Kirribili House Party

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.