Comments on: Rudd and Turnbull’s egos destroying everything in their path

By: Andrew Thompson

Andrew Thompson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I am so bored with stories that reduce the national debate to battles between leading politician’s egos. I’ve learned nothing from this article. What is it about Australian journalists that they can’t leave this bleedingly obvious, low-brow stuff alone?

By: Graeme Lewis

Graeme Lewis — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Well now we know! Rudd and Swan not only got it all wrong, but they were forced to admit it and bring in some heavy changes to their stupid guarantee scheme. Took them two weeks (of chaos), then they had to announce it at 4pm on a Friday - the usual weasel way out.

Just the first of their disastrous tricks to be sprung!

By: Jules

Jules — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

As a self funded retiree i have no money in mortgage funds which are market based like all of our super. My super is too precious to put into these hugh return but high risk funds. Aren’t some of the funds freezing the capital not the distributions.
Just after the announcement on bank guarantees I saw a TV clip where Turnbull came out in agreement with the government’s scheme on bank guarantees. Now he is back tracking causing the lack of bipartisanship.
There is nothing more off putting than Turnbull thinking he knows it all and can solve every problem in the world. Maybe one day he will run for USA president. ( ha ha)
Yes I agree Bernard maybe everyone has to take a deep breath, maybe with some give and take, not take any political advantage including all members of the respective parties and come up with a bipartisan plan with the appropriate regulatory authorities.

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

So it’s the Simon & Garfunkel response from the CC’s & Venise…….not unexpected I’ll admit.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

> Instead Rudd wanted to look like he was perfectly in control, and that any negative consequences were mere matters of detail to be worked out by the regulators.

I think Bernard Keane has accurately identified the principal malaise of modern Australian politics here — the rather insecure practice of taking an authoritarian and unbending stance, and always maintaining that they are ‘right’ and have done a complete and entire job on the first pass, often flying in the face of actual evidence.

The actual bank guarantee policy unfortunately is unintentionally loaded with what the Americans call ‘moral hazard’ — what was intended to be a guarantee for Joe Depositor becomes a flight of capital from all other investment vehicles. Ireland levied a similar guarantee, and I heard of an immediate £250 million deposit from an English source. Multiply this by some unimaginable figure for the full magnitude of the guarantee backed by the Irish government. The banks will be awash with money they don’t need, while other sound investment firms will go broke from equity withdrawal akin to a bank run simply because of an inequitable guarantee promising a bottomless pit of publicly-funded support. This is ironically a bank run in reverse.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I bet Kevin Charles Herbert has crawled back in his box after that toothache of a post.
A patronising ‘we hacks’ as he admits he’s delivered sub-standard copy somewhere sometime in his yet-to-be publicly celebrated life. And then KCH (sounds like a fast food) commits another career hari-kari if he’s really had a professional writing career by sniping at Gary for sub-standard spelling and proofing after his own hamfisted attempt to tell us Turnbull is on “a srteep learning curve”.
Still up there in the ether he accuses Gary of graduating from “.another Narnargoon School of Economics and lambasts him with “c’mon Gary tell us your whole name, or aren’t you prepared to be publicly associated with your bizarre analysis”.
I cant see how a Kevin Charles Herbert is more credible than a Gary?

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Dear Commentator Cowards all,

Don’t you get it? …obviously not…unless you’re prepared to identify yourself, your comments are
WORTHLESS…toilet door graffiti……permanently stuck in the 5th form……..

Venise, I expected better…I mean I don’t know if you’ve actually insulted me…….yet…….are home duties stupefylingly BORING?

By: John I

John I — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I’m with you, Andrew.
I stopped reading newspapers and subscribed to Crikey cos the papers were full of opinion pieces about personalities, not real news about real events.
Crikey has been infected with the same malaise.

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Cathy: you’re my new favourite Commentator Coward (taking over from wee JimmyK):

Brimming with bile…but spineless…how could I respect u in the moUrning?

What’s your full name & email address…or STAY IN THE 5TH FORM 4EVER !!!!!

By: JamesK

JamesK — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

The fact that Gary is both perceptive and correct in fact is no problem for Kevin Charles Herbert as he is quite unable to recognise those qualities.

Opinion polls when left leaning, Rudd sycophant journos and and just about any left wing drivel published is more his cup of tea.

I had thought Turnbull might be the next PM but Kevboy with his faux endorsement has put the mockers on him

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

“As a consequence what is in the scheme of things a minor consequence of the deposit guarantee has been beat up into a wasteful and pointless drama.”

A minor consequence? …so as a self funded retiree caught up in this mess, I’m told by the treasurer, today, to nick down to Centrelink and ask for a hand-out. The one thing I had planned never having to do.
I think this mob would be happy to have half the population living off the other over-taxed half. How many new taxes this year?

By: Mick

Mick — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Surely one simple phone call could have helped here. all PM rudd had to do was call Glenn Stevens to ensure he had exhausted all appropriate steps in the due diligence process....the idea that Ken Henry's and Glenn Stevens minds were "as one" sounds risible, and equally Rudd should not have had to rely upon what amounts to hearsay evidence in forming such critical policy....

(One only wishes Bill Leak was around to draw the twin-headed "Glenn Henry" or should that be "Glennhenry"?)

Unless, of course, Mr Rudd really didn't want to hear directly what Stevens would say

The PM is fond of claiming his passion for "evidenced-based" policy, and he does seem to be a very "process" driven mandarin...but where was the process to guarantee the government operated off the best available evidence?

How ironic if one of Rudd's great strengths to date, his operational and organisational method, became his own undoing, outstripped by potential hubris and inexperience...and this early in the term

I think the Government did overcook fears of inflation very early in the term and certainly the RBA gave us a rise too far, as seen by their reversal of policy within only 6 months...

Now we have a second and more serious misstep...

What Rudd really needs to be doing is persuade his European friends to engage in far more aggressive rate cuts, lest their obsession with inflation turn what could have been a financial crisis and potentially damaging but containable into a far more substantial economic crisis.

A more strategic use of global fiscal policy may have preempted what now seems to be an imminent death-spiral for the world economy..

By: denese

denese — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Dear Bernard, I also think that a holiday may be good.,

We elected Mr . Rudd not turnbull, I just heard Christopher Zen's comment from Consumer affairs,
which all should probably listen too.

One has to remember that guarantees are from the Tax payer not some magical fund that is out there .
We should remind Mr. Turnbull of that.
I was quite shocked the way he stood up in parliament re his censure motion, i could not believe what i was hearing and seeing.
I get the feeling Malcom likes to be in charge. Well he is not, and i am not for a bipartisan agreement because the Tories have a different way of thinking.
But i do think the less said the better as was pointed out on Radio today depositors only started taking out their capital when the media and some politicians started talking about it.
Yes they are still getting their allocated pensions, it is only the capital that is frozen, for the time being, and i have NO fear if them needing a guarantee, this is not the USA. I have every faith in all our monetrary insitutions.
Loose Lips SINK SHIPS this is a time of crisis and words should be measured before spoken. I have elderly friends who wanted to take their money out of the bank as soon as they heard Turnbull mention the 20th dollar cap , its amazing how many opinions this man has had.

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Kevin Charles Herbert: Is that Kevin, Charles Herbert? Kevin Charles, Herbert? The only condescending remark thus far has been your airy “We hacks understand….” If you are a scribe of renown please tell us your publication. Or for whom you write.

To name call is odious, but someone out there in the bloggosphere thought Malcolm Turnbull might have been a contender to become a Prime Minister. Blink blink! I would imagine the monumental arrogance of the man might be off-putting to the average voter. I mean Wentworth is so much a toffy electorate. I cant imagine him going down well at the Gilantipy - Wandiligong footy club. Entrance via the pie stall.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Whilst your article is accurate I think you give too much latitude to Rudd. Whthe has done by guaranteeing deposits in nothing short of pharsical, it achieved nothing except guaranted a flight of capital from mortage trusts and other well performing investment vehicles to the Banks. This has delivered cash bonanza to the Banks reducing their need to raise funds off shore to fund the loan books. It has also meant Rudd waisted the $8 billion put in to support no bank lenders, they can’t raise funds OS, tey don’t have a Sovrign Guarantee, the Banks do and that is all that was needed. Guarantee the borrowing of Banks for loansOS giving them access to the AAA rating. Depoit guarantees are feel good measures for you and me and harm hundreds of thousands or retirees. Cain Kirner economic management.

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Bernard: have a two week break yourself. Your commentary is condescending to say the least. However, we hacks understand that it's very hard some days to come up with the quality copy the news editor demands.

Rudd's the PM, & is therefore charged with calling the shots...he's done a pretty good job on the run, according to those who count...ie. the opinion polls.

Turnbull is a sideshow to all of this..and his performance to date has been pretty ordinary. He's in a srteep learning curve, but I have no doubt that he will become a stellar Opposition leader in due course.

Finally, the quality of Gary's analysis & commentary above is matched only by his spelling & proofing skills...another Narnargoon School of Economics graduate....c'mon Gary tell us your whole name, or aren't you prepared to be publicly associated with your bizarre analysis.