Australians to go to the polls on Sept 7

[BookMan]

Australians to go to the polls on Sept 7

CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called an election for Sept. 7 and said Sunday that it will be fought over who can be trusted to manage the Australian economy as it transitions from a decade-old mining boom fed by Chinese industrial demand that is now fading.

In starting the five-week election campaign, Rudd said the economy can no longer rely on Chinese demand for iron ore and coal that made the country one of the few wealthy nations to avoid a recession during the global economic downturn.

"The boom, of course, has fuelled so much of our nation’s wealth," he told reporters at Parliament House. "That boom is over."

"Who do the Australian people trust to best lead them through the new economic challenges that lie ahead?" he asked.

Rudd conceded that his center-left Labor Party was the underdog, saying his advisers had told him that if the election had been held this weekend, his government would have lost.

But opinion polls also show that more voters prefer Rudd, a 55-year-old Chinese-speaking former Beijing diplomat, as prime minister than opposition leader Tony Abbott, a former Roman Catholic seminarian and journalist who is also 55.

Latest economic figures show a sharp decline in the nation’s finances, with the Treasury Department on Friday raising its estimated deficit for the current fiscal year to 30.1 billion Australian dollars ($26.8 billion) due to the mining slowdown. The new forecast for the year ending June 30, 2014, reveals a substantial deterioration in Australia’s finances since May, when the department forecast a deficit of AU$18 billion.

The government also announced a AU$33.3 billion shortfall in the revenue forecast over the next four years - a deterioration of about AU$3 billion a week since the May forecast.

Economic growth for the fiscal year, forecast at 2.75 percent in May, was downgraded on Friday to 2.5 percent.

The unemployment rate forecast in May to rise to 5.75 percent in the current fiscal year was revised up to 6.25 percent. The latest figures show the Australian jobless rate crept from 5.6 percent in May to 5.7 percent in June.

-- The Nation 2013-08-04

[BookMan]

Rudd's Election announcement speech

[BookMan]

Tony Abbott responds to election date announcement

http://youtu.be/ja246ZiIK5k

[BookMan]

Look at the difference between Abbott and Rudd in these Election announcement videos.

Abbott looks tired and almost confused near the end of his very short speech.

Rudd looks upbeat, healthy , positive and gives a good speech

[RickBradford]

Rudd looks upbeat, healthy , positive and gives a good speech

You've listed his main strengths, so I'll list his weaknesses.

He is a narcissistic, vindictive, mendacious, hypocritical and petty control freak whose policy initiatives are entirely driven by his lifelong agenda of personal self-aggrandisement.

[BookMan]

Rudd looks upbeat, healthy , positive and gives a good speech

 

You've listed his main strengths, so I'll list his weaknesses.

 

He is a narcissistic, vindictive, mendacious, hypocritical and petty control freak whose policy initiatives are entirely driven by his lifelong agenda of personal self-aggrandisement.

And he is a politician?

I am shocked

[David48]

BookMan ... thanks for the OP and the heads up.

I'll have to absentee/Postal Vote.

[BookMan]

BookMan ... thanks for the OP and the heads up.

 

I'll have to absentee/Postal Vote.

Leave it with me mate. I'll post u over the how to and preferences sheet for Clive Palmer's party

[BookMan]

Liberal candidate for Greenway gets caught in the headlights! . Blacktown NSW and he hasn't learnt the 'stop the boats' mantra yet...

http://youtu.be/3V--9cIScz8

[tfc]

Rudd looks upbeat, healthy , positive and gives a good speech

You've listed his main strengths, so I'll list his weaknesses.

He is a narcissistic, vindictive, mendacious, hypocritical and petty control freak whose policy initiatives are entirely driven by his lifelong agenda of personal self-aggrandisement.

I thought you were going to list his weaknesses?

[David48]

In a boost for the Labor re-election ...

Reserve Bank of Australia cuts the official interest rate to 2.5 per cent

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points to a historic low of 2.5 per cent, in line with analysts' expectations.

All but one of the 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the RBA board to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points.

In a speech last week, Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens hinted that low inflation had left the central bank with room to make further interest rate cuts this year.

He also suggested that the value of the Australian dollar remains too high.

Here

[BookMan]

Liberal candidate for Greenway gets caught in the headlights! . Blacktown NSW and he hasn't learnt the 'stop the boats' mantra yet...

Here is the full 6 minute interview...(sorry i posted the 51 seconds one before) What a train wreck! This guy seems to just repeat policy rhetoric and has zero understanding of the actual policies.

Edited August 6, 2013 by BookMan

[David48]

Credit to Old Croc for this post on how to vote overseas ...

http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/Ways_to_vote/overseas.htm

.

[David48]

Voting while Overseas

• Overseas voting centres are established at most Australian Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions around the world. Full details are available on the AEC's website.
  
• If you are travelling overseas for a short period of time and have an address a ballot can be sent to you can apply to vote by post, as detailed above. Your postal vote will be sent to your nominated postal address once ballot papers are available.
  
• If you are unable to vote using either of these methods you should complete and submit an Overseas Notification form.
  

[Scott]

A post with the entire contents inside a quote has been removed.

[BookMan]

Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie will stand in federal seat of Forde in election

PETER Beattie is to stand for the federal seat of Forde in the upcoming election.

The seat , which is currently held by the LNP's Bert van Manen, covers Beenleigh and Loganlea.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is believed to be flying to Brisbane on Thursday morning to announce the surprise candidate.

Des Hardman had been preselected for the seat, but he now looks like being disendorsed in favour of Mr Beattie. The office of Bert van Manen is preparing a statement after the shock announcement.

See Full Article Here

[BookMan]

Stephanie Banister - One nation candidate for Rankin in Queensland. Im guessing this is probably the cream of the crop for One nation.

She describes Islam as a country.

http://youtu.be/6_1SFf8t-ko

[simple1]

Stephanie Banister - One nation candidate for Rankin in Queensland. Im guessing this is probably the cream of the crop for One nation.

She describes Islam as a country.

No problem, she will fit in with the bogans in her electorate. In any case more moronic candidates like her for One Nation the better.

Edited August 8, 2013 by simple1

[BookMan]

Abbott takes lead in latest poll

The Coalition has pulled ahead of Labor with 52 per cent support to Labor's 48 per cent during the first week of an election campaign pitched by both sides as a referendum on economic management.

Tony Abbott has also overtaken Kevin Rudd on the question of personal trustworthiness in the 1400-strong Fairfax-Nielsen poll taken from Tuesday to Thursday.n a major turnaround since July, 47 per cent of voters now rate Mr Abbott as more trust-worthy than Mr Rudd, who scored a 40 per cent rating.

Advertisement

Mr Rudd had led Mr Abbott 45 to 40 on the same question in July, shortly after taking over from Julia Gillard.

See Full Article Here

[David48]

Election Debates?

Any Planned?

[lomatopo]

An interesting profile on Gina Rinehart in the New Yorker from a few months ago. Probably not news for native Australians but interesting for others perhaps.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/03/25/130325fa_fact_finnegan

I liked former PM Julia Gillard's quote: "Gillard has also described the leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott, as “Gina Rinehart’s butler.”

[BookMan]

Election Debates?

Any Planned?

Labor agrees with Liberals' debate idea, on one condition

The Labor Party has agreed to the Liberal Party's suggestion of a debate this Sunday at the National Press Club, but only on the condition that the Coalition then accepts the ALP's debate plans for the rest of the campaign.

The Liberal Party has ignored Labor's offer, repeating its preference for a total of three debates, and as of Friday morning the negotiations continue.

See Full Article Here

Edited August 10, 2013 by BookMan

[BookMan]

An interesting profile on Gina Rinehart in the New Yorker from a few months ago. Probably not news for native Australians but interesting for others perhaps.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/03/25/130325fa_fact_finnegan

I liked former PM Julia Gillard's quote: "Gillard has also described the leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott, as “Gina Rinehart’s butler.”

Interesting to read an article from an overseas perspective. Turned into more of an article about her father though. Neither of them very nice pieces of work.

Australia will look back at their own history and wonder why earlier generations gave away so much of its natural resources to such a few very rich people.

No way Labor will be proposing a mining tax this election like it did before

[Doc46]

Why all the whinging about Abbott& Rudd? The whole country will never be united to vote for one or the other, there are always different promises no matter whom is in government,,,They always lie and never do what they have promised ,That is politics !

[BookMan]

Rudd and Abbott are having their first debate tonight at the press club

[simple1]

Stephanie Banister - One nation candidate for Rankin in Queensland. Im guessing this is probably the cream of the crop for One nation.

She describes Islam as a country.

No problem, she will fit in with the bogans in her electorate. In any case more moronic candidates like her for One Nation the better.

She's already pulled her candidacy - reported on BBC news

[BookMan]

Stephanie Banister - One nation candidate for Rankin in Queensland. Im guessing this is probably the cream of the crop for One nation.

She describes Islam as a country.

No problem, she will fit in with the bogans in her electorate. In any case more moronic candidates like her for One Nation the better.

She's already pulled her candidacy - reported on BBC news

she copped a bollocking from the media and social websites and twitter

[BookMan]

Peter Beattie faces thrashing in Forde, new poll shows

Labor's shock decision to recruit Peter Beattie as its candidate for the federal Queensland electorate of Forde appears to have backfired spectacularly, with the Coalition on track to win the seat in a landslide, The Australian Financial Review reports.

Forde is one of eight marginal seats polled by JWS Research, the results of which will be published exclusively in Saturday's AFR Weekend.

The poll of four Labor marginal seats and four Coalition marginal seats around the country was conducted using the names of the respective major party candidates in each seat, ensuring maximum accuracy.

See Article Here

Edited August 16, 2013 by BookMan

[David48]

BookMan ... I appreciate what you post on this OP ...

[samran]

Vote 1 - Donkey