All the focus at Labor’s launch in Brisbane today was on new leadership – on Rudd himself, writes Christian Kerr.
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Mackerras: I tipped this
Kevin Rudd was elected as Leader of the Labor Party on Monday, 4 December 2006. For me that was a signal. I should stop prevaricating about the result of the general election due a year from then, an election likely to be held on the last Saturday of November or the first Saturday of December in 2007.
Bahnisch: Reading from the Karl Rove playbook
Maybe Australian journos don’t spend too much time following American politics. For reasons which are completely obscure, there was a bit of a “shock horror!” beat up about American pollsters advising the Labor Party, writes Mark Bahnisch.
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One last scare campaign with interest … doctors’ wives and North Sydney … The Oz and interest rates … Turnbull on gay super … Facebook whingers …
Bahnisch: The postmodern election
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Howardian culture wars, it’s that postmodernism is evil. Stick to the facts and memorise the dates, get the narrative straight. But this election campaign is nothing if not postmodern, writes Mark Bahnisch.
Comrie-Thomson: Doctors’ wives green by association
Keen Crikey psephologists may recall North Sydney being described as “troubled” early in the campaign. The story was that “leaked ALP polling” showed sitting member Joe Hockey being threatened. Not according to the bookies, writes Paul Comrie-Thomson.
MacCormack: Howard embraces “faith-based reality” on interest rates
The Bush Administration’s practice of ignoring what’s happening on Planet Earth in favour of a more convenient narrative is driving the Government’s handling of interest rate rises, writes David MacCormack.
Abjorensen: We fear big business more than unions
The ongoing government advertising campaign about the Labor Party’s union links is highly questionable as a political tactic and might even be backfiring, writes Norman Abjorensen.
Tips and rumours
An anonymous SMS tipster writes: A fight broke out amongst the technical crew after last night’s recording of The Chaser at the ABC’s Ultimo studios in Sydney. At least one person was sacked on the spot. Chaser executive producer Julian Morrow responds: We’re too busy fighting among ourselves to comment.
An anonymous SMS tipster writes: […]
Rates up and the rhetoric lines are drawn
We now have an interest rate rise. Barring something like a terrorist outrage, we now also have the parameters of debate for the remaining two weeks of the campaign – the final weeks when we will crystallise our choice.
It’s time for a change (PM Costello doesn’t count)
Marginal seat voters want a change, but a change to prime minister Peter Costello doesn’t count, polling by D&M Research has found. Worryingly for the Coalition, the mood for a change is stronger in their electorates, by 23 to 15%, writes Christian Kerr.
Sparrow: It should be a Greens election but it ain’t
It’s one of the bizarre ironies of this campaign: even as the issues they own become more and more mainstream, Bob Brown’s mob seems to be becoming more marginal, writes Jeff Sparrow.
MacCormack: Come back Peter Shack, all is forgiven
Not since Peter Shack courageously fronted the press in the 1990 election to declare that nope, the Coalition hadn’t got around to developing a health policy and, for that matter, their record in the whole area was none too flash, has the Coalition had such a shocker of a day in health, writes David MacCormack.
Fury on the Mersey: Nurses keen to avoid another fiasco
The Howard Government appears to have come unstuck in its indecent haste to make political capital the Mersey hospital, writes Nick Blake. Meanwhile, there’s been a hitch in Tony Abbot’ts plan to transfer 400 staff from state to Commonwealth employment, writes Ian McAuley.
Greens turn their back on a moralising Christ. Greens win
Another week, another bout of common sense from the Greens. This is becoming disturbing. The influential Australian Christian Lobby sent a list of 25 questions to political parties demanding to know their stance on various issues, and today garnered some publicity for the responses, writes David MacCormack.
Mungo: The Libs are all about the individual, ask Malcolm
As we all know, the Liberal Party is all about the individual. The idea is to maximise personal freedom at all times. It’s all nonsense, of course: but it’s what the Libs claim to believe. So why are they so annoyed with Malcolm Turnbull when he simply follows the logic and tries to take care of number one?
Kilgour: Howard and Costello don’t really like workers
The Crosby Textor obsession with union leaders in the front row of a future Rudd Cabinet is a joke. It’s desperate. It will barely pull a vote back. I hope Textor is not charging for that advice, writes Adam Kilgour.
Rundle: How the Coalition could win
With the most recent Newspoll putting Labor back at 58-42 2PP where they have been since Rudd became leader, everyone is writing the Coalition off. So let’s think of how they could win, writes Guy Rundle.
Tips and rumours
The Howard Government’s media methods are under fire … again! Last week Sydney Morning Herald Education Editor Anna Patty was covering the first Higher School Certificate exam when she discovered the Industrial Technology paper contained a question inviting discussion on “the impact of government legislation on employees”. When a student told her that he found […]
Richardson: Why Rudd didn’t support the GST
John Howard’s attacks on Kevin Rudd’s record as a backbencher were disingenuous because they ignored the way the Australian party system works, writes Charles Richardson.
CPI to fall: nice one John, nice one Peter
The government skated over a number of amazing figures in the mid-year economic and fiscal review, but none more amazing than the claim that inflation is going to fall this year, writes Michael Pascoe.
Abjorensen: Costello starts a dangerous game
So Peter Costello once again tries to demonise the unions… It might be even more instructive to look at Costello’s own side and their connections to the business elite, writes Norman Abjorensen.
Comitatus: Howard’s Catch 22
The great problem for political parties that find themselves in government is how to reconcile the interests of their core seats that make up the organisational lifeblood of the party, with their non-core seats that provide the governing majority. Possum Comitatus writes.
