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[Continuation] Australian Politics II

I seem to recall it was a president of Uruguay who lived a humble life...

Yep. "José Mujica has been described as "the world's humblest head of state" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs. An outspoken critic of capitalism's focus on stockpiling material possessions which do not contribute to human happiness, he has been praised by the media and journalists for his philosophical ideologies; Times Higher Education referred to him as the "philosopher president" in 2015, a play on words of Plato's conception of the philosopher king." - Wikipedia
 
Former Victorian Premier John Cain (who led a great government and I had the privilege of knowing) was a man of similar tendencies. Whenever he posted a letter (yes this happened in those days) he made sure he paid for the stamp.
 
rjh01 said:
Many politicians own their own home. Many own several properties. The only problem with that is they then maintain laws that favour owning investment properties to the detriment of the majority of Australians.
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Also, the salaries of politicians are high enough that they can afford to own their own home. On top of their salary, it's also pretty common for politicians to have a prior career in banking or law, both of which also offer extremely high salaries.

It's a game that rich people tend to play.
 
Youth crime in the NT is a serious problem, but locking up 10-year olds is not the solution.

In other news, I now know in which order I am voting in tomorrow's election.
 
Chuckmilla arrive in Sydney today.

At the moment, the ABC is screening "The Princess and the Press".

Coincidence or not? :)
 
I might pass the time while the forum is down to go see them. I think they'll be here on Sunday, but I'd have to check.

Actually, **** that. **** them. I don't care.
 
I saw Charles and Diana twice when I was on a school trip to Melbourne in the 80s (can't recall what year it was).

Days of innocence, or even ignorance, though I was taken to see them, it wasn't done on purpose.
 
For those who are interested, ACT Labor won its seventh consecutive term and must now negotiate with the Greens to form government.

In my electorate of Ginninderra, we "kikkered" out Elizabeth Kikkert of the Family First party and replaced her with Chiaka Barry from the Liberals.
 
I'm just glad we didn't get one of the ones that was going to kill the light rail project.

There are differences of opinion about light rail (my dad hates it) but I think that if we stop now and it only ever goes from Gungahlin to Civic, it will be the pointless waste of money that Dad says it is. The link to Woden is already under construction, and it'll probably go out to the airport sometime in 2064 :rolleyes: but unless it gets multiple lines to connect all the town centres, what's the point?
 
Aha!

Replacing the 333 ?

(I'm probably misremembering the intercity bus that I would ride to Tuggers).

The point is electrifying a very busy part of the bus system.

Not that your Dad would care I guess.
 
novaphile said:
Aha!

Replacing the 333 ?

(I'm probably misremembering the intercity bus that I would ride to Tuggers).

The point is electrifying a very busy part of the bus system.

Not that your Dad would care I guess.
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Yeah the old 333 service was replaced about ten years ago with a new set of "express" buses, the P3, P4 and P5.

Dabop said:
Not by much lol- there's precious little difference between FF and the libs in my book
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FF went below the libs on my ballot.
 
Looks like Labor is going to lose in QLD. Shame considering they had some pretty interesting policies.
 
God I hope not- but then Qlders are bloody stupid at the best of times lol (and yes I live in Qld...)

It took a decade to recover from their last time in power- and even then we had barely caught up....
(but then Qld has more than its far share of far right wing morons... Hansen got a good turnout here a while back, as did Family First :mad: )

A 'relatively' nearby town to me (about an hour away) was where the cops were shot and killed by those sovcit morons a while back- who (unsurprisingly) were also antivaxers and trump lovers to boot- and had been banned from the local towns facebook group... there were quite a few of them floating around the area...
Sadly such types are far too common in some rural areas...
 
Wildy said:
Looks like Labor is going to lose in QLD. Shame considering they had some pretty interesting policies.
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It follows a long pattern. Labor wins at the Federal level, then all the Labor governments lose at the State level. Then Labor loses at the Federal level. Then the Liberals start losing at the state level, followed by the Federal level. Then the pattern repeats.
 
rjh01 said:
It follows a long pattern. Labor wins at the Federal level, then all the Labor governments lose at the State level. Then Labor loses at the Federal level. Then the Liberals start losing at the state level, followed by the Federal level. Then the pattern repeats.
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Yep, happens almost all the time.
 
rjh01 said:
It follows a long pattern. Labor wins at the Federal level, then all the Labor governments lose at the State level. Then Labor loses at the Federal level. Then the Liberals start losing at the state level, followed by the Federal level. Then the pattern repeats.
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That wasn't the case in WA at the last election. WA Labor won by a landslide in the state election then at the upcoming federal election, WA was instrumental in handing victory to federal Labor.
 
psionl0 said:
That wasn't the case in WA at the last election. WA Labor won by a landslide in the state election then at the upcoming federal election, WA was instrumental in handing victory to federal Labor.
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I've noticed if one party leads in most states, the last state to vote moves to the party which then wins the next federal election.
 
psionl0 said:
That wasn't the case in WA at the last election. WA Labor won by a landslide in the state election then at the upcoming federal election, WA was instrumental in handing victory to federal Labor.
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Exactly. Labor won at the state level then helps Labor at the Federal level. I predict the WA Labor Government will lose before the Federal Labor Government loses.
There are of course exceptions to what I am saying. For example in the ACT they nearly always elect a Labor / Greens Government. Liberals have been in power only once and that was with the help of independents.
 
rjh01 said:
I predict the WA Labor Government will lose before the Federal Labor Government loses.
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There will be a federal election before the next state election and the current WA Labor government has lost its shine.

What happens is that voters tend not to distinguish state issues from federal issues. If voters turn against a party in a state election (regardless of whether it is over a state issue or a federal issue) then it they will also turn against the party in a federal election. The reverse is also true.
 
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Regarding the QLD elections, Labor was far from being wiped out and can rebound strongly next election.

The big news, however, is the massive failure of the Greens. After predicting they will win 10 seats, they will have 0 or 1 at best. Nobody in the Greens wants to own this of course. My belief is that its stubborn, ideological position of not support Labor at state and federal levels unless they get everything they demand is starting to cost them. They are further away from sharing government with the ALP than they ever have been. Unless they change, they will keep falling.
 
Whatever the reasons, something is happening. The Greens were strong in local government before they made a mark at state or federal level. Well it looks like they will lose the City of Yarra, once unthinkable.

As I have said before, their refusal to compromise or even negotiate is a betrayal of their own voters, who can now see they are becoming irrelevant. Unless they change leaders for those who are prepared to sit down with Labor (rather than attending CFMEU rallies) they will continue to lose support.
 
Federal Court finds Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi in 'angry personal attack' tweet

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi through a tweet telling the fellow senator to "piss off back to Pakistan", according to a judge who's ordered Senator Hanson to delete the tweet.

The Deputy Greens leader took Senator Hanson to Federal Court claiming her tweet, posted in September 2022 on the day Queen Elizabeth II died, breached the Racial Discrimination Act.

The tweet was in response to a post by Senator Faruqi, who commented that she couldn't mourn someone who she described as "the leader of a racist empire".
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Private health insurance is still ◊◊◊◊◊◊,

www.theguardian.com

Jessica has private health insurance – but she will have to drive 150km to the Gold Coast to have her baby delivered privately

Australian women increasingly facing limited choices as private hospitals close maternity wards, obstetricians and gynaecologists warn
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Despite paying for private health insurance for the last four years, Jessica* has no idea who will deliver her baby.

The first-time mother felt assured by the policy’s promise of continuity of care and comforted that the doctor who saw her at the beginning of her pregnancy would be there to deliver her baby when her January due date arrived.

But after Jessica became pregnant, she discovered there was no private obstetrician to deliver her baby in Lismore, in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.

The city’s only private hospital also has no maternity service, meaning her only private option is to drive almost 150km to the Gold Coast
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