tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092Mon, 09 Sep 2024 04:49:08 +0000politics, current affairs and a little bit of life thrown in...http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-6336245138829293670Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:10:00 +00002007-04-02T19:26:07.410+10:00The year is now 2050. What do you think will have had a bigger impact on the world - climate change or population ageing and decrease in the developed world? The coming crisis is already dawning on Japan - in Europe, the signs are there to be read. Regardless of weather the world decides to inflict draconian carbon reduction measures upon itself, the age 'shock' will still hit Europe and most of http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/04/fast-forward-to-2050.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-5317596462007132268Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:51:00 +00002007-03-03T17:58:55.278+10:00Those three words guarantee Rudd the toughest week yet of his fledgling leadership. In a move almost certainly engineered to throw momentum back behind the Government in the pursuit of Rudd, Campbell has resigned from cabinet. I'm sure we'll see a return to cabinet in the future, or favour granted to Campbell for 'taking it for the team', just as we'll see a growing storm of media intensity comehttp://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/03/campbell-quites-cabinet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-4485480440894649814Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:19:00 +00002007-03-02T23:34:37.099+10:00An amazing thing happened today - Kevin Rudd was held accountable, criticised even. It made me remember what normal political commentary is all about - holding both sides of politics accountable. I breathed a sigh of release at the inevitable crash to reality occurring for our fearless new Labor leader - and my didn't he handle it well. Sunrise was priceless - almost as funny as watching an http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/03/honeymoon-is-over-time-for-real-action.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-897711476872472276Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:27:00 +00002007-02-23T23:35:03.169+10:00"ACCORDING to my dictionary, the word "ally" comes from the Old French. Very Old French, I'd say. For the New French, the word has a largely postmodern definition of "duplicitous charmer who undermines you at every opportunity".For the less enthusiastically obstructive NATO members, "ally" means "wealthy country with no military capability that requires years of diplomatic wooing and black-tie http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/bring-it-you-vichy-frenchy-little.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-7275189034686802007Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:36:00 +00002007-02-20T17:45:43.626+10:00How did a story like this get printed over yet another David Hicks / Climate Change / John Howard is the devil op-ed piece? One of the most interesting, yet unrealised attribute of the liberal left in recent times has been the alliance with extremist Muslim interest groups. A short glance at the 2006 Israel - Hezbollah conflict, Iraq and even Iran - all situations where the Left has chosen the http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/was-age-opinion-editor-on-holidays.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-4512463151256174066Sun, 18 Feb 2007 02:09:00 +00002007-02-18T12:30:05.700+10:00Australian has 1400 troops deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Kevin Rudd has promised to bring them home - in consultation with our allies. In doing so Rudd has won the kudos of the anti-Bush, anti-war in Iraq pundits, while claiming to also protect our relations with our allies in the US and UK. What the press has failed to seize on, and it is indicative that the honeymoon is still http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-bringing-home-troops-means-leaving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-8307169203796984894Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:08:00 +00002007-02-11T11:31:32.506+10:00There has been some talk of Turnbull's flair and colourful style in the press this week, but the true performer was Costello. In a week where Howard took more punishment than he inflicted, Costello rattled Rudd with some cutting question time performance."Labor is drawing inspiration for its economic analysis from a Donald Duck magazine. This is the evolutionary cycle of the Labor Party. We have http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/costello-shows-turnbull-who-really.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-7716165626437437515Sat, 10 Feb 2007 07:24:00 +00002007-02-08T20:22:04.463+10:00Bob Brown and Tim Flannery may just be making Howard's job of retaining office a little easier. The battleground is becoming clear - mounting a credible campaign on global warming, while reassuring the nation that the cost will not be too great is essential for victory. Brown and the green extremists have played their cards - revealing that they wish to destroy the coal industry in the name of http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/coal-2007-wedge-issue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-621484658939444115Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:09:00 +00002007-02-08T13:59:19.599+10:00Just watched a rather average 'debate' format unfold on the 7.30 report. Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Garrett faced off in a interview style 'debate' that saw Turnbull normally lead with Garrett following. This led to Turnbull being on the defensive for the majority of the interview, while Garrett was able to stick to his message and mount an offensive interview. Kerry O'Brien's line of questioninghttp://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/malcolm-needs-to-sharpen-his-message.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-1227155258242069072Thu, 08 Feb 2007 03:28:00 +00002007-02-08T13:28:17.117+10:00I am watching the US Presidential nomination campaigns with interest. Whilst the Democrats will struggle to choose between Obama, Clinton and Edwards, there would be few members of the party that would complain about a lack of talent in the field. A quick glance over at the Republican side of the house, and there is a far different scenario. Senator John McCain leads a field of nobodies, with hishttp://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/republican-dilemmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-718026490002978544Thu, 08 Feb 2007 03:24:00 +00002007-02-08T13:27:12.941+10:00Kevin Rudd: "My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister now formally repudiate the industry minister's statement in which he said: I am a sceptic of the connection between emissions and climate change?"John Howard: "No, I will not formally repudiate it. People make different statements about different things over a period of time. I seem to remember the Leader of the Oppositionhttp://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/02/parliament-resumes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-5755927887362232731Sun, 28 Jan 2007 09:57:00 +00002007-01-28T20:05:24.019+10:00It is a rare occasion that I see fit to agree with a decision undertaken by the QLD Labor government. Previous posts on this blog have clearly shown my contempt for one of the worst governments in Australian history - appalling governance and countless failures abound. But this weekend Beattie has done a rare thing in his political history - taking the choice to lead, as oppossed to just http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/beattie-acts-leader-rather-than.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-2830153444436127669Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:23:00 +00002007-01-26T11:01:20.648+10:00If Howard and Rudd were boxers, yesterday's $10 billion Murray-Darling policy announcement would have been a powerful body blow that left Rudd reeling and on the defensive. After several years of allowing the states to attempt to deal with this issue, Howard has stepped in and made a decisive and popular move that allows him to spend on a issue that will win votes but won't threaten to raise http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/howard-delivers-powerful-blow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-374649430294348504Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:29:00 +00002007-01-24T18:48:31.654+10:00Costello's op-ed piece in the Australian today gave a glimpse of the Coalition under its next leader. Highlighting the importance of intergrating migrants into the workforce and wider society, Costello alluded to some of his major differences to Howard. Costello, I believe, will quickly move towards the centre once Howard finally bows out of Federal politics. One of the most important things http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-can-costello-best-sieze-agenda-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-8955850897885295763Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:37:00 +00002008-12-12T17:45:19.896+10:00The reshuffle we all knew was coming delivered the key players to the frontline today. Howard has delivered his 'war' cabinet and front bench for the long run to the polls in 2007. The biggest winner was, unsuprisingly, Malcolm Turnbull. Since his arrival in Canberra Turnbull has been positioning himself as a voice for water conservation issues, and increasingly the enivronment. He has rapidly http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/game-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-4293900500079737805Sat, 06 Jan 2007 01:11:00 +00002007-01-06T14:20:16.738+10:00An interesting op-ed piece in SMH by Tim Costello and more religious / political commentary from the Australian's Christoper Pearson have highlighted how religion will again play a significant role in the next election. In fact, with Kevin Rudd keen to sieze the relgious vote back from the Coalition, religion could be artificially high on the agenda....If you needed any further proof, how about http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/religion-rising-on-national-agenda.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-1208835855708832846Tue, 02 Jan 2007 04:38:00 +00002007-01-02T14:56:29.084+10:002007 is barely begun and already Howard has returned nuclear energy to the national agenda. This strategy was planned and executed in a different era - an era where Howard faced the lacklustre Beazley, battling to show the voters that he had the 'ticker' to be Prime Minister. What is interesting is that Howard and his advisers have decided to lead into the new year, in the middle of Rudd's http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-year-begins.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-7085338182282451672Wed, 27 Dec 2006 02:02:00 +00002006-12-27T12:30:01.385+10:00I Spent Christmas jumping between the in laws and home, catching up with friends and family on both the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. My father - in - law was telling me of his experiences with Kevin Rudd. Rudd used to drop in regularly to my father-in-law's service station on a Saturday and spend up to two hours talking, with his 'mobile office' parked across the road. It made me reflect on what http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/rudd-as-local-member.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-134341928719281308Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:19:00 +00002008-12-12T17:45:20.070+10:00A relative of Carla Zampatti's wraps his $300,000 month old Ferrari around a pole (in a rather public location on a Sunday afternoon) and then blows three times over the legal limit... priceless! Photo and full details from the SMH here... http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/painful-way-to-learn-wrongs-of-drink.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-6466608113568784473Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:44:00 +00002006-12-20T16:25:27.391+10:00News today that another NSW Labor MP is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons - Iemma must be taking years off his life at the moment with these stress levels. The MP has had assault charges level against him, after what he claims was a domestic split going very wrong;"Steven Chaytor, the member for Macquarie Fields, says he is innocent of the charge, and that he was only trying to stop his http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/you-wouldnt-read-about-it-would-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-473392430282641436Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:51:00 +00002006-12-19T11:07:40.242+10:00News today that three union bosses, Greg Combet, Bill Shorten and Doug Cameron have run into an ethical situation. As trustees of the board of Australian Super, these three men are legally required make decisions that deliver the best return to their members. Guess which current Australian icon Australian Super has around $80 million worth of shares in .... Qantas. Guess which union bosses have http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/its-called-conflict-of-interest-combet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-6484461247913403431Sun, 17 Dec 2006 04:22:00 +00002006-12-17T14:55:35.913+10:00Kevin Rudd is an energetic, ambitious and cunning political operative - his short time in the spotlight has confirmed this. What interests me now is what are his long term strategic moves - what decisions he is undertaking with only his inner circle to solidify his leadership position and cut down his rivals. As many commentators have mentioned, Rudd mounted a successful leadership challenge ashttp://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/rudds-strategic-considerations.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-8594336508969148236Sat, 16 Dec 2006 06:07:00 +00002008-12-12T17:45:20.197+10:00The bushfire season is upon us. This years fires are shaping up as some of the most devestating in recent history, particularly in Tasmania and Victoria. It is undeniable that the extended drought has left bushland parched, but one of the major contributors to the severity of the fires is the massive amount of fuel for the fires to burn. State governments have failed to adequetly reduce fuel in http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/counting-cost-of-conservation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-7387263843628721310Sun, 10 Dec 2006 03:27:00 +00002006-12-10T13:37:59.639+10:00I've settled on a politicial 'label' that most aptly describes my beliefs - compassionate conservatism. Myron Magnet gives an excellent outline of the basic beliefs of a com-con, an ideology that fits my beliefs almost perfectly. Magnet sums up compassion for the poor in a brilliant fashion: "Compassionate conservatives ... offer a new way of thinking about the poor. They know that telling the http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/compassionate-conservatism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29973092.post-5021908069727014640Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:14:00 +00002006-12-10T13:41:22.823+10:00I was reading the Australian article today on Rudd stealing from Howard's education agenda. It suddenly struck me that the Liberal politician who should be most worried at the moment is not Howard, but Costello. Rudd's 'Howard lite' approach would have Costello wondering who handed his playbook over to the Labor party! Rudd is definelty coming to the centre - take away I.R. and industrial policy,http://the-backbench.blogspot.com/2006/12/rudd-steals-march-on-costello.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0