5 February 2009

Greens PWNED by Stanhope

| proofpositive
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It didn’t take long, but Stanhope has managed to reduce the Greens and their agreement to a level of irrelevance. The ABC has a story “ACT Greens Consider Priorities”

That story reports the Greens now having to consider what is most important in the list within the agreement.

Anything that has a monetary cost will be considered inappropriate and cast aside by the ALP given the anticipated deficit and looming economic circumstances.

Stanhope has positioned himself well (with a total PWNing of the Green in the process) so that he will be able to reign the rest of his term in peace without consideration for what was originally in the deal.

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housebound said :

MrPC said :

If Stanhope screws over the Greens, they could just form a coalition with the other lot. There wouldn’t even need to be another general election.

… and the chances of that are? Labor can pretty much do what it wants this term, again.

Hmm, if the Liberals gave them everything they wanted, that would be an interesting development.

The Greens could at least go to the Libs and say give us all of this, you only get to do some things, take it or leave it. At least make Stanhope sweat.

They are already basically completely capitulating so what do they have to lose.

Anyone else hear Amanda Bresnan on the radio with Ross Solly this morning on the subject of schools closures? I think she used the word issue about 50 times in 3 minutes to avoid providing any meaningful information.

MrPC said :

If Stanhope screws over the Greens, they could just form a coalition with the other lot. There wouldn’t even need to be another general election.

… and the chances of that are? Labor can pretty much do what it wants this term, again.

If Stanhope screws over the Greens, they could just form a coalition with the other lot. There wouldn’t even need to be another general election.

While that all may be true Stanhope still needs at least a couple of other members support (Greens or Libs) to pass his (well Katy’s now) Budget regardless of what they try to put into it.

Election commitments can always be deferred and under the FMA the Government is well authorised to enter into temporary deficit as long as they have a strategy in place to bring the Budget back into surplus and they can re-prioritise at any time. For example by passing Supplementary Appropriation Bills.

Pommy bastard5:13 pm 05 Feb 09

I heard one of the greens on the radio this am. Apparently, due to the credit crunch, they are having to “reprioritise” their plans for such things as a free legal service for homeless people.

My heart bleeds.

barking toad4:34 pm 05 Feb 09

If it hadn’t happened before you’d think that the hippies had been hard done by after dropping their panties to the suitor on the first date. Only to find that there was no true love.

Greens are an irrelevant indulgence to hippies who want to feel smug about their vote.

Though I did get a fair bit of kindling from their discarded posters after the election. Which I’ll be burning in winter to combat gorebull cooling.

Gungahlin Al3:39 pm 05 Feb 09

Proofpositive: you fail to remember that the Greens are not locked into keeping Stanhope there for the whole term.

Any rational person would expect the Greens to reconsider their priority list given the extent of the financial fallout that – oh – 99% of the planet didn’t see coming. Even the ACT Treasury was advising Ministers prior to the election that things wouldn’t be serious enough to require the ALP to moderate their election commitments.

People would be criticising the Greens if they didn’t have a rethink, and accusing them of fiscal irresponsibility. What did I say on another thread about MLAs can’t win in this town?

The real test will be for the ALP and the degree to which Stanhope remembers the tenuous nature of his current position, and accommodates the Greens’ priorities.

And if you’d like to discuss those priorities with Shane Rattenbury himself, come to the GCC meeting next Wednesday evening – he’ll be there.

They’re a bunch of wet fish. Stanhope walks all over them.

Howard won’t be the only one with core and non-core promises just after an election. Not even signed agreements, written after the crash started, are worth the paper they’re written on.

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