Howard was my local member when he was turfed in 2007.

Good Labour policy blame the opposition for everything including not reviling their policies 6 months ahead of the election.
Opposition policies don not stall running of the country. Labour-Greens-Independents coalition lack of policies and the ones they have are disasters, have all created the mess we are in also calling the election 7 months ahead did not help.

And where's Maxine now?

Sums it up perfectly;

[youtube]TptIs0k-spg[/youtube]

-PB

Love it.

Nervous peace so Kevin Rudd can campaign

SIMON BENSON The Daily Telegraph April 13, 2013 12:00AM

LABOR Party bosses have sanctioned the return of Kevin Rudd to help with the party's re-election campaign in a deal which will see the former PM traverse the country on flying visits to marginal seats.

Two weeks after the aborted leadership coup, a peace deal is believed to have been struck between the Labor Party national secretariat and Mr Rudd in a recognition by the party that Mr Rudd's popularity could be a key weapon in helping save marginal seats.

Mr Rudd will kick off the start to his official campaign duties today in Tasmania, hosting a number of community events including an annual apple festival.

He will host a quiz night for the Member for Braddon Sid Sidebottom, a staunch Gillard supporter, after being asked by the party to be the key fundraiser for the campaign event.

Mr Sidebottom holds the seat by only 7.5 per cent - which in the current environment is considered marginal.

Despite the PM insisting the election campaign had not yet started, local Labor Party branches all over the country are believed to have put in requests for Mr Rudd to help campaign in marginal seats.

A Labor Party source confirmed ALP head office had offered the olive branch in a bid to keep Mr Rudd "in the tent" and part of the re-election campaign.

Asked about Mr Rudd's trip to Tasmania, a spokesman said there were a number of longstanding commitments to which Mr Rudd had agreed, and which were ticked off on by the party's head office.

But some Gillard forces appear intent on continuing the war, recently spreading rumours Mr Rudd was preparing to announce his retirement from parliament, which Mr Rudd denied.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nervous-peace-so-kevin-rudd-can-campaign/story-e6freuy9-1226619422213

Perfect summary why FTTN and this policy will fail;

http://simonhackett.com/2013/04/09/cd-syd-2013-problem-with-fttn/

-PB

Crean slams PM in show of defiance
Date
April 13, 2013
Read later

Peter Hartcher
EXCLUSIVE


Ousted minister Simon Crean has given a scathing assessment of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's ability to lead the country, in a signal that Labor's leadership crisis is far from over.

He described Ms Gillard as having a ''tin ear'' for sound political strategy and engaging in ''class warfare'' by playing off interest groups, echoing opposition criticisms of Ms Gillard's position on removing payments to middle class recipients.

Defying the Prime Minister's demand for unity in her government, Mr Crean said he would continue to campaign for Labor to return to the proud traditions established by former Labor leaders Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

Mr Crean also said federal Labor was deluding itself that it was in trouble in the polls solely because of destabilisation by Kevin Rudd. "I've been through destabilisation," when he was Labor leader in 2001-03, "and we never went this low."

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During an extensive interview, Mr Crean reopened wounds that were supposedly healing after his failed attempt to install Mr Rudd as prime minister in March.

Mr Crean, until then a minister in every Labor cabinet of the past 23 years, argued Ms Gillard was not living up to the principles of consensus and inclusiveness established by Mr Hawke and Mr Keating.

"She's gone the class warfare. The 457 visa debate was a good example of the message being taken out of context - because it looked like we'll put Australians before foreigners. Unequivocally, immigration has been good for this country," Mr Crean said.

"That's not the ethos of the Hawke-Keating model. How have we built the country? By cohesion. We are seen outside as the great success story of multiculturalism. Why don't we play to it? Play to strength! That's my point."

Asked why he thought Ms Gillard was pursuing divisions, Mr Crean said that his leader had a political "tin ear", and that she was in pursuit of headlines.

"You see, you have the conversations - that's why I think she's got a real tin ear - he [Kevin Rudd] was just arrogant but she's got a tin ear. She sits there - 'Mmm' - and listens but it doesn't translate.

"Because somewhere along the way she gets the word that here's the angle on how you get tomorrow's headline."

Mr Crean also said that Ms Gillard needed to do more work on her two biggest election campaign promises - a national disability insurance scheme, and the Gonski school reforms.

"How do you have a national disability insurance scheme that doesn't have people paying an insurance premium?" he posed.

"Why not use the argument of one of the other great Labor legacies that's worked for this country - universal health cover - to justify it?" he said, a reference to the Medicare levy paid by taxpayers.

And the Gonski reforms needed to be better defined, he said. "You can't just say we're committed to Gonski 'cause no one knows what Gonski is."

Ms Gillard sacked Mr Crean from her cabinet and submitted herself to a party room ballot for the leadership in March. But Mr Rudd declined to contest. Mr Crean said that Mr Rudd was now "finished".

Mr Crean gave examples where the Gillard government had fomented resentment, pitting the wealthy against the workers, and foreign workers against local workers.

Ms Gillard has said the scheme to bring workers into Australia on work permits - 457 visas - was being rorted. She pledged to put "Aussie workers first".

Mr Crean also said that some tension over gender was "part of this argument about division - because it's easier to relate with one side against the other rather than get out there and try and cohere around a message that seeks to persuade in the national interest".


Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/political-news/crean-slams-pm-in-show-of-defiance-20130412-2hqym.html#ixzz2QLNeUhIO

Abbott declares all bets off on surplus

Date
April 18, 2013 - 9:29PM

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has declared "all bets are off" on a timeframe for delivering a budget surplus.

Mr Abbott, answering questions from Geelong voters in the nation's most marginal seat of Corangamite, said he didn't know the starting point to achieve a surplus.

Asked by an elderly Geelong woman what his top priority would be as prime minister, Mr Abbott said it would be to get "the budgetary house in order."

"We were confident that we could deliver a surplus based on what the government was telling us until just before Christmas," Mr Abbott said.

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"But all bets are off, given the government won't tell us what the deficit will be."

He reiterated that it was in the coalition's DNA to deliver surpluses and pay back debt.

Mr Abbott flagged industrial relations changes should the coalition win power.

But any change would be "careful, cautious, responsible", he said.

"We will have a lot more to say about this in the relatively near future," the opposition leader said.

He said the coalition's plans would address "flexibility, militancy and productivity problems emerging under the Fair Work Act".

"We will work within the framework of the existing act," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Abbott said the carbon tax would be scrapped by the middle of 2014 if he wins government.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/abbott-declares-all-bets-off-on-surplus-20130418-2i39y.html

Can't wait to see what he will cut in order to beef up the Navy budget to stop the boats.

-PB

When in doubt, cut hospital funding. Can't be cutting funding to something serious like sport.

Abbott was an excellent Health Minister, I doubt it.

What a politician does in cabinet and what one does to win votes are often two very different things.

It's all academic. He's going to have to audit everything once he gets in to find out the true financial state of the place. Until he does noone will know for sure what the Libs are likely to do.

This is just another way of saying "the liberals won't keep their election promises".

i currently have ADSL+2 and when the NBN comes to my area i will get fixed wireless that is the same speed.....

lucky me and it only cost me $44billion

Pretty selfish view, don't you think?

The NBN will increase broadband speeds for the majority of the country, but because it is the same speed to what YOU already have its a massive waste of money.

lol if he's anything like Newmann and his cuts that he's made to frontline services then this country is fucked.

-PB

LOL.....what speed / service are you running on copper Matt????????????????



Edited by batfink: 19/4/2013 09:25:03 AM

and why is that a selfish view......isn't the NBN suppose to deliver high speed broadband services???? and another point here is i am 50minutes from the largest city in Australia and i can't get better than fixed wireless??????

Election promises only mean so much when the worst government in our recent history won't open the books and tell truthfully how much is in the kitty. They'll need to do a massive audit followed by an overhaul of all the crap they're inheriting.

Edited by thupercoach: 19/4/2013 11:48:17 AM

Edited by thupercoach: 19/4/2013 11:49:14 AM

I can only get ADSL at my house. If it was telstra I would have a 1500/256kbps connection, with Iinet they push it out to 8mbps/756kbps. Even if I could get ADSL2 it would be 24/8mbps

When nbn connects fibre to my home I will be able to get a 100/40mbps connection immediately, with the line being capable of up to 1000mbps downstream in the future.

So yes, it will be a tad faster for me and the vast majority of Australians.

So that's how I can justify calling you selfish for having the opinion that the nbn is a waste of money because you are part of a very small slither of Australians that the improvements will be marginal for.

Fat did need to be trimmed, you must agree with that?

And you aren't even the worst off. I'm in a suburb 30 minutes from Perth (ie: not far away at all) and I can only get ADSL- but there are no ports available and haven't been for 3 years- or 3G that drops out constantly. Basically live in a technology black hole.

The only thing that frustrates me more about this issue that the argument that it is a waste of money is the LNP alternative, which is cheaper sure but it is also cheaper to set fire to a $100 bill than buy a central heating system but I know what will keep me warmer now and into the future.

That's not even really an apt enough analogy. The LNP alternative is an exercise in just throwing away $30b.

NBN offering 1Gbps in December.

Fucking win.

-PB

selfish view isn't it???????

as long as my tax $$$$ suit your needs it's acceptable.........

what pisses me off is that for now i am more than happy with ADSL+2 , and by he way it's for my Business primarily,

and it shits me that i am only 1200 metres from the exchange, so really there is no excuse that i have to be on fixed wireless......and drop out when the weather sux......

Suits the nation's needs, which includes me... So yes. Our current

Ignoring the fact that nbn co is self sufficient and will pay back far more than it costs over the life of the network anyway. No taxes wasted until Abbott and Turnbull undo all the groundwork done so far.

the NBN is not self sufficient

Probably cost $170-$200 a month.

Still.

Worth it.

:lol:

The 500/200 speed is only $100 wholesale a month so that's very very cheap.

Edited by macktheknife: 19/4/2013 01:27:11 PM