Category: Politics

Rudd has released a booklet on his first 100 days of government. I calculated the days from the day after his election win; Rudd says he calculates it from the day his government were sworn into power and fair enough too so maybe today is just an anniversary of a 100 days of my concern for my country. Either way readers can download a .pdf file of the booklet here. Chairman Rudd’s gospel is full of promise with a couple of achievements to date but if everything he promises does eventuate it will truly be a revolution. Revolution…nasty word that. Rudd says no to Left agenda and has assured mainstream Australia he will avoid radical social and cultural change by resisting calls to broaden his reform agenda and by sticking to his election promises. I know Rudd isn’t from the left but a lot of his team are and it is they that I worry about, particularly when one looks at Rudd’s achievements in this first 100 days. I think it disingenuous of Rudd to claim he is saying no to Left agenda in light of the following; #1..Climate Change. Signed the Koyoto treaty- a symbolic but meaningless act that has more potential to harm our economy than do the ecology any good. #2..Apology. Said sorry to indigenous Aussies and is having trouble putting the stopper back in the bottle of compensation. Is busy winding back Howard and Brough’s plan to actually help our mates and has reinstated the permit system that has helped to hide the horrific problems recently headlined in the Australian Although plenty of punters from all sides and age groups agree with the apology they are going to react differently when compensation is discussed. Should there be no discernible difference to Indigenous life styles a year down the track people are going to be asking hard questions. #3 Whaling. Sent a government ship on a fools errand at great expense for little gain, if any, that basically supported a radical greenie who has a history of ramming and sinking fishing trawlers going about their legal business, including indigenous ones. #4..Uranium. Renegs on previously authorised sale of Uranium to India Another win for the Left wing of the ALP with their ideological based hatred of uranium. Apparently it’s OK to cosy up to the Chinese Communist Dictatorship but not to sell a legitimate product to the Indian Democracy #5..Union Power. Initiates a review to clamp down on overuse of foreign-owned ships to transport freight around the nation’s coastline in a bid to bolster the shipping industry. Or, more importantly, from Albanese himself; blockquote>

“This review will be about boosting Australia’s international competitiveness and finding ways to increase coastal shipping’s share of the domestic freight market.

What Anthony means is the review will be all about reinstating the power of the Maritime Union of Australia enabling them to run our coastal shipping as they see fit and not have the industry run by any damn politician from Canberra. Climate Change, Apology, Uranium, Union power and Whaling are all causes initiated by the Left Wing and although some from the Center and even the Right of politics dabble in them from time to time depending on media coverage, they are clearly Left born. So far, if your Green or Left you should be happy. The other 85% of the country should be concerned. I wouldn’t deny there is some potential in his plans but the bulk of the booklet is about what he is going to do once the hundreds of reviews are submitted. A review of this; a committee for that – suggests he didn’t have a plan to start with and I wonder whether Bureaucrat Rudd is holding ascendancy over Leader Rudd. Time will tell.

Women, well OK, some a few women are complaining about the lack of gender balance at Rudd’s 2020 talk fest. They should be more concerned that the only person representing their gender in Rudd’s major Distraction of the First Quarter is an actress. OK, so she’s a good actress but she cites Gore as her hero and lets face it, once fittingly played the Queen of the fairies.(LOTR) and has also worked out how to recycle and drink her own body waste. If I was a woman I’d be insulted as well. There are mobs of women better qualified and more acceptable to the non-left majority of the country but I guess that’s not the prerequisite for selection. A symbolic woman for a symbolic talk fest.

Australia’s Chief Clerk, Kevin Rudd has decreed that all pollies should spend 5 days a week in the house. For a long time the house has closed on Fridays to allow our elected reps to work their electorates which I see as reasonable. On the first friday of sitting the house erupts as Rudd doesn’t even bother to attend – in person anyway. I think it’s funny and they make a good point For the first time under the Rudd Government, parliament is sitting on a Friday to allow backbenchers to speak their minds – in a day that is already being dubbed Rudd’s Day Off or RDO. But Coalition MPs are angry that Fridays have no proper votes, no question time where ministers can be grilled by the Opposition, and quorum will not be recorded. In effect, Parliament is not sitting and the opposition question the legality of the Friday ‘Backbencher’s speaking their mind’ kind of day Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop told The Australian Online today the Coalition was urging the Government to seek legal advice on whether parliamentary privilege was still operating. Keep shooting from the hip, Kev – your bound to do some good for the country eventually.

Rudd must be happy with his 70% approval rating as PM but he will also be holding his breath as Australians’ absorb the fact that he tells lies as well. KEVIN Rudd yesterday described how he purposely misled disgraced former West Australian premier Brian Burke to avoid attending a dinner being organised by the influence-peddler. He released emails to prove the point but does not talk of telephone calls that set up his withdrawal for the proposed dinner. The emails were obviously born out of desperation after a staffer or adviser pointed out to Rudd that dinner with a ex convict and king maker would look bad. When the matter was raised last year by Howard, Rudd blustered and told lies;

Mr Rudd said he was unaware of the ban on contact with Mr Burke imposed by then WA premier Geoff Gallop.

Bullshit! Everybody in Australia who reads newspapers was aware of the ban on contact with Brian Burke imposed by Geoff Gallop. You don’t even have to read between the lines to realize Rudd was talking to Burk as part of his plan of ascendancy to the chair he holds today. Also;

Mr Rudd said he had no recollection of discussing the Labor Party leadership with Mr Burke at any time.

Yeah, right! The issue will most probably fade as the media are enjoying the honeymoon just as much as the ALP but some supporters must be feeling a little uneasy. The discerning ones at least. UPDATE:Peter van Onselen writing for the Australian delves deeper.

LABOR MPs have just voted in caucus for a 12-month wage freeze for all MPs, to signal that “restraint needs to be shared” to fight inflation.

But it remains unclear whether it will happen if Coalition MPs do not back the plan. MPs’ and senators’ pay is determined by the independent Remuneration Tribunal and is not determined by MPs or parliament. The proposal will now go to the tribunal, with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard to run the “machinery” of the submission process.

Whatever, token symbolism for public consumption or a heart felt and rational decision, it’s reasonable but quiet frankly, Kevin, I’m more concerned about wage freezes for unions. How about it? Are they going to join in the new ALP restraint sharing as well?

Former Prime Minister John Howard announced funding for the project last June but Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner today announced the new Government would not be providing the funds. Well that was on the cards – the wrong people play the game. Tanner lays the cuts squarely on the Coalition;

Some of the former Liberal government’s last-minute spending commitments will be revised or abandoned. This irresponsible spending will be cut …….

The grant was announced in the June so hardly qualifies as a last minute gasp from the Libs. Still, when you have the keys to the treasury benches you can say what you like. The ARU and QRU are not happy as they were told that it was happening. They have announced it to the world and now you can imagine who they’re going to blame when they announce to the Rugby world that it’s now not happening. If spending money on a Rugby Academy is irresponsible then the guys and gals at the AIS had better look for another berth. It’s the same sort of thing – can’t have sporting elites get preferential treatment. Other cuts include; Innovation ambassadors program, Flemington Racecourse’s alternative water strategy, advertising programs [for] the simplified superannuation initiative, Fishing hall of fame, The Growing Regions program, and drought relief to farmers . The ALP get the call but the word ‘reallocation’ keeps on springing to mind. Parallel cuts to the arts will, of course, stop me thinking that.

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) – The new Australian government will scrap a landmark deal to sell uranium to India for its nuclear energy program, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Tuesday.

The deal was struck by former premier John Howard last August, shortly before his conservative government was ousted in elections by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party. Smith said he had told a visiting Indian envoy that the new government would not sell the nuclear fuel to any country which had not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Presuming this is true then the Left have won this round. Australia’s reputation suffers as well as our economy. We need them to go back on leave…the country’s was safer. I can imagine a host of other countries waiting for us to let them down…to reneg on signed deals for ideology alone. They’ll be looking up all their agreements with us – vetting them to ensure they meet the ideological standards of the ALP loonies and looking to count their losses and resolving to never deal with us again. Can’t blame them.