That's true, but that does not mean that individual people have their own ideas as to who should run the country.

What you said is correct though.

How do we compare to Canada, Scandinavia, Japan, Germany or New Zealand?

They're all advanced economies with similar standards of living... if our debt-to-GDP ratio was comparable to them couldn't we accept it as reasonable? :-k

That's probably because you can't say "this is the person I want to lead my/our country" because you don't vote for the individual ;)

So you admit that he is clueless.

Oz opposition leader Tony Abbott struggles to put suppository gaffe behind him

Australian politician Tony Abbott became a global laughing stock today after an attempted attack on his election rival, prime minister Kevin Rudd, backfired spectacularly
   
FRANK THORNE
Published: 13 August 2013

Australian politician Tony Abbott became a global laughing stock today after an attempted attack on his election rival, prime minister Kevin Rudd, backfired spectacularly.

CNN, the Huffington Post and, inevitably, the internet all joined in after the leader of the opposition said Mr Rudd was not “the suppository of all wisdom”. He meant repository, a storage place, rather than a drug delivery system that is inserted into the rectum.

Within minutes the hashtag #suppository was trending on Twitter, with photo-shopped images of theLiberal Party leader with captions such as “know your enema” and an image of Mr Abbott as Gollum from Harry Potter “squeezing out a policy”.

CNN described it as a “memorable slip of the tongue”, while The Huffington Post said: “He has been criticised for making some public scatological comments in the past and is battling a public perception that he is not prime minister material.” US radio station NPR, in the “must read” section of its website, said: “It remains to be seen whether he can put this all behind him.”

The general election will take place on September 7. Mr Abbott and his Liberal-National coalition have been ahead of Mr Rudd’s Labor Party in the polls But his slip reminded people of a claim by an MP, Tony Windsor, that Mr Abbott told him after the last election that he would do anything to secure a minority government except “sell my arse”.

Mr Abbott made his comments at a rally for Liberal candidate Michael Sukkar in Melbourne — and was pictured on TV news beforehand standing in front of a sign with Mr Sukkar’s name on it. His head obscured the last letters, so it simply read “Suk”.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/oz-opposition-leader-tony-abbott-struggles-to-put-suppository-gaffe-behind-him-8759023.html

How is he racist though?

I'm not a big follower of politics but nothing springs to mind of him being a racist.

:lol: Was just about to post that. "Turbo Palin" :lol:

you are so pathetic and hypocritical......who is the sexist now with comments like that......
grow a brain you dirtbag......shit for brains loser...

The next idiot has no track record as yet leading our country so what do you know - but the record stands 2 fucken bigger IDIOTS have the past 6yrs ;)

fact & truth beats lies and smoke & mirrors

you all must be on the gravy train to think KRUDD is good for Australia or has accomplished ANYTHING noteworthy

"It's almost impossible to get red wine stains out of a penis"

Whats an English socialist doing on American tv ?

well you would know....;)

Batfink takes politics as srs buzness

[size=9]but hey i'm not sexist and gee i have credibility...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/size]



:^o :^o :^o :^o :^o ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) #-o #-o #-o #-o

Typical of batfink. Gets shown up in his political beliefs, resorts to personal insults because he's incapable of differentiating between dismissing the opinion and dismissing the person.

Ask a stupid question get a stupid answer. Going into a strip club in 2003 has nothing to do with demonstrating the immense stupidity during an election campaign like we've seen from Tony Abbott. He's made a gaff three times in the last week. "Sex appeal" as a reason to vote for a female MP, wisdom suppositories and creepily kissing the back of a woman's head. Not to mention this complete bullshit about taxes that I've already mentioned.

If there was such thing as a wisdom suppository batfink could definitely benefit from one if he could get his head out of his arse long enough.

LOL.........](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) OH YEAH I BELIEVE.....#-o #-o #-o #-o #-o


her der her der AFRO the clown........her der.....](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) #-o #-o #-o #-o

Which Aussie male hasn't been in a tittie bar?

You just have to laugh, otherwise the realisation that the campaign has essentially descended into a condensed version of American politics would be enough to make you cry.

What facts and truths.

I can sum up politics in australia with one example.

Abbott: We must stop the boats
Gillard: We need to sit down and think about this and go through a logical process
Abbott: Turn the effing boats away
Gillard: I think my hair looks great ginger
Abbott: Labor cant even decide on a leader, how can they get their policies right, we will say no to boats.
Rudd: We are saying no to boats and this is the solution, all detailed and laid out for you.
Abbott: Ummm...errrr...so yeah, those boats. We must stop them.
Everyone: Isnt Rudd doing the same thing now?
Abbott: Well do it better
Everyone: Whats your plan for them?
Diaz: Ill take it from here Mr Abbott. We have a six point plan guys.
Media: What is it?
Diaz: Shit, i effed this up.
Abbott: All good mate, i got this. So how about that Fiona Scott then?

The gay ones?

:lol:

One of the greatest subtle headlines of this campaign.

Fixed

Edited by thupercoach: 13/8/2013 11:20:45 PM

Jokes aside, I think the emotive issues have pretty much been neutralised. As I said a while back, "it's the economy, stupid!"

On that score Labor will be out on its arse.

To put all this rhetoric about boat people into context, we get more "illegal" immigrants at the airport than those that arrive by boat.

I thought this was a pretty cool idea actually: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/central/food-van-on-asylum-seeker-mission/story-fngnvlpt-1226693702136

Agree. Australians are a pretty self-centred, materialistic lot considering how financially well off we are.
Hence, its not surprising the large percentage of climate change deniers are conservatives. It is perceived to prevent their ability to have even more.

Look, we're all just families sending kids to school, working hard and trying to go on a holiday once in a blue moon. You make it sound like everyone is living in a Toorak mansion. Most people live a pay-to-mortgage existence.

lol at Tony droppin' the Greens like a sack of spuds.

-PB

=d>