A positive negation of the little brat...

Julia Gillard is using the last day of the campaign to mount a strident and negative attack on Tony Abbott, warning voters he is a risk to their future prosperity.

But the Opposition has hit back at the Prime Minister, accusing her of being "panic stricken".

Ms Gillard has renewed her focus on her opponent's links to WorkChoices as the latest opinion polls show the country is set for an election cliffhanger.

The two leaders have appeared almost non-stop on radio and television this morning in a last-ditch bid ahead of tomorrow's poll.

Both leaders today are sticking to campaigning in Sydney where several marginal seats could decide the election.

Ms Gillard this morning had breakfast with electrical workers in Gosford while campaigning with the candidate for Robertson, Deborah O'Neill.

She repeatedly labelled Mr Abbott a risk to voters, warning them he will bring back WorkChoices, make cuts to health and education, scrap the National Broadband Network and push up prices.

"If Mr Abbott is elected prime minister, then the risk to working families is they will pay more for the things they buy at the local supermarket because of Mr Abbott's plans to put an increased company tax rate on and that will flow through to prices," she said.

Gillard goes negative on election eve

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Who writes these shitty headlines at the ABC? How can someone go on a "negative" attack??? That's crap from junior journos who are too scared of saying something "negative" against Mr Abbott?...

"Ms Gillard attacks Tony Abbott" would suffice and be to the point. Meanwhile, charge Tony for impersonating a policeman...

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has set a Coalition government the target of limiting unauthorised boat arrivals to three a year, saying he deserves to be "very harshly judged" if it fails.

Mr Abbott said on average three boats a year had arrived under previous Coalition governments between 2002 and 2007, and he was aiming for the same result.

"If I can achieve three boats a year ... I think the Australian public would have every reason to be grateful to the new government," he told reporters in Sydney today.

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From a firm rock-solid NO-BOAT POLICY now to a three boat-ish policy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cad! The shifty!!! The Libshitty! His "contract" now not worth the air-time on TV... And he would deserve to be "very harshly judged" if he failed???? What a lot of codswallop!!! Is he loosing his marbles at the same time as loosing his budgies???? What does "very harshly judged" means? a wrap over the finger? That we demand he should resign immediately should a fourth boat come in? What about if ten boats come? Should we hang him? Would he say it's not his fault but the Labor party's?

The idiot can't even trust himself!

I believe that Tony Abbott has been in parliament for something like 16 years and, during that time I have watched him arrogantly lie many times for example his "Iron clad" and "rock solid" promise that he would not change the safety net.  Of course he did.

If we could lay out all of the blunders and down right “non-core” assurances of this “attack dog” in ministries which directly affect the working classes IMHO you would not find one that benefits the workers of this nation. Yet now he claims to be their friend.

Abbott was the thoughtless “tough guy” weapon that Howard used for many nasty acts such as Health cuts – Education cuts – WorkChoices etc.  If Rattus intended for him to be feared in parliamentary debate then he was on a loser – Julia Gillard verbally murdered him at every confrontation.

Hence the reason that Abbott’s faction won’t let him debate Julia on the economy is because he hasn't got a clue and he can't debate off a pushbike anyway.  It is so obvious that it irks me because, as Ross Gittins noted, the Rudd Labor party handled that dangerous period of world financial meltdown better than any other nation in the world.  It was so acknowledged by the OECD, the IMF and the World Bank. 

Of course they build him up as a macho hero, so much so that a young woman on TV questioned that if it was so important for him to show he could ride a bike; surf and run a lot - was it an ad for tampons?  Certainly nothing there about "grey matter" is there? 

So good in fact that the Australian people which Labor so brilliantly protected from the worst recession since the Great Depression – hardly noticed it – and that gave Murdoch a perfect opportunity to make sure it was forgotten.  And then offered this excuse “Labor is not getting their message through”.  Struth.

Yet that magnificent economic management was blunted by the Murdoch media and the very small percentage of failures in both School infrastructure and even the pink bats were blasted across the headlines.  The Labor Government was media targeted for too much money in the Schools and the accidental deaths of four young men who were employed by shonky business operators in the ceiling insulation plan. 

While Julia has mentioned that the investigations are still going on and some untrained opportunists have been found guilty – somehow it doesn’t even warrant a mention in the news.

Bernard Keane was right – it is us who are letting ourselves down by even considering these accusations which by the way, would never stand up in a court of law.  But then, while some 18 of the Coalition are lawyers, they have no compunction in finding Labor guilty!  And Murdoch loves it.

After all Gus – Murdoch’s the Australian tabloid is claimed by him to be the heart of the nation!  What a bloody cheek.

Cheers mate – NE OUBLIE.

 

 

Independent MP Bob Katter says it looks like Tony Abbott has something to hide, after the Opposition Leader refused to submit his costings to Treasury for analysis.

Mr Katter and fellow independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor say they want Treasury to be allowed to cost both party's election promises, as part of a seven-point list of demands to both Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Mr Abbott.

However Mr Abbott says Treasury should not be providing that advice on the Coalition's plans, and says the Opposition instead wants to hand in its own costings analysis.

Kennedy MP Mr Katter told ABC TV's Lateline that Mr Abbott's refusal makes it look as though he has something to hide.

"The reaction of everybody in Australia would be, what's Tony got to hide here?" he said.

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It's hard (not hard really) to fathom the deviousness of Mr Abbott... I can see here a possibility that Tony's got another "clever" trick in his bag... Getting public opinion against him "for not wanting his policy costings be done by the public service", but eventually reluctantly "giving in to the pressure" and having the costings done by Treasury in a "magnanimous gesture" — giving him "good boy" points for doing so. I would not be surprise if — to the exception of a couple of elastic billions in "estimates" — these costing fit the bill of adding up, except for their uselessness to the future of Australia as a whole...

I am waiting for the next Abbott-shot, unless Tony knows his budgies are REALLY dead, buried and cremated — unlike the work choices under any other zombie name.

Tony Abbott says the Opposition will only submit its policies for costing by Treasury if the culprit of an election campaign leak against the Coalition is found.

The three independent MPs who are expected to hold the balance of power in a hung parliament included the demand for Treasury briefings in a list of seven conditions which they say need to be met to guarantee their support.

During the election campaign the Opposition refused to submit its policies for costing because a Treasury document which revealed a shortfall in one of its polices was leaked to the media.

Mr Abbott yesterday again refused to hand over his policies, drawing the ire of independent MPs Tony Windsor and Bob Katter, who said it looked like the Opposition Leader had something to hide.

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Let's call Abbott's bluff... Over this election there has been some major leaks, most against the Labor Party AND exploited by Tony... Now the "leaks" to which Mr Abbott is standing rigtheous about are basically what any observant Tom, Dick and Harry would say about his bad arithmetics... and in the light that HE DID NOT SUBMIT HIS POLICIES TO THE TREASURY... If Tony had submitted his policies for economic analysis to the treasury, HE WOULD HAVE SOME (and I mean few) reasons for concern that one of the public servants — alla Grech, remember him leaking to the Libs by the bucket load? — would spill the beans... What Tony Abbott is REALLY telling us is that he has NO TRUST in the public service which he wants to LEAD?... Would he stack the place up with his chosen monkeys?

Tony is SUCH an unreasonable man... Tony knows that "sources" to media cannot be "revealed". Go play in your kindy, Tony...

The Coalition says it will hand over its costings once a police investigation into the Treasury leak is resolved.

The three incumbent independents who will decide who forms the next government - Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Bob Katter - have asked each party to submit their policies to Treasury for costing.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is happy to comply, but the Coalition is refusing to play ball because of a Treasury leak during the election campaign which showed an $800 million shortfall in one of its savings measures.

Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb says the Coalition's stance is "totally reasonable".

"We stand ready to provide all of our policies and savings to Treasury as soon as the police investigation is satisfactorily resolved," he said.

"Once the police have established where the problem is, we are very happy to provide all of our policies to Treasury for full costing."

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Let's call Abbott's bluff... Over this election there has been some major leaks, most against the Labor Party AND exploited by Tony without shame... He even exploited his own lies without shame. Now the "leaks" to which Mr Abbott is standing rigtheously about are basically what any observant Tom, Dick and Harry would say about his bad Libshit arithmetics... and in the light that HE DID NOT SUBMIT HIS POLICIES TO THE TREASURY... If Tony had submitted his policies for economic analysis to the treasury, HE WOULD HAVE SOME (and I mean few) reasons for concern that one of the public servants — alla Grech, remember him leaking to the Libs by the bucket load? — would spill the beans... What Tony Abbott is REALLY telling us is that he has NO TRUST in the public service which he wants to LEAD?... Would he stack the place up with his chosen monkeys?

Tony is SUCH an unreasonable devious man... Tony knows that "sources" to media cannot be "revealed" and should they be, SO WHAT?. Go play in your sand box, Tony...

Yes John...

Sleep was the enemy of any serious prime ministerial aspirant, bleary-eyed reporters on his campaign bus were led to believe.

To prove it, Abbott showed his physical and mental stamina with ceaseless activity through the night. He crossed 10 electorates charged on a light beer shandy and a midnight meal in Sydney's Chinatown. Abbott showed no hint of fatigue running around a tennis court at 10pm. He sharpened his focus on a small yellow ball in the night to trade forehands with a former great in the sport, the now Liberal MP, John Alexander. Nor did he lapse when police handed him a Taser at the Campbelltown cop shop about 1am. He donned a police vest and talked gang violence with a roomful of shy police, intimidated by his sharp questioning.

Compare this to Abbott's reasons for not accompanying the Prime Minister on her surprise trip to Afghanistan this week. Abbott says he declined the offer because he wanted to be sparky for his Tory mates at the British Conservative Party conference.

"I didn't want to get here in a jetlagged condition so I'm in a position to make the most of this opportunity," he told the ABC in Birmingham.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/action-man-abbotts-jetlag-excuse-makes-mockery-of-election-marathon-20101005-1656p.html?autostart=1

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Poor petal... Abbott, the marathon man, gives up half-a-mile from the start, snubs the troops so he can go shake the flesh of the UK PM before Julia does, in Birmingham for a talkfest of conservative politicians...

No steam on his decaf, no budgies in his pants, no wind in his sails, no puff in his bluff — all to maintain his beauty sleep, the fragile little cardboard thing...

See toon at top...

 

from Crikey .....

Abbott flies over Afghanistan but the real problem is back home

Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane writes:

AFGHANISTAN, DEFENCE

While Tony Abbott's justification for not visiting Afghanistan is the sort of thing that would earn a Labor Opposition leader a week of contumely from shock jock and earnest op-ed writers, it's a non-issue in the scheme of things. Indeed, there's something to be said for not having the Prime Minister and the alternative prime minister flying into the same war zone on the same flight.

Nonetheless, the Coalition - or more accurately its Defence spokesman David Johnston - is not being particularly helpful on Afghanistan. There is clearly a difference between Abbott and his shadow minister, with Abbott this morning taking pains to emphasise the bipartisan nature of policy on Afghanistan, rather than endorsing Johnston's view that the Government should be taking its advice from soldiers on the ground and significantly ramping up our Afghanistan presence, rather than listening to the ADF top brass.

Abbott is wise to do so, because public opinion on our involvement in Afghanistan is strongly opposed to it, and divisions between the major parties are only going to increase the likelihood that public opposition firms up into something more actively hostile to our role.

It's tempting to see the Coalition as playing politics over our role but Johnston's comments, after the controversy over a soldier's email criticising the ADF after the firefight on August 24, might instead - or also - reflect an emerging dispute over the nature of our role in Afghanistan and differences between the Defence hierarchy and soldiers on the ground.

"People assume that because a Digger says something, it's true, but it's just one perspective," Neil James of the Australia Defence Association told Crikey (the ADA has a detailed and very clear account of both the email controversy and the issues it raised). "And your perspective depends on what you think our operational missions should be. If you think our mission should be to secure Oruzgan province and destroy the Taliban, you'll think we need much higher force levels. If you think our role is to mentor Afghan forces, then you'll think the force level is about right or needs only a small increase." (The ADA believes the mentoring force should be increased by about 150 troops).

James also says there's a generational divide between the ADF hierarchy, who came up during the peaceful years of the 1980s and 1990s, and the current generation of servicemen who have extensive combat experience. "This is more than just a communications problem, which the ADF thinks it is. It's a cultural problem."

There's a growing view - a twist on the much-mocked "good war" thesis - that we should end our role in Afghanistan because the West lost its opportunity to destroy the Taliban and establish a viable Afghan state when we launched the assault on Iraq. Charles Richardson articulated this view in Crikey last week. And yes, Julia Gillard, like Barack Obama and David Cameron and other leaders with forces on the ground in Afghanistan, has to make decisions about our future involvement in that country within the framework of the disastrous strategic blunder of Iraq, which has made a tough war in Afghanistan vastly more difficult. But like those who oppose the war outright, whether on the basis of reflexive anti-Americanism or for any other reason, that argument fails to acknowledge the reality that Australia is currently on the ground in Afghanistan and is playing a specific role that serves the broader strategic rationale for why we participated - correctly - in the removal of the Taliban in the first place, to ensure Afghanistan does not serve as a state sponsor of terrorism on a vast scale. There are no options for Australia's role in Afghanistan free of serious consequences. The withdrawal of Australian troops would further reduce the already limited prospects for a stable Afghanistan.

Neither side of politics has been able to convincingly argue this strategic rationale to Australians. Perhaps that was an impossible task anyway - judging by the views of Americans and Britons, US and British leaders have been no more successful than John Howard, Kevin Rudd and now Julia Gillard is convincing people that we need to be in Afghanistan. But David Johnston's efforts only serve to fragment what's left of the major party consensus about how we fulfill our responsibilities in Afghanistan.

 

Australians feel more tasered than surprised by the Abbott government's first year in power.

That's the opinion of independent senator Nick Xenophon, who's accused the government of "sneaking up on people with quite radical changes" over the past 12 months.

"The government promised no surprises," Senator Xenophon told ABC on the one-year anniversary of Tony Abbott's election as prime minister.

"I think some Australians feel more tasered than surprised by some of the changes."

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Senator Xenophon says those quite radical changes include deregulation of university fees, a $7 GP co-payment and welfare cuts.

He criticised the way the Abbott Government went about the planned reforms, highlighting a lack of consultation and a less cautious approach than that adopted by the former Howard government.

"I think a lot of Howard battlers are feeling quite betrayed at the way the government has gone about things," he said.

Several of the Abbott government's budget measures face defeat in the Senate, where key crossbenchers - including Nick Xenophon - refuse to get on board.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/aussies-feel-tasered-by-abbotts-year-xenophon-20140907-3f0vq.html#ixzz3CbbecVoO


We knew that, four years ago... see toon at top... Meanwhile Tony is contrite like a turd sticking to your shoe:

Tony Abbott has pledged to use the remainder of his term to “protect the vulnerable” and also to build roads and repair the budget, as the government marks the first anniversary of its election.

Just back from a trip to India and Malaysia, Abbott attended a Father’s Day event on Sunday with his own dad, Dick, suggesting voters should reserve judgment on his government – which trails Labor in the polls – and conceding he could have done some things better.

“Look, with the wisdom of 20:20 hindsight there are always some things (that could have been done differently) but we’ve faced some difficult challenges and I think we’ve handled them pretty well. In the end, that’s going to be a matter for the people to judge in two years’ time but we have faced some tough challenges. We’ve faced them squarely and honestly and we’ve done the best we can, sometimes under difficult circumstances,” he said

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/07/tony-abbott-makes-anniversary-pledge-to-protect-the-vulnerable

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Let me say here, should you believe Tony Abbott, now, you have rocks in your head... A dumb dog would have had "the wisdom of 20:20 vision" on the obvious result of Turdy Tony's actions and "beliefs"... If Tony did not see what was coming shows he is dumber than a dumb dog.

Tony's ONLY belief is that he wants to stay PM desperately and will tell any sorts of lies to con the populace some more, like he did before the elections... Nothing new. Turdy has lied at least since his student days and he's not going to change now... As well, most of his regime acolytes in crime are also expert liars and porkie telling... with the utterly rabid beliefs of ultra-rightwing nuttery...