Preparing to vote Labor or Liberal - Surely there is something better?

D2 said :

I’ll be voting for The Australian Sex Party. It’s the only party firmly based on fundamental human rights.

You’ll have to wait until they field a candidate in the ACT first…

Nope. Nothing better. And if anyone dares try, they would find it very hard to get a run in today’s media.

Gungahlin Al said :

I saw Joe Hockey’s 12,000 jobs remark yesterday and thought “this guy has been reading up on How to Win Friends and Influence People”. Not.

Frots, I would revisit your assertion #1 (par 2) and break it down, then have a closer look (e.g. search sites for policy, etc) at whether it is based on accuracy or heresay.

Al, have done and it isn’t any better. Anyway, we’ll see what comes over the next months/years until we go to the polls again. Just hard to believe that we have such poor quality leadership in each of the parties – it really defies belief.

More interesting though is that if we see it that way, why don’t the power-brokers who are so ready to oust them when THEY don’t like them. Don’t get me wrong, Rudd needed to go (and quickly in my view) but to have both of these leaders facing up at the wicket again next time around just seems preposterous.

“The current Labor mob are about as useful as a cock flavoured lollipop, but the Libs don’t seem to be fielding anyone any better” – George, couldn’t have phrased it better!!!

Given that previous government have talked tough on the bloated public service and the need to take a “meat axe” to it, we have never had one brave enough to actually make significant and lasting cuts. Howard cut quite a few jobs but they were back soon after, Kevin came up with his efficiency dividend which saw no real change and I doubt that Abbott as PM would do anything much in reducing real numbers, probably just a recruitment freeze, offer a few redundancy packages and sack some Dept heads who may be a little to Labor for his liking. After settling into office, he’d have numbers on the up to drive what ever pet projects they come up with.

While Abbott and co are trumpeting stuff that’s arrant nonsense, you hvae to remember that if they get into government, they WILL do something. The trick is, finding out what it is that the will do. If they treat the voters as idiots who can be bribed with handouts, and people vote based on that, then they’re right.

You have to put in some effort to find out what it is that they will do. Once they’re in, it’s too late.

dismissing 12,000 public servants

Won’t happen.

And Canberra will still vote ALP, no matter what.

Keating and Howard between them cut PS numbers by over 40,000. The Federal PS is at about the same numbers as 1989

I’ll be voting for The Australian Sex Party. It’s the only party firmly based on fundamental human rights.

It’s a shame really that the media seems to do the majority of reporting in soundbites and loaded questions. Among both parties there are some quite clever and useful humans, but that doesn’t make for good telly.

I have no idea who I’ll vote for next election. The current Labor mob are about as useful as a cock flavoured lollipop, but the Libs don’t seem to be fielding anyone any better.

I saw Joe Hockey’s 12,000 jobs remark yesterday and thought “this guy has been reading up on How to Win Friends and Influence People”. Not.

Frots, I would revisit your assertion #1 (par 2) and break it down, then have a closer look (e.g. search sites for policy, etc) at whether it is based on accuracy or heresay.

dismissing 12,000 public servants

Won’t happen.

And Canberra will still vote ALP, no matter what.

Agreed that its absurd Thumper to even mention it let alone consider it. And that’s part of the point – surely when we have a possible alternative Government sitting in the waiting room (Liberals – Federally) then letting Abbott (or anyone) state these types of things simply ensures that we view them as idiots – given someone with some credibility in Oppostion may have a much better chance, certain to persuade me anyway.

At the moment, and given that we have a way to go before the next election (not counting any dissolution beforehand that is), I am at a loss as to why each party isn’t ‘strenghtening’ their leadership with people who have some degree of common sense and aren’t as unpredictable as these lot are.

And yes, CSR, I do remember them – and if Chipp was still around, or at least his philosophy, then I wouldn’t be surprised if they were now a majority party. That’s probably the alternative we need – another ‘Chipp’ so to speak emerging from the darkness and ‘keeping the bastards honest’.