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 Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:08 am
IntroductionFor the read-less types, just skim down and read any of the headings that strike your fancy. Well well ladies and gents, unelected knife-the-hand-that-feeds you first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called the next Australian Election. Here I will endeavour to cover the ALP and Coalition policies, add links to interesting bits of info from the leaders, and even throw in some stuff from the Greens, Family First, popular independents and other senate outsiders where necessary. I encourage everyone, foreigner and Aussie alike to contribute and discuss the news of the time, and I'll keep the thread as up to date as my 'unnecessary work' ethic demands. Now me? I wont hide the fact that I'm sensitive to the Liberals, but I'll try and keep the 'reporting' aspect of the thread as unbiased as possible. Also, PM me or bother me on the thread to add something I may have missed. In fact I actively encourage you to do just that. ContentsThis Post:-Polls -The main parties & independents + basic overview 2nd Post:-Election issues + THE THREAD PARTICIPATION GAME! 3rd Post:-Useful links 4th Post:-Reserved The PollsLatest newspoll data in a nifty flash somewhere on this page.Latest ACNielson Polls on this pageThe Significant Parties & IndependentsAustralian Labor PartyHomepageLeader: Julia Gillard Ministry: HereLiberal Party (Coalition leader)HomepageLeader: Tony Abbott Shadow Ministry: HereNational Party (Coalition partner)HomepageLeader: Warren Truss Shadow Ministry: See Liberal ministry. Australian GreensHomepageLeader: Bob Brown Shadow Ministry: lol jokes they have no ministry. Family FirstHomepageLeader: Steven Fielding Senator Nick Xenophon (Independent)HomepageFormer Political Associations: No Pokies party, Liberals (never as a candidate)
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:31 am
THE ISSUES & POLICIES PLUS THE THREAD GAME Go through this list and pick the party you agree with most/disagree with least for each issue, indicate the party next to the issue in a post, and then tally up your results to see which party you agree with MOST. Then explain if it's also the party you agree with on the most important issues..! (pst, in most cases, the Liberals policy is the Nats policy). Minimal info is displayed here, click links for articles about the policy in more detail. Also, YES, a lot of stuff says 'Rudd Labor' keep in mind Gillard only JUST took over and a lot of the propaganda of the parties, commentary from the news, is pre-knifing. Gillard is sticking to Rudds policies unless otherwise stated. EconomyThe Super Profits/Windfall Tax on MiningGillard Labor 'It is understood the deal involves major climb-downs from the Government on virtually every aspect of the proposed super profits tax'.Abbott Liberals 'By inflicting plans for the world’s largest tax burden on the Australian resources sector, the Prime Minister and Treasurer have already caused extensive damage to investor confidence, job certainty and the retirement savings of Australian workers'.Brown Greens 'Senator Brown, who wants part of the estimated $12 billion windfall from the tax paid into an infrastructure fund ... But the Coalition's `no' under any circumstances will melt if the mining industry is happy with the outcome. That gives the mining industry, through the Coalition, the balance of power in the senate'.The DeficitGillard Labor 'Through a new benchmark of strict fiscal discipline, the Rudd Government is returning the Budget to surplus in three years, three years early, and ahead of every major advanced economy'.Abbott Liberals 'It’s my goal to return the budget to surplus at least as quickly as the government proposes but not the lazy way through a great big new tax that threatens miners’ jobs, retirees’ incomes and everybody’s standard of living.' The Public ServiceAbbott Liberals'To rein in spending, the Coalition will introduce a two year recruitment freeze to reduce public servant numbers through natural attrition. ... There will be no redundancies but for two years 6,000 bureaucrats who retire or resign each year will not be replaced'.EnvironmentClimate ChangeGillard Labor Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme/CPRS/ETS 'The Government has committed to a long-term goal of reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to 60 per cent below 2000 levels by 2050. ... the Government has decided on a medium-term target range to reduce emissions by between 5 and 15 percent below 2000 levels by 2020'.Abbott-Truss Coalition Direct Action Plan/DAP 'A Coalition Government will take direct action to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by five percent by 2020'.Brown Greens '40% cuts by 2020 ... climate change poses the greatest threat to our world in human history ... establish binding national emission targets for 2012, 2020 and 2050 supported by a detailed strategy to reduce emissions from the energy, transport, industry, waste and land management sectors'.Fielding Family First 'FAMILY FIRST believes we must have a proper debate on the science surrounding ... [man made] climate change ... FAMILY FIRST believes Australia should only consider introducing an emissions trading scheme after the science surrounding climate change has been settled and after a truly global scheme is adopted'.Xenophon Independents 'A properly designed emissions trading scheme will be an important part of reducing Australia's carbon emissions. ... I support a 'carrot and stick' approach where the 'cleaner, greener' technologies are rewarded and only the 'dirty' industries are taxed'. EnergyGillard Labor 'The Australian Government will commit a further $652..5 million over four years to establish a Renewable Energy Future Fund ... * for the development and deployment of large and small scale renewable energy projects, for example further investments in geothermal, solar and wave energy'.Abbott Liberals 'Power stations account for 50% of Australia's greenhouse emissions. ... Currently, nuclear power is the only proven technology capable of delivering low emission reliable baseload power 24 hours per day'. Abbott-Truss Coalition (continued) 'When asked if nuclear power was a Liberal Party policy, the Opposition's environment spokesman Greg Hunt said it was not. "It's not on our plans, it's not on the table at the moment, and it won't be until such time as there is bipartisan support'. Brown Greens 'a nuclear-free Australia. ... end the exploration for, and the mining and export of, uranium. ... the development and ratification of a global oil depletion protocol. ... to encourage research, development, and commercialisation of energy efficiency and renewable energy'.Fielding Family First 'FAMILY FIRST is concerned about nuclear energy and supports a debate but believes that solar thermal and geothermal energy may be more viable alternatives, without the problem of long term nuclear waste'.International Relations & TradeAfghanistanGillard Labor 'The Rudd government had said it was unwilling and unable to take command in the province and increase the commitment ''even to approach the current Dutch contribution'', he said. ''It would be a poor reflection on our defence capabilities and value as an ally if we are truly unable to help,'' he said'.Abbott Liberals 'TONY Abbott has urged Australia do more heavy lifting in Afghanistan, advocating it take the lead role in Oruzgan province when the Dutch leave soon'.Brown Greens 'Out of Afghanistan ... work for a Constitutional amendment to require federal parliamentary endorsement for the deployment of the ADF overseas'.Border Security aka 'The Boats'Gillard Labor 'The federal government has suspended processing new claims by Sri Lankans and Afghans, who comprise 80 per cent of all boat arrivals ... suspension being enforced as of now, which means it will be reviewed in the case of one group over a three-month point and a second group, at a six-month point'.Labor & Liberal 'The Prime Minister announced last week her plan to establish a regional processing centre to deal with asylum seekers and their claims. She said she had been talking with East Timor's President about the idea ... Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has pounced ... He has said the centre should be on Nauru, the island nation used in the Howard government's "Pacific solution" to hosue asylum seekers'. Abbott Liberals 'There is nothing humane or compassionate about policies that encourage people to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers and get on these boats. ... Julia Gillard has made no changes to the soft border protection policies that she supported as Deputy Prime Minister'.Brown Greens 'End offshore processing ... assess ... all asylum seekers who arrive on our mainland or any of our islands, without discrimination based on the method of arrival. ... while they live in the community'.Fielding Family First 'FAMILY FIRST will ensure people smugglers are given tougher penalties and are not allowed to escape with lenient sentences ... ensure all unauthorized arrivals and asylum seekers are detained in secure centres to assess health, identity and security issues'.Public Health & SafetyMental HealthGillard Labor 'new investments in mental health services, with 20,000 extra young people to get assistance ... A total of $1.63 billion for an estimated 1,316 new sub-acute beds by 2013-14 will support rehabilitation, palliative care, and mental health services – and help people get the right care for their needs'.Abbott Liberals 'TONY Abbott ignited the unofficial election campaign by targeting ... mental health with a $1.5bn spending package. ... The package includes 800 new hospital beds. ... $440 million for the creation of 20 Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centres ... $225m would be allocated to build 60 Headspace services - treatment centres for young people'. Social Rights and MoralityInternet CensorshipGillard Labor 'The federal government's plan to bring in a mandatory internet filter is a modest regulatory measure that will combat illegal activity, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says ... ISP level filtering alone was not enough to help fight child Pornography or keep children safe online ... the government support the block of content such as child sexual abuse imagery and material advocating terrorism'.
Abbott-Truss Coalition 'the Coalition's program under NetAlert which saw free pc-based filters provided to those families who wanted one to complement their online safety efforts ... It is time for Senator Conroy to end this farce and produce his long overdue trial results for independent assessment. It is looking increasingly like the Minister knows his mandatory Internet censorship plan is simply unworkable, but is too embarrassed to admit it,'' Senator Minchin said'.Brown Greens 'No cleanfeed ... Net neutrality is important for an open internet'.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:40 am
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:49 am
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:28 am
Note to guildies: This is in preparation for the election, to be called quite soon. Will port it over to the ED-P when that happens! =)
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 3:12 am
Hells yeah new subforum. On the issues:
Mining Tax - Labor
I was sceptical at first, but I was converted. Big chunk of revenue was cut out today though via Gillard's deal. The plan to raise supperannuation to 12% is still on though which is good.
Deficit - undecided
Abbott is no economic artiste and I'm no more confident that he can return the budget to surplus than I am of Swannie's capabilities. The crackdown on public servants might be something to look at though.
Climate Change - Labor
An ETS is more effective than Abbott's offering.
Energy - Liberal
We have to stop assuming a nuclear plant is Chernobyl waiting to happen.
Afghanistan - Labor
I don't think the war can be convincingly won within the current parameters. We should start thinking about scaling down involvement. I pick Labor as the middle ground between Brown's "RUN NOW!" and Abbott's "MOAR TROOPS!"
TEH BOATS!!1 - Labor
I believe in effective border security, but the idea that you have to be a b*****d to stop people seeking asylum is nonesense. I don't support the Greens' laissez faire approach, but the Coalition's scaremongering on the issue is mind-numbing.
Mental Health - Liberals
Good to see bi-partisan support for it though.
Net Censorship - Greens
Get me some soap. :0
4 for Labor, 2 for the Libs, 1 for the Greens, and 1 undecided.
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 6:05 am
DanskiWolf Deficit - undecided Abbott is no economic artiste and I'm no more confident that he can return the budget to surplus than I am of Swannie's capabilities. The crackdown on public servants might be something to look at though. Basically Abbott is saying Labor will resolve their debt issues with taxation and the Libs with Service cuts. Meanwhile Labor is ignoring that black/white idea, or so they say. Mostly so far as I can tell it is through a freeze in relative spending. They are not going to bring spending up as fast as they expect growth to restore, and use that surplus to whisk away the debt. That's so far as I can tell. Also PM me your facebook if you have one.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:53 am
On the topic of Labor and TEH BOATS I highly doubt the EastTimorese will go for Gillard's new plan. Like they need an ex-prison colony dumping their unwanted in their backyard. Nauru's a bit easier. Perhaps I should reconsider my vote. lol
On an unrelated issue:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/filtering-legislation-on-the-way/story-e6frgakx-1225889109550
Filter legislation on its way by December. Knock it down, Mad Monk.
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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:01 pm
Just noting the thread has now moved to the EDP:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/politics/the-definitive-australian-election-2010-thread/t.63294213/ =)
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