Category: Politics

PM’s letter to Iraq is an election stunt says Kevin Rudd in an election stunt type of statement

PRIME Minister John Howard’s threat to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq is motivated by the looming federal election, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says

And Kevin’s statement isn’t? Right. Meanwhile…..a story covered by Brisbane’s Sunday Mail records another election stunt

A LEAKED letter from Kevin Rudd to Prime Minister John Howard shows the Opposition Leader backed Australia’s involvement in Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion.

And typical of Kevin, it’s full of recommendations that apparently no one else thought of These include:

• “An immediate review of protective security arrangements for all Australian staff in Iraq”. • “Deploying an appropriate number of trainers for capacity enhancement of the New Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Police Force.” • Public employment measures to soak up the idleness of young men from joining terrorist groups. • Using the Australian Electoral Commission to help Iraq stage elections. • A smooth transition of the Oil for Food program to ensure Iraqis had proper food and medical supplies. All of these measures were eventually adopted.

Admittedly Kevin has to calm and pay back the Left in his party with regular anti Bush/Howard/US policy statements but just what do Kevin and the ALP stand for again?

One of Haneef’s ‘fan’ club, a human rights advocate, ponders;

You know, I hope Kev will say: “That really sucked what happened to Haneef, poor bastard.” It would be nice to read this.

I replied;

Don’t hold your breath. He is too close to savages that tried to mass murder Brits. We are better off with him out of Australia.

..and I’m sticking to my guns. Haneef’s guilt or otherwise on charges of recklessly giving aid to terrorists has not been tested in court so cries of ‘innocent victim’ make little sense. The fact that his working visa has been withdrawn does, however make a lot of sense. He is a known associate of people who attempted to murder Brits and Scots in their homeland and that’s enough to make him persona non grata; whether he’s all sweetness and light, pure as the driven snow or a contender for a Nobel prize for medicine he is still a worry. Today in the Australian Imre Salusinszky argues;

I DON’T know what facts swayed Kevin Andrews in his decision to revoke the visa of Mohamed Haneef. But there are more than enough already on the public record to justify the Immigration Minister’s decision.

Take the politics out of the situation, assess it coldly and Hannef goes home and stays there. Side issue: I hope Legal Aid isn’t paying for Russo’s ‘Tour of Adulation’ in India.

Mr Rudd, campaigning in Tasmania, incorrectly named Labor’s candidate for the vital marginal seat of Bass as Jodie Kingston.The candidate’s name is Jodie Campbell. I expect the ABC news, Lateline, the 7:30 report, SBS, the Age, the SMH and all those left wing/anti-Howard blogs will be calling into question Rudd’s ability to lead; that he’s past it – too old, as happened when Howard did the same.

Kevin Rudd is basing a fair amount of his campaign to get hold of the keys to the Treasury on very spurious data. The myth that has been taking my interest of late is his claim that the Howard Government are responsible for the high cost of housing. Some time back I was driving and listening to the ABC (old soldier tactic…know your enemy) and was interested in a discussion on housing costs. Callers were ringing in with some astounding facts. I registered their comments that, on the whole, laid the blame at the feet of local government. I could never accept that the Howard Government’s negative gearing and Capital Gains alone was responsible and of course the fact that the ALP are shouting ‘four interest rate rises under Howard‘ hardly matters considering how small these rates were when compared with Keating’s magnificent accomplishments. A letter in todays Australian brought all this to mind

WHILE I accept Mike Steketee’s arguments (“Tax the no-go zone in debate over housing”, Opinion 12/7) that negative gearing in its present form and capital gains tax have contributed to the high cost of housing, I am surprised that he did not mention the contribution of state governments and local councils to this situation. In an article in The Australian in March last year, it was reported that government charges in my shire, Redlands, in outer Brisbane, had risen 583 per cent in five years to $135,700. This has to be paid up front on top of the cost of the house and land. In Sydney’s north west, 35 per cent – or almost $200,000 of the price of a new home – was eaten up by government charges. The buyer of a typical Sydney house and land package would pay $1,455 a month over the life of a mortgage just to cover the taxes. The interest alone on these taxes would total $230,000. The naked greed of state Labor governments’ stamp duty grab contradicts their claims of representing the battler. I derive no pleasure from the vastly increased value of my home. In fact, I am deeply saddened how many children are waiting for their parents to die before they can buy a house. C.A. Bond Cleveland, Qld

State Governments, Councils and Shires are on a roll here. They have found a new milking cow that they will never let out of the yard. They must be standing around the dairy yards in a state of uncontrolled mirth as the media and the ALP sheet the blame home to Howard and away from the real culprits. Sting the punter and have someone else blamed – the perfect scam.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd set the ball rolling yesterday after the WA Supreme Court released footage a tape showing the unionist abusing a company representative who tells him he can’t enter a building site. Rudd lays down the law;

“Under my leadership, I have made it clear that it is completely unacceptable for any member of the Australian Labor Party to behave in such a manner,” Mr Rudd said last night.

Might as well disband the CFMEU then if that’s his stand. We’ve known about McDonald and his breed for years and yet Rudd suddenly decides they have to go. It wouldn’t be just because of the videos…would it? Let’s have every building site on CCT for showing on each evenings news – just to remind people of what they are voting for. McDonald isn’t going easy;

“I would like to tell the Labor Party how hard it is to represent workers in the building and construction industry under the Howard Government’s industrial laws,” he said. “It is a story I intend telling them during the expulsion proceedings they are going to bring against me. “For this reason I am not going to resign.”

Do it mate, Get yourself on the front page every week until the election.

JOHN Howard has angrily denied running “a rich man’s government” as he fought off Labor claims of a cover-up over using his taxpayer-funded residence Kirribilli to entertain Liberal donors. Personally, I don’t see the problem. Prime Ministers of all persuasions, Hawke included, have held social gatherings at Kirribili with a view to bolster support but apparently it is only relevant when as ALP leader you are struggling to make any worthwhile hit on a competent government. Rudd doggedly attacks Howard all day in the house when he could’ve better utilized his time studying productivity and trying to understand why business and punters generally are worried about Australia becoming a Union controlled country under the ALP. I see your “Kirribilli Party” Kev and raise you ” Economics and wealth creation” Shannahan spends copious words in his article in today’s Australian denigrating the Coalition’s attack on the unions saying;

…Of course, the Government’s attack on the ACTU’s campaign against the Work Choices laws is total bunkum.

His point fails when he recognizes the problem the ALP has with this closing sentence;

The real trouble for Labor is that there are still a few ugly, foulmouthed bullies around in the union movement who by their very existence lend credence to the Government’s campaign. The election is six months away. Rudd hasn’t got a minute or a thing to lose by getting rid of them.

The “few ugly, foulmouthed bullies” have cost Australia millions of dollars and are subject to a host of court actions. Just follow the link for a litany of CFMEU excesses. Joe McDonald in West Australia is a particularly evil, foulmouthed bully and is a living, breathing, swearing, threatening example of why we shouldn’t risk an ACTU/ALP government. When the case is finished we may learn exactly how much he has cost the West Australian government just in the Perth-Mandurah railway line. The project is already three months behind schedule and $200 million over-budget and the unions have had a big say in that. There is talk of the Coalition using DVDs of Joe threatening bosses in West Australia as a part of their campaign to remind voters of what they can expect if they lose concentration on election day. Good tactic, I say. Paul Keating gets another gig in the Australian, this time urging the ALP to privatise. What he says may make sense but it doesn’t matter. What matters is every mention of Keating in the press reminds the voters of true arrogance, ALP version. I’d like to see Paul mentioned every day as a part of the Coalition campaigning. The Battle rages and war hasn’t even been declared yet. The real election campaign promises to be a humdinger as we start asking Rudd for policy details over and above “we’ll cut emissions by 60%….” without any costings or plans.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says former Labor prime minister Paul Keating should get over his 1996 election loss. Here’s an idea. They could both undertake therapy; one for having lost and the other for what is about to happen to him in a month or so.

I note some of the media are all about what a modern man Rudd is telling Australia he believes women have the right to be independent beings, not just appendages to “middle-aged men” Yeah, well so do most of us but back to the issue at hand….please explain. I really don’t believe Mrs Rudd with her multimillion dollar company Ingeus is any more an ogre than Mrs Doolan, the part owner of the Lilac City Motor Inn in north Goulburn, but if Julia Gillard is going to attack small business then she better be sure she’s not throwing stones from inside a glasshouse. As Tony Abbot said this morning if it was the other way round there would be a wildfire. With a bit of luck the incident will stop the ALP scouring the country looking for a small business owner who has made some error in application of the IR Laws and then rattling on all day in the House and media about the evils of a system that is actually lifting our production and lowering unemployment. Rudd may have tried to get the woman’s vote by coming across as an understanding guy but he fails with this;

…Rudd has conceded his wife may have to sell part of her $175 million business empire after Labor’s industrial relations attack was undermined by revelations her company had underpaid workers.

I wouldn’t go that far and besides while the company exists we conservatives can keep it under the microscope to ensure the ALP practice what they preach. Overall, the more we look into the ALP Policy Account the lower the balance.

While the ACTU/ALP are busy digging up unfair conditions in the workplace and compressing them into bricks to throw at Howard is it fair to bring this up? A COMPANY owned by the wife of Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd put workers on individual contracts that stripped them of key award conditions. I reckon it is.