VS





First guy, John Howard: the incumbent. Conservative party, though their name is actually the 'Liberal Party' I kid you not. Couldn't find a bigger liar in the country. Keen on nuclear power, keeping the proletariat crushed underfoot and eating your children.

Second guy, Kevin Rudd. The Challenger. From the Australian Labor Party, essentially equivalent to the Democrats in the US. Big on union heavies and being the weak lesser evil. Ahead in the polls currently.

I wish you'd posted the tracksuit picture.

Question for you Laura. In your opinion do you think the presence of Peter Costello as Federal Treasurer and the possibility of him become PM at some stage (assuming the Libs retain power) is harming the Liberal party's chance of winning this election?

Good question. I think this issue is more one of an unknown person taking over when Howard retires. We essentially know that he will retire sometime during the next term, if god forbid he wins the election. The problem with this impinging on their election chances is the extent to which it is present in the voters minds. I don't think it's been highlighted enough yet, but I'm sure it will be in ads coming up to the election. I don't think this one thing is enough to sway an election, but it won't help their chances.

Now, having said that, it's pretty terrifying when you look at who could be the next leader of the Liberal party.

There's Costello, the smirk; this would be a very bad outcome, but he's the most likely. Howard will do whatever he can to prevent this

Turnbull, who Howard would like to succeed him, but he's still too green by most accounts. Don't get me wrong when I say green; I don't mean he's an environmentalist. He's far from it, despite being the Minister for Environment. He's inexperienced.

Brendan Nelson, most evil than most politicians

Then there is my absolute worst nightmare, Tony Abbott. If he become the leader, I SWEAR i'd be on the next plane out of here. Or boat. Hell, I'd swim if i had to. I swear to God he's the devil.

I wonder if the Labor party will be clever and/or manipulative enough to run that kind of scare campaign though. I know the Liberal party wouldn't hesitate. I will be interested to see how the Labor party go in terms of their campaigning this year. So far they have taken the fight to the government and in most respects dictated the grounds on which the pre-election campaign has been fought but i wonder whether or not they can keep it up. The Labor party has been massively outgunned in the last couple of elections in terms of the way they have campaigned and I am praying for an improvement this year.

I take it that you would prefer to see the Labor party in government at the conclusion of this election but is it more a case of voting the other lot out? I think this is the way most Aussies are feeling at the moment. Too much for too long. Who would you like to see in control of the Senate?

Which party is against subsides and pro free commerce?

Agreed, this is a very good point and it's something I'm keeping a close eye on. They're doing much better than in recent years but there's still significant room for improvement in this area.


I would definitely prefer to see the ALP in government, no question. They're far and away the better party on all fronts as far as I'm concerned. However they're far from perfect and are the lesser evil in a lot of respects. I'd love to see the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate, but I don't have my hopes up for that at all.

My greatest desire is to get the Libs as far away from power as possible.

Hey Laura, any projections on how the lesser parties (National, Greens) might change the election?

Also, any election date set yet?

I believe that the election is predicted to be called around October but potentially it can be called at any time. I would be surprised if Howard called it any earlier than he has to though as he is currently behind in the polls but slowly gaining some ground.

The National Pary will go into the election in coalition with the Libs in the hope of forming another coalition government. The Greens at this point aren't making too much noise but I predict that their preferences will go to Labor... Bob Browne seems to have a better working relationship with Labor than Liberal. The Democrats have pretty much ceased to exist and are no longer seem to have much of an influence at all currently. I can't remember the last time I saw them get any real publicity except for when Natasha Stott-Despoja announced that she would be retiring to focus on motherhood and they did the obligitory look at her political career including the consceding bit on how she once wore Doc Martens into a parliamentary session.

Pauline Hanson is thinking of starting a new political party but whether that gets off the ground in time or has any influence on the election remains to be seen. I believe she is running for a seat in Queensland again...

Ha, does she still have any clout after all the crap she pulled?

Yes and no. She is always going to appeal to a certain section of Australian society but her decision to run for parliament again, despite saying she wouldn't after serving time in jail for electoral fraud, is based on her surge in popularity after appearing in Dancing With The Stars. Her latest soapbox concerns Muslims and their impact and influence on Australian society. Once again she is taking the 'assimilate or get out' approach. I doubt she will have any real impact on the election but you never know...

they won't and no.

labor have recovered significantly from the last election and are attracting away many of those who swung top the greens last time. remains to be seen if they'll hold them, that'll depend on if they make a fuck up or not, and just quietly, the chances of that are higher than i'd like from industry whispers. but we'll see.

news of the week: john howard responds to the crisis of indigenous children being abused after sitting on his hands for ten years by sending troops and police to the territory and banning porn and alcohol up there.

we were discussing this in the car this morning. Methinks he might be trying to win another election on the backs of the children... "children overboard" anyone?

that was my first thought too. this will probably just be one of many such stunts he will pull in the run up to the election. i'm hoping for it to backfire on the bastard.

I think that Labor is really going to have to fuck up in order to lose this election but in saying that, we are along way out...

They're certainly not being helped by their own 'supporters'. Paul Keating, the Unions... This is and always has been the problem with the ALP, too many people behind the scenes with too much power and who like the sound of their own voice. The minute the ALP start to come into any popularity a whole bunch of people come out of the woodwork for a little time in the spotlight.

I dunno, never underestimate john howard. i think it's time and labor really should win, but i wouldn't be putting anhy money on that at this point.

i don't know if i could handle it if they lost, though.

I feel exactly the same way and I think a lot of Australians are feeling that too. The problem for the ALP is that they are their own worst enemy. Rudd is doing a relatively good job of distinguishing himself from the ancient party machinations though... I just wonder if 10 years in Opposition has taught the REST of the party anything. Let's hope so.

i just hope the last ten years have taught the australian people something.

Have a look at Philip Adams' blog in The Australian online today. http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/phillipadams/index.php/theaustralian/comments/save_us_before_we_forget_you/ He raises some valid points especially in regards to Howard's new 'Save the Indigenious Children' policy.

Similarly to the 'Children Overboard' scandal, Howard has Rudd in an awkward position. He cannot oppose the policy per se without looking like a fool. Yet to blindly agree with the policy makes him look weak and ineffectual similar to Beazey during 'Children Overboard'. Rudd needs to take Howard to task over the fact that it has taken him 10 years to design any policy addressing this issue and that during this time he was in fact taking funds away from an area which is now in such a severe crisis that Howard compared the situation to the aftermath of Katrina. The public needs to be shown that not only has Howard steadfastly ignored this issue during his time in power but that he in fact has added to the continuing crisis by removing funding from the very regions that now need saving and had a hand in the dissolving of ATSIC. While I will conceded that ATSIC was an iffectual and corrupt body at best, the Howard Government did nothing to resolve the issues within the commission nor did they seek to replace it with a more effectual and better-funded body.

How long have the Liberals been in power again? Do Aussies tend to tire of the same gov't in power after a while?

Since the 1996 Federal Election (I am going to be wrong about that now)

I think any society tires from having the same government in power for a long time but in Aus (and other countries) it is exacerbated by the fact that there are no term limitations on the PM. Potentially Howard can be PM for as long as his party continues to support his leadership and the Liberals continue winning enough seats to form a government. Howard is currently the second longest serving PM behind Robert Menzies (another Lib) and interestingly enough has a similar leadership style or moral outlook to Menzies. In other words, he still thinks it is the 1950's and his social policies reflect this in every way, one of the many reasons I cannot stand the guy. He, like many other pollies, governs for his own generation with seemingly no acknowledgement of the effect that his government, policies and generation will have, and is having, on the world. Hopefully (HOPEFULLY!) the Australian public will continue to hold the sentiment that this country is well overdue for a change and even a bit of a shake-up.