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I am by no means Kevin Rudd's number one fan. But I will give credit when credit is due.
The Government is to be commended for its response to the GFC (Global Financial Crisis). It's acted decisively and has wasted no time attempting to stimulate the economy.
But credit should also go to Malcolm Turnbull. You'd imagine in times like this an opposition leader would be irrelevant against a government dealing with a crisis, yet he has set the agenda for some government initiatives and has echoed the government's policies accordingly. Politics is healthy in Australia! Right now we have a government that is making some tough calls and an opposition holding them accountable in a responsible manner, not just to score poltiical points.
Rudd deserves to be popular with the public now. He has earnt it in the past month. We can finally say the government has done something of substance this year. But Turnbull is a leader that is going to cause Rudd a few headaches right up until 2010. Unlike Brendan Nelson, he is a relevant voice who knows what he is doing and won't go away quietly.
He is no fake when it comes to the economy and that will be the driving issue for the next two years right up until the next election. Rudd knows this, hence why he is saving all the economic talk for the media and not addressing the Parliament directly on such issues, thus denying Turnbull the chance to offer much alternative.
Interesting though that when Turnbull offers something- Such as $5 Billion into the economy, or a guarantee on all bank deposits up to $20,000, Rudd suddenly feels the need to double any such idea. Well done Malcolm, your'e making Kev a little bit toey it appears.
For a brief moment last week it looked as though things were on the up for the Opposition. Yet the devisiveness and lack of quality vision that has plagued the party post election has shown its ugly head once again.
Brendan Nelson's budget reply didn't shock the flock with great policy alternative or visionary brilliance, yet it did provide an adequate mix of liberal economic principles with a dash of populism. The proposal to cut fuel excise isn't an economically responsible policy, but given Nelson's standing in the polls it is not suprising he would propose such a measure.
However lacking in the economic how-to of the Howard years, the reply appeased the commentariat and was met cooly by the voting public. So for Nelson things looked okay for now. Except step in Malcolm Turnbull.
The leaked email has highlighted the exact problem the party faces federally and in the states, that being a lack of clear vision about what it stands for. As a policy measure, Turnbull was right to oppose the cut to fuel excise. It isn't a responsible economic move, pumping an extra $2 Billion into the markets. Hence from a classic liberal stand point it appears the opposition treasurer has his head switched on here.
Why would he agree with the policy? It is a populist grab for voters that can only make his leadership rival look slightly more appealing, and it is a basic betrayal of core liberal economic management in times of stress in the financial market.
What more could the opposition need to get back on the front foot? Labor has ignored 1.8 Million of the population by not giving anything to the pensioners, it has unfairly toyed with an us and them policy dividing Australians from the $150,000 wealthy to the lower income earners. How could it be fair that a family on such an income might be spending more than half of it on a mortgage and quite possibly be caring for a growing family and not recieve welfare benefits same as everybody else?
What about the risk that One Million people could opt out of private health insurance given the government rising the levy and thus making it more expensive? It seems that the days of economic reward and incentive for hard work are slowly dying in the days of this new labor 'golden age'.
The opposition aren't harvesting the fields of political crop that is being thrown at them. They have been largely silent on these issues, distracting the media and the voters with their own internal problems before addressing the many Australians who are going to be worse off under Labor's budget.
The Liberals need some stability if they are any chance of winning back the lost voters of November. They need it fast. As long as Turnbull and Nelson are tooing and throwing, acting in their own abitious interests rather than the parties; the focus will be on who's going to lead the party rather than what the party will stand for.
I will make a prediction now. Nelson will not remain as leader until 2010. Yet it is likely he will last out the year given no-one would want to leap into the leadership of a party so disenchanted and uninspiring at the minute.
Whether Turnbull is the right man for the top job is a tough one. It is impressive that he was able to put economic responsibility before a populist grab for votes by opposing the cut to fuel excise, however stupid it was to put his protest in writing. He does possess a suave factor that may endear him to the people more than Dr. Nelson, who seems to lack the required charisma and likeability so needed in today's world of politiics.
Time will tell. Because no doubt Turnbull will get his chance. The sooner he does, hopefully all the speculation and in fighting will stop and the party can get on with creating an alternate vision for Australia's future that looks highly uncertain under a Rudd government that has proven to be good on spin but lacking in substance.
How ironic is it that a party which criticised for so long Howard's policies is now keeping so many of them to help control our economy?
All indicators tell us that the Rudd government is planning on operating with a budget surplus with the aim of putting money back in individual pockets through tax concessions. The government has continually denied they will do away with many of the tax policies the Howard government introduced, which begs the question on where they plan to save money.
It seems Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and his razor gang are struggling to come up with any viable economic alternatives without taking a leaflet or two out of Howard's book. The fact is that after years of taunting and criticising the Howard government over wasting opportunities during times of economic prosperity, the new government can't find a better alternative to the economic policy book that worked so well under the previous governments tenure.
Even Labor's new industrial relations policy has postponed the abolition of current Australian Workplace Agreements. While they will claim that this is to make life easier for buisness so they can adapt to the changes, could it be possible that they know abolishing these contracts in the current economic climate could result in greater wage increases and put more upward pressure on inflation?
The fact is that in times of economic strain the Rudd government has indirectly given praise to the former government's management of our money by mirroring so many of its policies.
We will see little different in the upcoming budget. The government will focus its cuts on public funding taking money out of organisations and initiatives they feel they can afford too. They won't be taking money out of working families coffers. Which is a good thing you might say, yet it smells of hypocrisy when they criticised the Howard government for cuts to public funding for 11 years.
Labor ministers, especially Julia Gillard, have spent much of their time in office looking back and bagging the former government for its policies, yet there has to be a time when Rudd and his ministers stop blaming Howard for all their problems and start taking some responsibility themselves. So far we have seen a lot of big ticket initiatives by this government that has earned it positive media attention, yet when the hard times kick in it will be interesting to see how capable this new government is.
You called it at the election Kevin......the buck stops with you from now on.
It's time the liberal media stopped tipping their champagne glasses in celebration of Rudd's election victory last year and began reporting honestly and without bias.
It's somewhat disturbing that the ABC media reported how John Howard delivered a "scathing" attack on the new Rudd government's policies when the former Prime Minister did not once even mention the new government
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Unlike his former colleagues John Howard has stayed true to what he stands for. His speech in America to his fellow conservative idealogues confirms he is a man of conviction even in the wake of defeat.
Love Howard or hate him, he is a true believer in what he stood for. He stands by his industrial relations reforms even after they were the key reason why he is no longer in office. He steadfastly believes in Australia's military committments in Iraq and continues to declare the nationalist sentiment that made him so popular for many years to patriotic Australians
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The state government would be prepared to blow nearly $60 Million on keeping the Grand Prix in Melbourne before giving teachers a well deserved pay rise.
The Victorian teachers are right to be demanding such a dramatic pay increase. It is only fair that they are in line with the rest of the country. Not only that, they should be getting paid more Australia wide
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Despite the hype and expectation surrounding Kevin Rudd's 20/20 summit in April we should see this pointless two day talk fest for what it really is. It is about image and approval. The new Prime Minister is conveying himself as a man who consults, inquires and listens to all sectors of the community. Smart politics yes, but we should not be fooled.
Wasn't this Kevin Rudd the same man who declared to the voting public last November that he had a 'plan' for Australia's future? Yet now he has announced this summit to do exactly that. To construct a plan for Australia's future beyond 2020
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In the wake of a devastating electoral defeat panic has set in for the Liberal Party. Confused and rattled after a voter backlash on some of their key policies, they have abandoned some of their long held values in a desperate attempt to win back the voters they've lost.
Their eleven year stance on AWA's was put to the dust bin yesterday in the belief that any attempt at blocking the new Labor legislation would be politcally foolish. For more than a decade they refused to ratify Kyoto and refused to apologise to the Aborigines. Yet in the wake of an election defeat they've backflipped on three key policies that separated them from Labor
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People shouldn't read to much into Kevin Rudd's record approval rate in The Australian newspoll today. It comes as little suprise that a Prime Minister still basking in the glory of a landslide election victory promising to relieve working Australians of new reforms they hate could be so popular.
Rudd has had a near perfect start to his Prime Ministership. Touching on issues that many people identify with. Taking to the world stage against Japanese whaling was a smart move. Whaling is one of the most despicable practices in the world and it shouldn't be happening, especially in our waters. It's a practice that strikes a nerve with many Australians and by taking quick action on the issue would've helped his image
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The decision by many of John Howard's former ministers to publicly declare their wavering support during the 2007 campaign will do liittle to help rebuild the party now. dB]
Last year's election loss was shattering for the Coalition, leaving it in the political wilderness from border to border across the country. Wall to wall Labor dominating the political scale while a party seemingly out of touch with the contemporary voter attempts to rebuild itself.
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