As you’re all no doubt aware, the Prime Minister has just held a press conference announcing the election will be held on November 24. Didn’t hear the whole thing, but after all the justified outrage about the government’s changes to electoral laws, I am surprised to learn that the legal formalities will be conducted on a timetable that will leave the rolls open until October 22.
UPDATE: Those who have had time to think about this point out that the writs will be issued on Wednesday, so the deadline for new enrolments is 8pm that evening. The October 22 date invoked by the Prime Minister is the closing date for amendment to existing enrolments.
UPDATE 2: An AEC press release announces: “If you’re not on the electoral roll and you’re entitled to enrol, you must fill in an enrolment form immediately and return it to an AEC office by 8pm, Wednesday 17 October. If you’re already on the roll but still need to update your address details, to ensure your vote you must complete an enrolment form and return it to an AEC office by 8pm Tuesday 23 October”.
What like the baiting and negativity that ive been forced to endure for this whole year because of the polls…hypocrisy comes to mind HH…no i wont be negative…because i dont see telling people how inexperienced Rudd is is a negative thing to say it is fact…but also Howard has a lot of positive messages to tell the people…we have a good economic record…why risk it with Rudd and Swan…
I heard the questions on News Radio. K-RUD answered well. I like the one about 70% of the other mob not wanting Howard as leader.
Does Glen have enough experience to comment on Rudd’s lack of experience?
I also noticed in questions Rudd picked up on the point of who would be treasurer under Costello if PM. He raised Downer with a hint of scepticism.
How is trying to achieve full employment not a vision for the future…god what are you all on?
Ruddock will retire no doubt.. and spend more time with Amnesty telling us all how much he cares about Human Rights… (cough)…
It is sad that for the most part the Liberal party has lots its classical liberal principles but nonetheless it stands for individual liberty and enterprise more than Labor.
It makes me cringe when I hear Labor talking about the “education revolution”. The federal government can’t bring about an education revolution, or any kind of revolution to social services, other than putting money in and taking money away.
Sigh.
Why can’t the Liberals say that they’re the party of individual responsibility and believe in education freedom, health freedom, tax freedom, all of that, and leave it up to individuals to do as they please?
A great effort by Rudd. He’ll nail Howard, of that I have no doubt now.
Ruddock is looking old. Perhaps they didn’t give him any makeup, but if the government wants to do themselves a favour they need to put younger fresher looking people on the screen.
Actually, on a serious note about experience.
I have worked with plenty of people who have, on the surface, had many, many years of experience, but who were far, far worse at their jobs than new comers.
In one memorable occasion with a 22 year old grad who ran circles around a 60 year old PhD graduate.
So experience doesn’t actually mean a great deal to me….
Glen’s weak responses also convince me that that was a good very response by Rudd.
Aesop – Says:
I think that described Rudd’s effort all year (apart from his speech when he was first made leader). It also describes Howard in 1996.
Rudd is in front and is forcing Howard to make the running and the mistakes. Its a subtle balancing act that he has executed well all year – from the vunerable position of facing a govt with control of both houses and a significant slab of the media.
Now the playng field is more level. I am looking foward to when the ALP gets on the front foot. The third party – grass roots attacks will be a feature along with the viral quick response attacks.
Just like it didnt for Latham?
Howard needs to talk about his team compared with Labors…its a no brainer that Howard has the better team and one that isnt made up of 70% Union officials…
According to the experience argument, you have to have been PM to be elected one. It’s nonsense. Rudd was DG of the Qld Cabinet Office at the age of 34. Yes, Glen. He must be a real mug.
#142 “How is trying to achieve full employment not a vision for the future…god what are you all on?”
We all want full employment. A vision should give us a clue on how get/keep it.
Given Howard’s last election promise on interest rates surely a vote for Howard means a vote for higher unemployment.
Make that “very good response” Shee.
Marky Marky, well we just have to wait and see during the election. I think it would be highly unlikely that the ABC will be biased to one side or the other. Think about it. What do they have to gain? Bias is very often perceived than real.
One of the first things that will be happen after the election, if Kevin Rudd wins, will be a shake up of the ABC board, I would think.
I see emotions are running high here!
Glen, on the economic record, Peter Costello has a giant surplus yet health, education etc are starved of funds. That’s not good economics.
Good times don’t last for ever and we need to ensure we survive a downturn which will inevitably come.
Actually Damien you are wrong…
“According to the experience argument, you have to have been PM to be elected one.”
You need to be Opposition leader for more than 1 year probably 2 or 3 years and it would be better to have faced an election…Rudd has done neither and so he is not experienced enough to run the country…
Glen,
Why?
“Glen, on the economic record, Peter Costello has a giant surplus yet health, education etc are starved of funds. ”
Richard why arent you attributing any blame to the States why is it always the Howard Government who is to blame for State issues?
never mind Glen’s experience argument, it’s just his polite way of acknowledging Howard as old and tired and Rudd as young and visionary 🙂
Glen, If Howard was serious about full employment why have 750,000 (630,000 in 96) sitting on DSP, due to the way Howard has run disability services these people are greatly restricted with the only people benefit go by the name Theasa Rein aka Rudd’s wife.
I’m sorry but Howard is a narrow mined negaitive leader who for all his experiance has sadly little going for him.
Last week Insiders had two right wingers on and everyone screamed “bias”. Today they had two lefties on and no one said a word. The ABC is not biased. They’re trying to be even handed and occasionally making mistakes but overall they do not have any of the bias we see so often in the Murdoch media organisation.
# 142 – Sexual freedom, Michael?
A copy of a complaint I just made to the ABC as they cut off Kevin Rudd’s press conference. If you wish to complain call 8333 1500 in Sydney. I had to wait 5 Minutes as the switchboard is jammed.
“I wish to complain about your coverage of the Election Speeches of the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader.
While the Prime MInisters press conference was covered in full with questions from the press, The opposition leaders was cut short after his prepared speech. This denied me the opportunity to see the oppositiuon leader answer questions from the press and rebut the Prime Ministers assertions at his press conference.
This is appalling bias on the part of the ABC which is supposed to be a neutral and apolitical organi.sation.
This letter is a formality as I intend to make a strenuous complaint to the Australian Broadcasting Authority and have been informed that I must make a complaint in writing to your organisation first.
I am utterly disgusted and offended by this blatant political Bias shown by the ABC.”
Please register your disgust as I am sure the majority of people who contribute to this blog will.
Watching Howard’s announcement, my seven-year-old son said, “Dad, why is John Howard crying?”
Face it, Glen. Howard’s ego, together with the yes-men flunkies he’s now surrounded by, were seduced by the prospect of one more personality based campaign. The problem is, Howard’s a pillar of salt even in his own party. Who seriously believes Downer, Abbot and that twerp Nelson are in 2009 simply going to roll over and say to Cozzie “give it to me, baby”.
Glen, I am not saying the States are being managed as well as they can. I’m talking about the huge vertical fiscal imbalance which must be addressed. It’s a bit like my wife piling up a huge credit card debt and paying interest on it while I have a giant pile of cash in my account. It just doesn’t make sense.
The Howard Government supposedly runs the whole of Australia and this includes responsibility for adequate funding for health and ecuation.
They don’t receive tax money just to squirrel it away.
Of course the States can be better managed, so can the Federal Government. There is always room for improvement.
My view is that Nick Greiner was a far better manager of New South Wales than Morris Iemma. He really did manage.
We could do with a few more like him. Of course he is now earning more than a million dollars a year in the private sector.
Kleenex tissues has announced they will be sponsoring the “41 boxes for 41 days Glen Support fund”.
All money raised will go towards buying the 41 boxes of tissues Glen will need to wipe his eyes with every day as he watches his heroes go down with the ship.
And dont we need a debt convoy these days?
Glen we’ve had this States at fault rubbish all year.
The Feds have the money, more than ever (pick any measure you want), and yet inexplicably they are providing 30 year lows to the States (as a proportion of GDP), and you want us to blame the States for everything that goes wrong.
What would be the stupidest thing you could do in this circumstance. It would be to insert local boards to govern hospitals so that there is an extra level of potential stuffup and blame, and extra layer of expense and public service. Desperate pathetic stuff that is BAD for the country. We will no doubt see a lot of this from you and Howard.
Interesting dynamic if the first opinion poll on Monday shows movement in either direction!
Rudd’s press conference shows how not ready for office he is by slamming Howard for going for a mother of all ‘negative’ scare campaign. But he then spent 20 minutes having a go at Howard. What a hypocrite!
Rudd has no record to speak of so one can and has to question his economic policy…but then again Kevin Rudd is a economic conservative and he is because he said he is on national tv, and here i was thinking that he would only screw the economy, but with a glowing endorsement from himself assuring us that he can manage it we must take his word. What a noob.
158 paul k That was me that screamed bias, and it was a tongue in cheek dig at the Liberals.
doofus
unfortunately the abc is just pale imitations of what real journalism should be
i have complained many times
but hey come the day after election i think more than one syncophant will jump ship with ratty’s demise
🙂
So billions of taxpayers money to a private health rebate scheme is good eh Glen…, We all give money to this government and it funds a private health with billions, of which only 30 percent of Australians can afford to be a part of. But its’ the States fault for this policy.. it would be better if this was abolished and the money put into public health.
And remember Glen over the last eleven years the share of money the commonwealth has provided to public health has gone down whilst the states share of revenue gone up…
Richard… The ABC may not be biased in this campaign but today it got off to a bad start… and if we measure coverage by minutes… fair dinkum havn’t our bean counters got more to do…
No doubt time for independent ABC board..
Marky ever heard of the GST?
And the States didnt reduce Taxes so they are rolling in cash yet they then blame the Commonwealth for everything…no level of Government can absolve themselves of these problems but for Rudd to blame Howard for education/health problems is a joke…
Labor Vote i will be going down on that same ship if it happens nevertheless how will the Rudd huggers be if he loses the election???
@ 152 Richard Jones posed the question:
@ 152 Richard Jones answered the question:
158 paul k There was no everybody. Just little ol me.
Ahh, there you go again Glen. You guys just don’t get it, it’s not working, you, Mad Monk, Dolly, Tip, Shrek et have all been trotting out the same tired old lines all year now but no one is listening. You can’t keep harping about the past, either you come up with something new for the future or accept you won’t be part of it.
Experience is an interesting argument.
For it pays to have experience but sometimes and I have seen this in the Corporate world some managers stay in the one role for a period of time and they keep the same types of people around them for what they may call a culture but in reality becomes morbid and narrow and this ultimately leads to a failure of policy.
This sums up the Howard Govt.
One thing is for sure after this election, if Rudd wins he will be unable to blame any party for a policy failure…
Where’s Costello??
Or will it be like 1998, 2001 & 2004 where he’s hidden away from the voters?
Where’s Gillard?
She will be hidden because she’s a liability…
Tim, I recall Costello in 98 and 01 was very active in the marginals, it will be interesting which seats he visits but more importantly how much time he spends in Higgins.
Cossie,
Is out trying to find some votes in Higgins. With Goldstein and Kooyong in play, guess who is “smirky” in the middle.
GG, Peter Costello is more active in Kooyong than the guy who is meant to be the MP.
Oops!