Thursday 18th of April 2024

rising damp .....

rising damp .....

 

from the SMH …..

howard, rudd trade insults

Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd traded insults today as the gloves came off in their phoney election campaign.

Mr Howard dubbed his rival "each-way-bet-Kevin", and said he thought the Labor leader was a getting a bit full of himself.

Mr Rudd responded by calling Mr Howard a "national security risk" due to his policies on Iraq.

Both men deny they are campaigning in Western Australia, where several key marginal seats could help decide this year's election.

But Mr Howard has brought his cabinet to Perth for the first time in a decade, and Mr Rudd was quick to follow him over.

The prime minister insists his visit should be no surprise because he is a regular visitor to the resources-rich state.

But Mr Rudd told journalists today that he visited WA more often than Mr Howard, and that if he were prime minister he would hold a cabinet meeting in Perth every year.

highway robbery is in progress

The editorial of the SMH (21/02/07) on "Too much vapour over water" (Canberra's offer is sensible and soundly based) is a bloody disgrace. It fails to see Mr Howard as a Graball of states powers with in fact little return, except a bit of cosmetic. Sure Canberra can spend the money but it has nothing to do with water. A quarter of the 10 billions on offer could solve the problem while not stealing States rights. But the enormity of the slush fund is hiding the stunt, like a big bait over a large hook. On this the SMH is either disingenuous or naive... unless they give their two bob's worth in regard to the visit of Dicky demanding too much from us and they try to balance it out with something that says they're not anti-Howard per say... I'd rather the SMH had fallen in love with the gun-totting VP rather than show support for a domestic policy with a bait-full-o-beans destined for average failure while highway robbery is in progress...

Essential Services

Water is one of the essential services.

Essential services are essential for all Australians.

 Yes, of course we have to pay for the maintainance and development of these services.

The operation of these services should not be subject to the whims of corporate raiders and their bottom lines.

 The Howard water scheme smacks of another sell out of our natural resources.

 We can see the failure of privatisation in Public Transport (trains taken out), Power Supply (frequent blackouts), Water (one big very frightening mess) and Gas (remember the Esso gas debacle) 

We need to dispose of him!! Very fast!!