Comments on: Fielding the last man standing in stimulus fest

By: Daniel

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

Water and the Murray is THE issue here in SA. Xenophon knows what he is doing.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Xenophon’s stand is caught up in his attempt to claim the MDB issue off the Greens in SA. There’s an interesting little battle between Xenophon and Sarah Hanson-Young on this which the latter has been winning thus far. Tomorrow will be Xenophon’s chance to earn priceless publicity as the bloke who saved the Murray-Darling. A Xenophon stunt on a truly grand scale.

By: Cathy

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

We’ve given Turnbull and the conservatives a serve about grandstanding on the stimulus package so why not Nick Xenophon with his identical political posturing. The guy’s screaming for a life term in the Senate by seducing votes from save the Murray-Darling devotees most of whom are evaporating Nationals, defunct Democrats and the bordering-on-extinct Qld Liberals. Which makes you wonder how important the Murray Darling is to the others. How come the Greens, Liberals and Fielding wimped on the so-called food-bowl of the nation. You wonder if any issue political parties raise is worth a glance.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Xenophon has executed one of the best political PR stunts ever. Shame the Liberals couldn’t notch that one under their belts - they badly need something out of this stimulating exercise.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Xenophon voted to return tomorrow. Once he and Fielding had made clear they supported trying again tomorrow, the Coalition said 'uncle' and they'll kick off at 9. Presumably the Government will be trying tonight to cobble together some more money for the MDB that doesn't involve a $6b hit to the budget in 2009-10 but is enough to move Xenophon. If they do, Xenophon will cave because he can hail himself saviour of the Murray-Darling.

Meantime the Greens negotiated a sensible set of quite large measures which will be lost in the reporting because of the size of the overall package.

Fielding appeared to get nothing but voted with it anyway.

By: sam from sunshine

sam from sunshine — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Just imagine the pressure that will be directed on either Xeno or Fielding if the legislation does not pass.

Most of this pressure will come from the Coalition as a Double Dissolution is not what they want to deal with right now. See the trends of likel;y voter support.

As for being a very short term senator, is it likely that either Xeno of Fielding will say NAY twice to this legislation and so force an election that would either sweep them from office or a position of having any ongoing relevance.

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

First to say, I have lodged 3 painfully complex tax returns as a sole trader (tax return, supplementary tax return, schedule of business and professional items, x 3) for 05-06, 06-07, and 070-08 partly out of shame but mainly on the intuition the income is so derisory there is no tax owing. And also partly to see if I will get some stimulus to pay for my moving costs as the landlord renovates my bolt hole to grasp more filthy lucre.

Secondy to say I like Bernard Keane adding instructive info items along the string as an update past the deadline for publishing. It’s both interesting and realistic of this wonderful intertubes duvalacky tool for modern living. Go the fifth estate.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Fielding will support the package, it seems, on the basis that it’s the lesser of two evils (the Gov’t position and the Coalition position).

By: Paul

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

“It’s hard to get excited about the unfolding drama of the Senate’s consideration of the stimulus package. Maybe it’s the bushfires, …. ” Perhaps it is hard to get excited when your expectations proved so wrong! X has has turned the pursuit of popular issues into a nice career.

By: David Sanderson

David Sanderson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Xenophon is going to really feel the blowtorch over the next 24 hours. Further concessions or not I expect he will vote yes when the bills are re-presented tomorrow.

By: David

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

Fielding caved in under the pressure, so much for his principals, weak kneed spineless idiot, definite mate of P Costello. Xenophone voted against, hope the Government include him in the barrage and Rudd gets stuck in. As for Turnbull, a double dissolution will just about see him off. They have only themselves to blame, the slide into oblivion of the Libs goes into another gear.

By: sam from sunshine

sam from sunshine — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

So nowwe move to phase 2.

Xeno has voted NAY.

How long will it be until the same legislation is presented to the Senate?

How will the Coalition deal with the possibility of a Double Dissolution in 2009 ?

How will Xeno confront a possible move to the Unemployed queue ?

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Nick and Steve are pissing me off big time. Let the Xenophobe stick to pokies legislation and Fielding to the stuff Catch the Fire ministries carry on about. The only trouble with a double dissolution is that no one will get anything for months.

BTW, Rudd is in a better position than Whitlam in 1974. While Rudd puts bushfire support in the orbit of the stimulus package, the Libs will lose seats, Feilding will join the dole queue he should always have been in, and even SA will feel that the Xenophobe has overstepped his mandate.

Still, the Gov. resubmitting the legislation may mollify those media tart cross-benches.

By: David

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

Update as at 2-45pm EDT… Xenophone has made it very clear that he will not support the package following Sen Sherry indicating the Govt will not give him the Murray/Darling amendment. There are quiet rumblings about a double dissolution down the track and it now appears if the Coalition want to save face they will encourage Xeno and the dumber and dumb Fielding to support the bills and allow them to proceed while they dont have to. Good ole Bobby Brown, he got most of what the Greens wanted and stuck it up the rest of them on the cross benches by thanking the Govt for their courtesy to him during discussions. Xenophone is acting like a spoilt brat, its now lose lose for him and Fielding. Wonder where the smiles are?

By: Mark Duffett

Mark Duffett — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

What are the Greens on about? Call me naive, but I would thought that a ‘Green’ party, faced with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to directly influence major public expenditure, would be looking for those funds to go towards similarly major environmental, renewable energy and public transport infrastructure projects. But no, topping their agenda is wealth redistribution towards lower income earners, with emergency assistance to the Murray estuary tacked on the end.

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that there’s more than a little truth to the ‘watermelon’ jibe, that the Greens remain the same old usual far-left fringe dweller suspects, cloaked under a green skin for more general palatability. On the face of it, Nick Xenophon has a greener agenda than the Greens.

By: Phill

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

The sooner this homophobic little geek isn’t leaching my taxes the better.

By: Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

@David
The 1974 Double Dissolution election reduced Gough Whitlam’s majority and the electorate refused to back him in 1975. I don’t think Kevin Rudd can risk doing the same. He might do better to unclench his fist.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Xenophon has just told the Senate he won’t support the package at this stage but remains open to further negotiations. Apparently it is critical that the package supports the MDB because it’s “our foodbowl”.

Plenty of time yet.

By: David sanderson

David sanderson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

The ABC is reporting that Xenophon may be the biggest potential obstacle. Senator Nick Sherry indicated that things are going nicely with Brown and that Fielding is likely to be bought off with small concessions towards his concerns. Xenophon’s Murray/Darling amendment however will be opposed and it appears that the government may be relying on Xenophon’s general disposition to support the package to get it through. Xenophon is hinting that he might yet block the package if he doesn’t get what he wants but he sounded very unconvincing. When it comes to the crunch my bet is that he will back it.