I am warming to Mr Shorten a little more everyday

[boris1gary]

Mr Shorten on the current Galah's

Below is from the SMH, 4th of Feb.

He said the decision to rebuff SPC was typical of a government that knew the price of everything but the value of nothing.

''Joe Hockey and [Industrial Relations Minister] Eric Abetz think that manual labour is a Spanish tennis star,'' he said in Shepparton. ''They have never seen a blue collar job they would ever fight for.

''What is the difference between a Cadbury worker in Hobart and a cannery worker in Shepparton? I'll tell you the difference, Shepparton is a safe [Liberal] seat.

''Here is a message to the Abbott government, stop scapegoating people on $60,000 and $70,000 when you are on a quarter of a million.

''What a cheeky bunch they are.''

[*crikey*mate*]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
There is. But should there be? I don't think that any promise should be considered of no value.

That is what I find interesting.

Politicians should be accountable for their promises, as it is those promises that get them elected.

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How do we distinguish between a promise and advertisement or puff?

Does the promisor swear on the Bible? Hold up three fingers Boy Scout style? Annunciate the sentence with "I Promise"?

Then how would they be held accountable? Are we in the arena of Contracts? Torts? Criminal Law?

[cherry*135]

People are swayed to vote for an MP because of an election promise they made. The MP's doesn't keep their election promise. Those same people have the choice not to vote for that MP again, 3 yrs later.

[j*oono]

Still busy.

[debra9275]

He gets around Joono 🙂

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes they do...but three years is a long time. Many people forget how badly they felt about it, or are swayed by yet more promises.

But that is the only form of accountability on broken promises for the politician.

[i-need-a-martini]

Personally I am keeping an open mind in regards to Shorten.

As much as I don't like the (small but pivotal) role he played in Rudds demise, I understand he did what he thought was best for the party. And I thnk that about sums him up - he seems to have a genuine love of the party and a need to help/understand the less priveledged.

As to his union connections, I think it is a plus. It means he operates from a specific standpoint that keeps the average Australian in mind. That is the core value I would expect of every politician.

I would have liked to have seen Tanya in the role but I understand why she would not have thrown her name in the hat. But her time will come.

[boris1gary]

tini, really I don't much bother about ALP internal matters, I would have liked to have seen someone from the "left" in the leadership role, however it's policy that is what's important.

Saying that, I do enjoy Shorten's style so far, I liked the quote I posted in the thread, a little bit of humour and no gobbledegook - and I do like to play with the conservatives (a little). 

[i-need-a-martini]

I agree. I think someone with Albaneses values would have been best. But I can understand why he wasn't selected for the job.