Author: Kev

Dennis Shanan nails it in todays Australian

In six weeks, Labor has dumped Kevin 07 as leader because he was unpopular, installed Gillard because she was popular, changed strategy and Gillard’s image to the “real Julia” because the false, campaigning Julia was unpopular and now turned to Kevin 10 because the real Julia was unpopular.

Says it all really

Gillard doesn’t even bother to attend National Security Committee (NSC) meetings and punters are actually considering voting for her. There just is no excuse for missing the most important single meeting governments hold, the meetings that deal with life and death, with our soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere, with the physical security of the nation. Rudd often didn’t bother to attend either but he looks a positive paragon of virtue compared with Gillard’s practice.

Rudd at least sent his chief of staff, Alister Jordan, to attend in his absence, though the NSC meetings where Rudd was absent were chaired not by Jordan but by the next most senior minister present. However, Gillard sent one of the most junior people in her office to the NSC meetings in her place.

Strange world but then the people about to vote for Gillard most probably think it more important that we have a woman in power, or the ALP in power at whatever cost, or the unions in power or anything but Abbott. National security..what’s that?

That’s a good enough reason by itself to vote for him. And no, I’m not going to link to their out-of-context Abbott quotes.

JULIA Gillard is to create a Citizens Assembly to forge a national consensus on action on climate change and a commission of experts to help inform its deliberations.

The Prime Minister will also today recommit Labor to carbon trading, but pledge that it will be introduced only when “the Australian economy is ready and when the Australian people are ready”.

There, that’s got that problem out of contention for the election. I don’t think the tree-hugging Hippy Greens are going to be very happy but as they have joined the ALP they really can’t complain. Shades of Rudd’s failed 2020 conference, isn’t it? I can guarantee the vast bulk of any such citizens so assembled will be marching to Gillard’s tune. I doubt, for example that Andrew Bolt will get a slot. It’s a cop-out. We elect politicians to make these decisions and we accept their call even if we don’t agree, at least until the next election. But this “Ooh it’s contentious and might lose me some votes -let’s call a Citizens Assembly and then we can blame them if it goes pear shape” response is not, under any definition, doing what they are, or could be, elected to do.

AUSTRALIA might be asked to fund detention centres in Indonesia to help Jakarta deter asylum-seekers from using the nation as a staging point.

Jakarta’s plan, which would lock up all asylum-seekers currently free in the community, comes amid pressure from Julia Gillard for a regional solution to the politically explosive problem.

Jakarta’s plan would also fix all their problems at the expense of us poor tax payers. They have thousands of illegals living in their towns and ports already, all trying to get to Australia. Poor old Indonesia can hardly cope with their own people let alone all visitors clogging up their systems. Let’s talk to Gillard, they say. She’s in trouble, East Timor is not interested even though she is still saying “we are consulting with them” so lets fix our problem and have Australia pay for it. Baik sekali, very good…it’ll work. If they’re stupid enough to vote in Rudd and seriously consider Gillard then the Aussie taxpayer will buy anything. And of course, all the money will go to securing the illegals – won’t it? There has never been a stench of corruption in Indonesia – has there?

Joe Hockey on the ALPGreens agenda for their second term from last nights 7:30 report

JOE HOCKEY: Well if they are going to fix the problems of the first term, that is their second term agenda. Labor’s second term agenda is to fix up all the problems of its first term. That will keep them occupied, I can tell you.

Good call, Joe.

KEVIN Rudd is reportedly being considered by the United Nations for a top-level job as an adviser on climate change. Mr Rudd spent several days in New York last week meeting with UN officials. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is now considering creating a dedicated role for him as a top-level adviser on climate change, according to a “diplomatic source with knowledge of the plan”, News Ltd newspapers reported today. I often thought Kevin Rudd’s Prime Ministership was just a CV filler for his ultimate aim of running the UN so it does make some sense. I wonder how that bit of news effects the voters of Griffith? This would make his recent taxpayer trip to the US to attend a job interview in a different light but I bet that doesn’t get a run in the media. Thérèse might consider paying back the taxpayer for the first class air tickets and accommodation before the question is asked by someone other than me. Please, Kevin, be patriotic and take the job and make Australia a better place. It’ll be much harder for you to damage Australia if you are in the UN.

JULIA Gillard promised today that a report into the Building the Education Revolution program will be released before the election. The Prime Minister made the commitment during a radio interview, despite the BER taskforce yesterday refusing to confirm that it would hand over its report to the government before August 21. If she is prepared to make that promise, I’m prepared to believe she already knows it won’t harm her. It’ll be a white wash. Odds on!

JULIA Gillard’s comments yesterday put the issue beyond doubt — she is the first Prime Minister to seek election on the platform of a smaller growing Australia and rejects the current growth model as “irresponsible”.

It seems Gillard’s over-arching election strategy is to slow Australia’s population growth, a populist pitch long available to Australia’s leaders and long resisted.

No, her over-arching election strategy is to get journalists and hence the public, talking about slowing Australia’s population growth. The last thing she wants them talking about is her governments lackluster performance. It’s a red herring, or to quote Baldrick in Blackadder, a dead herring. Better this than people talking about boat people, BER overspends, Garrett’s ceiling disaster, Wong’s ETS (very conspicuous by her absence) or Swan’s rubbery figures.