Australian Federal Election
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<p>Interesting comment in an editorial by Joe Hildebrand today (he chaired the facebook debate)</p>
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<p>"Ultimately we have two sensible, centrist leaders who, in an effort to placate the hard edge of their parties, are obliged to pretend to be at war"</p>
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<p>I think there is a lot in that. Left freely to lead their own parties in their own manner, i think the two of them would come up with the same (ish) policies. However given the real power in both parties is not actually held by the leaders, we end up with the shit storm of hyperbolic adversarial waffle we currently have masquerading as an election campaign. </p>
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<p>Can anybody think of what either party actually stands for, other than being in power?</p> -
<p>Mariner's point is valid - its basically a reflection of the fact that all the screaming and shouting on both sides isn't really over anything that serious.</p>
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<p>Its always funny for people to talk about the budget deficit being a thing when we're a nation with a shitload of real estate debt.</p> -
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="592742" data-time="1467158679">
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<p>In that vein - bit of anarchy arising on FB</p>
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<p><img src="http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_images/master/attachicon.gif" alt="attachicon.gif"><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=2046'>votebox2.jpg</a></p>
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<p>You'd think if you went to that trouble, you'd know that Federal elections are every three years, not four...</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="592747" data-time="1467160374">
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<p>No. Bill managed to top it.</p>
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<p> <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href=''></a></p>
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<p>Is that the one where he was quoting Turnbull, but forgot Malcs was talking about the Labor party? Hilarious</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="592733" data-time="1467156953"><p>
Can anybody think of what either party actually stands for, other than being in power?</p></blockquote>
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I know what they stand for and there is a stark contrast. I'm not talking about rhetoric because they seem to say the same thing "strong economy" "jobs" blah blah. <br><br>
I think that whilst on the surface they might seem centrist, the problem both of the majors have (and it's been going on for years) is that they're too scared to govern in a way that would translate what they really stand for. <br><br>
The Workchoices "boogie man" or the CPRS "no go zone" linger large in what are risk adverse campaigns that have many scratching their heads thinking "ohh it doesn't really matter, life will go on" and cynicism reigns supreme. Small target campaigns are all the craze.... -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="592803" data-time="1467176826">
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<p>I know what they stand for and there is a stark contrast. I'm not talking about rhetoric because they seem to say the same thing "strong economy" "jobs" blah blah.<br><br>
I think that whilst on the surface they might seem centrist, the problem both of the majors have (and it's been going on for years) is that they're too scared to govern in a way that would translate what they really stand for.<br><br>
The Workchoices "boogie man" or the CPRS "no go zone" linger large in what are risk adverse campaigns that have many scratching their heads thinking "ohh it doesn't really matter, life will go on" and cynicism reigns supreme. Small target campaigns are all the craze....</p>
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<p>I know what they traditionally stand for, my questions was more do they stand for that now?</p> -
<p><img src="https://scontent.fmel1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13076742_1122692091085755_1509748980344423768_n.jpg?oh=eadc8bcd979a1252ad9b1906256d6792&oe=57EC7516" alt="13076742_1122692091085755_15097489803444"></p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="592748" data-time="1467160430">
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<p>You'd think if you went to that trouble, you'd know that Federal elections are every three years, not four...</p>
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<p>I think they were bored. Plus, with a new PM every 8 months, confused ;)</p> -
<p>Some funny descriptions here - bit long though. </p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://knowyourparties.wordpress.com/'>https://knowyourparties.wordpress.com/</a></p>
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<p>Best bits for me of the list:</p>
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<p><strong>Health Australia Party</strong></p>
<p>Rebranding of the Natural Medicine Party, which was probably a better description. Anti-vaxxers, fluoridophobes and homeopaths trying to expand their business via changes to medical legislation.</p>
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<p><strong>Family First</strong></p>
<p>But only if your family consists of a white Christian man, a white Christian woman and at least two white Christian children and you believe everyone else is headed straight for hell.</p>
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<p><strong>Liberal Democrats</strong></p>
<p>Headed by David Leyonhjelm, who made it into the Senate in 2013 because of a herd of Lib voters being too stupid to correctly identify their preferred party. The Lib Dems are committed Libertarians whose ability to ignore all of the evidence on every possible issue would make any cult proud.</p>
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<p><strong>Liberal</strong></p>
<p>You wake up in an ice bath and realise that your left leg is missing, and Rupert Murdoch tells you that brown people and greenies and reds all conspired to steal your leg and are coming back for the rest of your limbs, but then why is Rupert wearing a blood-stained hospital gown, and why does his left leg look familiar, and there, on the knee, isn’t that the scar that you got when you were ten years old and fell off your bicycle?</p>
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<p><strong>The Nationals</strong></p>
<p>You wake up in a shed and realise that your left leg is missing, and Rupert Murdoch tells you that brown people and greenies and reds all conspired to steal your leg and are coming back for the rest of your limbs, but then why is Rupert wearing a blood-stained hospital gown, and why does his left leg look familiar, and there, on the knee, isn’t that the scar you got when you were ten years old and got kicked by a horse?</p>
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<p><strong>Democratic Labour Party (DLP)</strong></p>
<p>If you’re an economic progressive yet somehow still a dyed in the wool Christian homophobe, this is the party for you.</p>
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<p><strong>Science Party</strong></p>
<p>Formerly the Future Party. They’re still naïve, but now they’ve got a full quiver of policies, mostly geared toward fixing the shitblizzard of the last three years.</p>
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<p><strong>Rise Up Australia Party</strong></p>
<p>The actual worst. Founded by someone who got thrown out of Family First for too much hate speech, which is like getting kicked out of Labor for not doing anything.</p>
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<p><strong>Labor</strong></p>
<p>The post-war European centre right party for Australia today.</p>
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<p><strong>Jacqui Lambie Network</strong></p>
<p>Anatomically incorrect: the logo is a map of Tasmania, but the policy platform is an arsehole.</p>
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<p><strong>Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)</strong></p>
<p>The party’s charter is just a bunch of bible quotes. It’s like we’re in Pennsylvania in the fucking 17th Century.</p>
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<p><strong>Sustainable Australia</strong></p>
<p>Formerly the Stable Population Party. They want a ‘sustainable’ population through lower immigration. If they actually cared about sustainability they’d be calling for a lower global population, but instead they’re calling for reduced population growth in a country with only 24 million people. Which means that what they are is simply racist.</p>
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<p><strong>Australian Liberty Alliance</strong></p>
<p>Angry Anderson (remember him? didn’t think so) vowing to stop the Islamisation of Australia. Last time I checked, Islam was holding steady at 2.2% of the population, so maybe one bald dickhead is all it takes to hold the hordes at bay.</p>
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<p><strong>Renewable Energy Party</strong></p>
<p>Single issue, seems good prima facie, but founded by Peter Breen, who was Ricky Muir’s only staffer for a time. I can’t figure out whether this is a good sign (Breen taught Muir how to be a halfway decent senator) or a terrible sign (how can someone go from the petrolhead party to a renewables party and expect to be believed?).</p>
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<p><strong>Marijuana (HEMP) Party</strong></p>
<p>Entirely about legalising weed, and there’s no suggestion that they’ve thought about a policy position on any other issues. My concern is that they’d side with anyone who takes snacks into the chamber.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="592370" data-time="1467026630">
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<p>I think Shorten's message on the Libs and 'selling Medicare' is way off base, and smacks of desperation to me. Hope it hurts him at the ballot box, it's a ridiculous claim.</p>
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<p>Think Brexit will help Turnbull, the economic messages will only get louder this week and this plays right into the hands of the Libs.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="592371" data-time="1467026922">
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<p>I've just watched him get taken to task on his medicare scare campaign. Apparently it's okay to outright lie about the privatisation of medicare if you make your own definition of privatisation.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="592373" data-time="1467027171">
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<p>Shorten is coming across like a bit of a fluffybunny actually. No real answers, just "that guy is worse" soundbites and lies.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="592377" data-time="1467029310">
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<p>MEDISCARE<br><br>
Shorten is looking quite desperate. More so than I have ever seen from him before in his political and union life.<br><br>
Turnbull is as well but not so much as Billy.<br><br>
Sure there's a huge amount at stake for both, but I think it's catching up to him.<br><br>
Shorten hates losing anything. He literally will say or promise anything to not lose - duh he's a politician you say. But in my experience not all are like that. Some still stick to their principles and actually can say No, it's not currently a priority etc.</p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">Ah okay sure, but to play devil's advocate, how is that any worse from the very grubby "scare" campaign from the other mob playing up the whole “war on business†and that Labour will let the boats restart.</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">IMO, as Nick has already highlighted, this is an election trying to decide between two slices of bland white bread where both try to pretend they are more than that.</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">Amd quite frankly, I actually prefer that Labour and Shorten win this election as I think the "current mob" has been next to fucking useless on the important issues and Malcolm will continue to be hamstrung by the far right lunatic fringe of his party. Yes, I'm looking at you Bernardi and Christensen!!!</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">This view is even more ingrained with all the chatter about jug ears Abbott returning to cabinet... that is one piston-wristed gibbon that should get the fuck out of politics!</span></span></p> -
<p>I'm thinking, at this point, I want the Coalition to hold a slight majority BUT for several of the hardline conservatives in the party to lose their seats.</p>
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<p>This allows for a bit of stability in government - which we're lacking - while providing Malcolm a platform to do what he sees fit as an elected leader. Legitimacy, if you like, while showing the utterly non-progressives that they can't continue being old fluffybunnies.</p>
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<p>In the meantime, I'd like to see the Greens scare the shit out of the lower house with a couple of seats just to put the wind up the majors. The Greens won't have any major power, but maybe just enough say to have to horse trade away some of their batshit crazy policies in order to tackle the shit they should concentrate on, like renewables and climate change.</p>
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<p>The Senate is probably still going to have a few floaters getting around, and I'm NOT in favour of the Coalition being in a position where their legislation is getting blocked "just because". That is counterproductive, and as I said above: we need some stability.</p>
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<p>As long as everyone starts to agree that we need to start shifting our economy out of dead-end industries and start using some of our brainpower, then it'll be a start.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="RoninWC" data-cid="593043" data-time="1467266508">
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">Ah okay sure, but to play devil's advocate, how is that any worse from the very grubby "scare" campaign from the other mob playing up the whole “war on business†and that <strong>Labour will let the boats restart.</strong></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">IMO, as Nick has already highlighted, this is an election trying to decide between two slices of bland white bread where both try to pretend they are more than that.</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">Amd quite frankly, I actually prefer that Labour and Shorten win this election as I think the "current mob" has been next to fucking useless on the important issues and Malcolm will continue to be hamstrung by the far right lunatic fringe of his party. Yes, I'm looking at you Bernardi and Christensen!!!</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;">This view is even more ingrained with all the chatter about jug ears Abbott returning to cabinet... that is one piston-wristed gibbon that should get the fuck out of politics!</span></span></p>
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<p>Considering they have form there I don't think that's unreasonable criticism in the slightest.</p>
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<p>If the Coalition lose this election then Malcolm is goooooone. If you want him to move the party to the left then he needs to win.</p> -
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<p>Considering they have form there I don't think that's unreasonable criticism in the slightest.</p>
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<p>If the Coalition lose this election then Malcolm is goooooone. If you want him to move the party to the left then he needs to win.</p>
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<p>Form... You mean from the previous Labour leaders when in power? How is that relevant to a new leader who is so staunch in his stance on "stopping the boats".</p>
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<p>One of the things that shits me most about Shorten is his current rabid approach to be completely like the Liberals in "stopping the boats".</p>
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<p>And one thing most forget is that the boats had already been well and truly stopping under labour before they lost that last election and it was in fact labour who set up the concentration camps on Manus and Naru in the first place. It's just that the Libs took it that next step and started the whole gestapo/SS tactics with the Boarder Force with their Turn Backs and pay offs.</p>
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<p>And if we are going to kick current leaders for past party indescretions, then where does it stop because Abbott sure left a lot of shit where the stink well and truly permeates around this current Turnbull government!</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="RoninWC" data-cid="593061" data-time="1467269625">
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<p>Form... You mean from the previous Labour leaders when in power? How is that relevant to a new leader who is so staunch in his stance on "stopping the boats".</p>
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<p>One of the things that shits me most about Shorten is his current rabid approach to be completely like the Liberals in "stopping the boats".</p>
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<p>And one thing most forget is that the boats had already been well and truly stopping under labour before they lost that last election and it was in fact labour who set up the concentration camps on Manus and Naru in the first place. It's just that the Libs took it that next step and started the whole gestapo/SS tactics with the Boarder Force with their Turn Backs and pay offs.</p>
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<p>And if we are going to kick current leaders for past party indescretions, then where does it stop because Abbott sure left a lot of shit where the stink well and truly permeates around this current Turnbull government!</p>
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<p>It's hilarious that you should complain about nutjobs and then write deranged crap like that.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Rancid Schnitzel" data-cid="593065" data-time="1467271373">
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<p>It's hilarious that you should complain about nutjobs and then write deranged crap like that.</p>
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<p>Fuck me you are the single biggest tool going RS. Your right wing - white male apologist crap is so seriously fucked up.</p>
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<p>Please point out exactly where you think my post is deranged???</p>
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<p>Just because someone expresses an idea or belief system contrary to your own which is backed up with some actual facts you attack the person. And then when it gets turned around on you, more often than not you back up quickly and pull that... "Who me, what did I do?" attitude</p>
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<p>Please by all means look up boat arrivals under Labour and see for yourself just how they were diminishing in the 6 months in the lead up to the last election... Please by all means look up who established Manus and Naru.</p>
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<p>You might be shocked that the actual real world does not simply conform to your narrow right wing view of the world... but by all means please continue to live in that burrow, under that rock found in that cave.</p>
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<p>You might be shocked to realize that there are a shit load of people who live in Australia who absolutely detest the "concentration camps" that are Naru and Manus. There are people out there who believe the tactics used by this Government in dealing with legitimate refugees are simply appalling!</p>
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<p>And whilst Abbott, Morrison, Payne, Dutton, Bernardi, Christensen, etc may be your heroes but they sure as fuck are not everyone's cup of tea!</p>
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<p>But hey, continue to spray your ad hominem attacks while defending your heroes.</p>