Abbott summarises Labor's failures

The problem, as Dazz alluded to, is that you don't vote for the faceless back-stabbing union officials but they are the ones dictating policy, not Julia Gillard.
 
Dazz said:
This is a very salient point.

Australian politics has gone very US style.....presidential campaigning, where people judge the Leader's of the parties rather than the policies they represent.

I'd prefer to talk about policies.....because having met many of them, especially at a state level, most of them are quite upstanding citizens. Looking at the criteria for applying for selection on a ticket, you cannot be a ratbag.

Julia is a very personable, intelligent woman who has good qualifications....she's no slouch personally. Same with Tony and most of his front bench.

It's all these ex-union officials that get my goat.....but once again, it should be the policies they espouse, not the person.


However, I understand, the majority of people when they are standing at the ballot box quietly deciding where to tick, they concentrate on the party first....not the individual....and the party decision made by the voter seems to be driven by the Leader's performance in the print and electronic media, as that is the only contact they actually have with the Leaders.....hence why these pathetic little 6 second sound grabs served up for the news are so popular....but IMO are nigh on useless for any intelligent voter.
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Hi Dazz,

I would disagree with you on one point in my experience. The majority of people vote for the person they like the most..or dislike the least. Which is how we ended up with this ridiculous "Alliance" Government and four people running the country:

Brown, Oakeshott, Windsor and Wilkie.

I didn't mind Gillard at first and was disappointed when they booted Rudd out and relpaced him with her, as I knew Laborites and swingers would fall for her.

It is quite laughable and proof on how "fickle" voters are...when they prefer Rudd back, although I do wonder if that latest poll preferring Rudd has been bcaked by an email to Union Members....

Regards JO
 
Well I think lots of people voted for the first female PM option - but she will go down in history as one of the worst PMs in history - female or otherwise.
 
josko said:
Hi Dazz,

I would disagree with you on one point in my experience. The majority of people vote for the person they like the most..or dislike the least.
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I think your point supports my assertion that people vote according to their perception of the Leader of the party, rather than disagrees with it.


Out of the 150 federal electorates in the lower house, only 2 out of those 150 electorates actually get to vote for the leader....essentially that stupid polling question of "Who would you prefer to be PM ?"


The Australian public are not given the opportunity to vote for whom becomes PM. Most are only given the choice between say Brenda Jones representing the Liberal Party and Barry Smith representing the Labor Party. That's it. The vast majority of people stand there thinking - 'I've never met either of these two people, wouldn't know them from a bar of soap. OK then, which Leader p122ed me off the least on the TV ?'


The selection of who leads the party and therefore becomes PM is chosen by the party members....much to the chagrin of the voting public. They had no say in it when Brendon Nelson took over to sort thru the ashes after Howard. They had no say when Turnbull bumped him off, and also had no say when Abbott bumped him off. They also had no say when Gillard and the union backroom boys bumped Kev 07 off. If you like voting Green, but can't stand Bob Brown, then too bad, he's your Leader and there's no discussion to be had.


For me, what it comes down to, is the Aussie public love to slag pollies off....it's the Australian way of doing things, especially anyone in power, and the last thing in the world they want to do is take an active interest in how things are governed....that's not cool. Much easier to sit on the sidelines and throw mud and be non-committed....as is their right....BUT...they all wanna chip in their 2c worth without doing the groundwork, which makes most of them look foolish when they go in half baked.
 
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Dazz said:
I think your point supports my assertion that people vote according to their perception of the Leader of the party, rather than disagrees with it.


Out of the 150 federal electorates in the lower house, only 2 out of those 150 electorates actually get to vote for the leader....essentially that stupid polling question of "Who would you prefer to be PM ?"


The Australian public are not given the opportunity to vote for whom becomes PM. Most are only given the choice between say Brenda Jones representing the Liberal Party and Barry Smith representing the Labor Party. That's it. The vast majority of people stand there thinking - 'I've never met either of these two people, wouldn't know them from a bar of soap. OK then, which Leader p122ed me off the least on the TV ?'


The selection of who leads the party and therefore becomes PM is chosen by the party members....much to the chagrin of the voting public. They had no say in it when Brendon Nelson took over to sort thru the ashes after Howard. They had no say when Turnbull bumped him off, and also had no say when Abbott bumped him off. They also had no say when Gillard and the union backroom boys bumped Kev 07 off. If you like voting Green, but can't stand Bob Brown, then too bad, he's your Leader and there's no discussion to be had.


For me, what it comes down to, is the Aussie public love to slag pollies off....it's the Australian way of doing things, especially anyone in power, and the last thing in the world they want to do is take an active interest in how things are governed....that's not cool. Much easier to sit on the sidelines and throw mud and be non-committed....as is their right....BUT...they all wanna chip in their 2c worth without doing the groundwork, which makes most of them look foolish when they go in half baked.
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Congrats onthe last paragpraph

Sums it up 100% for me, in fact the whole post does,

Who p1ssed me least on tv is so true that people will out of fear of being exposed will deny it
 
I'm interested in what the party believes is best for the country as apposed to what I believe is best for the country.
If they're at least about what I want for my country then it's a start.

Now all I gotta do is find one and get them in , no biggie !
 
random said:
I'm interested in what the party believes is best for the country as apposed to what I believe is best for the country.
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Totally agree ... I want to know what policies they have that will encourage growth and prosperity in Australia - infrastructure, trade, reduction of red tape etc. I am not interested in "vote" buying or pathetic money wasting schemes that shouldn't be organised by the government anyhow.
 
The issue is not just Labor or the PM, it's the backroom deals and alliances that had to occur in order to form government. How can someone lead when they had to abdicate policy decisions simply to get elected?
 
lizzie said:
Totally agree ... I want to know what policies they have that will encourage growth and prosperity in Australia - infrastructure, trade, reduction of red tape etc. I am not interested in "vote" buying or pathetic money wasting schemes that shouldn't be organised by the government anyhow.
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Agreed.
Unfortunately, the majority of the voting public can be swayed by what they personally can get out of the incoming government - just human nature i suppose!
 
Dazz said:
I think your point supports my assertion that people vote according to their perception of the Leader of the party, rather than disagrees with it.

.........
.
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Sorry Dazz,

You are correct, I misread your opening!:rolleyes:

And again, agree with that last paragraph.

Much easier to sit on the sidelines and throw mud and be non-committed....as is their right....BUT...they all wanna chip in their 2c worth without doing the groundwork, which makes most of them look foolish when they go in half baked
Click to expand...
Are you talking about the Labor party here?:D

Regards JO
 
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