Really Mr Howard?

The latest ad from the ALP. I've seen it twice today already.

National Farmers Federation hates Australian workers

Gam and I just saw this pro-WorkChoices ad by the National Farmers Federation on SBS.

The gist? Australia workers should bend over and take it up the arse from the Howard government because Australian farmers need 'flexibility'. The whole of the population should be subjected to AWAs that strip away their rights at work because farmers want to use AWAs.

And if you disagree, you must hate farmers. Think of the farmers!

Wankers.

Political smear campaigns

Yesterday, Joe Hockey was busted admitting that the Libs are running a smear campaign, "based" on fact. (See Mikey's post on this - very funny.)

Hockey is also effectively accusing the ALP of running a scare campaign by proxy - because of the ads that the unions are running.

"I don't think the Labor Party is in any position to judge us on the credentials of our advertising campaign, when they've been the beneficiaries of the greatest fear campaign ever run by the union movement in Australia," he said.

A couple of months ago, I received a pdf of a page that had clearly been ripped out of some kind of magazine, outlining the "frightening" details of the union involvement of Rudd's team. I've saved it as a pic and you can take a look below (click to enlarge).

While I don't know the actual document from which the page was ripped, given the choice of colours, and the colours used in the ads being run by the Liberal Party, I can hazard a guess.

(And poor old Peter Garrett. Lumped in with all the "union officials". Because apparently having a life before entering the political fray is enough to incur the wrath of some. Abbott was in a seminary and worked as a journo before joining the Liberal ranks - and let's not forget his early union membership - does that mean that he gets to be lumped in with all the lawyers?)

The point of all this is: there will continue to be either poor or excellent attempts at swaying people's votes, purely based on the fear of what will happen. But the future is never set in stone.

Given that Australians trusted the ALP for so many years before switching to the Libs (and that was because they successfully managed to convince that they were for "battlers"), and they provided the platform for the coalition's economic growth, means that there should be no fear in voting the ALP back into power.

As for the make up of the cabinet? Things are never perfectly proportioned in the real world. Take a look at your friends - are they perfectly representative of the diversity of Australia? Unlikely. So you cannot realistically expect your government to be. You vote for the people you think will do the job best for you. How do you know who will do what is best? You do not base it some information that is presented to you by a biased source, you go and find out the information for yourself. If you want to live in a democracy, you have to be willing to put in a little effort.

Interest rates - why, oh, why?

Maybe if I smile they'll forget I'm an arrogant disingenuous arsehole

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has backed away from a Liberal advertisement in the 2004 election campaign promising low interest rates, saying they were pulled from air after only two days.

SMH

Now maybe this is correct, maybe they did run for only two days, but I gotta tell you, they are the thing I remember most about the last election campaign.

I still remember where I was when I heard the first one on the radio. I still remember my immediate thoughts ("How the hell do they think they can get away with making that claim?"). But make that claim they did. I saw the ad repeatedly on the tele too. You cannot claim to keep interest rates low (or lower than a Labor government in this case) when you don't set the interest rates!

I suppose after 5 interest rate rises in 3 years, and another one seemingly imminent, they have to face up to the fact that for however long those ads ran, they did their job a little too well - they are still burned into the psyche of everyone who took even vague notice of the last election. They are evidence that the government will say anything they can to scare you into voting for them.

A very basic economics lesson for everyone. The RB increases interest rates because they want to reduce spending. Spending is high precisely because the economy is strong. By increasing the interest rates, they are reducing the speed of the growth of the economy. Why? Because if the economy grows too quickly, it will cause inflation. By increasing interest rates and therefore reducing the demand for money (and spending), they are reducing the chance of inflation.

It's a fine line, which is why there is always a concern when governments cut taxation rates - will there be upward pressure on the interest rates?

But run for your lives! There's a "financial tsunami" on the way!

An interest rate rise before poll day is viewed as a near-certainty by market economists, but Mr Costello said inflationary pressures in the economy would abate next year.

He said inflation remained within the target band, and much lower than previous episodes in Australian history when it had peaked above 16 per cent.

The Government's re-election pitch is "go for growth", and Mr Costello said Australians seemed to have forgotten that recessions every decade or so were the "normal" state of affairs.

SMH

So, Captain Smirk. That would be a "recession we [have] to have", wouldn't it then? Jesus Christ, even their choice of words are intended to provoke fear in people. Tsunami = mass devastation.

"It is almost as if people have become so used to growth that they think a recession can't happen in this country. I don't believe that the business cycle is defeated. At some point the business cycle will turn down, no doubt about it.

"We don't want people to think that recessions have been abolished in this country."

On the subject of rising consumer prices, Mr Costello said it was normal for people to complain. "Nobody's ever going to feel entirely happy with everything," he said. Life in the real world would always be "this side of heaven".

"People don't like price rises. The important thing is to keep price rises to a minimum."

But he dismissed the idea that cost of living pressures would be a vote changer. "I think people will say, well, we understand why that is happening. I don't think that is a vote-change issue because it's not a government decision."

No it isn't. Shame you weren't willing to admit that in the last election campaign, hmmmm?


UPDATE: jamesm has a very good explanation about interest rates over on Mikey's blog.

Could Labor's soft strategy lead to loss?

Could even John Howard make these men look impotent?

This is something that's been bothering me all week, mainly because the same thing happened during the disastrous 2004 election campaign: Labor clearly has the same people running their advertising campaigns as they did back then. This was worrying me back in July, and I really hoped the ALP would wake up to themselves in the meantime. What we should be doing is seeing ads putting some steel-toed boots into the ribs of the Libs while they're down in the polls. Some more anti-Workchoices ads. Some more 'John Howard has been asleep on climate change' ads. Some ads reminding people of how Howard spent $2 billion of their money on ads promoting himself and his policies (and maybe a promise to change the rules so that can't happen again? Helloooo?). Anything that will remind people of why they shouldn't be voting for Howard, and I don't mean more of those lame anti-Costello ads.

Instead we've been getting nice, bland Kevin Rudd, speaking in measured tones, soft enough to appeal to grandmas yet forceful enough to sound statesmanlike, with soft, inspirational music playing in the background. Enough, Kevin! You can be a statesman after you win the frigging election. Anything earlier is just playing make-believe. It didn't work for Mark Latham and it won't work for you. The polls are heading in Howard's favour already, and presidential-style ads aren't going to stop his $34 billion vote-buying spree having an impact on the electorate.

One positive to come out of this week is actually Rudd's response to the $34 billion in tax cuts- given his past form I expected Labor to fall for the same trick as last election, making lots of promises in support of schools, the healthcare system etc and then promising tax cuts on top of it all to match the government and consequently looking weak on their fiscal management.

Just one final note- how much of an ass is Wayne Swan? I guess there's the possibility that he's under instruction to 'stay on message', in which case he's been given the wrong message, but in interviews this week he seems to be running around trying to be Peter Costello to Kevin Rudd's John Howard, once again missing the opportunity to put the boot into Workchoices and the effect it has on ordinary people's earnings.

Oh, and you know who I think we should be seeing more of? Julia Gillard.

Somebody slap them!

Union attacks

Mr Hockey, whose Liberal Party has launched scathing election advertisements highlighting the 70 per cent of Labor frontbenchers with a union background, said it was incredible Labor intended to govern with such a high union representation.

"[The role of unions] is essentially over," Mr Hockey told ABC Radio today.

"That's because we have a system with a strong, independent umpire that is providing protections for workers.

"Because the unions do not cover 80 per cent of the workers out there, we find that people are turning to the Workplace Authority and the Workplace Ombudsman to obtain information and to get protection."

Mr Hockey said workers who were not union members could turn to the Workplace Ombudsman for advice, but the Labor Party wanted to dismantle that office.

He said Australians viewed unions as irrelevant and were choosing not to join them, a trend that started under former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke.

SMH

No, the reasons people aren't joining the unions is because they still have an old-fashioned view of them, and the government scare campaign over many years has wormed its way into the minds of the populace. The unions are not good at positive self-promotion.

Very few unions are as militant as they were. Because over the years they were achieving many of the goals they aimed for. But now, they have a higher profile because the government is systematically eroding their achievements. My grandfather must be rolling over in his grave. (He was heavily involved in unions. Actually even got a mention in a book about them - the name of which escapes me at present.) People started leaving the unions when Hawke was PM because they had yet to catch up with the general feelings of the public. But now they have.

Personally, I don't think much can be achieved nowdays by going on strike. Because unlike in my grandfather's era, there is less of a feeling of community in the population. If people went on strike back then, other people would support them and the reasons for the strike. People wouldn't become scabs because they knew they faced ostracisation, which doesn't happen so much now because big-business has such a foothold in the minds of the public and all people seem to care about is profit over the well-being of the people who help achieve that profit.

The public has become complacent. And now we are facing the consequences.

"I don't think anyone would have thought that in 2007 it would be credible for Kevin Rudd to go to an election with 70 per cent of his frontbench made up of former union officials, and that would be a dramatic increase in the number of union officials that, say, Bob Hawke had," he said.

Irrelevant. I'll keep saying it - you must be a union member to be in the ALP*. So naturally the chances of the bulk of the frontbench being former union officials is high. Being a union official is a politicised position. It is a natural stepping stone for someone in the ALP who wants to make a difference in the government. End of story.

Just because a politician is a former union official it does not mean that they will allow themselves to be unfairly influenced by the unions. They know that come the next election, if people are unhappy with their performance, they will be given the boot - so in a way, their involvement with the union movement can be seen as something that prevents them from making extreme choices.

The ACTU has hit back at a Liberal Party campaign highlighting the union affiliations of Labor's frontbench team, saying it is insulting to working families.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow said a television advertisement released yesterday by the Liberals was wrong to suggest unions were anti-business.

The ad was also insulting to the millions of Australians whose job security and living standards were protected by unions.

"The job of all unions is to protect secure, well-paid employment for Australian working families," she said.

"To achieve this we need profitable businesses that value their workers. (my empahsis)

Workers who are valued are happy. Happy workers are more productive. This means that businesses achieve more.

I'll concede that not all business will use WorkChoices as a means to take advantage of their workers. But there are those that will. And until you can guarantee that no workers will be unfairly treated, you cannot write off the unions. An agency set up by the government should not be relied on as the only organisation that will ensure that worker's rights are protected.

The government scare campaign will continue. You've probably seen the latest bit of propaganda by now. See it here if you've not.



Labor have hit back with Rudd calling out Howard's scare campaign with a "Fresh Ideas" ad.

*apparently this is untrue. As I said in my comment - a number of years ago before I'd gotten around to joining the QPSU, I rang the ALP and was informed I'd need to be a union member. Is this a recent thing? Can anyone enlighten?

But I don't believe that it makes my comments any less valid. Given that the ALP is traditionally aligned with the unions, it is hardly a surprise that most, if not all, of the pollies have union affiliations of some description.

A new approach for The Greens

Jeremy has figured out a new campaign approach for The Greens. It's pretty damn good and would certainly make people think about what the party really stands for rather than all the crap that other political parties (and "interested observers" who don't even vote) like to say they represent.

Check it out.

Our Saturday bike ride- and how Bob Brown got away

On Saturday we went for a bike ride. Intending to go to New Farm, we first rode over the Eleanor Schonell bridge to the Mrs Flannery's at Woolloongabba to buy coffee beans. Because we haven't ridden anywhere in ages I've lost all my 'cycling muscles', so we stopped on the ES bridge to take some photos before heading to Mrs F's. Nice to see the view of the river down toward Indooroopilly and Sherwood for a change.



Gam took some pictures of the Dutton Park cemetery. We have fond memories of the place thanks to an 'adventure' where we caught the wrong train and hopped off there, unsure of our Brisbane geography, only to be caught in a storm and having to walk through the cemetery to the Ferry in the pouring rain, with thunder and lightning all around us- and me barefoot thanks to one of my sandals breaking!



By the time we'd got to Mrs Flannery's, Gam had pity on me and said we could always do New Farm next weekend, so we rode to Southbank for a New Zealand Natural ice cream. Normally we shy away from visiting Southbank on the weekend, because it's chock-full of smoking bogans and their spawn. Thanks to the refurbishment of the fake beach it was much quieter. Still a high proportion of smokers among the people there, but because there were far fewer people than usual it wasn't anywhere near as bad. Gam (as always) had Cookies and Cream ice cream, while I had an Orange Choc-chip ice cream. I couldn't remember if I liked the orange choc-chip or mint better- I think the orange and chocolate ice cream I was thinking fondly of was the Haagen Daasz in the City (which is usually an awful ice cream experience thanks again to all the goddamned smokers that pollute the place). The New Zealand Natural Orange Choc-Chip flavour isn't really orange-y or tangy at all. But it is a really attractive fluoro orange colour! Come to think of it, the photo below doesn't really do justice to the colour- it seems to look more of a peachy colour...



As we were about to leave Southbank we spied a small group of people with Greens flags attached to their bikes and wearing Greens t-shirts, so we asked them if we could take a couple of photos. It turned out that Bob Brown had been in New Farm that morning and they had been to see him speak (d'oh!!!). The guy in the photo is Wally Guthrie, membership secretary for the Mount Cootha branch of the Queensland Greens, while his wife Elizabeth Guthrie is the Greens candidate for the seat of Brisbane!

Elizabeth Guthrie, candidate for the federal seat of Brisbane, with husband Wally.

Wally has asked us to help hand out Greens how-to-vote cards on election day. I've always considered myself an open-minded voter, but I said to Gam the other day that with this federal election being the third I'll have voted in, and my fundamental disagreements with the principles (or lack of) espoused by the major parties, I can see myself unwittingly ending up a lifelong Greens voter. So perhaps we'll be taking Mikey's advice and joining up in the near future, as long as the Greens don't have clauses in their charter that prevent us from mouthing off whenever we feel like it. At the very least we'll likely be doing the HTV thing on election day. And signing up for email updates to better keep our eye on Bob Brown's whereabouts. Curse my weak legs and our Saturday morning sleep-in!

Wally Guthrie and some friends.

Not With My Money - a GetUp campaign

When the Government saturated us with their Climate Clever advertising campaign, GetUp members rallied to raise an unbelievable quarter of a million dollars plus to successfully air our climate spoof ad during the AFL Grand Final.

But government spending of our taxes to advertise their party policies must stop now. Before another dollar of public money is spent, sign the urgent petition to tell Mr Howard and Mr Rudd that we demand an end to government advertising designed to spruik not inform:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/NotWithMyMoney

Every day of inaction is literally costing us $1 million in advertising. Some of it is legitimate but this Government has spent more than any other on its own advertising - estimated at almost $2 billion. Our Government is now one of the biggest advertisers in Australia, and one of the highest spending governments in the world. It is all with our money, but without our consultation or consent.

The last federal Labor government did the same, as do current state Labor governments - and while the Greens and Labor are making some positive noises there is nothing effective in Australian law to prevent this unbridled abuse of public trust and purse. Now rumours abound that John Howard even intends to break with time-honoured convention and continue taxpayer-funded propaganda during the election period itself. Sign the petition now - and we'll put your name to the $2 billion invoice we'll send to the government for our monies spent:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/NotWithMyMoney

Imagine what $2 billion of our taxes could do - close the Indigenous health gap, fill the shortfall in public schools funding, double the Government's spending on climate change. But that money has been largely wasted on political self-interest, and that is simply insulting to Australian taxpayers.

Thanks for being a part of this,
The GetUp team

PS - Malcolm Turnbull MP, Peter Garrett MP and Senator Christine Milne have all posted blogs on the Gunns pulp mill approval at GetUp's new blog pages. Click here to read their messages and join the discussion.