Australian Elections Results

[MidGe]

Children overboard,
WMD in Iraq,
etc...


Have you got a memory problem? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[MidGe]

The Prime Minister has publicly conceded electoral defeat.

He is out! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[yukoncpa]

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My small consolation is that my investment accounts are going to enjoy much higher returns as interest rates go through the roof, which basically means money flowing from dumbass redneck labor voters into my bank account.


[/ QUOTE ] Cheers to you and good luck on your shrewd investing acumen.

[HP]

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What a terrible result. For those who don't know, the winners are the Labour Party, 70% of whose members are former trade union officials. They're basically communists who believe in increasingly socialized services, massive budget deficits and no respect for freedom of association. A labour victory basically means an end to economic conservatism and responsible economic reform which as kept Australia going strong for the last 11 years.

My small consolation is that my investment accounts are going to enjoy much higher returns as interest rates go through the roof, which basically means money flowing from dumbass redneck labor voters into my bank account. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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agree with you except I'm not convinced the ALP will be that bad for the economy. I'm glad ALP is in

What, you want us to become America basically? :/

[zasterguava]

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What a terrible result. For those who don't know, the winners are the Labour Party, 70% of whose members are former trade union officials. They're basically communists who believe in increasingly socialized services, massive budget deficits and no respect for freedom of association. A labour victory basically means an end to economic conservatism and responsible economic reform which as kept Australia going strong for the last 11 years.

My small consolation is that my investment accounts are going to enjoy much higher returns as interest rates go through the roof, which basically means money flowing from dumbass redneck labor voters into my bank account. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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agree with you except I'm not convinced the ALP will be that bad for the economy. I'm glad ALP is in

What, you want us to become America basically? :/

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It's probably worth ignoring people who cry 'communists' or 'Marxists' or any other dirty word at anything but their own flawed ideology.

There the same sort of people who call centre-right liberals the extreme left and the Soviet Union an example of true socialism. Both incorrect claims that I'm sure 90% of people here fail to apprehend.

In terms of the implications of a Labour government over Liberal; they are slim. It's not hard to recognise that private power has a monopoly over all government and the democratic process to obstruct any real social change. However, I believe the gap between the two leading parties in Australia to be much greater than those in America where the differences are futile and polyarchy overrides meaningful democracy.

[zasterguava]

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I'll be sure to post when Madison, WI has a next election for mayor. It will probably have more relevance on the world scale than this.

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Are you insane, ingorant or stupid?

[ ] ?

[Phil153]

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It's probably worth ignoring people who cry 'communists' or 'Marxists' or any other dirty word at anything but their own flawed ideology.

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Are you aware of the history of the Labour Party? Of the trade union ideology?

Until the liberal government put a stop to it, trade unions blackmailed employers and universities into forcing their employees to join and pay them money against their will. Furthermore, they regularly used intimidation tactics, some illegal, on people and businesses who disagreed with their strikes or policies. They also outlawed private bargaining in the workplace, destroying productivity and meritocracy. These people are pigs who have no concern for freedom of association and choice.

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In terms of the implications of a Labour government over Liberal; they are slim.

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History disagrees with you. Their stated policies have some significant differences, and that's under the promise that Labour has "cleaned up their act" and become "economic conservatives", something I don't think is possible given their promises of ponies, and massive trade union representation, a high proportion of which are communist leaning.

[zasterguava]

Are you aware of the trade union history/ideology in your own country? (I think your from USA?). Trade union does NOT = commie ratbags. There are, for example in New Jersey, plentry of right-wing trade union organisations that seek to improve worker conditions and organise the work-force free of communist ideology.

But your right of course: the masters / owners and government are paticularly adequate at ensuring the well being, liberty and freedom of workers. God forbid worker organisations act according to circumstances and have direct influence within government. We can't have a whiff of direct democracy can we? No, that would be dirty communism... Economic freedom and the preservation of private power is the libertarianism we must follow and have been propogated to do so.

[ConstantineX]

[ QUOTE ]
What a terrible result. For those who don't know, the winners are the Labour Party, 70% of whose members are former trade union officials. They're basically communists who believe in increasingly socialized services, massive budget deficits and no respect for freedom of association. A labour victory basically means an end to economic conservatism and responsible economic reform which as kept Australia going strong for the last 11 years.

My small consolation is that my investment accounts are going to enjoy much higher returns as interest rates go through the roof, which basically means money flowing from dumbass redneck labor voters into my bank account. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

The Aussie Dollar is strong enough as it is...

[ChrisV]

[ QUOTE ]
What a terrible result. For those who don't know, the winners are the Labour Party, 70% of whose members are former trade union officials. They're basically communists who believe in increasingly socialized services, massive budget deficits and no respect for freedom of association. A labour victory basically means an end to economic conservatism and responsible economic reform which as kept Australia going strong for the last 11 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

What planet is this from? While things turned bad towards the end of Keating's tenure, the Hawke government was a candidate for best government we have ever had in economic terms. A refresher:

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Among other things, the Hawke Government floated the Australian dollar, deregulated the financial system, dismantled the tariff system, privatised state sector industries, ended subsidisation of loss-making industries, and sold off the state-owned Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

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Doesn't sound much like rampaging communists to me. And who was treasurer in the government which preceded them? Oh right, it was Howard. How did he do?

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During Howard's tenure as treasurer, inflation had peaked at 12.5% in September 1982, and interest rates peaked at 22% on 8 April 1982.

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And the top marginal tax rate was 70% - which was promptly slashed by Hawke/Keating. And what reforms have we had in the modern Howard government? There was the GST, a bit of dabbling in privatisation, and AWAs and WorkChoices. Labor is not proposing to repeal any of this except WorkChoices, which is pretty weak sauce anyway. Meanwhile, the size of government has been relentlessly expanding. According to the OECD:

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Over the past 10 years of John Howard's Government, the personal income tax burden in Australia had risen from 11.7 per cent to 12.6per cent of GDP.

This has reversed gains made during the previous Labor government, during which there was a lowering of the personal tax burden between 1985 and 1995.

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A rough calculation by LDP candidate Terje Petersen indicates that:

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With the latest budget figures now out I did a quick back of the envelope calculation to find that our Federal government services now costs us 34% more than it did a decade ago. That’s after adjusting for population and inflation and omitting the GST cost component.

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Labor ran this election on a platform of spending less than the Coalition and cutting down on government bureaucracy with their vaunted "razor gang". Now might be a good time for you to check up on whether Liberal rhetoric matches up with the facts.