

It also includes a note saying that electricity prices had increased on July 1 by 2.255 cents per unit because of the carbon tax, which "represents an estimated increase of 9.13 per cent for an average daily usage of 15.89 units".

That is less than the Treasury forecast of a 10 per cent increase in electricity costs because of the carbon tax.

"Once again, the Leader of the Opposition caught out just like he was on Whyalla, caught out just like he was on the coal industry, caught out just like he was on lamb roasts, peddling fear (and) peddling reckless negativity," Ms Gillard told Parliament.

"The one thing you'll never hear from the Leader of the Opposition is anything that sounds like the truth about carbon pricing.

"The Opposition knows that the increase around the country has been what was predicted - 10 per cent or less."

Percentage increase
The power company that supplies Mrs Verolme is Synergy.

When it announced the 9.13 per cent carbon tax-related increase in June, it also said there would be a regular 3.5 per cent rise in power costs, taking the total increase to 12.63 per cent.

As a percentage of the overall percentage increase, the carbon tax component is just over 70 per cent.

Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne responded angrily to the Prime Minister.

"How can it be relevant for the Prime Minister to mislead the Parliament by claiming that the increase is 9 per cent when the Leader of the Opposition asked about 70 per cent of the increase in Western Australia?" Mr Pyne said.

Phone surcharge
The Opposition has also raised concerns about a potential carbon tax surcharge on phone bills.

It has obtained a sample letter from Telstra which considers a "Network Electricity Surcharge" linked to the Government's move to price carbon.

A Telstra spokesman says the letter was prepared as part of a market testing process that is used to "gauge market understanding and reaction to certain topics".

"We have been looking to understand customer reaction and understanding to carbon pricing, and this letter was one of several that was tested with this audience," he said.

"We've made no decisions about pricing changes linked to this issue."