JC Political Thread - For All Things Political Part 2

[Troy711]

Am i entitled to invoice the government for the time i spent standing in line at the polling booth today?

Pre-poll FTW. Took me 5 minutes when I went 2 weeks ago.

FYI, your post is the 10,000th reply to this thread :rofl:

 

[c2105026]

I'm calling it, Conservative minority govt.

Boy that was close.....

 

[markalan1two]

i say hung

 

[c2105026]

Actually, looking at virtual tally room, AEC has called it 72 ALP, 66 Coalition.

Of the 7 seats in doubt I reckon one will go to ALP, one to NXT, rest Coalition. So that gives us 73 ALP, 71 Coalition 1 Green, rest others.

Almost a carbon copy repeat of 2010 where ALP ended up forming a minority government.....

 

[Calaber]

The results so far from this election give rise to a number of obvious questions.

Given that the 2013 result was a massive reaction by the electorate to the disrupted government under Labor, it was only natural that the votes would come back to a more normal ratio this time around, but IF we have a new Labor Government, did Labor win or the Coalition lose this one?

My opinion. Lots of both. Start with the Coalition. Abbott was a very effective Opposition Leader, heavily criticised for three word slogans in the last election, but identifying a number of key issues that had voters concerned. His government DID stop the flood of boats. They DID can the Carbon Tax (whether this was an achievement depends on your voting preference, I suppose). Like it or not, Abbott successfully negotiated major Free Trade Agreements with key trading partners. Unfortunately, the electorate didn't like him and the tough 2014 budget and multiple broken stupid and unnecessary promises meant that he was never going to get back in their good books.

I'm one of those who thought Turnbull was potentially a better leader. I think now I was wrong. Turnbull's achievements in nine months of leadership could be fitted into a jam jar. He managed to lunch an immense popularity lead over Shorten and turn it into a **** sandwich. He dithered and prevaricated over major taxation reform. His budget was just more ammunition for the Opposition to berate and turn against him. It's unfair that his wealth (which he earned through persistence and hard work) was turned against him so successfully. t's obvious that he lacks credibility with the electorate now. IMO, even if he scrapes home, the Coalition will need to start thinking about the next leader. If he loses, they will definitely be looking for a new leader. I now think he was a poor leader and must shoulder a major part of the responsibility for the government's poor performance, prior to and during the election.

So, Shorten. Personally, I detest him, both for what he represents but more for the chronic lying program he perveyed regarding Medicare, but scaremongering works well with lots of people when it comes to their hip pockets and the Coalition will always be vulnerable in that area. A number of other Government policies which were unpopular gave Labor so much ammunition that it was only a matter of using it to the best advantage. But please, Bill, if you win, is Same Sex Marriage really the most important thing to address first thing, rather than the issues that matter to the whole nation and not just a percentage of it?

The Senate looks like being a bigger dog's breakfast than it was before, but if Labor wins, the Senate will probably work more in their favor that they might if the Coalition wins.

Either way, we all lost. Whoever wins power, the chances of either party getting all their agendas through the Senate are pretty small so it looks like the DD was actually a Double Dud for the right, failed to achieve its objective and has left us with more political turmoil.

 

[figjam]

I'm calling it, Conservative minority govt. Boy that was close.....

Aren't the Conservatives a British political party ?

 

[c2105026]

The results so far from this election give rise to a number of obvious questions.

Given that the 2013 result was a massive reaction by the electorate to the disrupted government under Labor, it was only natural that the votes would come back to a more normal ratio this time around, but IF we have a new Labor Government, did Labor win or the Coalition lose this one?

My opinion. Lots of both. Start with the Coalition. Abbott was a very effective Opposition Leader, heavily criticised for three word slogans in the last election, but identifying a number of key issues that had voters concerned. His government DID stop the flood of boats. They DID can the Carbon Tax (whether this was an achievement depends on your voting preference, I suppose). Like it or not, Abbott successfully negotiated major Free Trade Agreements with key trading partners. Unfortunately, the electorate didn't like him and the tough 2014 budget and multiple broken stupid and unnecessary promises meant that he was never going to get back in their good books.

I'm one of those who thought Turnbull was potentially a better leader. I think now I was wrong. Turnbull's achievements in nine months of leadership could be fitted into a jam jar. He managed to lunch an immense popularity lead over Shorten and turn it into a **** sandwich. He dithered and prevaricated over major taxation reform. His budget was just more ammunition for the Opposition to berate and turn against him. It's unfair that his wealth (which he earned through persistence and hard work) was turned against him so successfully. t's obvious that he lacks credibility with the electorate now. IMO, even if he scrapes home, the Coalition will need to start thinking about the next leader. If he loses, they will definitely be looking for a new leader. I now think he was a poor leader and must shoulder a major part of the responsibility for the government's poor performance, prior to and during the election.

So, Shorten. Personally, I detest him, both for what he represents but more for the chronic lying program he perveyed regarding Medicare, but scaremongering works well with lots of people when it comes to their hip pockets and the Coalition will always be vulnerable in that area. A number of other Government policies which were unpopular gave Labor so much ammunition that it was only a matter of using it to the best advantage. But please, Bill, if you win, is Same Sex Marriage really the most important thing to address first thing, rather than the issues that matter to the whole nation and not just a percentage of it?

The Senate looks like being a bigger dog's breakfast than it was before, but if Labor wins, the Senate will probably work more in their favor that they might if the Coalition wins.

Either way, we all lost. Whoever wins power, the chances of either party getting all their agendas through the Senate are pretty small so it looks like the DD was actually a Double Dud for the right, failed to achieve its objective and has left us with more political turmoil.

Coalition has amply scaremongered over the years - I am disappointed that this overreach was a core part of ALP campaign. I would have focused on class warfare, but that's just me

I did not feel that Turnbull was in touch with the average punter. Suggesting first home buyers in Sydney should get mum and dad to chip in for their first home is a red flag.

If the coalition had gotten in in their own right there would have been a messy, decisive plebiscite that cost $160 million, that MPs may or may not ignore. A vote on marriage equality in the house might take a day or two. Gay marriage affects more than those in the community itself. Many parents, friends, relatives and work colleagues are concerned by it. Most people know someone who is LGBT.

 

[Noeleter]

Am i entitled to invoice the government for the time i spent standing in line at the polling booth today?

Worked as an official at this election and have to say the AEC has primitive systems compared to those in Qld. Qld issues cards which are scanned on arrival at the polling booth. Names and addresses have to be manually looke up for the federal election. My experience of Qld elections is that there is generally plenty of room, staff and resources. Not so in my experience for the federal election. Also there has to be a better way for the senate voting. I understand people's frustrations at having to fill out a form over a metre long but try having to sort 5000 of them into all the individual parties above the line and below the line seaparate, pull out all of the informal votes and then count and recount until all numbers add up. All this after midnight and a 20 hour shift with few breaks for very little pay. Surely a lot more can be done electronically.

 

[Calaber]

Coalition has amply scaremongered over the years - I am disappointed that this overreach was a core part of ALP campaign. I would have focused on class warfare, but that's just me

I did not feel that Turnbull was in touch with the average punter. Suggesting first home buyers in Sydney should get mum and dad to chip in for their first home is a red flag.

If the coalition had gotten in in their own right there would have been a messy, decisive plebiscite that cost $160 million, that MPs may or may not ignore. A vote on marriage equality in the house might take a day or two. Gay marriage affects more than those in the community itself. Many parents, friends, relatives and work colleagues are concerned by it. Most people know someone who is LGBT.

Have to agree about that ridiculous statement regarding "mum 'n' dad" helping with first homes. Labor advertising stated he was seriously out of touch and when you hear about comments like that during a radio interview, it's hard to argue otherwise. I think Labor tried on the class warfare a bit but Australians generally are not as class conscious as some might believe. Gillard tried it and it didn't work for her so it might have been a dead duck if Shorten had pushed it too hard.

Re my comment about Same Sex Marriage. I realise it's important to a lot of Australians. I just don't accept that it's important to ALL Australians (though, if they're like me, they don't give a damn one way or the other). It's arguable just what percentage of the population considers it to be the most urgent issue for an incoming government, though I agree that a plebiscite is a waste of money if it's something that can be legislated withing Parliament. By all means bring it up the list of priorities and get it over and done with (please!) but is it so important that it's the first matter for discussion? Not sure about that. And Conservative MP's need to put their personal feelings aside and recognise what is right for the modern society we claim to live in, today and into the future. (ie it's inevitable so why fight it?)

 

[AirStrike]

So Hinch declaring a win. Ummmm...........