Australians come to their senses – March 24th will be remembered as the day they collectively said “we’re tired of this sh**” Commenter “truthseeker” writes in comments:
============================================================
Anthony,
You may want to refer to Jo Nova’s latest post about the results of a state election down under.
Now for all of you nice people from the USA who may not think state elections are that big a deal if you do not live in that state, please remember that we only have 6 states and 2 territories, not 50 like you guys. We just had an election in Queensland, one of our most economically important states, especially for mineral wealth representing about a quarter of the population. Before the election the Labour (think Democrat) held a small majority in the 89 seat Lower House (House of Representatives).
With over 70% of the vote counted, the results are;
Liberal / National Party coalition (think Republicans – sort of) – 78 seats
Labour (think Democrat) – 7 seats
KAP (new party – think TEA party with less logic and more strangeness) – 2 seats
Independents – 2 seats.
A mini-van will have more seats than the previously incumbent Labour party in the new parliament.
I have one word for this … OUCH!
=============================================================
Jo Nova writes:
Those devastating Queensland Election Results: Voters hate lies and the Carbon Tax
UPDATE: Is this a record? Has there ever been a loss this bad in Australian history? Conservatives likely to win 74 seats of an 89 seat parliament.
Labor was reduced to only 11 seats in 1974, and on latest counting tonight appeared set to retain only nine seats. Some analysts put the figure even lower, at seven. This would mean Labor falling short of official party status and relying on the incoming LNP government to grant it party offices, staff and resources. The Queensland Greens failed to win a seat and suffered a fall in support. [The Australian]
This is thread for all those who want to comment on this election. According to Bolt, things are not just bad, they’re seriously awful for the Labor Party. Newspoll says LNP (conservatives) 55%, Labor 26%. Channel Nines polls says Labor could be left with less than 10 seats!
The ABC’s election predictor at 8:26 has LNP on 67 seats, Labor on four, others five, doubtful 15. Absolutely catastrophic for Labor. The current leader of the Labor Party in Queensland is Anna Bligh facing a 13% swing against her, and will need preferences just to stay in Parliament.
March 24, 2012, will be remembered as the day the electorate delivered a decisive, devastating blow to an incumbent Labor government. Courier Mail
For non-Australians, Australia has seven states (technically 5 states and 2 territories), and in 2007 all the States and the Federal Government were Labor. Currently Liberal (meaning conservative) governments have won NSW, WA, and Vic and now look like taking a landslide in Queensland. These are the four largest states.
===================================================================
Andrew Bolt has this update:
Queensland election – and why it spells death to Gillard
Andrew Bolt March 24 2012 (5:52pm)
Here is the bottom line from the rout of Labor in today’s Queensland election – the line that spells doom for Julia Gillard, too.
Premier Anna Bligh, 2008:
I will not kick (Queensland households) when they are down and I will not abolish the petrol subsidy.
Three months after the 2009 election:
THE Bligh government will scrap its 8.35 cent per litre fuel subsidy and hold a multi-billion dollar fire sale of State-owned assets to offset a plunge in revenues during the global financial crisis.
And that was already that, as the next Galaxy poll showed, two months later:
There has been a dramatic swing to the Opposition, with a 59-41 lead on a two-party-preferred basis – a 10 point swing from the March 21 state election… And Ms Bligh’s popularity rating has hit an all-time low for a Queensland premier at 33 per cent.
Remind you of anyone?:
Anna Bligh broke a pre-election promise, and hiked up people’s bills. She immediately lost the public’s trust and never regained it, although got a brief sugar hit during the 2011 floods.
Julia Gillard broke a pre-election promise, and is already hiking up people’s bills. She immediately lost the public’s trust and never regained it.
The analogy still not close enough?
Sky News exit polls show voters were most concerned about the Cost of Living (69 per cent), followed by Delivery of State Services (63 per cent), Carbon Tax (44 per cent)
How do you think Gillard will do in Queensland next year?
The clock on Gillard’s political career is now ticking…
HOLY CRAP-POLA!
We’ve seen this BEFORE, where Aussieland and England PRECEED the USA in what happens politically.
Hum, can we say a clean haired, Olympian in the WH? And there being a lot of KEY-STONEs laid for recovery? YEAAAAAA!
Max
A question for those in Australia: to what extent did dissatisfaction with climate/energy policy play a role in the defeat? Were there other major economic issues or was energy/environment the battle-ground issue?
Sing tiraloo, sing tiralay,
Labor power is far away.
Thank God Australians are waking up from their zombi like state. It’s amazing what government caused price increases and bully boy tactics will do, even the most ardent Labor/ALP/Socialist supporters are getting royally P***ed off. Enough of them pop their heads out of the sand to say that’s it mate your gone!
I think breaking promises (public promises) made solemnly during the election must have been a large factor. Unpopularity of the federal government (prop: J. Gillard) helped as well. Carbon taxes maybe. Extra taxes on mining (a Robin Hood tax that will surely backfire).
The other factor was the extraordinarily negative campaigning by Anna Bligh and the Queensland Labour Party. What were they thinking?
Andrew, in one of those strange twists of history, they actually spell it the Labor party in Australia (and it has to do with an American-born former prime minister or some such.)
Not only did Gillard break a direct promise, but she proves herself to be a ruthless ideologue that will stop at absolutely nothing to put her political agenda into practice. By all appearance, I believe she enjoys causing harm to others.
We are similarly burdened here in the USA.
I’m heartened. We more retiring types always admired Aussie take-no-guff orneriness and edgy willfulness. I bumped into quite a few naughty downunder sprites in Europe during the 60s hitchhiker invasion. Crocodile Dundee (a bit of Scottish orneriness also in his genes) was a hit because we all believed the character. I had despaired at how well you all were behaving yourselves these last few decades. Give ’em, er, heck!
Tea Party isn’t that strange. Where did you get that idea from? It’s more about personal responsibility and demand accountable from federal gov’t (smaller gov’t, cut wasteful spending, less corruption). You may want to take another look at U.S. Constitution… That’s what we demand that they follow the rules and leave us alone (we the people)… We have much more common sense, that’s for sure.
More from the “I was a sleeping giant, now I’m awake” front:
India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU’s trade partners.
The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from January 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that “the imposition of carbon tax does not arise” because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data.
“Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” he said.
India’s resolution to boycott the scheme follows China’s decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive.
The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change.
There’s only one appropriate response (especially considering where OZ is):
conservatives don’t poll….
….they hang up
What are the chances that when James Cameron gets to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and looks out the porthole he will see Julia G’s reelection chances?
bubbagyro says:
March 24, 2012 at 10:47 am
More from the “I was a sleeping giant, now I’m awake” front:
India has barred its airlines from complying with the European Union carbon tax scheme, joining China in resistance to plans that have caused a backlash among the EU’s trade partners.
The European Union imposed a carbon levy on air travel with effect from January 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told parliament on Thursday that “the imposition of carbon tax does not arise” because Indian airlines would simply refuse to hand over their emissions data.
“Though the European Union has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government,” he said.
India’s resolution to boycott the scheme follows China’s decision last month to prevent its airlines from complying with the EU directive.
The two Asian giants have attacked the EU scheme, calling it a unilateral trade levy disguised as an attempt to fight climate change.
China is doing more than boycotting the scheme, it has put any orders for new Airbus aircraft on hold:
“GENEVA (AP) — The head of Airbus says up to 2,000 jobs are at risk because Chinese airlines have frozen orders for 55 jets worth $14 billion in protest at the European Union’s emissions trading plan.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders says the move jeapordizes 1,000 jobs at the company in Europe and another 1,000 in its supply chain. Enders spoke Thursday at an airline industry meeting in Geneva.
The EU introduced the trading system at the start of the year as part of European efforts to reduce global warming. Airlines flying to or from Europe must obtain certificates for carbon dioxide emissions. The United States, China, Russia, India and many other countries are opposed and say the bloc cannot impose taxes on flights outside its own airspace.”
http://news.yahoo.com/airbus-2-000-jobs-risk-over-china-order-152350748.html
and
““Aircraft sales are different from selling wine or cars, you can’t switch the sales button from off to on from one day to another. A red traffic light in aircraft sales can destroy years of sales efforts and damage-repair will take years,” said Rainer Ohler, head of Airbus public affairs and communications.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/03/china-halts-10-more-airbus-orders-trade.html
The Brussels European Commission bureaucrats are hoping to put pressure on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) a UN Agency, to put in place a global emissions trading scheme for aircraft operators. It would appear to have backfired but they cannot afford to lose face and back down. Airbus cannot afford the argument.
What are the odds that when James Cameron gets to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and looks out the porthole he’ll see Julia G’s reelection chances?
And this is how climate change regulations will be implemented in NSW (the Australian state south of Queensland)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/fighting-on-the-beaches-as-council-orders-retreat-from-climate-change-threat/story-e6frg6nf-1226308725029
Nerd says:
March 24, 2012 at 10:39 am
Well said, Nerd. Sooooo many people have the wrong idea about what the Tea Party is all about. The majority of people I have talked to about it think they are a bunch of whacko loners, militia types, and racist and/or anti-government types. It stems from the coverage from most of the MSM in this country. They find a couple people at a Tea Party rally who fit that whacko label and interview them exclusively to misrepresent the ideology of the movement to America. Much like the entire GoreBullWarming movement, once rational, critically thinking people look into it they realize what each side is really about.
The climate is a changin’ in more ways than one. Let us all hope we are soon out of this co2 (funding scam / tax) insanity.
This is not the first mutiny against a member of the family Bligh in or near the Antipodes. The first caused the loss of the Bounty and this one seems to be due to the loss of bounty. Good on yer mates. Now sink the lifeboat.
Great news — let’s hope this is the start of some major shakeups of the pompous, complacent “watermelon” elites worldwide!
Beautiful! Especially fine for Australia which has (until recently) suffered from the Greenest of all the Green tyrannies in the English-speaking world.
But it doesn’t predict anything about future US results. Our two “parties” have rigged the system so nothing can change. Remember what happened the last time R owned all the branches from 2002 through 2007? Nothing. It was exactly the same as having Teddy Kennedy as absolute emperor.
Richard Sharpe says on March 24, 2012 at 10:34 am
Hmmmm, make that “Anthony, in one of those …”
REPLY: Just going with the commenter’s spelling…I figured he’d know better than I being a resident of Oz – Anthony
Nerd: I agree with you the Tea Party isn’t strange. I am not sure the author of this post does either. He says KAP is stranger than the Tea Party and less logical. Personally I think most political movements are stranger and far less logical than the Tea Party.
Until yesterday Obama considered Australia to be one of America’s strongest allies and thought it really punched above it’s weight.
Traveling in a fried-out combie
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
Surprisingly appropriate.
Thats not a minivan! This is a minivan!
http://www.ssplprints.com/image/83137/exton-david-morris-minivan-1961
To the voters in the USA – WE can do the same thing this November. Tired of paying for billions for Climate Ca$h, Green Fails (e.g. Solyndra), unaccountable Green Climate Funds, and draconian EPA regulations? VOTE!!
BTW – voting means voting in people who will restore fiscal and regulatory sanity from the local levels (Mayor, State Rep) up to the President. In fact, your state representatives are arguably more important than the congressional representatives and senators.
Does this mean Australia got ‘kochblocked’? Clearly their reach is limitless. When not making paper cups and cardboard boxes, the world kneels before Wichita.
On a side note, I see “6 states and 2 territories” as well as “5 states and 2 territories” up top….off to figure it out myself. I hope the excitement you all exude as residents of Australia converts into good governance; rather than 2 bad options over here.
There is a great tsunami of ruin about to rush over the entire planet purging it of the greatest scam in human history.
Exciting times while watching the human race cure one of the worst viruses ever.
Even here in Oregon an uprising is boiling up to end this travesty.
Inevitably can be felt everywhere.
Its only a question of time before Gillard is dumped by her party in an attempt to save themselves.
The surfers’ van in the photo is far too functional to be Labour.
I think Compo’s Commer would be about right:
http://www.steamin.in/RDC/Mildenhall120507.htm
Hey, Labor !
How’s that….”Benenovolent Dictator”….thing working for you ?
Don’t get too excited! Looking at the Australian Liberal party’s website they are full of the same climate change bull and solar for 1 million homes rubbish as every other political party.
Vote UKIP (or Tea Party).
Oh, and more Slayers articles please?
I’ll just reiterate the congratulations to all Queenslanders proffered earlier on Jo’s blog, and good wishes to the Australians on their future day of national liberation.
Sadly, this leaves the UK as the only major country in the English-speaking world without a clear electoral choice on AGW,etc. Please send help – we will soon be needing portable generators and pre-cooked food.
I have known many aussies and worked with them. There was never any doubt in my mind that 3rd generation and before aussie would react. Earlier generations have a concentration of whinging [SNIP: let’s not do that or go there, OK? -REP]
Well done the aussies.
Tie me Labouroo down sport.
Bye bye carbon tax nutcases.
Sounds encouraging.
I await further updates with bated breath.
Given that it’s about getting off the road to serfdom, the Tea Party probably isn’t ‘strange’ enough.
It’s true, and remarkably incomprehensible that, while the Tea Party followers are being misrepresented and falsely vilified in the Main Stream Media, the (Occupy) Trash Wall Street group of thugs are being held in High Regard by the same MSM. What they don’t seem to realize is that, while they are referring to themselves as the 99%, those poor unfortunates that can’t even afford to wipe their backsides without Government subsidies (redistribution of wealth) or “Pulling a Robin Hood scam”, World wide they are the 10% that everyone else will look to take from for the world wide redistribution schemes.
I guess what Dr Savage says is true…”Liberalism IS a Mental Disorder”
Good on yer, mates – that’s a fair dinkum walloping. The party with no members will soon be in the outback drinking in the “pub with no beer”!
Hurray for the Australians! I hope some of that sanity spreads to the U.S. next November.
I don’t find the Tea Party strange at all. What I do find strange is the notion that someone who believes in personal responsibility, that government follow the Constitution and operate in a fiscally responsible manner is an extreme right winger….. and that some political leaders can say that in public without fear of losing their job.
Max Hugoson: “We’ve seen this BEFORE, where Aussieland and England PRECEED the USA…”
Man the greenshirts have a stranglehold in Britain. We’ve been hoping that Global Warmery will be rejected by the colonies first, allowing us to catch up with that new zeitgeist. If the AGW scare collapses first in Australia or America or Timbuktu first… well it’s all good news!
New South Wales had a similar result not so very long ago. The Labor party lost seats it had held for 60 years. That’s two states down.
Three cheers for all my Aussie friends, let’s hope that we can to the same in this country in November.
Congratulations! This is the way to do it.
Hope this will be a leading example for the rest of your country and for other countries as well.
Keep on fighting! Victory is near!
Ten seats for Labor might be overly optimistic; they may well end up with only seven. Cairns was won by the LNP after returning a Labor member for 100 years. Even porn site owner Mark Boothman has won the seat of Gold Coast. Interesting times…
Labour is one of three major parties in Australia. The National Party died out in the 80’s but often makes a coalition with Liberal in order to gain power.
What I’m saying is; there are lot of life time supporters of the Labour Party. To understand a result like this, you’ve got to understand a lot of life time supporters of Labour have voted elsewhere. I’ve always been a swinging voter, but after the last 10 years of Labour, I’m so furious with their brainless tactics I’ve sworn never to vote Labour again. I hate them with such fury.
The message to President Obama is clear. Ditch all your silly global warming programmes , stop subsidising useless carbon reduction programmes. kick the nation – ruining Green fanatics out of your policy making and get back to running a country with common sense, for the financial benefit of the people rather than burdening them with more and more costs in the ridiculous endeavour to combat non – existant global warming. Ignore all the false scaremongering ‘science’ being put out by those who stand to gain most from promoting the scare. Get back to reality in governing your country and you will stand a chance at getting re elected. Without that policy change, you will be as dead as the Australian Labour Party will be at the next election.
Where is the box when I’m voting that says- None Of The Above- . What choice do I have ? A party (Labor) that wants to tax the atmosphere or Liberal/National Party who want to remove penalty rates -(again) and drive normal Australian’s into serf like conditions (again ) . I vote none of these tools on offer .
GREAT NEWS!
For Auss goings on. I keep a sharp eye on Simon’s – Australian Climate Madness Blog it’s great for the Climate issue and the Politics, especially this excellent news. The fruit and nutters are going down one by one , with their policy’s they alienated the people, they might as well have slit the own throat’s:
Australian Climate Madness
Queensland votes: landslide for LNP
Saturday, 24 March 2012 21:51 pm
by Simon
A referendum on the popularity of the carbon tax, perhaps? Watch out Julia, you’re next!
ANNA Bligh has conceded defeat after a blood bath for Labor at the Queensland election.
“It’s clear tonight that the people of Queensland have spoken with the strongest possible voice and they have voted for a change of government,” she said.
Ms Blight congratulated the Liberal National Party and leader Campbell Newman on what she called an historic victory…………………………………………
http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/
Careful
This result speaks about how ‘Fed Up’ the people of Queensland and likely Australia are with the incumbent politicians. The reality is they have replaced one group of party appointed flunkies with another. The only difference being the landslide against the Labor Party was of such a magnitude that token members from outside the closed party fraternity have won seats. The effect is the Arts Law / Spin merchants that inhabit the paid political elite of Australia have been joined by somne real people who will hopefully represnt the voters who elected them
nimbunje said @ March 24, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Just use the pencil provided to draw a box and write “none of the above” next to it like I did in the last federal election.
Unfortunately here in the UK, we do not seem to have a choice. All the three major parties, Labour, Liberal Labour and Conservative Labour, give us the same policies.
Down here we are cheering.. and waiting with cricket bats at the ready for the next federal election.. and hoping not too much more damage is done in the interim.
The chief of lies and deceit, Gillard, is going down big time !!!!!!
Oh and its 6 states (not 5), and 2 main territories (plus several very small ones, or ones with very small populations.. Australian Antarctic Territory is not small)
Sadly this will never happen in Norway.
The socialists manage the greatest art of all con-jobs;
To talk “green”, and finance socialism with oil and gas money simultaneously.
A strange, upside-down world, totally disconnected with the rest of the world, thanks to total socialist control of the media.
The Australian prime minister Julia Gillard is a screaming lefty a “wardrobe watermelon”. She lied about the carbon tax. She lies all the time, it is normal for her and her party to lie. They think that the Australian people are stupid and that the government need to think for them; sound familiar? Yes this is about the carbon tax, and taxes on energy, yes this is all about the crap surrounding CAGW. Gillard and her party are FINISHED for the next twenty years. Hurrah! Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life. Lets us all hope that the same thing happens in the USA. I think it will be so; as people have had enough of Obama and his lies as well.
And in other government news, the California Legislature tucks tail between its quivering hind legs and runs away from a debate with Lord Monckton.
From Andrew Bolt’s blog
“Labor has gone from 51 seats in Queensland to just seven or eight, leaving it without an automatic entitlement to party status and the extra staff that brings. What a disaster.
The Greens vote fell from 8.4 per cent last time to 7.4 per cent. Good.”
Good? Bleedin’ marvellous I’d say. ☺
Jonathan,
From your lips to God’s ears.
mpaul,
The comments given leaving the election box were, time for a change,cost of living(driven up by green scams) and the carbon tax, the false smears ( which is related to the first because they have nothing left to say)
The green vote dropped and they did not win one seat.
It was one of the dirtiest elections ever with Labor(the left) claiming the LNP leader(right) was corrupt. When finally pressed, Labor admitted they had no evidence. The corruption committee (CMC) not only said the leader( they had 3 times cleared previously of false allegations by Labor) was clean but there was nothing to investigate. Because his wife’s company held a share in a building that was leased by a firm of accountant, Labor tried to say there was corruption because one of the accountant’s clients had donated to Newman’s run for office as a Mayor. It was laughed out of the CMC and throughout the electorate. It backfired hugely.
The logic is there must be corruption so lets make some vicious smears and see if any sticks. It is so similar to the CAGW campaign, it is not funny. Labor will not apologise.
The Katter Party is a mix of left and right. It is fiercely independent. It takes no guff from journalists. The founder of the party started out conservative but he has seen his electorate stripped of industry rural and manufacturing for decades under both left and right governments. Their facilities are and infrastructure spending are meagre as opposed to the production of the electorate. While they cannot abide the greens, they are natural environmentalists and they also back ethanol fuels.
The Queensland Greens failed to win a seat and suffered a fall in support…… THIS IS THE ALL IMPORTAIN LINE that every Australian needs to take some solace from…. Julia is on her way to the grave yard , we all know that…. but now we have proof positive that those funny coloured green/reds its will join her…. assured. Watermelons are serioulsy over ripe and out of fashion! They are headed to the compost here where they shall fester properly and die!
the wheels on the bus go off off off….. now lets do the same in Tasmania!
George Lawson says:
March 24, 2012 at 1:13 pm
“The message to President Obama is clear…”
There’s your paradox. How can one “get a message” when they have no clue?
We Yanks wait with pitchforks and torches. Maybe cricket bats are a safer alternative. Harder to poke your neighbor’s eye out with those.
Best news i have heard in awhile.
Congrats to our freedom loving Aussie friends.
I can only wish for such a staggering defeat for the commie democrats here in the states, but at least we should get a majority in both houses and the white house. Then we can start to try and fix some of the damage thats been done here.
JustMEinT Musings says:
March 24, 2012 at 2:13 pm
The Queensland Greens failed to win a seat and suffered a fall in support……
The Greens will always be a nuisance until we can solve all mental health problems. But they went into this election expecting to (or at least saying they could) pick up a seat. They believed that many would welcome a carbon tax, and that would increase their vote. Labor may have expected any “true blue” voters to switch to the Greens and they would get their preference vote.
It didn’t happen that way.
Locally, a long way from Queensland I have noticed a big swing in attitudes locally. People I either know, or think of as life time Labor voters are quite outspoken against them. It doesn’t indicate any great love for the opposition either. People are just sick of large government, taxes and interference with their lives.
One little thing that others haven’t picked up on, is the underestimating of the NLP vote by the MSM all through the election. I think some of the ABC talking heads would have liked to float a kite about a possible hung parliament, but even in the ABC some echo of the real world must have intruded. (Note to those overseas; One ABC presenter on TV hailed an increased Labor vote in a past election as a “swing to the ABC”. Those claiming the ABC is biased may not be wrong).
mpaul says:
March 24, 2012 at 10:23 am
A question for those in Australia: to what extent did dissatisfaction with climate/energy policy play a role in the defeat? Were there other major economic issues or was energy/environment the battle-ground issue?
——————
Climate/energy policy probably paid some part, but there is also the fact that labor governments (vaguely dem in us-speak) have been in power for some time. People get bored and there is an accumulation of policy mistakes that annoy people. The liberal party had the same problem in the past when they were in power and that’s why labor is in now. It’s just part of the political cycle.
I also have a theory that labor have put in female leaders and historically they have a poor acceptance rate. Humans being monkeys and all , the alpha male syndrome probably has some influence on people’s thinking.
I dislike Julia Gillard and am looking forward to voting out the lying [SNIP: Uhh.. we really can do better. Let’s not be TOO offensive? -REP] at the next federal election but the QLD result was purely because of truly abysmal government performance on state level issues and little to do with climate.
I think Gillard is still staring down the barrel of a resounding defeat and not a moment too soon but don’t read too much in to the federal situation from a state election that was mostly decided on state issues.
We saw the first rout in the state of NSW and now Queensland…reduced to a rump.
The CO2 tax is a disaster for Labor from which they may never recover. The conservative Coalitions intend to build infrastructure and grow Australia’s population.
awww. will she cry all the way to the bank, then?
whoever got the money won, ozzie friend.
you have to learn to keep proper score – you’re losing the farm.
but hey- you can always play triumphal victor if it hides your shame.
whatever you do – don’t stop playing at that casino – just choose new croupiers.
is it worth so much to have somebody else to blame?
To put it simply Andrew Bolt, is trying to confuse and befuddle his readers with hot air, on this issue, for he clearly forgets certain salient aspects about the complete difference between State and Federal Politics and about who and whom controls all the money purse strings.
Rarely, if ever in the vast rural and mining intensive conservative state called Queensland, have the so called greenies or environmentalists, wielded any degree of influence or power in the entire state’s political post Federation or colonial history, dating back to foundation in 1859.
You do also realize, in Queensland, the previous Labor Government of Anna Bligh, had embarked on an ambitious major capital upgrade program for improving state infrastructure for the coal mining and gas fracking industries, all using tax payer and borrowed funds. This also included building a brand new port and facilities at Gladstone, to handle the export of coal seam gas in liquid form overseas. In addition, very little restraint was placed on the expansion of coal mines or the gas fracking industries, apart from rubber stamping a simplistic environmental impact papers. All these new project papers, are directly funded by and written in full support of the actual mining or gas company involved in the new project.
One could say the former conservative Labor Government of Queensland controlled by Anna Bligh, was very pro mining and primary industry all the way and had little concept of that which is environmentally sustainable or being green.
To put it simply, down under in Australia, “State Politics, is not and never been the same as “Federal Politics”, since 1901, they exist for two different reasons and operate independently of each other. I believe in the United States of America, a similar parallel exists.
Alas, down under in Oz, it is a fatal mistake to confuse State Politics, with Federal Politics. As they are two completely different animals traveling in two different directions at the same time, for obvious reasons. An example of similar convoluted politics in the US, is the past eight years under Arnold Schwartzenegger’s “Green is Clean” Republicans style in California and his complete polar opposite in the same party Rick Perry, in Texas.
Three cheers! No olive branches, no condolences to the liberals…drive them back under the rocks!!!!
That is what I would call a thrashing. Labour must be catatonic. Then out will come the knives. Great fun to watch. Is there any way this can be spun as less than a categorical rejection of the carbonistas’ agenda? Will other countries’ leaders fail to note, although they will try to avoid admitting it?
Australia actually has three mainland territories, not two as commonly thought. Jervis Bay is the third.
I read on one of the news articles, the only reason Greens had any seats at all was Labor preference votes. Now that Labor died so horribly, the Greens died with them because of lack of preference.
Shows you just how many votes Greens were getting in the first place. None.
What a lot of US readers don’t realise is that voting in Australia is not voluntary like you have but is compulsory for all citizens who have attained 18 years of age before the date of the election, not in jail for longer than 12 months, not insane or overseas. Failure to vote will result in a fine and or a jail sentence.
No need to spend billions trying to woo voters to actually turn up. But, piss off enough peole and you get the reaction my fellow Queenslanders have handed to Labor. I was an dyed in the wool, family Labor supporter but I can no longer stomach the federal and state policies that have basically ruined my state and country. If anyone thinks that this result isn’t a clear and present warning to the Prime Minister then they have are dreaming. The Greens failed to gain anymore than 2.9% of the vote and no seats.
Congrats Oz – I sincerely believe you have the best country in the world – like Canada, but with warmer weather. I was worried about your future under the Gillard dictatorship, but am now heartened by this welcome election news. If I were younger, I’d move there in a heartbeat.
A common problem of Oz and Canada is the significant influence of miserable old British leftists in our new societies. These embittered socialists emigrate to our shores, burdened with excess baggage from the class-riddled United Kingdom, and spread their socialist venom like rancid Devonshire cream.
These British malcontents also formed the core of our radical leftist labour movements, and pollute our societies by trying to engender class warfare where none should exist. We should, by now, have the confidence to simply ignore these whiners and continue to build the best countries in the world.
________________________
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/03/15/aussie-government-proposes-unlimited-speech-regulation-names-climate-skeptics-and-labor-critics-as-targets/#more-59235
Visited Oz in 2005 – what a great country!
Really nice people, great climate, beautiful vistas.
Cairns, the Tully River and the Great Barrier Reef – outstanding!
Oz has a proud history and a great future – IF you don’t let the watermelons drag you down into the mire.
69 % of exit poll voters stated cost of living increases as their major voting reason.
Qld’s electricity prices have increased from one of the world’s cheapest 10 years ago to among the world’s most expensive today. The reasons for this are three fold:-
1. Transmission upgrades – electricity was state owned and run – in a small population with limited economy this was necessary. Transmission upgrading fell behind increased demand fuelled by growth in population as coal mining boom took off early 2000’s.
Also Queensland has Fedaral and State sponsored “clean energy” schemes where those rich enough can get huge subsidies plus a feed in tariff for solar power installations while the poorer and most in need citizens get the increased bills – clearly people are not as stupid as politicians think.
2. Privitisation of energy retailing – a useless attempt to inject “competition” while the generation capacity remains state owned. Also the government sold off the state owned railways retaining the commuter network – ie sold off the profitable coal haulage and kept the loss making commuter network.
3. 44 % of exit poll respondents directly cited the Federal Labor government’s “carbon tax” as the reason for voting against the State Labor government.
So approximately 69 % cited negative economic impacts as their reason BUT a significant component is also TRUST.
The Queensland Premier promised not to abolish a petrol subsidy before the 2009 election but did so immediately afterwards. She never recovered her previous high public confidence.
Our Prime Minister promised no carbon tax before the last election yet introduced one less than six months later. She never recovered her previous high public confidence.
If anyone is stupid enough to think yesterday wasn’t a vote on the carbon tax and clean energy they are delusional. If anyone thinks the multitude who voted against the State Labor government will vote FOR the Federal Labor government next year they are delusional.
Betrayal of trust and ignoring economic hurt inflicted by intentional government policy lead to the biggest electoral defeat of a government in Australia’s history – it clearly showed you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Can the US reject the same political double speak – I’m waiting to see.
PS – I have been a lifelong Labor supporter – they used to represent the ordinary people and were responsible for a majority of the good Australian governments initiated BUT they became hijacked by a “green” agenda and listened to the spin of endless drought and squandered public money on a useless agenda whilst allowing services to decline.
Now after 3 years of wet weather and floods any wonder they have shut up about “clean” energy and climate change.
So, yes I think environmental issues had a huge impact – the Greens lost a lot of ground when they were predicting they would win their first seat – they didn’t.
George Lawson says:
March 24, 2012 at 1:13 pm
The message to President Obama is clear.
=======================================
Not at all George…….That’s how we got republicans in Congress…democrats didn’t get the message
From the Aussie “The Punch”
A key reason Bligh is so powerfully on the nose is her announcement after the 2009 election of a decision to sell off $15 billion worth of state assets.
Nothing had been said about this in the campaign. Voters viewed it as a breach of trust – in effect, a broken promise. And they have never forgiven her.
Queenslanders made up their minds about Bligh back then. As a result, they paid little heed to her messages in this campaign.
In the final days, Newman was still asking why she had lied about privatisation and calling on her to apologise.
The parallel with Gillard’s broken “no carbon tax” promise is inescapable. Bligh’s breach of faith was less blatant than the prime minister’s, but she paid a heavy price.
The overwhelming likelihood is that Gillard will, too. The looming Labor massacre in Queensland shows that voters have long memories.
http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-labor-brand-is-damaged-and-so-is-the-product/
TomT says:
March 24, 2012 at 11:28 am
Nerd: I agree with you the Tea Party isn’t strange. I am not sure the author of this post does either. He says KAP is stranger than the Tea Party and less logical. Personally I think most political movements are stranger and far less logical than the Tea Party.
________________________
Being the curious type who does not trust the MSM, I looked into where the Tea Party “reputation” came from. (I am not a member)
I tracked it down to the Blair-Rockefeller poll
The Report title is Tea Party Distinguished by Racial Views and Fear of the Future”
How ever when you dig into the questions especially the conclusion, “Race Consciousness and Divergent Views about Equality are Characteristic of Tea Party”” you find most of the questions start: ““Do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that…” Therefore all the results are confounded with Tea Party views of the proper role of the federal government (SMALL). Therefore no conclusions can be drawn except that the questions were specifically tailored to make sure Tea Party members look racist when the results were intentionally misinterpreted.
Other results were:
Tea party members are “political sophisticated” The poll found The “majority (65.3%) of Tea Party members have some college training, with 27.5 % having earned a Bachelor’s Degree or higher… Nearly half of Tea Party members (49.9%) are middle class, with an annual household income of 40 to 100K… two-thirds (63.2%) of Tea Party members are over the age of 45.”
In other words these people are not dumb and have been around the block a couple of times. So then we come to the report that Tea Party members have a pessimistic view of the future. This is only based on their predictions for one year. The questions were asked in 2010 after the election. “…36.9% of Tea Party members think their personal situations will get worse or much worse … Specifically 39.2% of Tea Party Member believe their own personal financial situation will be worse in a year… And 62.1% of Tea Party members think the country will get worse or much worse in the next year…”
Considering that year is now up and the unemployment rate is still around 23%…
And then considering this article from June 20, 2011,
ERRRrrr, Ms Maxwell, I do not consider the Tea Party view “pessimistic” I consider the view realistic.
So for those Aussies who think a similar group is “Weird” check them out and make your own judgement because the MSM LIES! And not only does the MSM lie they are the propaganda arm of the Regulating Class
Ian W says:
March 24, 2012 at 11:04 am
//////////////////////////////
AND
Boeing are loving it.
What a whammy for the EU.
Many of us here are hoping this conservative election victory in Queensland marks the beginning of the end for our incompetent LaborGreen minority federal government.
Presumably we will now see frenzied efforts by the Gillard/Brown regime to implement their media and internet political censorship laws. Not content with an already a left leaning MSM, they want a 100% ban on contrary political/scientific views.
Roll on 30 November 2013 election, hopefully sooner!
Jimbo says:
March 24, 2012 at 11:10 am
/////////////////////////////////////
How can you say that?
According to tye latest UEA/Met Office revisions, they now claim that the globe is warming faster than ever. Have you not heard? Are you not concerned? Are you not with the message?
It is all part of Labor’s commitment to the environment, now they can car pool.
simonw says:
March 24, 2012 at 12:02 pm
The surfers’ van in the photo is far too functional to be Labour.
I think Compo’s Commer would be about right:
http://www.steamin.in/RDC/Mildenhall120507.htm
______________________________________
NAH…
That does not capture the real spirit of the green liberals like this photo does: http://olive-drab.com/images/army-horses-mules_ww2_03_700.jpg
There’s a problem- Tony Abbott is the alternative.
If Australians were discerning enough , they’d look to the micro parties like LDP or DLP -anyone but the two majors. Our politics presents the same issue as American democracy; the centre left/centre right political factions are just two wings of the status-quo.
Labor will be booted out because of their idiotic handling of the country, their own capriciousness and the carbon tax -and deservedly so, but we’re talking greater of two evils here guys.
The Greens vote rose in the last state election (2009) to 8.4% as first preference, then doubled to greater than 10% in the federal election (2010) and 12.77% in the same election for the senate for the state. Instead this election looks to see the Greens vote to fall well below 8% even though they contested all 89 seats. Meanwhile Katter’s Australia Party only contested 76 seats and picked up nearly 12% of the first preferences.
Mainstream media in Australia had in many cases the Greens polling higher than KAP (9% – 8%). The KAP put a stronger platform forward on no Coal Seam Gas extraction than the Greens, though their highest profile candidate did not win his seat they still won two seats overall. Come senate time in the federal it will be interesting if the greens will continue to lose votes and whether KAP can pick up a senate spot….
Anthony,
Thank you for highlighting my post. I did get the spelling of “Labour” wrong (it was about 2am in the morning here when I made the post) and so if you want to change it, please go ahead.
The fact that the Greens did worse and that Labor was destroyed was all about the betrayal of trust. We do not trust our politicians that much generally, but to get betrayed so many times, to such an extent and for it to have such an economic impact is where this result came from. The Carbon Tax is a multi-facetted and multi-layered betrayal, so it was a huge part of this.
To get this in perspective, there has not been an election rout like this for over 100 years. It may be 100 years before we get the next one.
cui bono says:
March 24, 2012 at 12:14 pm
….Sadly, this leaves the UK as the only major country in the English-speaking world without a clear electoral choice….
_____________________________________
I am not sure the USA has a clear choice either.
I voted for a republican senator after calling and asking his stand on a few bills coming up for vote that I was very opposed to. After the election he voted FOR the bills he said he was against. When I called after the election I was told not to worry modifications were made and that is why he voted for instead of against. (Insert eye roll) If there is a USA and an election in four years I will be out beating the bushes for a candidate to run against that lying syphilitic son of a camel. Actually I have already been campaigning against him for over a year.
There was a range of issues that brought labour to its knees in Queensland. Carbon would be one, however the Labour leader also broke an election promise, introduced legislation that denied first people access to their own lands for spurious environmental reasons, presided over the Flooding of Brisbane and generally were incompetent. A competent government would still have lost, but not by this scale. As one commentator put it “the people just stopped listening”. Would they have lost on Carbon alone? Carbon is a National issue but Queensland is a major exporter of coal. The fact that the Greens lost support as well probably gives you the answer. In Australia The Federal Labour Party is only in Power because it gained the support of the Greens, but in Queensland the Greens are a bit player. They can only have lost support there because of their perceived role in the Federal Government. So the answer is that Quuensland Labour lost significant support due to Federal Environmental policies including Carbon.
crosspatch says:
March 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Down here we are cheering.. and waiting with cricket bats at the ready for the next federal election
We Yanks wait with pitchforks and torches. Maybe cricket bats are a safer alternative. Harder to poke your neighbor’s eye out with those.
_______________________
Some of us Tarheels are waiting with the tar and feathers. I figure humiliation works a lot better and you do not get a sympathy backlash…. Oh would I love to tar and feather the turkeys in the District of Criminals…
I hope Cameron and his Lib dhimm axis are watching this carbon taxing loony controlling government having their nuptials removed and wondering about their own chances of ‘reproduction’.
I rejoice for Australia and my Aussie mates, it is splendid news indeed.
“It’s just part of the political cycle”
An unprecedented historical wipe out is not part of any sort of political cycle. It’s equivalent to the Democrats in the US acquiring minor party status after the next election.
Energy policy and anger with the federal government’s new taxes played it’s part, but a major factor seems to have been back flips on election promises and sales of state assets to make up for fiscal incompetence. Similar things happen in other countries, i.e., “read my lips”.
Sam Geoghegan says:
March 24, 2012 at 4:58 pm
There’s a problem- Tony Abbott is the alternative.
If Australians were discerning enough , they’d look to the micro parties like LDP or DLP -anyone but the two majors. Our politics presents the same issue as American democracy; the centre left/centre right political factions are just two wings of the status-quo.
Labor will be booted out because of their idiotic handling of the country, their own capriciousness and the carbon tax -and deservedly so, but we’re talking greater of two evils here guys.
___________________________
The very reason I have always been an Independent. I just wish we had something decent to vote FOR.
This landslide down under gives me hope people are starting to wake up and demand an accounting from their politicians instead of letting the party “Bosses” rule.
Disappointed to see in the article that the TEA Party-types were labeled as
“KAP (new party – think TEA party with less logic and more strangeness) – 2 seats”
Let me clear up the confusion (sown by the Leftwing media) about the TEA Party:
The TEA Party in a nutshell – God, guns, American oil, strong defense, spending control, no illegal immigration, less government, less taxes, less abortion. We are also tired of the fact that a lot of policies from Washington are designed to modify behavior, and in the last couple of years they have become even more draconian and unyielding. Results of the TEA Party: The 2010 elections.
6 & 2 is correct.
6 States – SA, WA, VIC, TAS, QLD, NSW
2 Territories – Northrn Territory, Australian Capital Territory
Plus Pacific and Indian Island territories
BOLT – On the recent election:
“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell
Why does everybody forget Tasmania? Somebody show ’em the ‘map’ (obscure Aussie joke: ‘Map of Tasmania’)
States: NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA, TAS
Territories: NT, ACT
Gail, from where I’m standing, you do have someone decent to vote for, but the problem is, assuming he won -which is implausible, Congress would vito every bill.
Back home, nobody is going to wake up- you kidding? The problem with the environmental movement in Australia, was that it was too precipitous. -probably marketed poorly. One would be naive to believe the Liberal party are opposed to a carbon tax, ie. government revenue. The issue was simply watershed and one-upmanship over Labor.
To say that ‘Australian’s don’t like being lied to’; as I have read, is absurd. Politics and duplicity go hand in hand.
I oppose the carbon tax but, the party who are chiefly against it (for political expedience), is a dismal alternative.
But that’s Democracy for ya.
WUWT readers should be careful not to get carried away too much about this result.
The Queensland election was NOT a referendum on the carbon tax. Most political commentators have stated that the election was fought primarily on state issues. These include:
* The cyclic time for change nature of politics (The Queensland Labor Party has won every state election since 1989),
* A much more co-ordinated force by the conservative side of politics by amalgamating the Liberal and National Parties into the LNP so that there was only one conservative candidate opposing Labor rather than often 2, together with the bold move of parachuting a popular ex-Lord Mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman into the party to contest a marginal seat, and
* The performance of Queensland State Labor itself over the last 3 years and its subsequent election campaign.
There are however many federal implications that can be tied to what has happened in Queensland. One of the main ones is that Anna Bligh (who is a direct descendent of Capt Bligh of the Mutiny on the Bounty), a very talented and capable media performer broke some major election promises. Two of these were the “fire sale” of public assets such as a port authority, coal terminal and rail lines (which upset her own ranks) and the abolishment of the 8½ cent rebate on petrol which had made petrol prices in Queensland cheaper.
The main point here of course is that the electorate do not forget about politicians who make promises and then break them and Julia Gillard’s carbon tax deceit is the obvious parallel that comes to mind. There are also analogies between Bligh and Gillard in irresponsible big spending, accumulation of debt and adoption of green policies which have damaged the Labor brand and confused the electorate as to what the party stands for.
Yes, there were many voters who were angry about the carbon tax and about 50% of voters on exit polls said that it was a factor. How big a factor however I believe is a matter of conjecture.
What happens next however will be more crucial. Julia Gillard will now face the premiers of 3 big mining states – Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland who will opposing her carbon tax (and mining tax) when they next meet in Canberra and it will be interesting to see the extent of their public campaigning against it.
I have said this before here I think and that is if world attitude towards taxing carbon does not change much in the next year, Gillard will have no alternative but to reduce her $A23/tonne price or her government is doomed. But even if she does, provided Tony Abbott can maintain a unified opposition and improve his own personal standing, she and the carbon tax are doomed anyway.
Looked at the LNP platform & I’m with John of Kent & Paul Homewood:
(typical): A Liberal National Government will establish an Emissions Reduction Fund to support CO2 emissions reduction activity by business and industry.
We will support 140 million tonnes of abatement per annum by 2020 to meet our 5 per cent target.
They also apparently intend to heavily subsidize solar power/other alternate energy.
Sorry, but I don’t see the cause for celebration here and that’s sad because it means being trapped. I suppose the electorate could just keep turning the installed government over, hoping that someone different will finally turn up (kind of the way I feel in the US of A), however all that does is allow a new set of politicians to enrich themselves at the public trough. I mostly lost the incentive to vote in federal elections when one side wants to regulate CO2 and the other wants total lack of any effective corporate oversight (especially the 600 trillion derivatives market and market robo trading) and thinks that “free market” fraud will take care of itself. Both sides (and many of the sub agencies) also owe their soles to their corporate overlords.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/#morelink
http://www.theotherschoolofeconomics.org/?p=2499
Mike Busby says:
March 24, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Technically, you only have to turn up. You are not compelled to vote. The point us well made, however.
cost of living is cited as the primary reason for voting lnp. the primary reason for cost of living increases is higher energy costs. electricity prices have gone through the roof because-
1 /REC certificates, or the renewable energy subsidy scheme. how does this work-
http://www.energymatters.com.au/carbon-trading/recs/index.php
“The RECs system was originally implemented to encourage an additional 9,500 GWh of renewable energy generation per year by 2010 as part of the Renewable Energy Target. Renewable Energy Certificates will play an even greater role in the recently announced renewable energy targets to be achieved by 2020 via the Solar Credits Program.
How the new Renewable Energy Target works
The government has implemented a target of 20% renewable energy sourced electricity by 2020
The current RET requires 9500 GWh of renewable energy to be delivered by energy companies
The 20/20 target requires 45000 GWh
1MWh of energy equals 1 REC, so 45,000,000 RECs will be generated to meet the 2020 target
To meet the target, energy companies must surrender RECs into their holding account at the end of every calendar year at an amount representative to 20% of their market share
If energy companies don’t put sufficient RECs into the holding account, the company is fined at a rate much higher than the REC value ”
2/ years of infrastructure neglect by the labor government coupled with an increasing population, and the subsequent selloff meaning private companies having to deal with the mess to provide the expected service.
what government could possibly turn a mining boom with a population boom into a credit rating downgrade, massive debt with no great infrastructure spending? and they blame this on a political cycle!
Labor party advocate steadfastly ‘avoids reality’ anyway she can in this segment (BOLT):
“It’s not about the lies by Julia or Anna … it’s – it’s about … there will be demonstrations and Labor stands for the working people …”
Riiiiiiiight …
.
In New Zealand, our major newspapers are owned and controlled by Fairfax media – unless you live in and around Auckland.
For those of us under Fairfax’s censorship, not one single mention of the Queensland election no matter how I search.
The NZ Herald has it buried a little at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10794497 but still fairly easy to find
To be honest, until I read this Post, I had no idea there was even a Queensland Election being held!!
Seems as though Rudd may have a lot to answer for – or be praised if this goes National!!!
Andi
Near as I can figure Bob Katter is basically a Rick Santorum sort – heavily social-con but otherwise more government-interventionist/populist than conservative.
It’s strange when foreign election-watching becomes a spectator sport, but every time I woke up last night I grabbed the phone and refreshed the Courier-Mail’s election-tracker page, then dozed back off a bit happier.
The longer Gillard holds out in Canberra, the worse things get for Labor in the states. Amazing, ain’t it?
Why is the ONLY ad I’m seeing on WUWT lately that of the League of Conservation Voters?? I thought ads were targeted to my browsing habits. I don’t visit other climate blogs…
Go ahead and say it LT: “nest sitters”. Not on-the-move risk-taking ‘hunters’ ready to risk both life and limb, assuming the risky ‘point’ position in an advance or charge …
.
We are living in interesting times. The so-called “Élites” have this bizarre belief that Truth doesn’t matter. One way or another they justify lies by some “the ends justify the means” logic. They make promises to win elections, and turn right around and break their promises, because they feel it is OK to lie. It won the election, didn’t it? The ends did justify the means.
More ordinary people know Truth matters. Many live paycheck to paycheck, with poverty and even the skullish face of hunger peeking around the corner on a daily basis. One small mistake and they will be facing a harsh Truth: Being cold, hungry, and desperate.
People who face such Truth know it is best to face the Truth, and deal with the Truth, and that involves facing very real facts and very real figures. It does not involve the fabrication of facts and figures that is rotting the field of Climate Science, and turning it into a pathetic pseudoscience.
These ordinary people, who know Truth can hurt, and that Truth is best faced head on, are the voters who the “Élites” think they can make false promises to, and lie to, and forever fool. However you cannot fool all of the people all of the time, and these voters eventually do rise in wrath.
At this point it is not merely voters who are rising in wrath; it is Truth rising in wrath. However the Élites, amidst their amazingly dunderheaded denial of Truth, are likely to decide the voters are simply wrong.
After all, they have already demonstrated they think voters are fools, who can be fooled by a promise which is broken as soon as the election is won. And, if they have such contempt towards the average man, what is to keep them from deciding democracy is a bad idea, and nullifying the results of elections?
These people have already demonstrated they are bad. What is to keep them from stepping further into the quagmire of evil?
We are not merely living in interesting times. We are living in dangerous times.
Stand by the Truth, and Truth will stand by you.
This has nothing to do with anti-AGW sentiment in Australia. Shame on Australian commenters here for encouraging the idea that the state elections are indicative of anything on the federal political landscape. It is simply not true – John Howard, for example, had no trouble being re-elected as Prime Minister despite the majority of states being under Labor governments only a decade ago. That isn’t to say that the ALP’s days aren’t numbered in Canberra, but it’s disingenuous to equate a state election primarily about economic mismanagement with federal climate change policy.
how they elected the bunch of losers in the first place is the truly scary part.
why does it say my post is waiting moderation ? it wont get any moderate no matter how long you wait …
Many Aussies like to write “Labour” to annoy Australian Labor Party people. It’s a way of signalling that you are a dissident – very important because Labour politburo types think that everyone should just do as they say. A classic example of this occurred when Julia Gillard formed Government. She basically told Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, that now she had won, he had to go along with what she wanted. When he declined, Labour began a bizarre campaign (which they persist with) of calling him Dr No, the sore loser. I think its another thing that’s backfired on Gillard because the electorate aren’t that stupid. They expect him to say no and to present an alternative. (I just wish he’d bite the bullet and kill the Liberals out of date climate change policy – three years has been a long time in the climate debate and there’s no need to have even a lip-service policy anymore for what has been demonstrated to be a non-existent problem).
Thank you, Anthony. I think your spelling is correct.
Chris has it right, the state poll had nothing to do federal climate change policies . The stagnation of a party after 14 years in power was the only real issue. The LNP had a similar backlash after their last stint.
I hate to be a wet blanket but I think the following is true:
‘The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.’ – Carroll Quigley in “Tragedy & Hope”.
The two major parties can be controlled. That’s why the media always demonise any new party that emerges as ‘racist’, etc. The media portray your Tea Party as nutters, but with the internet we can find things out for ourselves.
But Chris, Andrew Bolt states the opposite and he’s the poster boy for the AGW movement in Australia. Watts also relies heavily on him as a correspondent.
whoops -that’s anti-AGW 🙂
Andi Cockroft
It took me 60 seconds
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/australia/news/headlines.cfm?l_id=15
I use to live around the corner from that Van! A great day in Australian politics too!
Joe Ryan
Funny you should mention that.I was reading this article just before I came to WUWT.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/danish-tv-host-mocks-obama-his-rhetoric_634403.html
The TV host again turns to the tape, this time showing President Obama in the Oval Office with Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg. “I’ve said this before, but I want to repeat: Norway punches above its weight,” Obama says.
The tape roles yet again. “We have no stronger ally than the Netherlands,” says Obama. “They consistently punch above their weight.”
“That’s fairly typical of the way that Danes have punched above their weight in international affairs,” President Obama says at a press availability in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt of Denmark.
Dear Labor Party:
All your base are belong to us.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/political-climate-heats-up-as-newman-wages-war-on-derm-20110718-1hkk2.html
Queensland’s environment minister has accused LNP leader Campbell Newman of trying to score cheap political points rather than accepting scientific advice on climate change.
Labor’s Vicky Darling defended the work of the Department of Environment and Resource Management after Mr Newman yesterday said Queenslanders had “lost faith” in it during a speech at the LNP state conference.
“If Campbell Newman was backing science, he would back climate change instead of falling into line with Tony Abbott and the other deniers,” Ms Darling said.
Mr Newman yesterday told LNP delegates that Queenslanders had “lost faith” in DERM.
“It’s a department without true leadership, a department that’s more about political ideology than science,” he said.
Last night Mr Newman stuck to his stance.
“The feedback I have received as I get around the state is that under Labor, Queenslanders have lost confidence in DERM,” he said.
Mr Newman said the LNP would take scientific advice from Geoffrey Garrett, Queensland’s new chief scientist, if it won the next state election.
“Our plan, which we will detail further over coming months, will see the chief scientist properly in charge of science policy and the government’s applied science efforts, not the [state government 2020 planning scheme] Q2 shame that currently exists,” he said.
The problem here in the US is that no matter how conservative the state government (think Texas, Wyoming, Georgia), the Feds come charging in and give us a big middle finger, then say ‘try and stop us’. Kudos to you in Oz though, lots of people waking up around the world!
The near annihilation the Labor Party in Queensland was exactly that: an attempt to annihilate the Labor Party in Queensland. Why? For the reasons that Andrew Bolt and others have suggested. Not necessarily in order of importance:
1. Economic incompetence/ mis-management.
2. Lack of moral fibre: endless lies, bold-faced deceptions and broken promises, baseless attacks on political opposition candidates, endless cronyism and legalised thievery of public money
3. tacit support for, and nil opposition, to Federal Labor’s foolish carbon tax and mining rent resource tax imposts which are perceived (correctly) to be very bad for business in Qsld.
4. Falling house prices. The bubble seems to have burst first in Qsld and might to some extent be related to 3 above
5. There is a vsiceral hatred (understandably) of Gillard and Federal Labor and I think of Bligh and state Labor too. It was a chance to vent some steam and to prepare for round 2 with Federal Labor next on the bill!
6. Perception that both Gillard and Bligh got their roles largely because they’re the politically correct gender in this new dark age – although I accept this point is not universally agreed (re that theie gender is as it appears to be). They are certainly both very incompetent, pathological liars and thieves to boot.
Summary: it was for all those reasons principally. The carbon tax and other idiotic socialistic nonsense was certainly a big part of it.
But make no misatake, it was certainly an uncordinated affort to annihilate the Labor Party in Queensland. And it almost came off. Can’t waitfor the Federal election though I doubt Gillard has the balls to stand – though some might dispute that last bit (that she really does have testicles).
Oh, the irony… The “advert” that popped up for me was an Obama “you on board?” ad….
So the Watermellons are getting tossed down under and the ad is trying to get support for our “Cap’n Tax” Democrats. Precious.
One can only hope that the folks here are looking at the results there…
FWIW, the reason “Liberal” is inverted is due to the American Progressives. After W.W.II when being a Third Way Progressive got a very bad name (as that was what the Italian Fascists were and what they promoted – no, don’t start a war here, look up the history. Mussolini was widely praised by FDR and friends prior to the war. Was even invited to Hollywood for a cameo in a movie. It’s well documented history.) So the American Progressives looked for a way to ‘re-brand’ and decided to co-opt the term “Liberal” that had historically meant protector of liberties (more like a rational Libertarian now). Over time, the meaning shifts to match the reality, so the American Liberals (having tarnished that word) are now fishing around for another re-brand. Hillary briefly tried to resurrect “Progressive” with a “We’re not Liberals, we’re Progressives!” statement (hey, I SAW it). Folks guffawed…
I use the term Classical Liberal for the British / Commonwealth meaning, abbreviated to Classi-Liberal; and American Social Liberal for the American Progressive rebrand, abbreviated ASo-Liberal 😉 I’d not need the sniiditude if they would just be proud of their positions and openly state what they are.
(FWIW, I can justify the Lange Type Socialism economic form of mixed economy better than most others, and it’s far better than wide open unregulated Robber Barron Free Markets. My preference is for the Mixed Economy form of about 1960s vintage USA, which is just shy of Lange Type and about 1/2 way from Free Market to Lange. So my rock tossing is more about folks choosing to mislead about what they advocate and less about the actual economic form advocated…)
At any rate, the use of “Liberal” is tainted in America and really needs a disambiguation tag as to classical vs neo-modern-social-American…
With that said:
Way to go Australia!
For folks wanting more on variations on “liberal”:
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/i-am-a-liberal/
Gail Combs, I’m guessing you live in either Arizona or South Carolina? Slimy backstabbers, those two. Of course, I’m not convinced there are but a few in D.C. On either side who aren’t in the JAFP Party (Just Another F…riggin’ Politician).
I’m a Queenslander and my vote and the vote of a lot of people I know had a lot to do with the carbon tax.
I’m still cheesed off though and will vote the best way I think will be detrimental to this socialist agenda both our major parties have adopted in the federal election.
In mode of nuanced subtlety, we declare that Aussie Laborites like U.S. D-rats are a coulrophiliac gang of coprophagic proctocranials. You could look it up.
I am unsure what you are getting at – my comments were primarily abot Fairfax and their lack of reporting. I did say the The Herald had it down a few pages:
The bottom line is that the Herald is owned by APN News and Media – NOT Fairfax
Since I live in Wellington, my daily read is heavily distorted by severe lack of reporting – unless it’s cricket, rugby, sailing, golf, boxing, cycling……… That is if I ever bought the Dom Post
I prefer to get my news from reliable sources, so tend to use foreign services – even to tell me what is happening in NZ !!!
Did you not see the lack of reporting that DotCom’s warrant was thrown out by a High-Court judge as being unenforceable? Strange I got it from the Telegraph but not Fairfax
Kiwis are safe in the knowledge that any nasty disturbing news items will not make it to press – it’s so idylic here we just don’t want cotrrupting by all that nasty news now do we? Welcome to cocoon NZ
Andi
forgot your disclaimer, smith – how much you have received as income from the state.
hardly impartial if you dine at trough, are ya? please spare gratuitous apologia for the engine of human sacrifice which is socialism – no matter how good it tastes to you, sacrificial human beings are not suitable dining fare for a human being. darwin says.
{A question for those in Australia: to what extent did dissatisfaction with climate/energy policy play a role in the defeat? Were there other major economic issues or was energy/environment the battle-ground issue?}
All of the above, plus distruction of marriage, aligning with the greens who the night before the election openly declared their hope to make a one world govt, asset sales, among other things, basicaly a total implimentation of a green/communist state where everyone was completely equal and identical, equaly poverty stricken, identicaly considered nothing more than expendable resourses (think eugenics there).
Yip, I think that just aboot covers it (spelling intentional, cause only us uneducated rednecks would not vote for commies and one world greenies you see).
Great News indeed – two states down and a federal election around the corner – lets see who starts abandoning the ship..
BTW its spelt Labor because U are not important…
Well that was uncerimonious. (-:
Andfor thos ewho doubt the election result had anything to do with climate change skullduggery… here’s a piece to make your hearts glow from ‘The Australian’ newspaper of Feb 12, 2012:
“Big payout for Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s partner in 11th hour deal
QUEENSLAND Premier Anna Bligh’s husband, Greg Withers, will receive a six-figure payout if he is dumped by an elected Liberal National Party government after the top bureaucrat just had his contract renewed.
Mr Withers, put in charge of the newly created Office of Climate Change in 2007 barely a month after Ms Bligh became Premier, won a new three-year contract, with a further two-year option, on his $220,000-a-year package in December…”
Full story here:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/elections/big-payout-forqueensland-premiers-partner-in-11th-hour-deal/story-fnbsqt8f-1226267174232
Isn’t that sweet? Add a generous helping of climate change hysteria, ladle-in a load of junk science, add a dash of nepotism, sprinkle with cynicism, give it a good stir and voila!! A foul, steaming couldron of shh… just in time for apolitical maelstrom. Lovely.
I don’t know why you call it an “Eco-rout”. It was broken promises, mismanagement of the Health System, and the sell-off of State-owned assets to private exploiters that brought the Bligh government down.
The trouble with Australian politics is that Labor is bad, but the LNP are even worse. (LIkening them to Republicans is a bit harsh, though. Bunch of ratbags they may be , but they aren’t that bad.)
I have never been so proud to be Australian.
Oh, and I think this might be important:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbott-says-hell-call-double-dissolution-if-carbon-tax-isnt-repealed/story-fn59niix-1226309463036
🙂 Cheers everyone!
The catalyst unifying the opposition against labor is the carbon tax, but also aimed squarely at the Greens who have earned their destructive watermelon early election success on the back of a wrong decision by labor to exchange preference votes and gain more seats in the Australian Senate. The carbon tax was their triumph as Gillard could not resist the temptation of breaking her pre-election promise and remaining in defacto power with the aid of the three independent stooges who ratted on their electorates and conservative voters who would have preferred they align with the opposition. The upshot was Gillard sold her soul and that of her party in the hope she might just win back enough voters with debt fueled spending.
One of the things to come out of the Queensland decisive vote for the LNP coalition is the new unity of that conservative coalition,.gives them the strength to resist giving dodgy preferences to the Greens (just as the LNP party did in the Victorian elections) a lesson that labor should have learned. They are now stuck with a dodgy carbon tax that over half their own labor politicians actually question when you talk to them out of public view and, a clearly on the nose leader who lied for short term gain.
Couple that with all the public utility companies jacking up energy and water prices, rising fuel prices that drive up delivery costs and hike prices already on essential grocery and government services (local and Federal) and they know they face the perfect storm of public anger in the lead up to the next election.
The average labor voter is already saddled with increasing and out of control costs as prices rise ahead of the Carbon Tax, it is unlikely they will recover voters with their extremely wasteful programs and handouts.
I look to the next Federal election, bring it on, and wipe out the Greens once and for all and take the smug grins off their faces for the damage they have done to a once proud labor party, albeit one that is poorly lead at this time. The zero expansion of watermelon “green” influence is the best news of the Queensland election.
Austalian people’s ONCE again stick their HEADS in the SAND
HOWEVER such t’will ” NOT” change the reality of the situation.
All that having happened is that the media have done their usual
brainwashing / in giving no taste of reality but only that of illusion
& the one flickering brain cell Austalians return to their abode in
the “Twilight Zone” joining the one flickering brain cell Americans
whom will vote for the fraudster BARACK whom with an stroke of
the pen signed a bill that removing people’s rights to an just trial.
A BARACK who is but full of hot air in having broke every promise
made // now with another election to come / plays the same game
full of promises that are nought but hot air // again playing people
for fool’s // an people once again but brainwashed by media spin.
Any american now be arrested in having no legal representation
No charge / No court appearance // but being simply left to rot in
a prison cell for any length of time // deprived of all human rights.
BARACK put into govt a honoured position to protect the rights of
the people / he did the opposite // and stripped the people of their
most treasured right (to be protected by the law) (that none being
above the law) (that none in being deprived of just law an fair trial).
American people are treated as sheep to be fleeced / the children
treated as lamb for the slaughter all but brainwashed by the media
which is owned by the 1% whom owning 90% of the nations wealth.
Australian people long fleeced as sheep whom be so brainwashed
by the media / they now have a brain capacity thats equal to sheep
trained in bringing themselves to be fleeced // as to be slaughtered.
Our opposition leader Tony Abbott says this:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbott-says-hell-call-double-dissolution-if-carbon-tax-isnt-repealed/story-fn59niix-1226309463036
LazyTeenager says:March 24, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I also have a theory that labor have put in female leaders and historically they have a poor acceptance rate. Humans being monkeys and all , the alpha male syndrome probably has some influence on people’s thinking.
That’s the problem with you teenagers and your theories. You didn’t get the occasional smack of reality from real women.
source: http://pjmedia.com/blog/eight-mistakes-men-make-about-women/
Allan says: ” A common problem of Oz and Canada is the significant influence of miserable old British leftists in our new societies. These embittered socialists emigrate to our shores, burdened with excess baggage from the class-riddled United Kingdom, and spread their socialist venom like rancid Devonshire cream.”
JF: Yes Allan you are spot on. M.Thatcher gave the screaming lefties a hard time, so they came to Australia, where they infected the ALP big time. You will not see these swine on Australian TV as they have thick Scottish and Welsh accents. These are the scum that can get an elected Prime Minister (Rudd) sacked. It is my bet that they will now replace Gillard with someone else. Who? FIIK.
And:
“Finkelstein’s ideological position is not hard to find. It’s in paragraph 4.10 of his report. He thinks a council should control speech in Australia because most people are too dumb or ignorant to decide for themselves about what they see and hear and read in the media.’
Really, Finkelstein? Looks like you are just a dirty watermelon scumbag just like the rest of your mongrel mates. Go ahead and make my day and just try and tell the Queensland people that they are “too dumb or ignorant to decide for themselves” Well pal the left is finished in Queensland for the next 20 years as it is in WA, NSW and Vic. The ALP is cactus!
I am following election results at
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/election2012/qld-election-results
Four seats yet undecided, but LNP is leading in those 4 seats.
Even more amazing, if KAP had not drained votes away from LNP, Labor would have won only 3 seats!
I have read several news articles do not mention the carbon tax as a reason for Labor’s unpopularity. I do not know if the reporters are accurate or if the reporters do not want to mention it.
jonathan frodsham says: March 25, 2012 at 12:21 am
——————————————————————-
Right there with you, Jonathan.
Politically, the happiest day of my life in the last century was when John Howard was elected Prime Minister of Australia. Now, having the socialists tossed out and Mr Campbell Newman installed will be the happiest day in my political well-being in this century.
… that is until our federal pseudo-government is tossed out next year !
Reblogged this on pindanpost.
This is the real Labor party van.
Note that its hard to tell which end is the front from the back and which direction it should travel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SuzukiCarry4th.jpg
LazyTeenager says on March 24, 2012 at 2:43 pm:
…
I also have a theory that labor have put in female leaders and …
_______________________________________
Jim says:
March 24, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Go ahead and say it LT: “nest sitters”. Not on-the-move risk-taking ‘hunters’ ready to risk both life and limb, assuming the risky ‘point’ position in an advance or charge …
_______________________________________
ROTFLMAO!
Boy, Jim you have never worked with small children! It is the females who are the bold risk takers until they are taught it is not “Lady like” That is based on twenty years of observation and discussions with mothers of both boys and girls. To put it bluntly I can not peel the little boys off mommy to get them to participate in birthday activities while the little girls will eagerly leave mommy to rush towards the activities. The sample of about 50 kids yesterday again supports this statement.
Think about it. A mother is hard wired to be fearless in defense of her young while a hunter of any species who is fearless (without caution) ends up dead.
You forgot the link:
[SNIP: I had to think about this one, Git, but it is just a little too racy for a family blog like this. Thanks. I hope your wife really appreciates that you’re a keeper. -REP]
Aussies in Queensland and Aussies nationwide: we here in the United States thank you for your courage, your intelligence, and your integrity. You and the Irish people a year or so ago are teaching us a lesson on how to deal with our own corrupt and inept Democratic Party, a lesson I have time and again repeated here and on other blogs. Do not accept the lies, do not accept the double dealing, do not accept the nonsense, do not keep them in power. Simply put: EVISCERATE THEM!!!!!
We plan on eviscerating our Democrats politically in November 2012. Thank you.
william wallace says:
March 24, 2012 at 11:54 pm
“Austalian people’s ONCE again stick their HEADS in the SAND
HOWEVER such t’will ” NOT” change the reality of the situation.” etc etc
I can see that English is not your first language William, but is Homo Sapiens your first race?
Larry in Texas says:
March 25, 2012 at 1:42 am
Aussies in Queensland and Aussies nationwide: we here in the United States thank you for your courage, your intelligence, and your integrity….
We plan on eviscerating our Democrats politically in November 2012. Thank you.
____________________________
Do not forget to toss out the double dealing Republicans too! That make primaries critical. I do not care what party they belong to or in what country. If they get elected and have LIED toss them out on their ear just as the Aussies are doing.
We need to start making “Career” politicians a thing of the past. Especially lying career politicians.
Whenever I think of politicians this video clip immediately comes to mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJG75FJkjr8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Do they make an Electric 7 or 9 seater minibus ? That would be much more suitable.
It’s also the electoral cycle. Australia has just been through many years of coast to coast state and territory Labor governments. Some had become seriously dysfunctional – eg, NSW – after some sixteen years in power.
Unfortunately, the Federal Labor party is looking seriously dented what with some utterly childish infighting between PM Gillard and ex-prime minister and ex-foreign minister Kevin Rudd (who resigned his portfolio in the night while overseas timing his resignation to coincide with the morning news.The inability of these folks to place personal hatred and ambition above the welfare of their own party let alone their country is profoundly worrying.
Well done Queensland, use the vote and get her OUT. Gillard will ruin Australia if she stays much longer but don’t send her back to Wales we have enough kooks in the UK parliament as it is.
BTW the expert earlier who carried on about Labor being in power the entire time since 1989 might need to do a bit of a refresher course. Wayne Goss, Labor Premier was ousted by a minority government led by a coalition of Nationals, Liberals and independant Liz Cunningham (still sits for Gladstone I believe) on 20th of February 1996 and lost the next election called early against Peter ‘hollywood, but no substance’ Beattie on 26th of June 1998. The leader at the time was Rob Borbidge of the Nationals and also at the same time John Howard’s Liberal-National coaltion defeated Paul Keatings Labor party in the federal election of 1996 keeping power for 11 years.
On the federal issues not interfering with state issues, of course it will. If negative actions by a party is shown then it will certainly cause some voters to change their stance depending on what they believe not what the mainstream media thinks they believe. At the last federal election Labor lost a massive amount of votes despite the extensive smear campaign run against Liberals Leader Tony Abbott, a % of those votes went to the Greens because it was believed (in the mainstream media anyway) that it was support for the carbon tax…. still Green only received 14% of the vote not a shining endorsement of policy.
2009 QLD State Election Greens registered 8.4% of the vote, a sharp rise from earlier elections and in the 2010 Federal Election registered over 10% in the lower house and nearly 13% in the upper house, rises over the 2007 election of about 5% or more each. This election, like the ones in Victoria and NSW since the 2010 Federal Election, the Greens vote was smashed as well as Labor. This has culminated in the Greens picking up only 7.3% of the vote this time in QLD. A party peaking records a very poor result and it isn’t on policies its federal ‘comrades’ forced through? Just think about it.
One may talk about “core” CPI (which hasn’t changed much since they created it in the 90s), how the stock market is doing and all those signs of recovery but as elections draw near, the home wallet will decide things. Sometimes no matter how incompetent non-liberal politicians seem.
It would take results BETTER than the Queensland to flip the Senate to give the GOP a filitbuster proof majority. I.E., just about a clean sweep of all the Dems up for election and keeptin all the Reps they currently have. Simply ain’t gonna happen this cycle. For example, if Obamacare isn’t bounced by SCOTUS, then start thining about 2014 elections. It should be apparent, under the US system, changing anything that somehow becomes a law is nearly impossible. Then extend Obamacare to the EPA and all those other agencies of the Executive that, for all practical purposes, are more powerful than Congress and one should realize moving the meter back to reality is a long-term task. WUWT will be around a long, long time.
Now hopefully the Conservatives will roll back all the climate taxes and Co2 trading schemes.
Conservatives today as we see in the UK and the US for that matter are not “Conservatives” really but cloaked pushers of the warmist agenda.
Betrayal of the electorate comes from unsuspected parties lately.
A good solid background check of the new candidates could prevent severe disappointment.
tmitsss says:
March 24, 2012 at 11:01 am
What are the chances that when James Cameron gets to the bottom of the Challenger Deep and looks out the porthole he will see Julia G’s reelection chances?
==========================
theres a fair crowd of us down under that would prefer he SAW the LIAR in person down there:-)
Let me make myself perfectly clear. I do not think that the TEA party is strange. It is the KAP that is strange. KAP stands for Katter Australia Party where the founder is Bob Katter who is a little “out there”. It is KAP that is less logical than the TEA party and definitely very much in the strange category.
“A mini-van will have more seats than the previously incumbent Labour party in the new parliament.”
So what? Is there any possibility that the opposing team will repeal the Carbon Tax? Of course not! This is the dialectic in action – the ‘progressives’ push the PTB’s agenda, become unpopular with the dumb schmucks that voted for them, then the ‘conservatives’ consolidate that position. You are kidding yourself if you think this is any kind of victory, it is entirely according to plan.
Ron de Haan, maybe if you used the term “Republicans” instead of “Conservatives” you would have a made an accurate statement … for instance, Fred Upton R-Michigan facilitated the incandescent light bulb ban and now is on the other side of the fence (IOW he is a politician ‘milking’ the issue by virtue of having taken both sides now!)
[Fred] Upton flip-flops on the light bulb ban
http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/beltway-confidential/2011/06/upton-flip-flops-light-bulb-ban/146908
Energy Independence Act of 2007, passed in December 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Independence_and_Security_Act_of_2007
For the question must be asked, which group or party, is MORE likely to roll back the EPA actions against CO2: R’s, D’s or C’s? (Hint: the light bulb ban was enacted with under a fully D congress, the 110th congress running from January 3rd 2007 – 2009.)
PS. If you’re using the usual material our Pravda/MSM pumps out as reference, I can understand any confusion you might have on this subject. I think a dietary change in ‘news consumption’ might be in order … maybe try breitbart.com and powerlineblog.com for starters?
.
As usual Gail, you fail to read for comprehension; I was prompting LT to make that leap … (do you actually think I want the scorn of every woman on the board?)
BTW, for future reference, the name is “_Jim” on account of all the “Jims” on the board. TIA for your cooperation. Have a nice day.
.
Then, they too may face the prospect of being ‘turned out’; the object of any politician is longevity in office, _not_ doing the right thing (Ask Ann Bligh about that now; or maybe she is still in denial?). Eventually, someone catches on to the voter’s will and attains multiple terms in office, in the mean time a ‘learning experience’ on the taxpayers back consumes both time and resources, both natural and financial. Look at it as a feedback loop with a multi-year feedback time period; pols can delude themselves for just so long it seems until the electorate overturns them …
.
… an every 100 year electoral cycle event …
I like your style of under-statement in this rationalization.
.
REP said:
Pity; it’s so rare for Tasmania to be put on the map, particularly someone as attractive as Amanda Palmer. We went to her concert back in January and enjoyed her performance very much.
SWMBO & I have been together some 32 years now so I must be doing something right; the gourmet cooking might have somewhat to do with it 🙂
Disco Troop / Sticking one’s head in the sand // was not directed towards you
as be of ONE flickering brain cell NOT reffered unto you. Thus IT EXPECTED
PREDICTED your reply. By no means was an offence meant towards unto you.
In regard to your questioning as my belonging to the human race. The answer
is both Yes and No. Reality I am human by choice ( in a human form by choice
that I may serve // aid humanity unto the reality of their Spiritual Enlightenment.
Throughout the history of humanity there be spiritual teachers // in among such
be the “Teacher of Teachers” at present time the “Teacher of Teachers” being
Prem Rawat / in having his presence all humanity /be given hope as be blessed.
On PC search put (words of peace) on site a selection of videos in which Prem
talks / explains of meditation // in one turning the senses inward in bringing an
unfolding of their spiritual being. Not of ideas. Not of beliefs. Not of a heaven a
paradise beyond the clouds // but one having such spiritual experience which
brings a clarity of understanding // in answering all one’s question / such what
be the purpose of life. WHOM AM I?. IS THERE A GOD?. IS THERE A HEAVEN.
The very purpose of creation being that via heart brain comes growth in depth
of one’s understanding // a growing in depths of one’s true spiritual experience
thus their being the clairty as to lifes purpose / there be the joys unto the heart.
It a troubled time upon the human spiritual journey / in one having always given
their focus to the material in seeking ones strength as needs from it // yet it not
in reality the all / it’s but a means to turn the senses inward / that ones spiritual
development achieved. One’s realization as their turning the senses inward but
takes time // as requiries understanding / compassion / a touch of humility and
a sprinkling of good intentions / unto one’s self // as unto one’s neighbours be
they of any nation / any colour / any political belief ( via brainwashing). In truth
all humanity / brothers sisters we are one family on a journey of Enlightenment
in NOT believing // but in KNOWING true self // in knowing the ALMIGHTINESS
in such THANK for the gift of life / a human life the key opening heavens door.
Aus’s answer to Gaga, Madonna, a touch of Bob Dylan and a hint of “Weird” Al Yankovic and whose ‘acts’ play out lampoon-style (ala SNL)? (Enough hints were dropped it wasn’t too hard finding the vid + related.)
.
Apparently, on this thread, only the “Lazy Teenager” achieves the delusional state you speak of. That has been obvious from the get go, for anyone who actually reads his comments. GK
If they’re copping a spray in the Qld DERM from an incoming Premier they’re also getting very nervous and stressed out in Tim Flannery land in Canberra’s sheltered workshop-
http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/2012/03/government-climate-change-staff-miserable-and-disengaged/
Whassamatter guys? The climate out there changing too fast for you to cope with? We’re waiting for you here in South Australia too just like they were in NSW and Qld. Just another upset tummy or two like that crook Craigy boy and POW!!! Right in the Kisser!
The recent elections in Queensland must be keeping Gillard awake at night. Labor and Greens were trounced and the federal elections are coming in 2013. Bye bye, Gillard. It hasn’t been a pleasure knowing you. Oh, and don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out to your political retirement.
Yes, we have a chance to do the same thing in the US come November. AFAIK, Rick Santorum is the only candidate that’s come right out and called global warming a hoax. Given the extremely poor choices we have in Republican candidates, that might be the one thing that pushes me over the top. Got a meaningless primary coming up in a week, so at least I can get my anti-Mitt vote in.
TomB, I too, am not so sassified with our crop. ABO, and Romney will make use of that, as did McCain. Etch-A-Sketch indeed. Only tangentially related to the topic, Santorum is also THE only one of the crowd who (IMO) *truly* gets the Iran threat, and the ’12ers’. For those unaware, look it up, very scary people. The 12ers and GW are two of the largest threats we face. Romney’s a great guy with finance, but I think he’s clueless to everything else.
It is very clear that Federal Labor and the Greens have to spin like mad to pretend that the Queensland election result has nothing whatsoever to do with the Carbon Tax and renewables policies etc.
Still, unless they face a couple of by elections, Federal Labor has more than a year until it has to face the wrath of the people. Perhaps they will have forgotten by then.
Further, Labor cannot change course now, so they will have to try to blindly keep on going.
These things have a tendency to cascade across the political landscape throughout the Western world as well … I will be watching for signs. When are the next elections?
On the political front its not a time in sticking ones head in the sand
its a time for every Australian in giving JULIA as LABOUR an 110%.
JULIA having learnt in past lives / the best way dealing with carbon
is one turn it into a diamond / thus she a individual worthy of office
in showing of her true value / gained over many lifetimes of service
unto humanity / she being well placed in leading serving the nation.
Climate change will bring grave results some nations frontline be
the victims of extreme climate change though in truth it t’will be a
testing time for all however those in the frontline must act now to
bring the best outcome from a bad situation // thus in an positive
outlook a attitude in doing which possible / in preventing an even
worsening situation / not only toward themselves but unto others.
It helps matters not in shifting whoms to blame // but in individual
nations / as leaders showing by example / they take the situation
serious / as take such needed steps / not stopping // in delaying
effort to reduce such damage that done / in turning an blind eye.
There will need to be movement of people’s in large numbers as
such all major nations should work together bringing the needed
aid as support that practical. It should not be an situation where
the major powers abuse as turn a blind eye to the most in need.
In the immortal words of Friedrick Nietzsche “If you stare long into the abyss…the abyss stare back into you”. I just admire and love the Aussies. They just have an innate ability to know what’s going on before it is actually going on. I know because I had the priviledge to fight alongside the 6 RAR during Operation “BRIBIE”…aka…”Battle of Ap My An” 17-18 February 1967. I was a young UH-1B “Huey” pilot…callsign “Badger -7”. It was an honor indeed to helo you guys. In my opinion…you were just as good as our 173rd Airborne Brigade ( The “Herd”). Anyway…from years ago and from miles away…I send you the “luck of the Irish”…what was that called…Botany Bay…Van Diemens Land? I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Padraic.
Well Done, Aussies! ‘Good On Ya, Mates!!!!!!!!
Can it happen as dramatically in the US of A?
Oh Please! Oh Please!! Oh Please!!!
For our international friends, the US has presidential, congressional,state and local elections coming up in early November this year.
Jim says:
March 25, 2012 at 6:44 am
Gail Combs says:
March 25, 2012 at 1:28 am
…
ROTFLMAO!
Boy, Jim you have never worked with small children! It is the females who …
As usual Gail, you fail to read for comprehension; I was prompting LT to make that leap … (do you actually think I want the scorn of every woman on the board?)
____________________________
Actually Yes.
I contested the seat of Brisbane Central in the Queensland election, and was proud to be part of the exercise in democracy – even though I did not win the seat (by a long shot). The mood for change from Labor was big.
Labor don’t deserve to govern for a number of reasons. Chief among these is the reason cited by Andrew above: the unblinking acceptance of our Kyoto obligations, Green ideology and the ruinous carbon tax. Labor and the Greens have joined forces to deprive fellow Queenslanders of their civil rights to pass laws such as the Vegetation Management Act and Wild Rivers Legislation which do not meet even basic democratic sniff tests and run foul of the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. http://www.samuelgriffith.org.au/papers/html/volume17/v17chap2.html
Needless to say, any government that is prepared to rout the civil rights of its citizens does not deserve to govern inside a democratic sovereign state.
I have witnessed the utter destruction of people’s lives by way of the unlimited power of the state, delivered up by way of the VMA.
I would be glad to see the LNP repeal these laws and engage with our primary producers on sensible measures that work.
Re the Election issues “an exit poll conducted by Sky News showed that 40 per cent of voters were concerned about the carbon tax, behind cost of living (69 per cent).”
I guess they indicate national rather than local issues.
BIG news from the election… GREENS :ZERO Seats
[Moderator’s Note: a link would be nice…. -REP]
Here’s a link regarding the Greens’ dismal performance in the Queensland election, where the Government was loathed:
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/another_stunning_success/
“with counting still underway in Queensland, it looks as though the Greens have dropped from 8.3 per cent in 2009 to just 7.2 per cent on Saturday.”
The best they did in any individual seat was around 20% in one inner city seat. This means that in most places they would have polled even less than the 7.2% Statewide figure.
Hurray!
“A mini-van will have more seats than the previously incumbent Labour party in the new parliament.”
Maybe so, but wouldn’t they need someone to drive it over the edge of the cliff ?
mpaul
Carbon/global warming nonsense didn’t enter into the election campaign.
However, it is the left who are more likely to push it because it gives more control (and dollars) to governments and their hangers-on (aka public money trough snufflers).
In that sense the result here in Queensland is good.
It looks like the conservatives have 78 seats, the Labor Party (read Democrat) 7 with 4 others.
Question: What’s the difference between a Tarago and the Labor Party?
Answer: A Tarago has more seats.
Watch out for Gillard and her cronies setting up for posts in the UN, unelected muppets cannot be got rid of easily.
I find it incredibly interesting that no mention whatsoever is made of this in any US news feed. Not on TV, radio, news sites – nothing. It’s there if you ~look~ for it, but it doesn’t get even a minor mention or link. I wonder why?
March 24, 2012 at 11:09 am
Well said, Nerd. Sooooo many people have the wrong idea about what the Tea Party is all about.
The way I read it, the reference was to the new Australian being ‘strange’.
Katters Australia Party isn’t anything like the Tea Party. To make such a comparison is to totally misunderstand both parties.
Katter stands for:
– stopping coal seam gas mining
– subsidising the creation of an ethanol industry
– agrictultural protection policies.
– anti gay marriage
– pro guns, hunting and fishing
So his party runs a strange mix of being heavily conservative on social issues, while quite statist and socialist on industry. I’m no expert on US politics but it’s more similar to politicians in the midwest who want ethanol subsidies and are fierce defenders of the 2nd Amendment.
Basically he’s a populist protectionist who, after all is measured, is probably best considered centre-left overall, but in reality the left/right spectrum is useless to place parties like this. The only electorate they picked up in the election came from the Labor party – they failed to attract any conservative vote at all.
Still, they doubled the Green vote and won 2 seats, which is better than the Greens did. The Greens vote decreases exponentially the further you move out from a city centre. People in high-rise towers vote Greens, and people who live in the countryside, surrounded by nature, do not. Figure that one out. Maybe ‘Greens’ is a misnomer after all.
It’s interesting to note too, apropos of mentions elsewhere on WUWT about extreme Greens being racist, that the Queensland Greens successfully pressured the now obliterated Labor government into declaring vast areas of Aboriginal land unable to be economically developed under its ‘Wild Rivers’ legislation. They want the Aborigines to only do politically correct stuff like running eco tours and selling quaint artefacts. The notion that these impoverished people should actually use their land to make a decent living like everyone else is abhorrent to them.
Hopefully, scrubbing that racist bit of legislation is high on the incoming government’s agenda.
Labor would never be caught dead in a minivan. Put in terms they would understand: 4 Smart cars.
Well done, Aussies!!!! at least You still have the right to vote….
Dario, I assume you refer to the recent EU coup in your country. Commiserations. But as you may have read, the drive to get supra-national organisations in charge of sovereign countries is picking up pace all over the world. We will hopefully learn from what is happening in Europe.
Viva Italia!
There was an item on tonights news which suggested that the new LNP government planned to dismantle Queensland Carbon reduction program. Any one else pick up on that?
Queensland Election Follow-up
Making the Climate Hustlers clean up their mess.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-assures-job-for-anna-blighs-husband-greg-withers-asking-him-to-undo-work-of-past-four-years/story-fnbt5t29-1226311500919
“PREMIER Campbell Newman says reports that Anna Bligh’s husband and a senior public servant, Greg Withers, had been asked to clear out his desk were false.
Mr Newman on Tuesday said Mr. Withers, head of Queensland’s Office of Climate Change, would be asked to oversee the removal of carbon reduction schemes he had helped create, which the LNP has promised to axe.
But Mr Newman admitted he had not yet conveyed that to Mr. Withers because he was too busy focusing on changes at the top level of the public service.
Mr Newman said Mr Withers, who recently renewed his contract in December and would be owed a payout close to $600,000 if sacked, would be offered another position once that job was done.
“I’m telling you that he will get a job if he wants one,” Mr Newman said.”
[Cleaner of the bathroom stalls?]
Info on Office of Climate Change
http://www.climatechange.qld.gov.au/whatsbeingdone/queensland/officeofclimatechange.html
Concerning the Queensland election results and the Carbon Tax:
1. To be pedantic for a moment. The Queeensland Parliament comprises a single legislative chamber called the Legislative Assembly. The upper house of the Parliament was abolished on 23 March 1922: thus Queensland is the only Australian state having a single legislative chamber. An exit poll conducted on election day (last Saturday) indicated that the carbon tax was the third most significant factor in causing the incumbent Labour government to be voted out of office leaving it with 8 seats.
2. Like the USA and Canada, Australia is a Federation with Federal powers and State powers defined by their respective Federal/Commonwealth constitutions. The Australian carbon tax has been legislated by the Federal government and on the present timetable is to commence on 1 July 2012. Opinion polling as well a the Queensland election result confirm that the tax is extremely unpopular with Australians.
3. Elsewhere in the world attempts to implement emmission controls/carbon taxes are meeting a similiar fate. The European Union has resolved to collect emission levies from all aircraft landing on EU airports. The government of India is reported to have directed its carriers not to comply. China has objected and will presumably direct its carriers not to comply.
4. As an Australian born in Queensland I am gratified that Australia appears to be leading the world in encouraging grassroot objection to the nonsense of attempting to control the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide.
The Australian today outlines a wholesale dismantling of green schemes.
This will definitely have Federal implications and is a welcome sign of the change of mood in Australia over wasteful expenditure.
It just needed the ballot-box for it to be expressed.
Once again facing an situation that requiring one’s use of the brain the
Australian response as always predicted (stick their heads in the sand).
Once again the Australian people are the source of ridicule as laughter
throughout the known world, one but need say the word ( Australian ) it
results in sending people into fits of laughter. There be reported cases
where people having gone into such fits of laughter / that they having to
be hospitalized. Some nations the situation so serious the media having
been informed / told not to use the word (Australian) during broadcasts.
ps. A serious situation (no laughing matter) yet one can’t help but laugh.