Broken promises. What is acceptable?

[i-need-a-martini]

Lots of broken promises are made by governments. If the promises are broken because of economic need, I understand.

But what of the empty promises that they know they can never keep. Like the 'Stop the Boats' promise?

Or this one: where Abbott promised at the Garma festival in the weeks leading up to the election that he would spend his first week as Prime Minister in Yolgnu country.

To break promises like this is just a low act by someone who knew he would never be able to keep it.

See where he says it clearly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1OKujvU2wQ

I wouldn't bother to listen to the whole boring speech (although many of his off the cuff comments are a little eyebrow raising) but at 21:40 he starts making promises he can't keep.

[cherry*135]

Are any of Tony Abbott's ' promises' achievable?  Does he know how much it costs to build a new 8km portion of a highway? How is he going to fund the billions needed  for 'fixing' roads Australia wide?

How presumptuos of him to say he wants to be known/rememberde as the infrastructure PM.. shouldn't he leave that comment until after he has 'fixed; roads and spent multi billion dollars on infrastructure, not before he has done any of those things?

[*crikey*mate*]

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@*ibis wrote:

The multitude arriving in Indonesia have passports otherwise they would not be allowed to enter but they all happen to lose those documents when they board a leaky fishing boat 

The multitude arriving in Indonesia have passports otherwise they would not be allowed to enter but they all happen to lose those documents when they board a leaky fishing boat to welfareland

ftfy 

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That's NOT TRUE - either statement

INDONESIA: Asylum seekers take to boats out of frustration

According to UNHCR, there are close to 6,000 asylum seekers and recognized refugees in Indonesia (4,552 asylum seekers and 1,180 registered refugees), mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Since 2009 there has been a spike in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country, from 385 in 2008 to 3,230 in 2009, and 3,905 in 2010, UNHCR reported.

[lakeland27]

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@*ibis wrote:

Howard aimed at the worst in us

in your opinion

pretty basic GOP  textbook stuff

LOL got a link to this so called handbook?

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it isn't just my opinion. as for the link , just read as you normally would .. the usual places you go to get some news or whatever its called up there.

[**meep**]

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@izabsmiling wrote:

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@izabsmiling wrote:

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@poddster wrote:

Are you saying that the PM at time was not the leader of the government???

Amazing !!!!

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Poddster , as  Ian Robinson reported

Although in general it is not commendable to break commitments, it is not even clear that this is what has happened.

The Prime Minister's commitment not to introduce a tax on carbon was implicitly premised on her being in a position to keep the commitment, by leading a majority government after the election.

This didn't happen, so her pre-election commitment was effectively null and void.

Instead, she found herself in a minority government in which she was not in total control of all the outcomes. She therefore had to work out a compromise with the other stakeholders.

Abbott is reported as saying during the post-election negotiations that he would ''do anything'' to be prime minister. This implies that he, too, would have accepted a carbon tax as part of a minority government compromise.

Perhaps in hindsight the Prime Minister could have made the limitation to her commitment clearer by saying there would be no carbon tax under ''a majority government led by me''.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/taxing-the-truth-why-we-must-not-let-abbott...

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 the point here has been kind of sidetracked ..

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I think you should have taken this straight to the Truth-O-Meter http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/may/19/tony-abbott/did-gillard-break-her-...

[lakeland27]

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@poddster wrote:

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@just_me_karen wrote:
Maybe close as they're ever going to get, on the right side.

I think Tony's failure to update us on today's boat tragedy or offer his commiserations is terrible and shows he's missing the humanity gene.

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What a silly thing for anyone to pursue.

The Labor party wants a full explanation from the government for a boating tragedy in Indonesia??

How ridiculous can it get??

What has that got to do with Australia?

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 everything. he made it The issue so yes everything to do with his government

[poddster]

ummmm was it presumptuous of Swannie to predict a budget surplus that never eventuated?

16 prediction I think each one more outlandish then the previous one.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@**meep** wrote:

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@izabsmiling wrote:

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@**meep** wrote:

yes, well, Crikey, where would you go from here? how far?  lol

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and btw ANYONE fleeing war/ persecuation is the same imo .Regardless of how they flee or what papers they have/don't have when they arrive at a safe destination

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what?

my comment was in response to Crikey's Thread Closed stamp ie once you make comparisons to Nazism, what else is there left to say?  what's next?   

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Hey, I'm still trying to work out how anyone could compare Mr Abbott, the Australian Government or life in Australia with that of Hitler, Mein Kampf and Nazism.

Iza, have you even read Mein Kampf? Do you know what it says? 

[*crikey*mate*]

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@izabsmiling wrote:

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@crikey*mate wrote:

heresay

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Crikey , we aren't in a courtroom 

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Oh, well that's all right then. 

"someone told me" LOLOLOL

convincing stuff.

[poddster]

LL, How can a boating tragedy in another country have anything to do with Australia?

Will the Labor party be demanding a full disclosure and explanation on the Costa Concordia incident next??

[cherry*135]

July 2013

If the Opposition Leader is serious about becoming an infrastructure PM, he needs to be prepared to become a prime minister who broadens the base of the GST and increases its rate to at least 12.5 per cent. If he isn't prepared to do that, his infrastructure commitment is a hollow one. 

See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/tony-abbotts-infrastructure-hopes-hollow-if-gst-l...