Nice work Joolia Gillard.....

Fair comment, but Costello lacked the balls to take Howard on, but as you say wold have had a better chance to win against Rudd.
Pete

 

You are kidding aren't you? The Whitlam Government may not go down in history for its "governance" and certainly not for its financial management....but its social reform is unparalled??

 

I'm suspecting you're younger than me - I was a a politically aware (leftist) teenager when Whitlam was elected, to my genuine delight. Then I had to watch the catastrophe that unfolded. I hated the '75 dismissal on principle, but I was relieved it ended the farce.

The history of Whitlam has been rewritten by the left, with no mention of what existed before him, to create the impression that he rescued Australia from a social hell-hole.

Reality was quite different. I grew up in a working class household, with severe asthma, My parents paid for health insurance, at lower cost than the Medicare levy today. When bills exceeded insurance the govt paid. If you were unemployed, the govt paid. I might also mention that unemployment was a non-issue before Whitlam, this is the ABS: "Between 1966 and 1972 the unemployment rate averaged less than 2%. This was followed by a period of rapid and sustained increases in unemployment"

The health system worked, there was no rorting, no bulk-bill scammers like Geoffrey Edelstein. No pensioners going to the doctor for "something to do".

Whitlam replaced that with Medibank, copied from the British NHS. It was a crapfest of bureaucracy and over-spending from day 1. "free" health cover ended the insurance system and the real cost was added to exploding government spending and debt. Sound familiar?

Then lets talk about free university. When I was in high school, my objective was a govt scholarship for uni. You needed to be the equivalent of about a 75 ATAR to get one - it wasn't that hard but people who got one valued it hugely.

Whitlam scraps uni fees (more cost to the govt magic pudding) and what actually happened? Did more disadvantaged kids go to uni? Not at all. The middle class, who would have paid previously, got a free ride at the expense of PAYG tax payers.

I could go on, Whitlam was a brilliant mind with zero execution ability, who changed our culture from personal industry to personal entitlement, he did lasting damage to the country.

 

Oh? So why did the right ignore the option of the NDS for so many years and only got on board when they were put in a position of electoral poison if they argued against it. Look at what Howard did to disability services for crissakes!
Nothing creates bludgers - the bludgers are always there just waiting for an opportunity - look at the insulation scheme; a great idea spoiled by bludgers in the guise of 'business men'. Anyone want to bet how many of those 'businessmen' were left or rightwingers? And where's the opposition (or the gutless government) screaming for the prosecution of those guilty bosses who hung kids out to dry?????

 

Perhaps you missed my caveat re governance and financial management? Having said that the official historical table for Commonwealth debt published by Treasury shows that the Australian government had zero net debt throughout the time Whitlam was in office. Re Medicare (which I agree wasn't very successful the 1st time around) and Free University, both "ideas" were admirable and in my mind have had much to do with the culture of this country. You say "personal entitlement", I say egalitarian.

Some of the Whitlam era reforms include;-

the Trade Practices Act 1974
no-fault divorce and the Family Law Act 1975
the Australia Council
the Federal Court
the Order of Australia
federal legal aid
the Racial Discrimination Act 1975
equal rights for women
needs-based schools funding
Medicare
the Law Reform Commission
The abolition of conscription
abolition of university fees
student financial assistance
FM radio
the Heritage Commission
non-discriminatory immigration rules
community health clinics
paid maternity leave for public servants
lowering the minimum voting age to 18 years
fair electoral boundaries
Senate representation for the Territories

and some pretty impressive foreign affairs efforts, including recognition of mainland China before any other Western government (well before Nixon)

Also to your assertion that the population is better off because of the 3 governments you mentioned. I contend you must include Whitlam due to the reforms noted above....IMHO they defined who we are

 

lol...got to love it JG and all her supporters are blaming k rudd for their poor polling

 

Are we sure that the NDS is sufficiently detailed in scope that we all would (should) agree to get on board?. Labor has shown complete disregard for this for the last 8 years and caused considerable wastage and only theoretically made improvements when in the reality nothing much has changed.

I'm not up to speed here sorry.

Bludgers are not people that see an opportunity and try to make something of it. The problem here was the lack of details (again) and a proper structure. Admittedly not all the blame should go to the government here, but if you chuck a scheme out there you should have put the work into the details first.

This is why I do not support the Gonski school reforms as they are just marketing words with no details ...
Pete

 

If they were half as good at governing as they are at dissembling and spin, they might be winning the next election.

Meanwhile the media is whipping itself into a frenzy to try and achieve a leadership change. Why - to give them something to write about. It won't change the election outcome.

 

NDIS and Gonski are (mostly unfunded) spending programs where 80% of the spending occurs in the distant future, beyond the next electoral term. They've been engineered as campaign fodder, not serious policy. They're borrowing from the future to attempt to buy power now.

Can any Labor supporter say honestly, that a Rudd or Gillard govt could manage the massive spending even remotely competently and not waste a large part on consultants, over-administration and mistakes? At best, 20c in the dollar will get to disabled people or school kids.

 

my favourite foreign affairs stunt of his was making PNG independent in a rush!

They went from being a country with schools and hospitals for all, effective public service, an island paradise... to the corrupt shambles they are today

 

Exactly!

Pete

 

what, no more schools or hospitals ?

It was corrupt before, it was just that Aussies were getting all the kickbacks while raping the minerals from the country ......... didn't BHP get in trouble a while back for leeching of arsenic from the sludge dams ?

 

Significantly fewer of both - yes

I'm sure there was corruption before... but things worked. Profits were generated and services were funded.

Now there is corruption and it is so disorganised that virtually nothing can get done. There are now not so many profits and thus no services funded.

 

I'm sure they were better off as part of Australia but a lot of countries go through this phase towards true self government.

Australia has never abandoned PNG though, I can remember well after their independance we were flying secret missions to make sure they were safe

 

I wish you were correct but fear your wrong.
I think they will swap come thursday, and krudd will get a significant boost, and they will serve 1 less term in opposition because of it.

 

Never underestimate the stupidity of the average voter. If the average IQ is only 100, circa 50% of the population are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

 

Looks like a Labour leadership challenge is on for Thursday 27th.

LIVE: Labor MPs move on Gillard - Yahoo!7

Sadly, if Joolia looses the ALP leadership, the country misses out on the opportunity to boot her out at the next election, something I was really looking forward to.....

M

 

Oakshots gone, Windsor is going. All on their guaranteed retirement package too. Really annoys me how they get such special treatment and remuneration upon leaving politics at OUR expense.

 

What a ****in joke!

Independents Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott to quit

 

+1

Time for me to become a pollitician!
Pete

 

At least those Australians who complained about not being able to vote Rudd out will now be able to.

I wonder what governments around the world think of this farce, it really is a joke. Everyone hated Rudd now they love him? At least Goose, oops I mean Swan will be gone.

 

Haha, and Rudd is wearing a blue tie.

 

I think it's funny you kiwi guys are commenting and we couldn't give a **** ................ how's the land of the wrong white crowd going ?

 

57 to 45 rudd!

 

YEP,F$#K me!!!!
Interesting times ahead.
Gleggy will be happy.