Bye bye Tony, Tony goodbye

[martinw-48]

Woo Hoo

[davidc4430]

i'd like to think we as a nation of sensible people when deciding which way to vote use more thought than 'he didnt thank hazel' cant vote for him

but, if thats a persons way of choosing fine.

his or her choice.

[chameleon54]

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@tezza2844 wrote:

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@chameleon54 wrote:

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I suspect the highjacking of the media by the left ( and the ABC & The Project is a blatant example )  is one of the reasons the opinion polls got it so wrong. Those on the left side of politics have become rabid in shutting down debate, ( unless it favours their side.)  and anyone who dares to challenge the left ideaology is torn to shreds in both the established and social media.  The result is most people just quietly keep their opinions and intentions to themselves............Until polling day.

Happy to answer this one for you Tezza, as follows.........

I guess you have never never ever read The Dairy Telegraph......Never....., Courier Mail.......Never....., The Australian........Never...., watched Sky channel ......Watched it around a dozen times total. Its one of about 3 channels I can get at our remote farm....I usually watch the other two.......or listened to Alan Jones and Ray Hadley on Macquarie  Radio.......Again never.....

The media you mention are all based on the eastern sea- board. We dont readily get most of that stuff in S.A, and frankly I wouldnt waste my time listening to people like Allen Jones and Ray Hadley anyway.. Soooo it would seem that once again  your assumptions are completely wrong !!!

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[not_for_sale2025]

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@davidc4430 wrote:

i'd like to think we as a nation of sensible people when deciding which way to vote use more thought than 'he didnt thank hazel' cant vote for him

but, if thats a persons way of choosing fine.

his or her choice.

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I think the average person does use more thought. And the sensible person needs to be suspicious about the true agendas of the parties and politicians. We all base our choices on slightly different reasons, but I suspect many of us are uneasy about our decision because we don't trust them and know how crafty and clever they can be. Personally I try to be guided by my gut feeling about party leaders. Their comments, body language etc. can sway me. I think the Australian people are wiser and more observant than they were 20 years ago. We've gotten better at judging them and that is a good thing.

The poster did not say his/her final decision might have been based on Shorten's comments. He/she said, "as a swinging voter that would have had me thinking a bit harder about whether I wanted to vote for Shorten if I was leaning that way". IMO they are the words of a thoughtful and sensible person.

[myoclon1cjerk]

Tezza should have also the mentioned the Advertiser. Another Murdoch rag.

[chameleon54]

There are many questions as to Bill Shortens real attitude towards woman. The fact that he disregards Hazels contribution is suggestive of what he really thinks..

We are at a pivital time in Australian political history in that we have only recently seen our first female PM. and have a couple of other very capable  potential female leaders of the Labor party. Add to this the way that Julie Bishop did not recieve the consideration deserved in the recent LNP leadership roundabouts and we are witnessing an important movement by woman to be accepted as equels on the political landscape. The leadership of our country is one of the last bastions of male dominance in Australian society and this needs to change quickly if we are to see true equality.

If a party leader is dismissive of female participation in the political process it is a genuine reason to take this into consideration when deciding who to vote for. 

[myoclon1cjerk]

Why should Shorten mention Hazel? Has every wife of every PM that's died been highlighted at press conferences. I remember a few. Sonja McMahon, Zara Holt, Margaret Whitlam etc. I couldn't even tell you the name of Menzies wife.

[not_for_sale2025]

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@myoclon1cjerk wrote:
Why should Shorten mention Hazel? Has every wife of every PM that's died been highlighted at press conferences. I remember a few. Sonja McMahon, Zara Holt, Margaret Whitlam etc. I couldn't even tell you the name of Menzies wife.

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If you can't answer that, then I doubt you could identify with the reason.

[lyndal1838]

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@myoclon1cjerk wrote:
Why should Shorten mention Hazel? Has every wife of every PM that's died been highlighted at press conferences. I remember a few. Sonja McMahon, Zara Holt, Margaret Whitlam etc. I couldn't even tell you the name of Menzies wife.

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Menzies wife was Dame Pattie.....a very well respected lady who outlived her husband by many years.  She was also acknowledged by the media when he died.

The ladies you have mentioned were very good partners to their husbands when they were Prime Ministers but in Hazel's case it is doubtful if Bob would have ever been as successful as he was without her behind him.  In his early days Bob was a womaniser and an alcoholic but Hazel stood by him and helped by their friends kept it out of the media to a great extent.....he was called a larrikin, a term that was used to describe him till the day he died.

Australia had a love affair with Bob Hawke but they owe a great debt to Hazel for keeping him on the straight and narrow.  Those of us who watched his rise through the ranks would never have thought that he would make it into Parliament, let alone be a great Prime Minister.

[domino-710]

It  surprises me greatly Chameleon - that you have never read  - The Dairy Telegraph. 

[chameleon54]

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@domino-710 wrote:

It  surprises me greatly Chameleon - that you have never read  - The Dairy Telegraph. 

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Why ???................I think you have all made assumptions about me that are completely wrong.......I,m just a farmer from the bush who thinks about things a bit and has come to the conclusions I have based on common ( or uncommon ) sense rather than simply following some mantra pushed by one party or another.

I don't watch a lot of telly, I read quite a few non fiction books and the main newspapers I read are farming journals such as the Weekly Times and Stock Journal.

I sometimes listen to ABC radio ( current affairs ) when driving and rarely listen to commercial radio. If I do it is modern music based channels that the kids have left on when they have been in the car.

And despite what you all regularly suggest, I,m a genuine swinging voter who isn't that enthusiastic about either of the two major parties. I realise that with our political system one of the two is going to form government, so it pays to take an interest in what they are proposing. For the record I don't mind saying at this last election I placed Labor second to last and the Liberals last on my ballot paper. I definitely don't want Georgina Downer as my sitting member. She is just a blow in from Melbourne who's only interest is to follow the family dynasty into politics and blindly support LNP policy, regardless of the impact it will have at local level.

As I have mentioned in other posts in the last few days, my main concern with Labors policies at this election is that it is irresponsible to be running such a high taxing, high spending, reformist agenda when global and local economies are so fragile. The changes proposed would have almost certainly spooked both investors and home owners, ( consumers ) sending us into major recession. It was just another example of how Labor just don't get it when it comes to managing the economy and the importance of strategically timing major changes. Some of the plans where good and will eventually need to occur. Just not right now.

And the Liberals ???............Despite my concerns about Labors plans I wouldn't have been too upset if they had won this time. The Liberals have taken squeezing the poor, especially those on benefits to a whole new level. The compliance requirements for receiving newstart and the weekly amounts paid to those on benefits is frankly quite disgusting. No one can be expected to live on those amounts. In a wealthy country like Australia, we can do much better than we currently are and it has got to the point where we are going to need a change of government to bring some balance and common sense back into the social system.

I firmly believe in the natural political cycle where Labor and Liberal governments come and go. The Liberals repair the financial mess left by Labor governments and Labor governments clean up the mess left by the Liberals mean spirited, social policy. 

It was probably time for a Labor government this time around as we desperately need improvements to social policy and even if the Liberals projected surplus does not eventuate it shows they are somewhere in the ballpark of balancing the books. Its a pity Labor stuffed it up so badly with financial incompetence and poor leadership before they even got to the ballot box.