As most of you would be aware by now, Malcolm Turnbull has won the Liberal leadership after defeating Brendan Nelson 45 votes to 41. Nelson won the post-election vote 45 votes to 42: not sure where the missing vote went (UPDATE: Kevin Andrews was overseas and didn’t vote – hat-tip to Dovif in comments).
Also:
• The latest weekly Essential Research survey has Labor’s lead back at 58-42 after a fortnight at 59-41. Also included are questions on approval of Kevin Rudd, the future of the Coalition and federalism.
• Peter Brent asks what became of the government’s green paper on disclosure, funding and expenditure issues, which was due in July.
• The Australian Electoral Commission has published comments on objections to the redistribution of Western Australian electorates.
• Bryan’s back.
No 195
And what’s that scorpio? The only class wars going on are those being pursued by the ALP on the floor of parliament.
Turnbull’s backpedalled on the republic, saying that another referendum shouldn’t be held until the Queen dies, to keep his party happy obviously
“what is the Howard Menzies legacy?”
High inflation, high interest rates and high balance of payment deficits.
[No, she isn’t right.}
I thought you were inferring she is on the “left”, but apparently she is just not “right”?
we are all of us misguided hacks. But let us not be ashamed of it! (though I did pick Turnbull 🙂 )
No 199
LOL A merchant banker in the ALP? Goodness me albertross, that is just laughable. The ALP is about stealing people’s hard earned.
If Turnbull tries to straddle the fence during his leadership and slips, it could prove very painful in his nether regions.
Oh ffs
This may help – http://zapatopi.net/afdb/
No 202
Let me make a correction: zero net government debt, secure public finances with healthy surplus, very low unemployment, future fund, higher education endowment fund, 20% higher real wages, GST, much lower income tax. And so on.
The very real fact is that Mr “I don’t know what NAIRU means” Swan can take zero responsibility for the healthy state of the economy. His only claim to fame is increasing taxes.
Thomas Paine,
The Howard legacy? Let’s see … the most extreme IR laws in the western world. The worst levels of interest rate / mortgage stress in the world. Inflation the highest since the early 1990s. Biggest foreign debt in Australia’s history. Longest consecutive run of monthly trade deficits ever. One of the world’s highest per-capita spenders on propaganda. The highest levels of household and business debt ever seen in this country.
Oh, and zero productivity growth and poor household savings ratio for years on end. Great legacy that one.
[His only claim to fame is increasing taxes.]
Taxes rose overall as a percentage of GDP under Swan? Really?
Bullbutter
No 209
Howard isn’t responsible for an individual’s wish to procure debt. It is also dishonest to blame the Government for people’s failure to save.
The Current Account Deficit also has much to do with the worst drought in 100 years. Workchoices created 450,000 jobs. But don’t let facts get in the way of a Liberal bash.
The key question to be asked is how long will the truce/honeymoon/love-in between Bully the small l liberal and the big L Liberal of the looney Right last?
eg: The Rebublic. Cossie already said in his NPC show-off today that the Republic issue will be a very difficult issue for Bully and the Fibs to handle in opposition.
There will be more wedges to be thrown at Bully than the potato wedges in my fridge.
No 211
Oh, LOL, how pathetic that use the GDP measure to disguise the fact that Swan is having a traditional communist tax binge.
There was a small matter of dental services being cut as a centre piece of that legacy I do believe.
[Workchoices created 450,000 jobs]
And unemployment fell at the same rate for the 5 years before WC
More bullbutter
207
Would i get helmet hair??
[Oh, LOL, how pathetic that use the GDP measure to disguise the fact that Swan is having a traditional communist tax binge.]
lol how pathetic not to use GDP measure in an attempt to try and paint the government as only raising taxes
[There was a small matter of dental services being cut as a centre piece of that legacy I do believe.]
one of the first actions of a Howard government IIRC
No 216
Sorry Dario, but the unions and Labor proclaimed that there would be mass sackings and that the sky would fall in. Nothing of the sort occurred.
No 219
Necessary thanks to Keating’s obscenely high Government debt and budget deficit.
[eg: The Rebublic. Cossie already said in his NPC show-off today that the Republic issue will be a very difficult issue for Bully and the Fibs to handle in opposition.]
As I posted earlier, Turnbull has backtracked from the Republic by saying that it should only go to a referendum after the Queen dies, to keep his party quiet. It will be a tough line to sell when the government is constantly reminding everyone that he was the ARM’s main man.
GP I notice you have the English flag as your avatar. Why do you hate Australia?
[Sorry Dario, but the unions and Labor proclaimed that there would be mass sackings and that the sky would fall in. Nothing of the sort occurred.]
No, just losses of pay and conditions instead. How silly of those unionists to be concerned.
I think Malcolm will be singing “God, Save the Queen”, please.
Standards here haven’t been terribly high for the past hour or so. I’m going to start deleting boring comments without apology or explanation until things get back on course.
So… Eric Ripper, eh? What’s the deal with Roger Cook?
Any comments on the new WA Opposition there, William?
English flag?… I always figured he was the big Liberal elephant in the room?
No 208,
None of that seemed to suitably impress the electorate last November.
What did impress them though was 10 interest rate rises in a row, negative productivity, a reduction in Health & Education funding, being told that they had “never had it so good”, no real effort to fix the underspending on infrastructure or training and the clincher, introducing “work choices” to totally empower the employer and provide a vehicle to reduce the wages and working conditions of oedinary, everyday Australians, many of whom had supported the Libs as the “Howard Battlers”.
The ungrateful unwashed then had the audacity to say up you Howard and go and vote in that nice Mr Rudd. The swine! How dare they!
[I think Malcolm will be singing “God, Save the Queen”, please.]
Agreed. Does anyone know the rough split of Monarchists & Republicans in the Federal Libs?
Andos, can stuff about WA please be directed to the relevant thread.
“oedinary”. That must be a word because my spell checker didn’t pick it up. Or else it went to sleep for a bit.
Ok, if Ripper is ALP leader in W.A. i vote Green. Still, if he’s leader now, he’ll be hopefully be gone by the next election. Argghh, unless there is a by-election post CCC findings???? This is not good. McTeirnan would have been the better choice as at least she gets things done.
Cameras hate her, but at least shes not Ripper.
Ahem.
If William allows it, may I ask a general question which relates directly to the US, but may also relate to Oz? It’s for the clever economists. 🙂
McCain’s spokesperson was being criticised for him saying “the fundamentals of the economy are strong”. This is countered by the argument that unemployment is 6.1%, the budget deficit continues to get worse and we are $10 trillion in debt”. His spokesman said that because Americans had the best work ethic and ingenuity in the world that the fundamentals were strong (which came across as pathetically as it sounds).
But she made a point that I’d really like to find more about. She said that in a recession, the worst thing to do is raise income tax. She said that is Economics 101. Is that true?
Whoops, sorry William.
I missed the update down the bottom of the “Hat Safe” thread.
My mistake. Feel free to delete the offending post.
may I be boring – and talk about the future, and not Howard?…
It seems to be between Robb and Abbott (!!) for the shadow treasury gig. Which I guess implies that Tony A swung behind Turnbull this time round… how long do you give that marriage lasting?
I still can’t understand how Robb is even in the frame for any senior role. He would have to be one of the least coherent and charismatic people in politics. Watching an interview of him he almost seems ill the way he responds to questions. He may be smart but boy it doesn’t show.
No 224
I don’t hate Australia.
I hope Robb is given it, and I hope that Swan or Julia or Tanner ask him how his case against the ineligible ALP candidates is going…
Surely when he asks them about some economic measure one of them has got to respond, “I’m surprised the Member for Goldstein has heard of that measure, no doubt he had to google it”…
Be interesting to see if Bishop gets the Treasurers spot? Can remember her being a particularly effective minister. Has she got anything like a banking backgound, or has she always been a blood sucker / lawyer pre-politics??
Dario,
“As I posted earlier, Turnbull has backtracked from the Republic by saying that it should only go to a referendum after the Queen dies, to keep his party quiet. It will be a tough line to sell when the government is constantly reminding everyone that he was the ARM’s main man.”
I wrote a nice short email tonight, sent to Malcolm’s parliament email, cc’d to Julia’s parliament email, generic in that I didn’t reveal which party I was a voter from. I just complained about his backtracking about the Republic. I don’t expect much to come of it but it made me feel better. Hopefully, it will also add to the ammo for Julia and the Labor front bench to press the Libs on this issue. I didn’t come to be an Aussie citizen because I wanted to be under the Queen’s control. If I wanted a monarchy, I would have bloody moved to England …..
Bugger, that should have been:
Cant, remember her being a particularly effective minister.
[Can remember her being a particularly effective minister.]
Geez, your memory must be better than mine.
But admittedly I am not a Julie B fan. Personally I would love her to be shadow treasurer, she has as much empathy for the working class as Marie Antoinette… (plus it would mean a lot more dopey props in QT)
Oh gods no!!! I am not a Julie Bishop Fan!!!
The Shame, The Shame!!
245 lol sorry imacca only read your correction after I wrote my response.
off topic William – but how has the move gone? I’d say the number of comments are up (though leadership spills do that). Don’t think there have been any complaints (I can’t think of any).
Glad you did it? – Also you seem to be commenting a bit more – or was that purely on the WA election thread?
SNIP: Scorpio, please talk about politics, not other commenters – The Management.
imacca, heard on the 7.30 report tonight that Turnbull met Julie Bishop when she was practicing law in Perth. Looks like we are going to have a lawyer for every occasion on the Liberal front bench. Don’t any other professions want to be in the Liberal shadow cabinet? It is not very representative of the people that they are supposed to represent.