I watched the ABC commentary last Saturday night completely in awe of the enormous 6.3 % national swing to the ALP. Not only had the ALP contained the damage in Western Australia but seat after seat had fallen in even safe Liberal electorates. Massive swings of over 14% were recorded in some seats and Maxine McKew looked like she had pulled off the unthinkable and beaten Howard in his own seat of Bennelong. All five seats in Tasmania fell to the ALP along with election winning gains in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Ministers had fallen and at that point we were still be told of the pending retirements of senior Coalition members like Mark Vaile and Peter Costello to name just two.
At 10.35pm Prime Minister Howard appeared with his family to concede defeat and in doing so ending an era Australian politics. His speech was delivered with enormous dignity and grace and he congratulated Prime Minister elect Rudd on a “very emphatic victory”. He also went on to accept full responsibility for the Coalition campaign and election defeat and also stressed that Australia was now “stronger, prouder and more prosperous” than it had been 11 ½ years prior. If that statement was true then why had so many Australians turned their back on the Coalition? If indeed the average family were so much better off why had they so resoundingly sacked the government?
There are a number of factors that I suggest were at play. Firstly Australians have developed a social conscience that now cannot be politically ignored. Issues like the environment, treatment of refugees, equal rights for gay and lesbian couples and the promised “Education Revolution” have hit a chord with voters to the extent that the economy has been considered as one factor rather than the main factor in determining government. The massive increase in the availability and access to information due to the internet has played its part in shaping this election result. Never before have the Australian people had such a massive amount of information so readily available to assist in making the enormous decision of electing our government. Never before has there been such scrutiny of a government’s performance.
At the end of 33 years in parliament, 15 as Leader of the Liberal Party and 11 ½ years as Prime Minister, John Howard has cemented his place in history as the second longest serving Prime Minister in Australia’s history. Australia’s 26th Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has set a massive agenda for reform and was at work on Sunday morning speaking to other world leaders and instructing the new Labor Caucus to visit at least one government and one private school in their electorate before meeting in Canberra this Thursday. With Labor in government Federally and in all States and Territories we have never had a better chance of resolving issues where there has been little or no co-operation between Government at all levels. It is with enormous excitement that I thank Mr Howard for his contribution to our great nation and welcome the man who may well prove to be the best Prime Minister this country has ever seen.
Michael Marquette
Showing posts with label newcastle property. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newcastle property. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Australia's Constitutional Crisis of 2017
Ten Years On: Constitutional crisis looms
The President, John Howard, said yesterday he would not hesitate to use his powers of dismissal if the Prime Minister could not resolve the dispute that caused the Opposition to block key bills in the Senate.
The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has told Liberal senators to follow a policy of "total obstruction'' until the Prime Minister, Peter Garrett, abandons his plan to build a nuclear reactor in every state capital. Mr Turnbull is supported by four of the eight Greens senators, three of the six Holy Family senators, and the Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja.
Mr Howard delivered his threat during a ceremony in Canberra to mark Australia's return to 20 million people under the "depopulate or perish'' program. Mr Howard congratulated the Government on its anti-immigration and anti-fertility measures, which put Australia on track to reach the so-called "Flannery line" of 18 million by 2026.
Then Mr Howard departed from his prepared speech to add: "When Peter Garrett reached across the party divide to nominate me as the first president of the republic, he called it an act of national reconciliation. I told him at the time that this would not prevent me from doing my duty to the nation, and that includes ensuring the Parliament can function.''
Mr Howard's remarks were immediately condemned by the Victorian Premier, Peter Costello, and the NSW Premier, Pru Goward. Both are supporters of Mr Garrett's program to cut Australia's dependence on coal-fired power stations. "That little toad kept me waiting so long I had to move back to Melbourne and join the Labor Party to get career advancement,'' Mr Costello said. "Now he's threatening the first green Labor government in this country's history. He should respect the Garrett mandate."
Mr Garrett accused Mr Turnbull of wanting to continue Australia's greenhouse emissions so global warming would give his Woollahra home a water frontage.
STOP PRESS: the College of Cardinals in Rome has elected an Australian as the new Pope. He is the former politician Tony Abbott, who returned to the priesthood in 2008 after the Liberal Party failed to choose him as leader.
He will take the name Pope Abbott I, "in recognition of the way a humble Abbott can rise, through hard work and determination, to the top job in the world's most powerful religious corporation.''
Pope Abbott said his first priority was to "ramp up'' what he called "the war of ideas with Islam''. "Christianity needs to be packaged more dynamically, and I believe I have the diplomatic skills to do that," he said.
Original article featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Stay in Touch feature.
The President, John Howard, said yesterday he would not hesitate to use his powers of dismissal if the Prime Minister could not resolve the dispute that caused the Opposition to block key bills in the Senate.
The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has told Liberal senators to follow a policy of "total obstruction'' until the Prime Minister, Peter Garrett, abandons his plan to build a nuclear reactor in every state capital. Mr Turnbull is supported by four of the eight Greens senators, three of the six Holy Family senators, and the Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja.
Mr Howard delivered his threat during a ceremony in Canberra to mark Australia's return to 20 million people under the "depopulate or perish'' program. Mr Howard congratulated the Government on its anti-immigration and anti-fertility measures, which put Australia on track to reach the so-called "Flannery line" of 18 million by 2026.
Then Mr Howard departed from his prepared speech to add: "When Peter Garrett reached across the party divide to nominate me as the first president of the republic, he called it an act of national reconciliation. I told him at the time that this would not prevent me from doing my duty to the nation, and that includes ensuring the Parliament can function.''
Mr Howard's remarks were immediately condemned by the Victorian Premier, Peter Costello, and the NSW Premier, Pru Goward. Both are supporters of Mr Garrett's program to cut Australia's dependence on coal-fired power stations. "That little toad kept me waiting so long I had to move back to Melbourne and join the Labor Party to get career advancement,'' Mr Costello said. "Now he's threatening the first green Labor government in this country's history. He should respect the Garrett mandate."
Mr Garrett accused Mr Turnbull of wanting to continue Australia's greenhouse emissions so global warming would give his Woollahra home a water frontage.
STOP PRESS: the College of Cardinals in Rome has elected an Australian as the new Pope. He is the former politician Tony Abbott, who returned to the priesthood in 2008 after the Liberal Party failed to choose him as leader.
He will take the name Pope Abbott I, "in recognition of the way a humble Abbott can rise, through hard work and determination, to the top job in the world's most powerful religious corporation.''
Pope Abbott said his first priority was to "ramp up'' what he called "the war of ideas with Islam''. "Christianity needs to be packaged more dynamically, and I believe I have the diplomatic skills to do that," he said.
Original article featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, Stay in Touch feature.
Polling Points to Potential Carnage
Polling Suggests Carnage
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that 13,645,073 voters are enrolled for this Saturday’s election.
That represents 550,000 more than had been on the electoral rolls three years earlier (13,098,461) and almost 1.3 million than actually voted in the 2004 election!
The commission also gave a breakdown of the age groupings of the Australian electorate. These are:
18-24: 1,535,870.
25-39: 3,513,510.
40-54: 3,856,190.
55 and over: 4,739,500.
So – on which side of the fence are the majority of these groups sitting?
AC Nielsen’s polling is showing that Labor is destroying the Coalition in all age groups but the over-55s, where the Coalition has an advantage nationally of 49 per cent to 43 per cent in the primary vote. Considering it is also the largest voting group, it is quite evident why John Howard and his team is ploughing such a huge effort of time and policy promises into them.
Even then, when compared to the previous 4 elections won by the Coalition, Labor has been able to gain on average an additional 9 percentage points among over-55 voters.
In the other age groups the Coalition is severely struggling and the carnage in NSW and Queensland will be immense. Only WA is offering a glimmer of hope for John Howard to keep the Kirribilli lights on. Simon Turner
The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that 13,645,073 voters are enrolled for this Saturday’s election.
That represents 550,000 more than had been on the electoral rolls three years earlier (13,098,461) and almost 1.3 million than actually voted in the 2004 election!
The commission also gave a breakdown of the age groupings of the Australian electorate. These are:
18-24: 1,535,870.
25-39: 3,513,510.
40-54: 3,856,190.
55 and over: 4,739,500.
So – on which side of the fence are the majority of these groups sitting?
AC Nielsen’s polling is showing that Labor is destroying the Coalition in all age groups but the over-55s, where the Coalition has an advantage nationally of 49 per cent to 43 per cent in the primary vote. Considering it is also the largest voting group, it is quite evident why John Howard and his team is ploughing such a huge effort of time and policy promises into them.
Even then, when compared to the previous 4 elections won by the Coalition, Labor has been able to gain on average an additional 9 percentage points among over-55 voters.
In the other age groups the Coalition is severely struggling and the carnage in NSW and Queensland will be immense. Only WA is offering a glimmer of hope for John Howard to keep the Kirribilli lights on. Simon Turner
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