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acid reflux at circus abbott...
from the ABC
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has apologised to his colleagues for not consulting them before announcing a Coalition plan for a paid parental leave scheme.
Facing Coalition MPs today in the wake of the announcement, Mr Abbott said sometimes it was necessary to make a "leader's call" over some issues, and "sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission".
A joint partyroom meeting today saw almost 20 MPs speak about the plan, which would see Australia's biggest businesses taxed by an extra 1.7 per cent.
The money would pay for new parents to take six months off work while still being paid their usual salary by the government.
A Liberal source said several MPs expressed "gentle" criticism about a lack of consultation with the partyroom before Mr Abbott revealed it yesterday.
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Abbott often mumbled about Malcolm's bombastic way of dealing with the "Party room"... Tony's way of dealing with things, is to make uncosted grandiose fanciful policies on the hop and let his partners sieve through the debris of the fall-out — such as "business getting its bum up" from the wedgie — while Tony humbly seeks forgiveness, a thing Malcolm would rarely do.
Malcolm would get a concensus by twisting arms, while Abbott decides, then seeks absolution... A typical catholic sinner's attitude, with repeat offence like heartburns and acid reflux from a bad meal...
- By Gus Leonisky at 9 Mar 2010 - 2:23pm
- Gus Leonisky's blog
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may abbott get lost in the political wilderness....
meanwhile at the real coal face of government...
Job advertisements posted their biggest increase in 11 years last month, more than reversing January's surprise decline, as employers stepped up hiring plans.
The total number of jobs advertised rose by 19.1 per cent last month, after an 8.1 per cent fall in January, according to the ANZ Bank's monthly survey. It was the largest monthly increase in the 11-year history of the series, ANZ said.
''Total job advertisements are continuing to improve month on month from their cyclical low point last year,'' ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said. ''This has already translated into solid employment growth and reduced unemployment, even through a period of relatively strong labour force growth.''
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Of course, this is due because...
no saint...
The Federal Government has attacked Tony Abbott for heading "the most obstructionist Opposition in 30 years", accusing him of economic sabotage and threatening payments to families.
In the wake of the Coalition's announcement that it would establish a 26-week paid parental leave scheme, Mr Abbott will not say whether the Coalition will support the Government's own plan, which is due to start next year.
And Mr Abbott is under fire for the Coalition's refusal to pass several key budget measures, including changes to the private health insurance rebate and youth allowance.
The Opposition has also twice scuttled the Government's emissions trading scheme and says it will block legislation for the structural separation of Telstra.
Government ministers Jenny Macklin, Penny Wong, Lindsay Tanner, Nicola Roxon and Stephen Conroy fronted a media conference today to brand Mr Abbott as a "just say no" leader who is jeopardising the country's economic recovery.
They say the Coalition has blocked 41 bills in the past year, which is four times as many as any other Opposition in the past 30 years.
Families Minister Ms Macklin says Mr Abbott is threatening the country's first ever paid parental leave scheme, which is offering mothers 18 weeks of pay at the minimum wage.
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the idiotic Mr No-no... Imbecilico politico with the greatest lack of true care for the nation, all for his OWN selfish gain, while making promises he knows he will not be able to keep... Nothing catholic about this man... Er, actually, may be that's the way some of them behave, badly, then confess to priest in little boxes...
pissing on his own party for the sake of saying "no"...
From the SMH
Peter Hartcher...
The Liberal Party ["Australian conservatives", for people of the stars and stripes] has spent 66 years developing its brand as the party of enterprise and low taxes. It took Tony Abbott just 98 days to inflict serious damage to the brand.
That is the central problem of Abbott's policy to pay for maternity leave by putting a new tax of 1.7 per cent on companies making $5 million in taxable profits.
If Abbott takes this policy to the election, he will have made the Liberals the party of first recourse to taxing the wealth-generators and job creators of Australia. By proposing a $2.7 billion impost on business, Abbott has betrayed the Liberals' core identity.
One measure of the depth of the betrayal is in the reactions - business has rejected the plan but the Greens love it: ''Go Tony!'' Bob Brown said yesterday.
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I rest my case...