The first Roy Morgan face-to-face poll of Tony Abbott’s Liberal leadership covers the last two weekends of polling, and it fails to replicate the encouraging results for Abbott in Morgan’s two earlier small-sample phone polls. Labor’s primary vote is up two points on Malcolm Turnbull’s last poll to 49 per cent, while the Coalition is up 0.5 per cent to 35.5 per cent. The Greens are down 1.5 per cent to 8 per cent. Labor’s lead on two-party preferred is up from 58.5-41.5 to 59-41.
Festive preselection action:
• Former Davis Cup tennis player John Alexander has won the Liberal preselection for Bennelong, having earlier tried and failed in Bradfield. Despite predictions of a close contest, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Left-backed Alexander had an easy first round win over local business executive Mark Chan, scoring 67 votes in the ballot of 120 preselectors. As the Herald tells it, “the right split and the hard right deserted Mr Chan”, although VexNews notes the seat is “not a centre of factional operations for either camp”. The also-rans were businessman Steve Foley and financial services director Melanie Matthewson.
• Wanneroo mayor Jon Kelly has withdrawn his nomination for Labor preselection in the Perth northern suburbs federal seat of Cowan, after earlier being considered certain to get the gig. This comes in the wake of a Corruption and Crime Commission finding that Kelly had put himself at “risk” of misconduct through his relationship with Brian Burke. Burke presumably knew what he was doing when he subsequently endorsed Kelly, going on to say he had “sought my help on many occasions and I’ve always been available to assist him”. The West Australian reported the withdrawal was the product of a “mutual” decision reached after “a week of talks with Labor officials”, which included federal campaign committee chairman and Brand MP Gary Gray. Potential replacements named by The West are Dianne Guise and Judy Hughes, who respectively lost their local seats of Wanneroo and Kingsley at the state election last September. The ABC reports a decision is expected in mid-January.
• The Western Australian ALP has also confirmed Tim Hammond, Louise Durack and ECU history lecturer Bill Leadbetter as candidates for Swan, Stirling and Pearce.
• The NSW Liberals have selected incumbents Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Bill Heffernan to head their Senate ticket, reversing the order from 2004. The Coalition agreement reserves the third position for the Nationals – I am not aware of any suggestion their candidate will be anyone other than incumbent Fiona Nash. Imre Salusinszky of The Australian reports Heffernan needed the backing of Tony Abbott to ward off challenges from David Miles, a public relations executive with Pfizer, and George Bilic, a Blacktown councillor.
• Phillip Coorey of the Sydney Morning Herald notes Left figurehead Anthony Albanese’s chutzpah in calling for the Macquarie preselection to be determined by rank-and-file party ballot, after the role he played in imposing numerous candidates elsewhere as a member of the party’s national executive. Albanese reportedly believes Left candidate Susan Templeman would win a local ballot, although the earlier mail was that the Right’s Adam Searle had the numbers and it was the Left who wanted national executive intervention.
• Final Liberal two-party margin from the Bradfield by-election: 14.8 per cent. From Higgins: 10.2 per cent. Respective turnouts were 81.51 per cent and 79.00 per cent, compared with 80.12 per cent at the Mayo by-election, 87.41 per cent in Lyne and 89.68 per cent in Gippsland. Question: if the results have been declared, why hasn’t the AEC published preference distributions?
• VexNews reports Saturday’s Liberal preselection for the Victorian state seat of Ripon was a clear win for the unsuccessful candidate from 2006, Vic Dunn, who my records tell me is “the local inspector at Maryborough”. Dunn reportedly scored 53 votes against 26 for Institute of Public Affairs agriculture policy expert and preselection perennial Louise Staley and four for local winery owner John van Beveren. Joe Helper holds the seat for Labor on a maergin of 4.3 per cent.
• The Berwick Star reports that Lorraine Wreford, the newly elected mayor of Casey, refused to confirm or deny reports she lodged a nomination for Liberal preselection in the state seat of Mordialloc last Friday. Janice Munt holds the seat for Labor on a margin of 3.5 per cent.
• The Country Voice SA website reports that one of its regular contributors, former SA Nationals president Wilbur Klein, will be the party’s candidate for Flinders at the March state election. The seats was held by the party prior to 1993, when it was won by its now-retiring Liberal member Liz Penfold.
• On Tuesday, The West Australian provided further data from the 400-sample Westpoll survey discussed a few posts ago, this time on attitudes to an emissions trading scheme. Forty per cent wanted it adopted immediately, down from 46 per cent two months ago. However, there was also a fall in the number wanting the government to wait until other countries committed to targets, from 47 per cent to 43 per cent. The remainder “ favoured other options to cut emissions or did not know”.
• Paul Murray of The West Australian offers some interesting electoral history on the occasion of the passing of former Liberal-turned-independent state MP Ian Thompson:
Shortly after the State election in February 1977, allegations began to emerge from both sides of politics about dirty deeds in the seat of Kimberley. Liberal sitting member Alan Ridge beat Labor’s Ernie Bridge on preferences by just 93 votes. The Liberals were the first to strike, claiming Labor was manipulating Aboriginal voters, but the move backfired badly. A subsequent Court of Disputed Returns case turned up scathing evidence of a deliberate Liberal campaign to deny Aboriginals the vote using underhand tactics and the election result was declared void on November 7.
Returning officers in the Kimberley for years had allowed illiterate Aboriginals to use party how-to-vote cards as an indication of their voting intention. What became apparent later was that Labor had put hundreds of Aboriginal voters on the roll and generally mobilised the indigenous community. The Liberals flew a team of young lawyers up from Perth to act as scrutineers at polling booths, with a plan to stop illiterate voters. The Court government pressured the chief electoral officer to instruct returning officers in the Kimberley to challenge illiterate voters and not accept their how-to-vote cards.
The court case turned up a letter of thanks from Mr Ridge to a Liberal Party member, who stood as an independent, saying “a third name on the ballot paper created some confusion among the illiterate voters and there is no doubt in my mind that it played a major part in having me re-elected”. Mr Ridge’s letter said that unless the Electoral Act was changed to make it more difficult for illiterate Aboriginals to cast their votes, the Liberals would not be able to win the seat.
Two days after the court ordered a new election, premier Sir Charles introduced in the Legislative Assembly a Bill to do just that. How-to-vote cards could not be used, nor could an instruction of a vote for just one candidate. Labor went ballistic, saying no illiterate voter would meet the test.
What transpired over nine hours was one of the most bitter debates ever seen in the WA Parliament and the galvanising of a new breed of Labor head kickers – Mr Burke, Mal Bryce, Bob Pearce and Arthur Tonkin, who came to power six years later. On November 10, it became apparent that the government was in trouble when one of the four National Country Party members not in the coalition Cabinet, Hendy Cowan, said he opposed the Bill because it disenfranchised all illiterate voters. When it came to the vote, the four NCP members crossed the floor and the maverick Liberal member for Subiaco, Dr Tom Dadour, abstained. The numbers split 25-25.
From the Speaker’s chair, Ian Thompson calmly noted that the law said when a Court of Disputed Returns ordered a by-election it had to be held under the same conditions as the original poll. If the Government wanted to amend the Electoral Act, it should do so after the by-election.
“Therefore I give my casting vote with the ‘Noes’ and the Bill is defeated,” he said. Hansard unusually recorded applause.
Sorry but Daves posting contained an article that was a flat out white-hate speech.
SMH should be ashamed of themselves for posting such filth.
It pretty much crapped on our ancestors who built this country. Nothing cheery about that.
Marry Christmas & Happy New Year to all members of the PollBoudger community
Next Year will be a big one wioth several elections we say (YIPPEE) the voters say (YAWN)
[Sorry but Daves posting contained an article that was a flat out white-hate speech.]
TTF, does this explain why you are not the least bit concerned about the 50,000+ people who overstay their visitor visas but are terrified by 1500 boat arrivals. The 50,000+ are, to a very large extent, caucasian whereas the boat people are non-white?
If sppeding campaigns are revenue raising then i call on all to rob the Government of this funding by not speeding.
This is a tax that people choose to pay.
2401
No actually it is saying that the built Australia built it up to be wealthy despite several factors which went against them.
[ Sorry but Daves posting contained an article that was a flat out white-hate speech. ]
Absolute garbage. Hatchers article is an excellent positive article on our extremely fortunate home.
Get a life and for crikeys sake wake up to yourself.
The crap you are posting shows you are a very sick puppy.
[Sorry but Daves posting contained an article that was a flat out white-hate speech.]
what a hate filled little chumbly bum you are! Now I know you are fibbing when you claim you have voted other than liberal.
[If sppeding campaigns are revenue raising then i call on all to rob the Government of this funding by not speeding.]
I once was driving along the HIGHWAY past a little town here in North Queensland called Tully. You actually have to turn off the highway to enter the town, the highway does not down the centre of it. Population of the town was a measily 2300, barely a blip on the map.
Now the speed posted along the HIGHWAY while going past this town was 60km/h. Thats right…. 60km/h along a highway road past a tiny little town. I decided this speed was ridiculously low for a HIGHWAY especially seeing as it isn’t actually going through any friggin town. So I proceeded along at 80km/h instead. Just as the 60km/h zone was ending, there was a flash for cash, and I was done for speeding.
Now on the 4 hour trip between Townsville to Cairns this was the ONLY speed camera.
Think about why they would set up a 60km/h zone on a friggin highway. Then think about why police would setup a camera on the edge of such a zone.
It’s called revenue raising people… pure and simple.
dave 2370
Nice article thanks.
TTH
No country has a middle class larger than Australia, even people with an attitude as bad as yours are included. It happened because a few smart and influential people had attitudes that are a lot different to yours. You would do well to study a little Australian history and reflect on it.
[TheTruthHurts
Posted Friday, December 25, 2009 at 10:55 pm | Permalink
….
It’s called revenue raising people… pure and simple.]
So what; it’s a voluntary tax; if you don’t like paying it don’t speed. If you speed get over it.
I’ve paid my share; but I don’t complain; taxation provides useful services.
2408
The v60 does seen a bit excessive from your description but the rules are the rules. If you knowingly break the law you should be prepared to take the consequences. Anyway adjusting the speed of the car for a lower speed limit requires concentration of the road to see the limit and concentration on the driving to make the adjustment which keeps the drivers paying attention particularly when the are on long trips. Catch the deliberate law breakers and the people not paying enough attention.
[So what; it’s a voluntary tax; if you don’t like paying it don’t speed. If you speed get over it.]
What about speed camera traps like the one I just mentioned?
If you were on a clear open highway would you do 60km/h? The zone was clearly set up as a revenue raiser and is complete BS.
2412
You said that you new that it was a 60 zone and so it is not like the signs were hidden or anything. If there was a loaded gun next to someone who was tied up and your much hated enemy would you shoot them? I am guessing not.
[What about speed camera traps like the one I just mentioned?
If you were on a clear open highway would you do 60km/h? The zone was clearly set up as a revenue raiser and is complete BS.]
Troothy, do you pick and choose the laws which you will obey? If so, what criteria do you use? Why do you complain about the consequences to you if you choose not to obey a particular law?
Has Christmas done something to some of you blokes? If voters read these few comments on speeding cameras, TTH arguments would win in a landslide!
Hurty Toof, I agree with you on this one – driving/revenue raising is a joke!
Funny how different people see different things in the same article? The Hartcher article above referred to be dave @ #2370 is a case in point..
I thought it was a very positive article pointing out that starting from the worst possible position of all (i.e. that of a penal colony) we have developed into arguable the best country in the world to live in and raise a family. Experts (Diamond and Darwin) were quoted showing how we were not given a silver spoon to suck on and that the hard work and ingenuity of our forebears produced a country that just about anyone in the world would be proud to call home.
Mistakes made during the early years of our country (like the white Australia Policy) have been reversed and overcome. Our society is now stable tolerant and hard working. We have avoided the pitfalls that many countries with large natural resources have succumbed. Even in today world there are not many countries that has such a stable and tolerant population with a high work ethic and egalitarianism.
I particularly like this sentence -:
Yet, somehow, from criminal, brutal, racist beginnings, the country developed into a law-abiding, harmonious, tolerant society.
The author attributed the reason as for this unlikely rare success as follows
The common Anglo origins of these successful countries hint at one of the explanations for their success. The neo-Britains imported a ready-made set of helpful habits and institutions – a concept of citizens’ rights protected in the common law, the rudiments of parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary, the right to private property, a strong work ethic and the structures for capitalist risk-taking.
The author pointed out that this development has not been consistent and attributed a a considerable amount of credit to the Hawke/Keating Labor Government. He also pointed out that even under the Howard Government the level of income inequality in Australia fell below that of the OECD average for the first time, This was the socialist paradise he was alluding to.
The following are also worth repeating-:
Opportunity abounds
What your parents earned when you were a child has very little effect on your own earnings
Australians enjoy First World living standards, but are as carefree as the most contented peoples of the Caribbean
We share a country that’s one of the safest and most stable on Earth
People from around the world have left behind ancient strife and anguish to create a country of unsurpassed harmony and hope, that offers wide-open opportunity for the ambitious and a social safety net for those who fall by the wayside
The author also points out that things here and not perfect and list two example namely out treatment of the First Australians and the environment.
I found it to be a very positive article and I was so impressed with it that I sent it to everyone on my mailing list with the subject being, “here is something to be proud of.”
How anyone could say that it was anti-white is beyond me. In fact it is very pro white because we are a “white” country. This does not mean that our new arrivals have not nor will not contribute to this country nor does it suggest that the qualities so prised are the domain of whites for they are not.
But comment like this reflect very well on those who come form the British Isles and on the values and intuitions they brought with them –
The neo-Britains imported a ready-made set of helpful habits and institutions – a concept of citizens’ rights protected in the common law, the rudiments of parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary, the right to private property, a strong work ethic and the structures for capitalist risk-taking.
We are indeed the lucky country and each new arrival makes, whether they are from the Sudan or Sri Lanka or the UK make us luckier. Instead of whining like a child we should recognise our strengths and endeavour to correct failings.
Bleating about imaginary biased is for children and should be ignored.
I have mucked up those tags again
Sorry about all that bold
Truth~~ The speed zone may seem silly but it was in place and you choose to ignore it therefore it is not the fault of the Governemnt that you choose to speed.
There are no excuses unless you were completely unaware of the speed limit but in the case you used you clearly knew the rule and broke it therefore you made a tax contribution to the Queensland Government
Centre @ # 2415 and others
I find this attitude to speeding finds simple unbelievable. None of us has an absolute right to drive recklessly on the roads putting others and ourselves in danger. The attitude that you displayed is very similar to that stupid attitude the Americans have towards guns. Your attitude is selfish and dangerous.
Just take note of the following form Charles Sturt Uni.
Speeding is a factor in at least 40% of fatal crashes in NSW.
There have been many studies which demonstrate that speeding increases both the likelihood of a crash occurring and the severity of injury caused by road crashes.
The risk of being involved in a crash increases with speed because the driver has less time to react, less control of the vehicle and the distance it takes to stop is considerably lengthened.
A study of speed related crashes in 60km/h zones found that the risk of being involved in a crash causing death or injury doubles with each 5km/h increase in speed above 60km/h.
http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/pdhpe/core1/improving/3-2/3-2-3/speeding.html
The cost to the Australian economy is very large indeed.
The motor vehicle accident is the greatest single cause of accidental death in Australia, with about one-third of all accidental deaths occurring on the roads. Conservative estimates suggest that the annual cost of motor vehicle accidents in Australia (including costs such as medical treatment, workplace absence and vehicle replacement or repair) is about $17 billion.
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Motor_vehicle_accidents
Any attempt to reduce this cost should be give the whole hearted support of us all.
I would be interested in your plan to reduce motor vehicle accident injuries and deaths if you were not prepared to impose fines on those that break the law. Also are you advocating that all fines that are applied to those the break the law be erased and if so what other form(s) of enforcement of the laws would you adopt.
The concept to the imposition of fines is similar to that which would apply to such things as the ETS or the administrative fines placed on those that avoid tax. It is an inducement for us all to change our behaviour and do the right thing.
Just like that old saying – if you don’t want to do the time don’t do the crime – so if you don’t want to pay the fines don’t do the crime.
When i am on a Highway i do the speed limit, if i go over it and i get caught i pay the fine for we live in a soceity of Laws and as a legal conservatate i believe should obay the law without fear or favor.
[I thought it was a very positive article pointing out that starting from the worst possible position of all (i.e. that of a penal colony) we have developed into arguable the best country in the world to live in and raise a family.]
Thats not how I read it. I read it as saying we started off as a colony of Whites and that means that we are criminals, thugs and racists. We can see the far lefties agenda in this little hate piece right here:
[On the contrary, Australia’s white settlement set it up for failure.]
Ahh yess.. those evil whiteys! It then goes on to call all these Whiteys and I quote:
[Yet, somehow, from criminal, brutal, racist beginnings, the country developed into a law-abiding, harmonious, tolerant society.]
Of course! How could those evil criminal racist Whiteys ever build anything successful? Well of course by de-whiting of Australia of course! Hence the “now” and “thens”. Just forget Australia was a first world country well before the “white Australia” policy was dumped and just forget we were number 1 for GDP per capita in the early 1900’s making us the richest country on earth. Whites can’t succeed, and if they do they are cheating!
Then we go onto the next bit of White hate:
[The common Anglo origins of these successful countries hint at one of the explanations for their success. The neo-Britains imported a ready-made set of helpful habits and institutions – a concept of citizens’ rights protected in the common law, the rudiments of parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary, the right to private property, a strong work ethic and the structures for capitalist risk-taking.]
So that would be the anglo-saxon culture and values then would it? Surely puts a spanner in the works for the “multiculturalism” rabble.
If there is one thing that really gets my goat it’s people shitting on our history, our ancestors and early settlers to push their pro-multiculturalism, anti-white agendas.
I’m greatful for what has been handed down to me from the early work of the settlers for the last 200 years. I don’t call it “lucky” or “random” but bloody hard work and I find it distasteful people can take everything they have for granted today despite all the hard work they put in.
We should have our own “Thanks Giving” day here in Australia but no doubt the left would shut it down because it would be reminding Australians who actually built the joint which is a big taboo these days.
Mexicanbeemer @ # 2420
The rule of law is one of the great pillars of our society
Oh dear the Mericans are even paranoid about an innocent bit of Christmas fun – they make TTH look like a genius.
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=jhQsdjAD4Ro
[TheTruthHurts………I once was driving along the HIGHWAY past a little town here in North Queensland called Tully……]
I don’t believe you, tth. You are just looking for a scrap.
TheTruthHurts
Thats not how I read it. I read it as saying we started off as a colony of Whites and that means that we are criminals, thugs and racists. We can see the far lefties agenda in this little hate piece right here
I think that this says more about you than anything and that you need to learn a bit about the countries history. The original settlement in Sydney Cove was almost exclusively by whites, that is a fact. It does not say that whites are disposed to be criminals.
Can you dispute the fact that the majority of those that landed in Sydney Cover where a) white and b) were criminals?
On the contrary, Australia’s white settlement set it up for failure.
… as apposed to black settlement. Again it is not saying that whites are bad just that the start of white settlement on this continent could not have been worse.
Yet, somehow, from criminal, brutal, racist beginnings, the country developed into a law-abiding, harmonious, tolerant society.
Is this factually wrong? Was not the first settlement, criminal, brutal and racist and is not Australia today a law-abiding, harmonious, tolerant society? In fact not many countries in the world have done as well as we have. We have recognised our faults (as a nation) we have adopted policies to overcome those faults and we have applied those policies with great skill and endeavour so that today we are a country almost without equal. This is something to be proud of.
Trying to ignore our faults will not improve our future.
Australia was a first world country well before the “white Australia” policy was dumped
We could never really be a first would country if we had the “White Australia Policy”. We would be an outcast like South Africa was for so many years. The good thing about Australia is that we (mainly whites) recognised how immature and selfish such a policy was and we have benefited greatly by its removal and the acceptance into this country of all the “non white” immigrants that have added much richness style diversity and colour to our society.
To try and suggest that we cant have our Anglo-Saxon culture and values as a base on which we can build and add to as we wish show that you have a black and white picture of the world when in fact it is in glorious colour. Multiculturalism is a benefit to this country and will continue to be so for, I hope, centuries to come.
As an aside what is that part of multiculturalism that you don’t like. Usually people refer to the British culture and try to foist that on this country making this a monoculture society. Well, I am a 4th generation Australian and my culture is not British as is the culture of about 40% of Australians that have the same cultural background. It seems to me that this Country right from that first day the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove was multicultural and will be for many years to come.
”I don’t call it “lucky” or “random” but bloody hard work”
That is why we are lucky, because we adapted, we changed we adopted and we worked bloody hard. Can you name a dozen countries that have been as lucky as Australia? What make out development so different to all the rest of the world?
”We should have our own “Thanks Giving” day here in Australia”
Now after arguing for a monocultural society you want to adopt the cultural activities of another country. It would appear that you are arguing for a multicultural society after all but the cultures you will accept must be “white” it would seem.
The White Australia Policy may be dead to the vast majority of us but it would appear to be alive and well and thriving in your heart.
Australia day suits me but I will share that my gripe is that over recent years since thr Cronulla riots is that it has become a “Captian Aussie Day”
I am alluding to the the Aussie flag flying “Australia. If you dont like it . LEAVE IT” sticker slogan, ute tatooed bogans that show around Jan 26.
My father arrive in Fremantle on Australia day 1952 as a 20 year old from Cyprus.
Is it a passing phase or a young white guy code to say F*#@ off to all that is not the same as them? Some I grant is national pride but for most part I suspect it a sneer at all who are not the same “burb head” mentality as them. I beleive the have “pulled one cone too many”.
Also I love the southern cross but when are we going to have a real Aussie flag with out the union jack? The Eureka flags suit me fine. For those that may not know the the flag design of is obvious as we can plainly see the cross and the lines that join it is meant “United under the Southern Cross”. To me this is a real Aussie flag.
My pommy mates love to point out that their flag is on ours. 2010 is near and we still carry a vesture of the empire. Why?
UP THE AUSTRALIAN REPUBLIC.
I will like to add is that I understand the historical underpining as to the flag we currently have and the culture that came with it.
I just beleive that Australia is mature enough to reflect its own identity with out having old connotations as part of its National emblem.
[briefly
Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 2:35 am | Permalink
TheTruthHurts………I once was driving along the HIGHWAY past a little town here in North Queensland called Tully……
I don’t believe you, tth. You are just looking for a scrap.]
It exists all right; look it up on google map; and the speed signs are exactly as tth describes.
By the by; you will find a lot of people in North Queensland with tth’s view of the world. He is not alone, he may not be a North Queenslander, but he would sure fit right in . It seems to be the same in the USA, the closer to the equator the crazier the people get. I suspect its the sun, it cooks their brain. Be sure to wear a hat or your done.
Hey Toothy, the old Bing got a perfect song for you to sing:
[White Christmas:
I’m dreaming of an All White Christmas
Just like the immigration policy I used to know
Where the White Gums glisten, and White Children listen
To hear that we give everyone a fair go.
I’m dreaming of a White Christmas
With every deportation card Canberra write
May they be Yellow, Red or Black,
As long as my Australia is White]
While you are singing that to the kids, just Teach Your Children well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pphVs8bF0
What I find strange about TTH’s little Nth Queensland misadventure is the he believes that he can determine the appropriate speed limit for a particular section of road as he speeds by better than the people responsible for setting said limit. Doesn’t need any detailed topography data, or road use stats, or neighbourhood survey, or maintenance history, or accident history. Nope, one quick glance and he reckons he knows what the speed limit should be.
While Truthy worries about the little brown and yellow people overunning our land girt by sea, the “micks” have taken over the apparatus of government.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/catholic-libs-storm-frontbench-en-masse-20091225-lf33.html
Deprive the government of revenue by not spwwding. Easy. The police will be happy, you will be happy and the government will be happy. This “revenue raising” argument is BS.
spwwding = speeding.
[By the by; you will find a lot of people in North Queensland with tth’s view of the world. He is not alone, he may not be a North Queenslander, but he would sure fit right in . It seems to be the same in the USA, the closer to the equator the crazier the people get. I suspect its the sun, it cooks their brain. Be sure to wear a hat or your done.]
They vote for Barnaby Joyce. So no more.
Yes polyquats.
I bet tth would be shocked to learn that the buildings he saw were a small portion of the town, the commercial sector. Most of the town (population 3500) is behind the trees on the other side of the river; on the other side of the Bruce highway.
Because the town is thus divided there is at times a lot of local traffic across the Bruce highway.
Yes, how can we not love IL Papa:
[THE woman accused of assaulting Pope Benedict XVI has told doctors she did not want to harm the Pontiff, a newspaper reports. Susanna Maiolo, a 25-year-old Swiss-Italian national, was admitted to hospital after the attack on the Pontiff in St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday night.
An online report in La Repubblica quoted her as saying she “did not want to hurt him”.
The report quoted Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and head of the Italian bishop’s conference, as saying: “Nothing serious happened. It was a woman who tried to greet the holy father.”]
Afterall, we are all dreaming of White Christmas.
[Gary Bruce
Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 9:05 am | Permalink
Deprive the government of revenue by not spwwding. Easy. The police will be happy, you will be happy and the government will be happy. This “revenue raising” argument is BS.]
You can consider it a voluntory tax or you can consider it as a punishment that fits the crime; it doesn’t change the fact; people willingly perform actions that will result in the payment.
Many taxes are voluntary; you don’t have to smoke, you don’t have to drink, you don’t have to speed. All these taxes make people pay upfront for the expenses that will probable result from their actions.
If they were called “Conroy’s speeding fines”, then many here would say they should be discontinued because they don’t catch 100% of speeders.
As a Nervous Nellie on 9 demerit points (due to a gaggle of three speed excursions and camera captures in the period of four weeks a couple of years back) I went through all the emotions of the wrongfully accused.
“I’m not a speeder. Why don’t they book hoons doing 120 in a 60 zone?”
“Cameras are only there for the revenue.”
“There are too many confusing variations in speed limits.”
and so on…
But Her Indoors pointed out to me that the reason I got done was that I had a couple of big projects on my mind and that I clearly wasn’t paying attention to the road signs. The next time I didn’t pay attention I might run a child over, or smash into the back of a table top truck.
Reluctantly I had to agree. I was caught fair and square. We have “Speed Camera Ahead.. Heavy fines… Loss of Licence” signs in NSW. There’s a lot to be said for a system that penalises you for not paying attention to the traffic conditions and restrictions attached to them. I became a much more attentive driver. Who knows if I saved someone’s life as a result? We’ll never know in individual cases, but state-wide there’s a good chance that more than a few people are alive today because a lot of drivers on 9 points have slowed down.
Our road toll in NSW is 100 or so more than it was at this time last year. That’s a whopping increase, over 25%, far too much to be co-incidental. Since my offences, the demerit points for minor speeding offences (under 15kph over the limit, which all of mine were) have been relaxed, to the point that if I was caught now by any of the three cameras from a couple of years back I’d keep my licence, as they would only attract 2 demerit points. Are those extra 100 road fatalities a result of the relaxation of the demerit points system?
There was a case for reducing the points. Traffic fines due to speed cameras had increased 600% over the previous 10 years, with a far smaller corresponding increase in traffic volume. The argument (at its most charitable) was that the government had overdone it and/or was just out for the money (at its most cynical).
The reasons for the increase in traffic fatalities will take a while to work out. A copper I was speaking to at a party last night said there was a feeling of crisis at the top and that experts from around the country and the world were being put onto the case to nut out the reasons for the increase.
The authorities could meet the punters half way and rationalize many of the seemingly ridiculous ups and downs of speed limits along stretches of road that appear to have the same traffic conditions. And then they should, in clear conscience (and without being accused of sheer revenue raising), reinstitute the prior, severe demerits points system to keep the drivers honest.
One thing I do know for sure. I have gotten into the habit of being a defensive driver. So much so that Her Indoors says I should make it official and get myself a hat. It’s two years since my last camera 3 offences, and it was five clear years before them. In the middle I was thinking about other things while I was driving and missed the warning signs. I’m lucky I only had money taken off me. I might have taken someone’s life with a lapse of attention as trivial as the ones that caused the fines. That’s the thing about driving a tonne and a half of steel down a busy road: a stumble, a trip, a lapse of concentration that otherwise would result in nothing more than a curse under your breath for your clumsiness can kill people, a lot of people.
That’s something we tend to forget when we just want to blast away at “incompetent Labor governments” or “decide” we are going to speed, ignoring the signs. Killing others is anti-social behaviour in its most extreme form. Risking others’ lives due to inattention is bad enough. But risking killing others because we decide a law is stupid or we don’t like the politics of the government that introduced it is plain psychopathic.
[ Greensborough Growler
Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 9:31 am | Permalink
If they were called “Conroy’s speeding fines”, then many here would say they should be discontinued because they don’t catch 100% of speeders.]
Conroy’s little effort costs the government money; it makes it a little harder to reach some sites. It is a very expensive way to teach Australians what a proxy server is, and how to use it.
Ratsars, your post at 2419 is truly amazing:
– Nobody is saying that people have the right to drive recklessly on roads endangering the lives of others.
– Nobody is saying that drivers should break the rules on our roads.
– Nobody is saying that drivers should exceed the speed limits on our roads.
– Nobody is saying that drivers should not be fined for breaking the law on our roads.
* Most speeding cameras are positioned in a particular way purely for REVENUE RAISING purposes. That’s it. It has nothing to do with road safety. Anybody who drives a motor vehicle knows that.
There are 40 words in post 2415. Why don’t you read it again and DO NOT verbal me with your waste of space, irrelevant crap in 2419.
Christmas has definitely done something to some of you blokes for sure 😆
fredn,
Good idea. Maybe it’ll become an avoider pays system, like voting at elections.
Well said BB @ 2439, especially your closing paragraph.
Road toll up 100, speeding fines up 600%. Surly that would be an indicator that speeding fines do not reduce the road toll.
Perhaps things other than speeding causes fatalities. Reducing the speed of traffic definitely reduces the damage done when two masses collide. The trouble is lack of attention is a cause, it’s very hard to remain attentive over long periods of time when driving at 100km an hour on country roads that have a town every 100 km.
I was heartened to see some sanity has returned on the road between Mildura and Renmark, the speed limit has been increased to 120km. Someone has realised people going to sleep actually causes accidents.
[Greensborough Growler
Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 9:48 am | Permalink
fredn,
Good idea. Maybe it’ll become an avoider pays system, like voting at elections.]
Pay a little more to have a clean connection, good idea. Perhaps a little test, are you stable enough to have a gun license; smart enough to use a proxy server; then you get for a fee, a connection that is filter free. Bit like Brave New World, in that story the elite got access to subversive books.
From cricinfo’s coverage of the Boxing Day test:
[joining you later will be David Walsh, who’s watching the proceedings from Sydney.]
Is that Pollbludger’s own David Walsh?
fredn,
I’m stable enough not to have a gun license. I should consider using a proxy server because my own tennis serving is so poxy.
Like speeding, just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you are morally justified in breaking the law. But, I’m sure you’ll rationalise your civil disobedience.
[Most speeding cameras are positioned in a particular way purely for REVENUE RAISING purposes. That’s it. It has nothing to do with road safety. Anybody who drives a motor vehicle knows that.]
BS. Start naming.
[Greensborough Growler
Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 10:11 am | Permalink
fredn,
I’m stable enough not to have a gun license. I should consider using a proxy server because my own tennis serving is so poxy.
Like speeding, just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you are morally justified in breaking the law. But, I’m sure you’ll rationalise your civil disobedience.]
I thought I was suggesting a set of rules to create an elite that would get filter free connections; oh well.
Given your comment I’m curious; new and better tools to avoid filtering systems such as Conroy’s are being developed by the USA (funded by government agencies). The goal is to give Citizens in China and Iran access to material filtered by their government.
Clearly user of these products are breaking laws enacted by local governments.
Which party is morally wrong and why?
In Vic the fatalities have fallen since we’ve had speed cameras. I’ve noticed a marked difference in people’s driving habits. The message doesn’t get through to everyone, as we’ve seen here but it gets through to most.