How do you feel about the out come of today’s Labor Party leadership vote?

This Country is not good at all in lots of det us the people sent a message to the govment and the next one i will be the one is not in at all and a new system now...

Thanks David, appreciate your input. This is one of the reasons I tell
people to get wealthy now! It gives you more choices for you and your
family. Stuart

this country has seen its best days

MK, I'm not so sure but I can agree this country needs a new system in the
long term and more Heroes and Sheroes in interim! Stuart

What a reference to have. To be known as the biggest back stabber in Australia. What does that say to the already very agressive, foul mouthed young females out there in the school grounds who are proud to have their fights recorded on the various blog websites. We are in big trouble if this female athiest, who learnt at the feet of Jim Cairns of the fabian Society, is voted in at election time. Whatever she gives/gets in writing will be totally disregarded when /if she gains the PM seat. Females are fast becoming the most vicious fighters in the country.

frfrfrrffffrgfrffrrfrffrrfrffrfrfrfrfrrfrfrfrfrfrf

What about the 'power boys' (who place the PM of their own choice) taking the country over
and running themselves? They're doing it behind the scenes anyway--playing at King making--
so why not come out of the closet and take over?
Of course "we" wouldn't let them. But we're letting them anyway!! and we all know about it!
and 'we' are still letting them do it!! oh wow.
I think I'll just shut up and go away quietly and work on my second million dollars.
I can remember that we were ALWAYS going broke, we ALWAYS had bad pollies but so many millionaires have still been made ANYWAY. Stop whinging and succeed IN SPITE of bad leadership.
The countless millions of dollars are still lying around waiting for your shovel.
Why are you spending your time whinging when you can spend EXACTLY the same time succeeding?

I agree 100% with you Stuart. Our politicians need a big kick up the behind, and better leadership needs to take place. I think we are headed for big financial trouble here in Australia, and the way things are going now, I think we need some big changes. I hope for the country's sake that Julia Gillard realises how the mining tax is affecting us and decides to make big changes for the good of the country.

Politics are what they are "Politics" Lets face it we all know who really calls the shots "The corporations of the world" After all the majority of us are corporate slaves. Just take a look at our very basic human need "Food" in the hands of a couple very powerful food corporations. How on earth did we allow these food corporations to sack Mother Nature. Anyone who hasn't seen the documentary movie Food Inc. should see it it will make you realise exactly whats going on in this world & if we do not go back to the basics no amount of money or power will save us. Seeing, hearing Don Tolman is also a must after all without our health we are nothing. Milka Bignoux Here's a quote I believe relates to this day in history of Austarlia. "Decision is the spark that ignites action. Until a decision is made nothing happens." - Wilfred A. Peterson

Labour party, charity runner, tends to spend the money saved by Liberal! They don't have DNA - sense to run business. Their version of truth is never the reality, They run the country like communist, idea is good and end of result is bad. They play trick with luck. They will make everyone poor in the end. We have to change nature of politics and political system & culture before we change parties or leaders. They serve their individual interest through short term behaviour......

Well, even a dog knows that you "dont bit the hand that feeds you". Ruddy seems to have ignored the fact that the Mining industry is the reason Aust has not suffered as badly from the "GFC". The Mining "super tax" (not sure what could be super about tax) was not, I believe to be an attack on the mining industry, but just a way to cover the debt that Rudds policies created. As Stuart points out... Trading Insolvent is a jail-able offense for ozzie businesses, but for some reason its just fine if your a Government. Double standards... since Rudd was the "Leader" right? How/where are they leading us?

Technically, trading insolvent is what our banking industries do every day of the week - they just call it 'fractional reserve lending'. Lending out more money than they actually HAVE in their hands - lending thin air to us suckers, & we pay them back 'real' money - if I tried that, I'd be jailed, as it would be regarded as FRAUD. However it's not a problem to the big boys - unless of course they over expose themselves in moments of sheer greed, (for example) to over-priced & under-valued property markets, etc, it could be a little drama - nothing major though, like say - A WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS... (Not a lot of people jailed for that either)

Which leads onto how does a Government deal with a GFC? Some, like Australia, were in a better financial position than others & actually had a 'rainy day' fund to work with, which did help to see us through. Kudos to the Libs for that, by basically NOT investing in our own country or it's people for 11 years, we had a HUGE surplus built up! Now while it would have been great for the Labour guys to sit on that fat pile of cash keeping their arses warm & do nothing during the GFC, they took the initiative & used it (plus credit - which is never fun, because yes we are accountable to pay it back) Not everyone agrees with the 'stimulous payout', however judging by the Pre-Christmas sales reports in 08-09, versus 09-10, it did have a marked effect on keeping spending up for that first period after the crisis announcements & left the merchants wishing they had it again last year. Other areas of spending focussed on infrastructure & again, like it or not, that investment back into our country after lacking for so long, even with associated problems in those schemes, will tell as doing far more GOOD than harm for the future.

Then there's the mining industry. Nice to see the miners' campaigns have worked to fool (some of) the general public Joe! They would like to have us believe that they single-handedly saved us all from the grip of the GFC & for that we should be eternally grateful, bow & scrape before them - gee, maybe we should even REDUCE their taxes!?.. Truth is, they are but one SMALL part of our economy, they pay a LOW amount in current royalties to dig up OUR resources & sell it at a HIGH price, then get to take most of that PROFIT out of Australia, tax free, due to the nature of our crappy tax system! But that's another story.. Keeping on track with the miners: "super tax" is a stupid term - it is a tax on "super profits" only, which brings in a fair return on OUR resources, instead of getting screwed over as we are now..You may be happy to bend over & take it from the miners Joe, but most of us are not happy about their rort & think it's about time they paid their fair share! On the flip-side & what they aren't saying in their ads, is that they will pay LESS when the commodity prices are down across the world & they still get all their brilliant deductions, rebates & a drop in company tax to help those poor magnates through the lean times!
Not a lot of publicity there either, but never let the facts get in the way of a good story..

IF that tax had been in place years ago, during the major boom (over which the Howard govt presided & did very little to invest in this country's infrastructure, training, education, etc) the country's coffers would have been swollen & we would most likely have minimal debt situation for people to be whining about now. A new system is needed & whatever govt is in power, headed up by a woman or not, they should have the balls to stand up & make it happen!

Just one article on the topic, there are more if you bother to take the time to look:
http://www.smh.com.au/business...
"In BHP Billiton's full-page ad it claims the strength of our resources sector ''was a key factor in keeping Australia out of recession''. It offered no figures in support of this claim, so let's look at a few. The mining industry accounts for less than 7 per cent of gross domestic product and, because it is so capital-intensive, only 1.6 per cent of our total employment. So for such a small part of the economy to have saved us its performance would need to have been miraculous...

In fact, mining contracted more than most. After peaking in the December quarter of 2008, its new capital expenditure fell in each quarter of 2009, taking the total fall over the year to almost 13 per cent.

Over the year to last September, employment in the mining industry fell by 5.6 per cent. Employment in the related heavy and civil engineering construction industry fell by 7.6 per cent. Over the same period, total employment in Australia fell by only 0.3 per cent.

In the first six months of 2009, the mining industry shed more than 27,000 workers. Had all industries behaved the same way (and assuming no fall in the rate of participation in the labour force) the unemployment rate would have increased from 4.6 per cent to 19 per cent in just six months.

This huge volatility in the mining industry - its vulnerability to swings in world commodity prices - demonstrates why, taken overall, the industry would be much better off under the more flexible royalty arrangements offered by the resource super-profits tax.

Right now, however, the tax would take a big bite out of the profits of the established mining giants, particularly BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. That's why we're hearing so much nonsense from them."
(Ross Gittins is the Economics Editor.)

time to get them out of office i say

bastille day viva la revolution start all over again i say

two sides of the same coin change the currency system

Thank goodness the Howard government was not in power when the global collapse happened or us Australians would have been in a much worse state. Mr Rudd was prepared to make wise decisions that kept us ahead of most of the world. You are obviously biased. Everybody knows the mining tax had to happen as we have been letting the profits go over to huge multinationals for far too long. Good on Kevin Rudd for having enough insides to stand up. It is sad to see him go I just Julia Gillard shows some of the stamina she did before and takes a tough line. Please do not send me any more of your emails because as you may have noticed I delete most of them I like LTGGOLDROCK. Good bye

I think the outcome was a great one. Julia has positioned herself to act with integrity and has approached her role with dilligence. She has listened to feedback and has consistently worked on improving herself and taking on feedback, where Kevin Rudd hasn't and that has cost him. I believe that Julia can see the bigger picture more clearly and has a greater understanding of the implications of party policy.

There will be balance again - I for one and looking forward to a different perspective and dlivery on promises....

I for one am worried that people will forget that the party is still Labour and Labour tend to spend and spend, which has now depleted a lot of reserve monies, accumulated over a long period of time by the previous Howard government.
Responsible financial decisions are certainly more important than spending for the sake of being popular and not looking far ahead into the future of our country. Julia Gillard is certainly coming across as a very dedicated and clever politician, but let us not forget the BIG PICTURE for out country.

The only reason Howard did so well was because Keating set the recovery in place by his tough policies. Howard had enough sense to run with it although he then took the credit which he did not deserve.

OK. Lets get our facts right.
Australia is NOT in essence a business. It is a country and the people are NOT the board of directors they are citizens who elect representatives to represent them in Parliament. Kevin Rudd is a representative of HIS electorate. Rod, unless you live in his electorate you DID NOT and COULD NOT vote for him. By you voting for his Party's representative in your electorate you authorised the Party to choose it's leader. As his Party had a majority of representatives he became the PRIME MINISTER. It is the Party's prerogative to choose who is to lead them. In this instance the Party (the majority of the Party) decided that their interests were no longer best served by Kevin Rudd and so exercised it's prerogative to change leaders.
We do not have a Presidential voting system. We vote for parties not Prime Ministers. Parties choose their leaders and if they win majority their leaders become the Prime Minister. We have no influence on
who the Parties choose as leaders.

The Australian Government, in essence, is a business. We the people are the board of directors, Kevin Rudd was employed by the board of directors to run the business (General Manager). The remaining politicians are employees of the business.
Since when do employees get to sack the GM??????
I voted for Kevin NOT Julia. It was my choice to vote at the next election and decide Kevins fate Not the employees.

I think the 24Jun2010 is a sad day for Australia. Our vote is undermined by the actions of the Labour Party in ousting Kevin. I voted for Labour and expected to see Kevin be given the opportunity to be assessed at the Polling Booths at the end of his first term. I think that he is not the only one shafted here. Julia and the rest of the Nation will be licking our wounds from this for some time. I don't believe this action is in the Australian Spirit our ancestors fought and died with. It is a shamefull day. I would have loved to have seen Julia ascend to the highest office in her own right. Godbless Australia......

Yes I am with you all the way. Kevin Rudd should have been given the chance to take Labor the the next election. Julia is now going to have to watch her back because she has been put there by others who are hoping to take the leadership. They are hoping to use her as a pawn for there own gain. Yes it was certainly a shameful day.

I love that we have a female PM but more so because Julia is smart, articulate and compassionate and her speech - go read - says that it is up to EVERY individual to do their bit. So true. Politics aide, cause u know where my vote is, Australia is still the lucky country. Anyone who doesn't have what they want in either money or happiness needs to take action to make it so for themselves. NO GOVT CAN GIVE US THAT. We must take it and make it happen for ourselves and then we can share our successes with each other as we choose. Choice is the only freedom we need and we all have choice. I wish everyone the determination to make of their lives what they want and to take responsibility for their own actions or lack thereof if it isn't.

I think Rudd was cut short prematurely. The comment that we were not in debt prior to Rudd and now we are ignores the fact that the whole world was hit hard recently and that every new government has to deal with the mess left behind by the last. It happens every time. The new government comes in, if the last gov's reforms worked and we are in good shape, the new gov takes the credit, if the old gov stuffed up, then it all comes to light when the new gov takes office, but the new gov get the blame. Regardless of who would have been in, this last year has been a challenging one for every country on the globe, and I think in fairness, Australia has done OK. I could go on and on, but I gotta get back to my day. I wish Julia well and would love her to be a great leader and break some old gender barriers down and move the consciousness of this country a little further forward.

Hi Stuart, its a very interesting time in politics for the country and of course the female population of the country. We currently have 3 female leaders of this country, a Governor General and 2 Premiers. Now we have a female Prime Minister. Lets give the girls a go, see how they fair, after all the men have had many chances to prove themselves as leaders of this great country. In fairness and I believe most Australians are in the "give them a fair go" belief. Lets hope that Julia has the ability and tenacity to lead the party to success. Joy Vale

Hi.There a old saying. Rooster come home to lay they eggs. It true he was not listering. When I was a young boy at home, I was alllways told to listen more then talk. Maybe Dud Kevin 07 should have listen to his voters of our great land and took notes. . John

Like it or not, at least there was a swift decision made. Both parties chop & change leadership to suit their purposes, self-preservation is always key. Perhaps if John Howard had seen his party's vision as more important than his own stature, he also would've bowed out in 07 & maybe the Libs would've crossed the line in front. Take charge well Julia, Kev did a good job in a very short time, despite the hammering many have given him. There is no satisfying all people in any term, no matter which party leads - the Govt must pander to the majority of 'who-cares' public opinion to get new ideas across the line, especially when the majority of people choose to stay ignorant of new ideas, preferring instead to blame the leader for whatever ails them...

Do people REALLY expect that an ETS, hospitals, schools, training for doctors, etc can be completely fixed in less than ONE term? Our previous Govt decided we didn't need education, health, aged care, climate policies or tax reform for eleven years & got away with it UNTIL enough people stopped being ignorant of what is ailing us at this time & opted for change. (Although Peter C had some good ideas for tax reform/debit tax systems that John H kicked him in the balls for - fat cats don't like their cream being skimmed..) So now some changes have been made, others still to come & while it would've been good for to see Kev see his full term, Julia now deserves a chance to implement those changes, if the political misogynists can chill out... If she leads the party to victory at the election on decent policies, good on her - we'll see if News Limited can handle writing policy stories instead of worrying about how her hair looks...

I hear Julia gets on fairly well with Gina R, so maybe the mining stalemate shall be broken sooner than expected, with a better negotiated, not forced, mining tax with the companies involved, so the nation's coffers benefit, not just a wealthy few hip-pockets. Amending the 1954 tax agreement would also be an advantage, so ALL multi-national companies trading here pay their fair share, instead of leaving Joe Blow to pick up their tab.. (Australia is one of the few developed nations in the world that has willingly sold off all major assets & bared it's backside to foreign interests, fearing we won't get the business if we don't hock off our resources & prostitute ourselves in trade relations 'negotiations' - ie bend over & take it hard one more time, mate..) Had these reforms been implemented even 5 years ago, within the mining boom, it would mean far less, if any debt situation now. Reform tax systems now & at least we'll be ready to ride the next boom-bust cycle that will inevitably occur in the future!

And create a much better ETS strategy, negotiated with the Greens, so we can begin to take some baby steps into a less polluted world - perhaps our kids will also become educated enough to learn from new ideas & examples set now, instead of the stayed ways of the past...

MJSmith,

Thanks for your comment on my post.
One day after the event I still find it difficult to believe that people are so blinkered in their view. From my perspective all the troubles in the world today stem from people and governments operating from a position of competition instead of creativity and what astounds me even more is all some wealthy people, many of whom are also exponents of the Universal Laws of wealth creation seem to be be part of the problem. They are quick to preach but slow to practice. Happy to make their wealth by teaching the principles but distance themselves in actually being part of the solution.
I'd love to see a 'get together' of these multi millionaire gurus and see them Mastermind how they could use a portion of their total wealth to solve at least one major issue in the world.
I'd also like to know what the immense amounts of money Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have set aside is actually doing.
I'd like them to have a look at what ordinary unwealthy individuals like Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley who set up KIVA Micro Financing and what they have been able to achieve to set people in 3rd world countries on a path of entrepreneurial prosperity.
It just saddens me that we still seem to be working on the premise that "Greed is good" and sadder still that many think that if it's good more is better.
I intend to continue with my aspirations and my actions in the belief of Infinite Abundance and trust that the Universe will bring to me that for which I strive. I seek not to take it away from anyone else and will share what I have with others who seek the same.
John

You have an inspirational way of thinking John! It would be great to have a majority of people in the world eventually coming together for solutions to common problems & creative goals, instead of a fair minority of 'Infinite Abundance' thought at the moment..

KIVA is a fantastic model to work from & it would be a dream come true to see people like Bill & Warren come to the party & expand that kind of vision sooner rather than later, as their legacy. My own goals for financial success are driven by the prospect of seeing an end to modern day human slavery in my lifetime, especially the sexual exploitation & slavery of children in areas like Thailand, Cambodia, South America, Africa, & also existant in many supposedly modernised countries like the USA & Australia... There are good people doing great things every day of the week around the world, to help ease some burdens, but sadly the 'not enough' mentality, or 'THOSE people are worth less than MY people' mentality, from all levels of leadership, prevents a lot of cash from flowing to where it could do the greatest good at this time.

The Buffet, Gates, Murdoch, Palmer, Forrest & other fortunes around the world could use even a tiny portion of existing profits to perform huge volumes of good work in their lifetimes (& many are already, in some cases.) Instead, there are many individuals acting from a scarcity mindset, throwing fear into the mix at every opportunity, to further their own interests.

I hope to see less polarisation of viewpoints in years to come, as more people realise that by not connecting with each other (or devaluing others) we are actually causing the problems that everyone complains so loudly about, yet are reluctant to address. By continuing to choose to allow poverty & by not sharing the abundance we already have, we continue to breed our biggest fears of terrorism & all other negative connotations within a 'divide & conquer' ideology.

CHANGE is everybody's biggest FEAR, but it's most necessary to be able to move forward - it's also the only guaranteed constant in the Universe - EVERYTHING will CHANGE!
Cheers John, abundant blessings to all of us :)

I think you should lok at the economic from the world not your own dinning room. The world was saying to Kevin , why are you looking at taxing your people more when the standed of living is so great. London Times Jan 25 10. This was a article you should have read.

"The world was saying to Kevin , why are you looking at taxing your people more when the standed of living is so great."
Actually John, the now foreign-owned large mining companies & their billionaire magnates are the ones who are saying 'Why the extra taxation, surely we pay enough?..' (Poor old Clive & Twiggy might have to tighten their belts in future - it'll be tough living on just a few billion each!) The rest of the world on the other hand has looked at the proposal & said 'Not a bad idea - perhaps WE should also look at reviewing our mining taxes from the current royalty system!' Including South Africa, Canada & South American countries, who are the ones that the major miners declared they would run to, as they openly exaggerated claims of job losses & unprofitable projects here.

You say I "should have" read the London Times article. As a matter of fact I have read their repetitive article(s), so I do understand where you derive your "world" information from, as one-sided as it may be through Rupert's News filter...Yes, the London Times - that bastion of unbiased (News International) reporting, featuring misleading headlines & statements like "40% Tax On Mining Profits". This makes it sound like it's an extra 40% across-the-board tax on ALL profit earnings for each company. Which is what the companies want everyone to think. We all (should) know this is NOT the case & with all the generous rebates, depreciations, company tax changes & the like, the miners will NOT be paying an outright 52-58% (or even 70%, as suggested by Clive Palmer). They'll be far better off than any of us with our income tax returns & the outright tax rates we have to pay currently!
In the last 5 years the majority foreign owned mining companies profits have more than doubled. However due to our out-dated tax & royalty system, those companies are taking most of OUR country's resources & converting them into their own personal bankroll, which is largely shipped offshore, with minimal reinvestment here to serve their own interests, not those of the nation.
We also find ourselves in a precarious situation, as monopolisation of any industry by any one person or company (from news media ownership, to retail/grocery chains, to mining rights..) leads to a great deal of misinformation & power-tripping.

Quote from a good article you "should have" read John: "The rationale for the misleadingly named resource super-profits tax is that it will replace the present mineral royalties charged by state governments, which are both unfair and inefficient. They're unfair because the owners of the minerals - you and me - are getting a price for them that's now much lower than they're worth." - http://www.smh.com.au/business...

Some other food-for-thought on the situation:
http://www.theage.com.au/opini...
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.a...

And to finish, as a matter of personal courtesy & appearing professional, even if it's just a blog post, you "should have" checked your grammar & spelling before hitting the post button!.. ;)

While it is true that there was a surplus of funds when Labour came into power, it is too blind sighted to imagine that the same scenario would not have occured due to the financial & economical crisis. The reality is, the Prime Minister is but a figure head, the "Sales Rep" for the political party. So a destruction of one PM in order to salvage polls and votes, is an internal vote of "NO CONFIDENCE".

anyway back to prosperity millionaires that are independent!

"Your financial planner says....."?

i didn't expect that you had a financial planner as well as taking advice from one........?

yea its 2 min in

I feel most sorry for Australians, in general, who have been hoodwinked by self serving politicians for far too long. Just a little over 100 years ago, as part of all states becoming drawn together under the banner of Federation, politicians were voted for, by their particular constituents, to represent them in political affairs in the nation's capital. In the 100 years since Federation the constituents have been relegated to the back benches and party politics has raised an ugly head to now be the most important part of what a politician represents.

To believe that Kevin Rudd was alone in making all the bad decisions, that have placed all of us in a position of sharing in the Australian debt, then there would have to be a lot of naive people out there. Julia Gillard and her backers saw that if they left Mr Rudd in the position of leader then their personal positions of power would disappear at the next election. The value of what's good for Australia would have been a long way from their minds in disposing of one power base only to replace it with another one of simlar ilk, only of a different colour. Wake up Australia and make your politicians responsible for what and who they represent - Australia's good and YOU!!!!!

Never a labour voter si dont like any socialist policy. My view is most people in public leadership take too muc notice of their minders and after a while start to believe their own spin. By doing this they lose conatct with their original beliefs and Rudd has payed the price of manipulation. Howard love or hate him had the courage of his conviction and stuck to his ideals, so we at least knew who we were dealing with. If Julia can stick to her beliefs and not worry about the spin, she just might prove herself as a leader

Krudd failed at everything he touched.... and Gillard was behind him every step of the way. Good ole socialist mentality... drive the country into the ground and then let future generations worry about it. Bring back Peter Costello I say. Or at least give Joe Hockey a go!

Kevin Rudd and his government (in case you didn't know) made Australia the envy of the world with their handling of the GFC, which is the reason The Australian made him The Australian's Australian of the year - despite the fact they had earlier criticised his strategy. Once they saw how well this strategy worked, to their credit, they acknowledged their mistake appropriately.
Sorry - actually clicked the Like on your statement by mistake - so take one off from the Like count.
Australia, as a resource rich country in fact has no problem with its debt level (even the Liberals had to point this out to poor old Barnaby Joyce to retain some sort of credibility). On the other hand, we do have problems with health, education and infrastructure because in the DO NOTHING years of the Howard government, these were run into the ground by funding cuts - see D side's comments below which I do totally agree with. Australia now has the severe doctor shortage because of the cut in University places in Medicine under Howard/Costello – literally we all suffer as a result of the Howard era.

would like to see Joe Hockey given a go.. Abbot has not got what it takes

You've got to spend money to make money, or in this case, save money, because the debt we are in helped us escape, effectively unscathed from the GFC.
I personally would support VAST national debt. We've got to spend money to fix the problems that john howard left us with. shitty schools, infrastructure, hospitals, money taken from higher education. If you say some of these are state responsibilities, i say he sat by for 12 years while all of these areas languished in despair. the buck has to stop somewhere. 9000 dollars debt per person is miniscule in comparison to the debt of other nations, and vbastly less than what i would like to contribute to the betterment of our nation. and since most australians have vast sums of income sitting in their superanuation, (which would also have been vastly more if super contributions had been increased as planned at its instigation), which is permanently invested and earning for australians and australian companies, the debt is effectively leveraged.

We NEED better roads, schools, and hospitals, and i dont care if i have to pay higher taxes or work longer of my life for them, to pay off some debt. the longer we wait to fix them, the more we need to spend. and in many places, these services are already apallingly lacking.

Debt is only a problem if it is unmanagable, and Australia (i won't give labor all the credit for sailing the GFC, decades of world class management of our finances by both parties; super, GST, well founded and regulated banks, etc) has proved that we are in a position to deal with this debt.

To all those people who think kevin deserved to serve out his term because you voted for him (im one of them), some thoughts i've considered:
We did not choose kevin rudd, we voted john howard out. We do not have presidential run offs like the USA, so kevin was in no way our choice as leader, just the leader of the party we chose to replace the prime minister we no longer wanted.

Would you have had a problem with Abbott or Costello (tony or peter) taking a leadership swipe at john howard in '07? it quite possibly could have saved the election for the liberals. same scenario.

If you support a party, and its leader, but your party will lose unless it overthrows its leader, do you support the party or the leader?

Its not about Kevin, or Julia, its about labor,(the filth of factional fighting not withstanding), and the best chance of preserving their governance, in order to best serve their ideology. And if 15 percent of people are willing to change their vote because they've lost faith in Kevin(regardless whether this is a fickle loss of faith in a man we very recently loved), then does not the party owe it to itself to seek a change in leadership?

If you want labor out, then your only voting choice is looking like tony abbott - a right wing zealot, touted as the mark latham of the liberal party, who, not that many years ago, was seen by most as an embarassment to our parliament - a regular comedy slot on the nightly news.

I think that what this shows us is how little say the single man really has in endgame policy - We vote for one of two parties, offering only two approaches to lifes myriad of multifaceted problems. Sometimes they don't do what they say they will, and sometimes the Senate won't let them do what we voted them in for. Yes, both sides have strong convictions, but watch any weeks installment of Q & A to hear members of both parties playing ball with lots of spin.

Talking of spin. How can anyone seriously object to a tax on mines that earn SUPER profits. we are talking about projects so profitable that even with the extra tax, they will be earning more money than some small nations. The top 5 mining exectutives in australia earnt the same amount last year as the nex tax would collect next year. 9 billion dollars. No project earning 15 to 20% and higher profit will be canned, and the suggestion that they would is ludicrous. fear mongering. they can afford to spend 40 million dollars within a day of the announcement to bombard us with ads opposing the tax though. they put that fund together in a matter of minutes. The richest men in australia dont want you scooping the cream off their crop, because Clive palmer has been looking forward to his fourth personal private jet, ever since he got his third.

As a side note - norway nationalised its mines decades ago, and now has SO MUCH SPARE MONEY that it cannot spend it due to fear of inflation.

And clive palmer has three jets.

Why do we vote?
Kevin Rudd was doing a good job. The people voted him in. It’s not right that others can put him out? We the people should have the right to vote him out if that’s what we want. Politicians should be doing what’s right for the country not worrying about whether or not they will be reelected. Nothing against Julia Gillard but she should have supported her leader and told the rest of them to get be hind him and work for the good of the country.
No wonder we have compulsory voting – What’s the point?????? Kevin Rudd tried to get ETS through, it wasn't really his fault it kept getting knocked back.
Jay

Would love to know what you've voiced Stuart, but cannot access your vidoe, could you please send it via email as I'd be very interested as to your personal opinion on the latest outcome in politics re: Ms Gillard. To be perfectly honest I'm still trying to take it all in as its happened oh so quickly, this change, for good or bad, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or health, till death of another party or faction for that matter......., does she part?????
My contribution is to pray, pray & keep on praying for the right person for this position & our country. Joy +

Same old labour, nothing has changed. SHIT""""""""""""""

What happened to our democracy! I don't remember voting for Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd should have been given the chance to redeem himself and serve a full term. We the people of Australia should have the right to decide who we want to lead our country.

I'm with a majority of voters. The Australian people voted in Kevin Rudd. A Prime Minister gets 3 yrs to prove himself. What happened to the peoples vote. It just became null and void. Why are we voting when our votes can be disregarded in a day. I am really angry about Julia Gillard coming in the back door and yes she is right we did not vote for her. She'll do her bit until the elections, then someone else will become Prime Minister and change everything again. No wonder this country of ours is in deep shit.

Its still the same vehicle (party) with a different driver,driving blind and out of control,

our family moved to Australia to ecape a Labour run country headed by a woman, ....and now it seems Autralia is going to learn the hard way the lesson it took NZers 3 terms to finally realise.... Labour will do whatever it takes to realise their agenda... had to laugh at Abbott's comment, " NSW mafia"... hope the media coin that one, hilarious! I hope also that the nation heeds his words, "different salesperson, same product".. what I think we shall see however, is a woman in power, with another woman as leader of the opposition... OMG.... what a hoot...

Anyone who promotes the man made climate change scam is part of the problem... all puppets of the invisible string pullers behind the New World Order. Carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant... political hot air however may be.

You know ... there's always been a shying away from changing horses mid-crisis and there may have been a good reason for it in the past. But with the lates coup, I just don't know. I think Kevin did his best and he did seem to genuinely care. But that just wasn't enough in the end.

You are absolutely right Stuart, this country needs good solid leaders, but unfortunately, our contemporary society doesn't raise/nurture them. Standards and values have become so eroded over the years that would-be leaders are wishy-washy, double-minded beings with lack of purpose, goals and ability to think outside the square. We can blame just about anything on the GFC. But what do we blame the GFC on? Poor, inconsistent leadership with little ability to make the tough decisions and stand by them. Lack of true grit.

We live in a world without answers to the toughest problems we have. Now is the time to encourage leadership, so good on you for doing that Stuart.

Lets build a healthy , wealthy Australia! No time for the negative, lets join together as we did last weekend.

Well, it's happened and Julia is PM! Only time will tell if this is a good thing or bad. I just think that all those who will applaud the demise of Kevin 07 are guilty of a massive case of ingratitude. He displayed real leadership and compassion during the GFC and got Australia out of the mess that we were in due to the bad financial management of the banks and the world's leading economists. As a result Australia's economy is the envy of the western world. Sure we have a debt but this will be acquitted in a few years because of the sound financial management of Rudd & Swan and because of their leadership Australia has been delivered from a recession.

I agree that we need leadership. But I am afraid that the likes of you and your financial planner cannot recognise it when it is right before your eyes. What we have seen in the last few months is an enormous misinformation campaign by (in particular) News Ltd to undermine the good work of the Labor government. And the poor feeble minded public are too stupid to realise that they have been saved by the government's prompt and resolute actions. The public is being lead around by a man who has never had to stand for election but because of his vast ill-gotten gains can manipulate the way the public thinks and votes. That man is none other that Rupert (the Dirty Digger) Murdoch.

I do not care about if the Prime Minster is a Woman or a Man. The best person should have the job. Mr Rudd goes out with a big payout but if a normal worker gets replaced he does not even get a thank you from his boss. He also retains his big super and travel entitlements.

Regardless of the leadership putsch it seems to me that any government that tries to legislate a tax on companies responsible for keeping this country shielded from the recent economic troubles needs a shake up. Consultation would have been better for all australians not waving the socialist stick. Good Luck Julia.

we still have a self serving politician regardless of gender

It is a shame the liberal party had sold out Teltstra to gain that surplus as well. keen on Mr Rudd or not it is disgraceful a Prime minister that was voted in by the people can be kicked out by the faction of the labour party Mr Costello made a good speech and thanked Mr Rudd for his good leadership and saving us from the recession. So many people thought it was good when they were spending the surplus money. I have just returned form UK and the US and they are in a mess. When the working person is taxed because the mining companies won out and your tax goes up and the fat cats get richer once again think back.

I agree Amalia - what a shame she got in like this. Who cares if it's a woman or man leading the country .. it's the right PERSON that counts. If that person was a democratically elected woman - wahoo! I am convinced that the Labor Party were so afraid of losing the next election they have played a low card... hoping that women will vote their way simply because it's a woman and would be historic. Let's hope the women of this country are not that short sighted and gullible..

So now we have a country run by factions - how can that be good? I am no fan of Rudd, but this is no better, and probably worse

Every country is run by factions - those who wield the bigger stick rule as puppetmasters from behind - it simply depends how far into the limelight the backroom-boys wish to stand. This situation has received more dramatic attention than if Wayne Swan had stepped up to the challenge - because OH DEAR GOD, IT"S A WOMAN!!... How ever shall we cope??..
Same as always - both sides of politics will continue slapping each other, while trying to appease the masses - who are more obsessed with the World Cup every 4 years, than how our country is designated to run or potentially change hands every 3 years...

I don't think the people of Australia will be fooled by the Labor Party changing leaders. Julia Gillard was part of the problem for the Labor Party. She was part of the group of Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan who made decisions such as no action on the Emissions Trading Scheme without consulting the rest of the caucus. This leadership challenge makes her out to be a back stabbing liar as she only very recently strongly denied any idea of challenging Kevin Rudd for leadership. Where's her loyality and strength of conviction.

Not too good,more of the same denials that they have badly managed And wasted our financial resources.
Saving us from a global recession that wasn't going to hit us like USA and Europe is a phurphy.
Today's speech was an election speech.

The Labour Party as far as I can remember has always done the WRONG thing to the people and the country with their lack of knowledge on money matters. When I was in infants school we were taught by my parents that when you earn money you have to save half of your earnings while you are young and have no debts so that when you are older you are able to afford things and even then we were taught to be careful about what you spend your hard earned savings on. So when is the Labour Party ever going to learn that the money should have been spent on worthwhile things and half of it should have been saved for when times got really tough. The Labour Party has brought shame to our country and it is time to call it a day and let the Liberals get on with the job of rebuilding our bank balance, and we as a nation need to be patient while that is in progress, after all it is for our benefit in the then.

It was Howard/Costello that brought in the First Home Buyers scheme, not Labor. That scheme enabled thousands of people who otherwise would not have used debt to buy homes. For those, as you say, who have the wherewithall, to save, pay loans on time that was a great idea. However, it enabled thousands without that ability, attitude and skill to take on debt they may not be able to cope with. The Australian banks played along. Instaed of being cautious about loaning they willing gave 100% mortages to those who hitherto they would not have.
Remember it was the Liberals who demonstrated a total lack of understanding about money matters. Debt is a fantastic tool when used well, but a curse if you can't handle rising rates, and changing circumstances. Australia has been given a clean bill of health for its current debt levels, ie, triple A rating. Obviously the world thinks Labor has done a fantastic job of applying debt responsibly. In other words they really understand macro and micro economics.
Australia isn't a country that dictates what the public ought to spend their money on. The vast majority has gone to employers involved in building and infrastructure, that seems a great outcome, but not perfect.
When it come to SHAME, the liberals take some beating, would not apologise to the first Australians, the boat people, taking us to WAR, to name but a few.

The Australian public have been denied the opportunity to vote democratically for it's first female Prime Minister... What a pity!

All the problems started with Labor Government.
Only Liberals are the best leaders of this country.
Kate

Sweeping statements are only good for those who really don't understand issues. It was the Howard government spending cuts which ran down education, infrastructure and health in this country and K Rudd's Labor who have started to fix the mess - and in the process avoided the impact of the GFC.

Rudd appeared as a nice guy but hopeless at his job. Actually Gillard has not appeared to be too bad as Deputy, but as we all know it's a whole new ball game when you put on the bosses hat. My main concern would be her union background and the fact that she is going to, if she has not already, have to hope into bed with the unions. You can not have Government policy made by a small self interested group and expect to achieve the best results for the Nation as a whole. My other concern is that the poor old whales have that idiot Garrett looking after their interest. After the insulation joke and that display of Garetts policy and decision making qualities the Japanese must be smerking all the way to the local experimental labs to pick up their whale meat sandwich for lunch. Very sad, we were down in Antartica and you could touch a couple of these creatures they came across as very intelligent unlike some of our politicians who come across as ..whats the word I am looking for? Neanderthals comes close but doesn't do the Neanderthals justice.

Julia is in, but I imagine she comes in with the support of Union Factions again (something Rudd's personality was able to shrug). Julia is likely to focus again on an Energy Trading Scheme (ETS). As a tax consultant, I can vouch that this is the most complex piece of legislation running for about 800+ pages that will ever be produced. It is also to be administered like the GST, with Big Business having to calculate and trade energy usage for all their subcontractors. For example, Myer will have to trade RECs to compensate for not only their energy usage but all of their smaller suppliers usage, with penalties if they get it wrong.

I have seen accountants and lawyers rubbing their hands - I was one at one point. There is millions to be made if an ETS gets up for professional services.

For individual companies it will also have different impacts - Take Bluescope Steel. They have just built in NSW one of the most environmentally friendly steel processing plants in the world, but will be penalized $500million for carbon output.Can they help that the industry is a heavy carbon user??? This challenges the financial viability of operating in Australia, with the most environmentally friendly processing plant. I understand Bluescope has already started expansion on plants in South Asia who are happy to have their economy grow with a responsible company.

No point whinging without throwing in the Alternative -
- tax carbon usage. Simple - and in line with tax returns that all businesses do anyway.

Watch out for this one with JULIA - ETS is still popular, and she will resurect it to get votes, but when you look at what was designed, it is a nightmare. We need a different environmental plan!!!

Good one Julia, now is the Green's time, let the Green come to our rescue.! Please Mr. Brown take over.!

Debt - Australia's Debt is like a person earning $50,000 pa, and needing to take out a $3,000 credit card to repair their car, so they could keep working - we have exposed ourselves to 6% of our income. Consider people investing in a home expose themselves to often 5 to 8 x their income. ($300,000 Property purchased by a person earning $50,000 pa) When Australia's debt is put in perspective, is it really headline material? I think it is JUST DOOMSDAY HEADLINES.

The underlying problem for Investors is Labor's (particularly Rudd's) socialist policies. Don't get me wrong, I think we need much more support for education, health etc. But all investors, even individuals, need certainty about, how they will be taxed, if they are allowed to invest etc etc. No certainty & much change = investment moving to where there is certainty.

Mining profits tax is the worst example of capitalism in existence. Surely, if you encourage more miners to Australia, you ultimately collect more tax... but they did the opposite. But this is the only one that hit the news for all Australians.
Telstra has been threatened with being divided, pricing caps put in place, cut out of NBN deals for more than 12 months. Dislike their service if you will, but this uncertainty again drives investors away.

The environment schemes set up to assess each households carbon footprint, which then allowed households to get Green Loans from Banks was pulled in March suddenly when the Government noticed no one was taking up Green Loans. WHY? Because, Rudd had cut public sector spending by 2% - The Environment assessments were to be assessed by Canberra, but piled up for some 6 months with little action. Duh - of course no loans were taken out - all the necessary documents were with Rudd. What hurts is people i know who are passionate about environmental issues poured $450,000 into setting up an assessment company with 12 employees. That went down the tube along with each employees life. NO Compensation unlike there was for insulation businesses.

Rudd had mentioned Bank Regulation several times recently - I believe they were next in his sights for slaughter.

Forget the debt and immigrant debate - it is smoke for the real issues in this country - education, skill shortages (enormous), market stability, and infrastructure bottlenecks that prevent massive investments here.

Stuart the present government has done more for this country than any other. The hype about the mining tax is just that. The superannuation and the pension for the elderly will benefit as we all will in our pay.
They kept us out of the recession and they are forward thinking and will take us to greater heights if we stop listening to the hype and look through that nonsense and understand what is actually happening. I for one are employed because of the stimulus package and the huge investment in creating a new industry.
We have very strong leadership and we have a brilliant and powerful and practical and intelligent new Prime Minister in Julia Gillard. Who has put more toward the hospital system and the education than has been done for decades. We are in good hands and we are on the verge of great things as long as we do not let the Phoney Mr Abbott fool us with his negative hype and his obvious jealousy. He has nothing to offer only put downs.
The Rudd and now Gillard government is a great government that works for all Australians.
Regards,
Glenda McLachlan

I think that the Liberals are the best leaders of this country because they actually care about Australians. Also in regards to the super profits tax this will stuff the economy up and will also take hard earned money away from Australians as the new tax will not only hirt the miners but people who invest in the resource stocks , and superfunds as well. The labor government are all a bunch of idiots and fakes .

Wow, I can't believe the polarized views expressed by Stuart and others.
I thought the main principal that Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich' and Wallace Wattle's 'The Science of Getting Rich' expounded was that there was infinite abundance. That we need to operate from a position of creativity instead of competition. Instead I interpret all these comments as coming from a position of lacking, of some having more than others and fiercely defending it from someone else taking it from them. Being in surplus or defecit is immaterial as it all come from infinite abundance. These are only numbers treasurers use to keep track of what is being done.
The Australian Government is not a business, it is not run for profit. It is there to to organise the resources available for the benefit of the people. I personally did not feel any wealthier when the previous government operated on a surplus and I certainly do not feel that I am any more in debt now that this Government is operating in defecit.
So lets not get carried away and get back to the Universal principles that lead to prosperity for individuals and governments.

Well put John (and MJSmith in your response) - I have had my optimism restored as I enjoyed reading your comments - there is an Australian public with the intelligence to really understand the issues.

Very eloquent John! That is where the real truth starts & ends, everything in between is personalised fluff from us all! ;-)

I am very dissapointed to hear Mr. Zadows aire his comments. His simplistic momentary-ization utterly fails to encompass the utter complexity of a situation which is far more erroneously fragile than even he is ever capable of explaining, which he utterly fails to be able to do. By suggesting a change of government is the answer, which it is not, he displays his total ignorance of a situation which is clearly beyond his capability of explaining, .It is clearly evident that he is an advocate of profit over people. You fail to mention the absolute mess which was inherited by not only the Labor government, along with work choices, as well as what the O'bahma administration inherited as a result of the financial
collapse of the world wide money market, caused by the criminal banking industry, which has been bailed out by the BILLIONS of dollars of hard working tax payers money. As well manufacturing industries have moved offshore leaving Australian workers without jobs! The only appropraite thing you DID NOT advocate was voting liberal, a party which advocates coal fired power stations and & following whatever it is the Bush administration directed Howard & Liberals to do.
Finnally Mr Zadow deplores the mining tax. Thankfully a government has had the guts to tax an industry whose profits would include heading off shore for certain. Australians have a right to share in the resources wealth of this country, the mining industry does not own the wealth of Aust soil and should not be dictating to Australia how it will determine its own empire, go and try mining in Russia.
I realize Mr Zadows comments are meant as a reflection of the effects gov policy may have on his own investment plans which is fair enough. But all Australians need to be given the opportunity through education, health & welfare to suceed & become functional, productive members of society. Certainly there is a place for the money making mogel, but at the expense of the underprivliged? We as a nation, a community need to encompass the needs of our brothers & sisters who are less fortunate than ourselves.
As a property magnate & entreprenuer i herald the arrival of Stuart Zadow, but as a person having a social conscience, i think some work is needed there. And how much money is or should one man be worth, when is it just about greed & power, what does Jack Nasser's (bhp) package encompass. How much need could be fulfilled by diverting that greed. & what about preventing a criminal underclass that will develop out of the haves & have nots.
We all need to develop loving compassion for others, especialy those less fortunate than ourselves.
But lets us herald the mining tax as the right thing to do.
I sincerly wish Stuart health, wealth, happiness & success.

I am disappointed with the same policies being peddled by Julia Gillard as Kevin Rudd, the same tired "working families slogan and the lack stating what changes will occur from this change of leadership.I ask Julia what is the difference? I believe that the Australkian people deserve an answer.

Thats because Julia Gillard is just another puppet on a string for the Labour Party

Now is the absolute best time for the Liberals to have a 'Party Ballot', they sure do need it! Jullian Gillard has gone from being a 'Yes Man' to a 'Puppet'.

I realise Stuart is a 'money man' but I feel disappointed when all people seem to worry about is the financial consequences of the government. What about human rights and the way we treat people?

My question - just who is it that really choses Prime Ministers when the people of Australia go to the polls I bet none of them marked their ballot as the NSW Mafia - faceless men who control all policy decisions. Give us all the benefit of some honesty in regard to what is going on behind those closed doors - at least with Tony "what you see is what you get" and bloody good on him for that.
This mining tax apart from everything else that has been said about it is criminal - its a shoddy attempt to fool the Australian public "once again" into believing that Labor have the know how to balance the budget and deliver sound financial management - and that is B/S. Tell me why didnt Swan fall on his sword as well???

Just what I feared, no one wants to fix the real problem. Over and out.

The intial problem was the Australian eletorate, it wanted to fix something that wasn't broken, wasn't perfect, BUT WASN'T BROKEN. It was a sad day when we Australians as a nation voted Labour in, and greater sadness for those who beleived Kevin Ruddspinathon. Just listened to Julia Gillard's spin, it's polished, but still spin. Hang on wasn't Kev polished ? Once. The same policy's that have been disaterous for us all, she is slanting them differently. Her portfolio isn't blotch free, I wonder how those efforts have gotten through the cracks. We are in debt big time for a little nation such as ours, and another 3-5 yrs before we are in the black, according to who ? Those who put us in the red ! I know who will be paying for it, US not USA , US. These extra taxs are an attempt to claw back the billions Labour has squandered over the last 2 yrs, total mismanagement, unfortunately sounds like it's going to continue. Vince . Victoria

I have to disagree entirely with Stuart's view. I think it was the policies that led to the financial crises that has led to the trouble we are in ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND IT SEEMS TO ME PEOPLE ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE FORGET THIS. If we REFUSE to identify a problem you can not fix it, the first rule of fixing problems. I am also pessimistic, but until we stop taking political sides, just so we can blame the people we want to blame, things wont get better. IF WE DO NOT BLAME THE PEOPLE THAT ARE TO BLAME, POLITICS ASIDE for whats gone on, especially the financial syrtem, it means we have learnt nothing except how to keep fine tuning our own political spin, a further, bigger melt down will and has to occur, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT CHANGED ANYTHING THAT HAS CAUSED THIS. We must get the real message and be honest NOW about whats happened the last ten years , NOT THIS WEEK. A further melt down in my opinion is a dead cert. But not because of little old Australia, but because of USA economic planning and their banking and financial system in particular.and others who blindly follow. Lets recognise what has and is causing the world financial turmoil, And lets focus on that, and demand it be fixed. Let us not be like politicians and look to place blame where we know it does not belong, and only then will we return to the prosperity we seek. WE KNOW HOW THIS ALL STARTED, LET THE MEDIA AND OTHERS NOT LET US FORGET.

I am now very confident about the future of our country. Julie is to involve the people and the team in her decisions. She is a team player. In the past leader have been too involved in their own Ego and have lost site of the fact that they were elected by the people, for the people. Julia brings a fresh new approach and I am VERY EXCITED about our future. She is a strong person and will lead Australia into a new positive future.

It sounds like shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic. The Labor Party knows Rudd has lost the peoples vote & the Party believes by putting a woman in as leader of the Australian Government the sheepal will vote Labor again just because they have a woman leader???? I believe the Australian people are more aware & conscious than to be fooled so easily after all Rudd was only the leader not the whole government he is advised by his Ministers & they are all still there.

Being a fairly keen coalition voter [certainly not agreeing with many issues] I was dissappointed to see Julia elected as this probably precludes a coalition win. Believe she will be excellent in the position but she has also been behind the not so well thought out processes of changing policies.

After watching the outcome of this morning and the stab in the back for Rudd. I suggest Julia Gillard's speech and question time should have commenced with one of the most recognised speeches of all time. "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him"

Lets see what a woman can do for this Country!! Never been done before, so lets see what she can do to fix up Rudds blowouts....

Concern that Super funds have stacks invested in mining, just demonstrates how badly Superfunds are managed. If you want to be so passive about your super by selecting, say, a conservative option, then you pay the price for your own passivity. It is trivially easy to switch your super from one fund type to another and you can do so every day online at practically no cost. So if you think property, cash, foreign vs Aussie shares, and the huge range of others options, then take control yourself and stop whinging about mining stocks. BHP has historically been hugely popular but never performed particularly well, there have always been better places to invest.
The fall in mining stock was actually caused by the execs of BHP and Rio T. They shot themselves in the foot by negotiating in public, the market hence reacted to these boards own negativity. How stupid was that, the boards should be fired, instead they will take a bonus!

Too little too late . I think labour is suffering foot in mouth .

Labor Party were playing "Santa Close "The Chrismas is over.
Stuart I enjoy very much you comment.
with regards
Elizabeth

I agree with everything you have said Stewart. I can't believe this government has taken us from a large surplus to a massive debt in such a short time.
Rudd the Dudd has made many mistakes, all his free handouts don't make up for the increased debt per person that we all have to bear.
I don't believe Julia Gillard will do any better, she's merely a stand in, and will likely continue with the same or similar policies.
I don't consider her as a legitimate "First Australian Female Prime Minister" she was not voted in to the position by the electorate, she's merely a stop gap.
Let's see what people have to say at the next election, I doubt she will be voted in.
Christine, Victoria.

Can Stuart put up a transript of his views because I can't access the video.
Thanks

Hi Stuart, have sent an email. My feeling GET RID OF THIS GOVERNMENT NOW. Guillard may be strong, and a leader, BUT LABOR POLITICS IS TAKE FROM THE TOP AND GIVE TO THE BOTTOM.Fair is fair, on the one hand. But for those who have slogged it out for a better future, now face it being taken from them, to shore up HUGE LOSSES, BUNGLES, DEATHS., We even feel that illegal immigrants, that risk their lives are worth spending money on, when we have homeless, hospitals. They have it all wrong. I dont trust them, never have and never will
I agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts. Listen to 1377 which gives the Truth not bent Labor journalists, who are Labor leaning. K

its good now i get my job in mining

good luck with that unless you know someone or have the skills mines have been hiring all though if the person has the skills

Politics is an ugly ugly scene at any time. It has just gotten more ugly. What we have here is a huge business (for government is a business) controlling billions of dollars every year being run by people who have little if any experience in running a business. It is time for business people of experience to throw their hat into the ring and run for election. If you don't like the system, don't sit on the sidelines and criticise it; get into the system and change it from the inside out. Stuart for PM !!! ;-)

Anyone who expects any Government to be capable of solutions to world/country problems is sadly going to be disappointed, is it not them/the system which is the problem. There is only one politician in the world that I would contemplate voting for, Ron Paul (USA), he actually dares to say how it is to a significant degree.

Forget Governments, be in control of your own destiny.

Paul