Election fun

Howard's announcement from yesterday:



"...the right leadership is the leadership that delivers the team that knows how to do the job. The right leadership is the leadership that has the experience to further expand the prosperity of the Australian economy and to ensure that everybody gets a fair share of it."

That made me snort. If he thinks that people are currently getting their fair share of it, then he's just having a nice old wank for the cameras.

"The right leadership is the leadership that is willing to take unpopular decisions in the short-term that have a long-term benefit for the Australian community."

Tell me, what unpopular short-term decisions have been made so far that have a long-term benefit? I cannot think of one myself.

This my favourite though:

"The right leadership is a group of men and women who will govern for all Australians and who will not be beholden to a narrow section of the Australian community."

While we know exactly what he thinks he's talking about (those scary, mean unions), lets just sit and think of all the people in the Australian community who have been repeatedly fucked over by the current government. Let's think of the LARGE section of the Australian community who has been.

But then we get right down to it, just in case you were too stupid to realise what he was getting at:

"...70% of whom are former trade union officials."

Hmmmm...wonder what card is going to be played ad nauseam over the next 6 weeks. Jesus christ. Everyone knows the ALP was founded on the backs of the workers! Of course former union officials are going to be high-ranking members! You have to be a member of a union to be in the ALP!

"Is it a government that is offering stability in it's key personnel..."

This from the man who has publicly stated that he will stand down partway through the term should he be re-elected! So, is the PM position not a key position?

He bangs on about balance? Robbing the country of the necessary checks and balances? How about a majority in the Senate Mr Howard? How about the fact that you have used your majority to force through legislation that would never have passed had there been a decent balance in the upper house? What about the concept of the Senate estimates committee? Forgotten about that, haven't we?

I can't talk anymore about his comments. It just makes me want to vomit.


On to Rudd:



"...new leadership with fresh ideas..."

Ideas that have yet to be announced. Far too much metooism in the ALP at the moment.

"...a goverment that's lost touch..."

They never had it to begin with.

He speaks of how the Liberals won't make changes. They will. That's the problem. The changes that they make are never for the better for the majority of people. So their problem isn't that things won't change, it is that things will continue to do so, to the detriment of the country.

What really shits me about both of them (Howard and Rudd) is that they only seem to think that families count in Australia. And by families they mean a married mum and dad and their kids. Not everyone wants kids. Not everyone can have kids. Hell, not everyone can get married!

Anyway, there are the speeches if you didn't get to see them yesterday. Please don't forget that there are other political parties in Australia. Certainly, the PM will end up being from one of the major two parties, but that does not mean that a vote for the Greens or the Democrats is a wasted vote, provided you vote correctly. That's the beauty of the preferential voting system.