2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Rudd? (2 Viewers)

[gerhard]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

<3 minor parties. they are the only ones willing to take risks and do shit.

 

[Iron]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

<3 minor parties. they are the only ones willing to take risks and do shit.

I had a huge soft spot for the Dems, because they at least tried to position themselves inbetween both majors, as the sensible choice which would counter anything like '75, but I just see current minors as unrepresentative, radical fringe groups from both sides of the spectrum.

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Latest newpoll and related coverage from the Australian:

Primary: 41/37 Coalition's favour (9% to Greens)
TPP: 50/50.

Preferred PM:
Howard 54
Beazley 25

State sleaze hits Beazley's chances

SCANDALOUS behaviour by state Labor ministers appears to have damaged Kim Beazley's federal team and cancelled out the negative effect of the latest interest rate rise on the Howard Government.

In the first polling since last Wednesday's official rise in interest rates - the fourth increase since the last federal election - John Howard and the Coalition have escaped unscathed.

But mired by grubby allegations against state MPs and governments and competing with an aggressive Greens campaign on greenhouse gas emission, the federal ALP has dropped to its worst primary vote since August.

According to the latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian last weekend, the Coalition's primary vote was virtually unchanged on 41 per cent and Labor's fell from 41 per cent to 37 per cent.

While climate change has been in the headlines for weeks, the Greens' primary support rose to its highest in more than a year - 9 per cent, almost two points above the party's vote at the last election.

Based on preference flows at the 2004 election, the second preference vote is dead even, 50-50 for the Coalition and Labor.

Personal satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition were also virtually unchanged, as was Mr Howard's two-to-one advantage over Mr Beazley as the preferred prime minister.

It is the first time Labor has dropped below the crucial level of 40 per cent of the primary vote in five successive Newspoll surveys since August. [...]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20753393-601,00.html

Editorial: Fight just begun for Kim Beazley

The Opposition is in danger of losing momentum as the Government launches its assault on the middle ground

FOR Kim Beazley, today's Newspoll results should come as a welcome shock to puncture the misguided delirium that has gripped his over-enthusiastic supporters. Despite a thicket of perceived negatives for John Howard - including higher interest rates, a worsening drought, a thumping for the Republicans in the mid-term US elections and a new level of exasperation over the Iraq war - support for the Labor Party has slumped. The mini-resurgence that had painstakingly built Labor's Newspoll support to within a point of the Coalition's has stalled. Labor now trails the Coalition at 37 per cent on primary voting intentions, against 41per cent. On a two-party preferred basis, Newspoll calls it 50-50. And in terms of who would make a better prime minister, Mr Howard trounces Mr Beazley two-to-one at 54 per cent to 25 per cent - a lead Mr Howard has maintained for more than a year.

For Mr Beazley, the momentum has drained from the Labor campaign when it should be building a head of steam. There has been an ill-informed outpouring of joy among anti-Howard commentators who have, as usual, misread the signs. With the Newspoll result now out, it's a case of premature elation, once again. Mr Beazley can blame some of the latest fall on his errant state Labor premiers who, as was noted in The Weekend Australian, have managed to largely squander Australia's present economic miracle and are now mired in coast-to-coast sleeze and controversy. The bigger lesson, however, is that fashionable fancy is no substitute for control of the political bedrock of the middle ground. [...]

Dennis Shanahan: States can't carry all blame
Miss for Kim a hit for 'Kylie'

 

[hazaar]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

look at what's being done about the water shortages in several states; nothing, because rivers are sacred, etc.

I take personal and experiential offence to that.
Perhaps creating more dams isn't the solution!
It's all very well to say 'build another dam,' but at a time where dams across the country are at record low levels (excluding nth Queensland and the Chichester dam) damming Australia's remaining healthy rivers is a quick fix which will only lead to more trouble in the coming years.

For example, I have a farm situated on the Williams river at fosterton about an hour inland from Newcastle. People may have heard recently in the news about the government's proposal, nay covert prerogative to dam the river in order to supply the central coast and greater sydney with drinking water.
Now there are some obvious reasons for why the government would want to do this.
With possibly the highest rainfall in Australia (aside from Tully in nth Queensland) the barrigntons provide the surrounding area with fertile soils and a unique biodiversity, (just last week we received a foot of rain) and so to anyone without vested interests in the land supported by the williams river, damming the thing would sound like a good solution to the water crisis. Similalry it would seem like practical action being taken to secure a reliable source of water...basically good PR.

Yet firstly, there has been no consulation and so yesterday farmers in the area were notified of the acquisition of their land by the governement in order to make way for 'public infrastructure.' Understandably the farmers were schocked to learn that their land was going to be forcefully acquired.....none of them had even been aware of the plans. And that is because there are none, or at least none that have been made public. The government knows this will be an unpopular decision locally and so they have taken all steps to make sure no one can debate it.
The fact is that the Upper Williams is a beautiful meandering small river and the home to unique flora and fauna distinct to the area. It has been considered for damming in the past (the 80's), but back then the government decided that it was too small to support a large dam system. So why does it make any difference now?
The williams is a long river which supports farmland and national parks alike, stretching from the Barrington tops to Newcastle. If the dam were to go ahead it would dramatically effect the biodiversity of the national parks and the viability of farming in the area (the river would no longer be able to support the farmer's irrigation needs as the river would be reduced to a trickle). The ironic thing is that far from being a quick fix, it will take at least 10 years for the dam to fill, during which without substantial rain Warragamba will be empty (only got three years of water left in her guys!!!)

In these thirsty times with crippling water shortages the idea of building a new dam seems like an answer. But haven’t we learnt any lessons from The Snowy and countless other rivers that have been dammed in this country? They have been reduced to a trickle with the natural life surrounding those systems diminishing.

Why doesn't the government recycle storm water and waste water???
'oh because i don't want to be drinking water with bits of poo floating around in it'
GROW UP. With modern technology it is easy to render waste water potable.
And why isn't everyone encouraged to install rain water tanks. We need to become more self-sufficient in these trying times, not continue to rely on the unsustainable practices of the past.

Lastly Captain Gh3y, rivers are sacred. Perhaps you should come and visit the Williams and see it for yourself. Then if the damming goes ahead, visit in ten years and see what has become of the surrounding land. Then maybe you'll see that dams perhaps aren't as good as they seem.

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Party gets jitters about Beazley's ability to cut through
Bomber must hit targets

 

[frog12986]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Beazely is at it yet again. Remember the 'Michelle' Corby blunder, and his mistake referring to Michelle Leslie, well this time Rove McManus is the poor subject of his memory deficiencies...

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20773663-1702,00.html

 

[Iron]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Beazely is at it yet again. Remember the 'Michelle' Corby blunder, and his mistake referring to Michelle Leslie, well this time Rove McManus is the poor subject of his memory deficiencies...

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20773663-1702,00.html

Haha. What a cock-up.
But bear in mind that he had some strange brain disease for a while
Vote Kim!

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Haha, Oh dear.

- The Ian Macfarlane Mix-up.
- Referred to Michelle Leslie as 'Michelle Lee'
- Called Alan Jones, 'Alan James' in Parliament
- Forgot the names of Labor's SA senators
- Mixed up Rove McManus and Karl Rove

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Beazley's supporters fear plot by Rudd
A man of far too many words
Kim still missing middle Oz
Beazley going backwards
Cynical ploy rebounds on Bomber

 

[ihavenothing]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

I wish someone like Lindsay Tanner would contest the leadership

 

[Iron]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

They'd be fucking mad to challenge Kimbo now, not to mention scum.

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

'Dream team' touted as Beazley slips
Rebel MPs push for Rudd to lead before Christmas


Beazley feels heat

KIM Beazley has suffered another blow with a new poll showing that he's failed to turn the debate on climate change into votes for Labor.
The damaging poll will increase concerns inside the Labor caucus about Mr Beazley's capacity to win the next election. [...]

While 24 per cent believe the Greens would be the best party federally to handle global warming, they were closely followed by the Coalition on 23 per cent.
Remarkably, Labor trailed both parties on 19 per cent.

 

[kaviii]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

'Dream team' touted as Beazley slips
Rebel MPs push for Rudd to lead before Christmas


Beazley feels heat

Labor wont win with Rudd either, what about Julia Gillard?

 

[Scanorama]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Please get rid of Beazley asap. Not sure if Labor will win with Rudd, but I'd love to see Gillard takes the job and win the election next year, hopefully.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

lol... if labor gets rid of kim now... they've sealed their fate.

 

[ihavenothing]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Lindsay Tanner
Anthony Albanese
Carmen Lawrence
Julia Gillard

Anybody else can fuck off these people I believe have the experience and prowess unlike Beazley who is obviously going through dementia.

 

[Scanorama]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

lol... if labor gets rid of kim now... they've sealed their fate.

True, but its not like they will win with Beazley anyway.

 

[dieburndie]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

lol... if labor gets rid of kim now... they've sealed their fate.

I think their fate is sealed already.
In all seriousness, the Rove thing probably lost Beazley a whole bunch of apathetic swing votes.

 

[ihavenothing]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

But does anybody remember when Alexander Downer had to step down as Opposition Leader because he made fun of domestic violence or before the 1993 election John Hewson (who I believe hardly anybody in this forum will remember) lost the election for the Libs because of the infamous Birthday Cake Interview.

Shit like this will happen with leaders. Labor still has time to make changes with WorkChoices being overturned and the backlash surrounding that.

 

[Rafy]

Re: 2007 Federal Election - Coalition or Labor/Howard or Beazley?

Beazley digs in over leadership murmurs
Looks like Rudd, by osmosis
No runs while Beazley's best lies on back bench
Knives are not out for Beazley, say Labor MPs after Rove gaffe
Voters cool to Labor on climate

Beazley's economics are not up to scratch

Labor in dumps