Job Discussion Forums

[The Red Baron]

[le0n]

The dam boat was sinking anyhow. If the Navy hadn't blundered onto them no one would have ever known.

He lied, always had and alway will. Dumb shets of Aussies keep voting him back in.

In the words of some one who knows what's going on.

"We will get the government we deserve"

Biggest bit of Bullsxxt seen this last week or two was George W saying how great little Johnny is.

[mcNug]

The election is coming up soon. If the unthinkable happens (Howard winning) and from what polls suggest, it's most likely will then I won't return there ever again, my parents are also ready to flee and retire somewhere else, I just couldn't fathom living in a country where more than half the population is stupid.

Intelligent Americans will probably find themselves facing the same situation as I.

[Deborann]

[le0n]

The news here this morning is the attack was a direct attack against Australia. Already being used politicaly however both sides are being careful to not be seen doing so.

The States has the Middle East now Australia has Indonesia. They won't forget East Timor.

[Winmar]

[Deborann]

The only option is to VOTE (early and often!! -sorry ). Even if you don't like the opposition - vote anyway. This man (hope you are reading Rhonda) would have cavalierly tossed your orphans into the ocean had it suited his political needs. HE NEEDS TO GO - IT'S TIME (tells you how old I am )

[sojourner]

For all of you Australians currently working in China, or where ever,have any of you recently attempted to complete the overseas voter registration formalities ? A few days ago,I sent an email to the AEC requesting info on how to lodge a vote from within the PRC.I soon r'd a standard reply,along with links to pertinent FAQ's,application forms,etc.,The forms are all in PDF format.However,after umpteen attempts I could not download copies of the forms for the purpose of printing them.As I have not had too many problems in downloading other PDF documents (eg academic articles,etc),I wonder whether the problem lies with the AEC ? Has anyone else encountered similar hassles in dowloading the required forms ? As I couldn't print the forms,I was unable to fax them off to the AEC by 8 pm last Tuesday - thus,I will be unable to vote !

Nearly everyone on this thread appears to be anti-Howard ! Yet,although I have never voted for the Coalition,I 'm beginning to wonder whether my failure to register is such a disaster after all ! What is the alternative to Howard ? Can anyone take Lathan that seriously - in spite of his intellectual pretensions from having written a book on both globalisation and his version of the "Third Way" ? The "Third Way" is commonly associated with the Clinton and Blair administrations - in spite of the clap-trap re "social capital" formation,"social entrepreneurialism",etc,are people any better off in Britain,has the business cycle been modified,etc ? Yes,I believe that there is,indeed,an urgent need for a genuine Third (or Middle)Way,between the vagaries posed by global capital flows and formation,and the threat of such to effective domestic economic policy making;and on the other hand, the demand by some of both the old "left" and "right" to "re-regulate" the economy by tariff protection,subsidies,etc.Blair's "Third Way",has been likened to a slightly softer version of Thatcherism - would,I wonder,whether a Lathan govt turn out to be merely a gentler version of the "Howard Way" ?

So,what are the alternatives to Howard and Lathan ? During the past,I've usually voted for the Australian Democrats.Although I am opposed to many of that Party's stances (esp regarding its support for a republic),I felt that it was a good idea to have a policy input, at c'tee level,etc,different from that provided by the political elites (ie the Coalition and Labor Parties).But their recent squabbling has helped diminish,in my eyes,their reputation as an effective force to "keep the *beep* honest".

The Greens ? It's good that there are people,such as Bob Brown,who have not been socialised into the traditional wheeling-dealing political culture of the major parties,and who can sometimes think "outside the square" regarding genuine policy alternatives.Yet,many "true believers",like Brown,often find it difficult to compromise.Many of the Greens are,from my perpective,"fundamentalists",especially regarding their understanding of certain environmental and economic issues - thus their apparent inability to often see certain problems from outside a particular narrow ideological framework. However,recently,I've noticed that there has been in influx of "non - traditional green"-type people into the party,most notably the former ONA guy who is standing against Howard, in Bennelong itself.Hopefully,this influx may help to bring some new perspectives to radical-green politics - but there's also the possibility that it may help turn the Green Party into simply an Australian Democrats-type party,along with the squabbling - and resulting political ineffectiveness - of radicals vs moderates,true believers vs pragmatists,etc.

Finally,many Australians should be concerned about a Lathan victory.Why ? Well,in my opinion,one of the few good policy intitiatives of Howard was the Co-Contribution Superannuation Scheme,that helps provide low income earners with a decent nest egg at the time of their retirement,eg if you save $1000,the govt will top it up with an additional $1500.(This should be considered by those of us in China who are in the 45 + age bracket - hopefully,it also applies to income earned outside of Aust - something I need to check out). Anyway,Lathan in his tax policy, has announced that in order to pay for tax cuts he'll abolish the Co-Contribution Superannuation Scheme "very soon" (days,weeks ?) after winning office.This is of some concern to me ! For those who are interested in the Scheme,it might be a good idea for you to immediately contact your tax advisor or roll-over fund manager and ask about joining - and making a contribution NOW,in the event of Lathan winning - and, therefore, become eligible for the govt contribution !

Whoahhh ! That's enough for now !

Peter

[The G-stringed Avenger]

Yeah, Howard's useless, but then, so is Latham. It's a real crisis on who to vote for - voting Democrat or Green in the House of Reps is a wasted vote - I'll always vote for them in the Senate though. Latham just comes up with knee-jerk reactions to whatever's on the front page each day, without putting any thought whatsoever into his policies.

So there we have it - a bunch of rightist liars who look after their rich buddies and suck up to George W, or a bunch of populist fools who'll run the country into debt and ruin again. God help us, what a choice.