paulry

Is that a ?

Budawang

Abbott is an ignoramus on the economy and policy in general. Don't get your hopes up.

astera

I'm no fan of Gillard for being part of the mining companies coup to oust Kevin Rudd.

But looking at Abbott and the mugs on the other side I would have to bite my lip and still back Gillard. No point changing something average for much worse.

quoll

He's nowhere near an ignoramus and is the best hope Australia has of getting out of the mire that Labor has got it into. He's a nice bloke as well, I hope he romps it in at the polls.

phat-dave

i dont necessarily like abbott but i do respect him... particularly his efforts in the community which are genuine ie: he's an active surf lifesaver etc plus he gets out and about not just for politics but serves his community because he actually wants to.

Zen10

Politically the country is in a mess, but economic problems are above party-political level, frankly.

astera

Kevin Rudd makes Abbott look like his shoe-shine boy. Seriously, Abbott's not good material for a politician or leader of any sort, let alone a PM.

paulry

Would Tony sell us down the river to China?

Grayling

Too late....it's been happening for years under all parties

quoll

Krudd is a narcissist of the first order and I wouldnt trust my dog with him, that's for sure (if I had a dog, of course!) - and not a nice person!

astera

I don't care if he's a narcissist, he was the best PM Australia has had in years, ousted by the mining industry who saw him as a threat to their business of plundering the continent for peanut... I mean jobs, in return.

Put someone of Abbott's calibre in charge of the Tories as well as Labour back in the UK and the Lib Dems would be forming a gov't on their own after a landslide victory in the next election.

Amazulu

He's a socialist twat
Thank f**k he's gone

astera

Every government in Australia is socialist or else they'd have 5% of the vote, how did you forget that?

Kevin Rudd just happened to be the best one of the lot. Abbott is a clown who thinks he can switch from a circus to being PM of a nation.

Zen10

They are all of roughly the same political persuasion, so it makes very little difference who you vote for from a political perspective. As a poster says, Rudd was removed from power because he tried to increase taxation on the rich, which is worrying from the perspective of participatory democracy, even if you happen to disagree with him.

We are compelled to vote in Australia, or at least to attend a polling booth. Considering they are all so similar in political views it makes little difference who one votes for. Both parties have encouraged the wealth gap between rich and poor to grow, both parties have allowed top-level taxation to fall massively over the last few generations. They differ in the same way British or American parties differ, and that is solely on issues of social progressivism. In this way, they are able to fool the people that there is a choice, and a debate in parliament, when there is none at all for the fundamental monetary issues.

astera

Well it was the mining lobby that ultimately disposed of him, which is worrying if such a group can exert such power and influence to bump an unfavourable PM out of office.

Looking at economics, what I find strange is that there are three main "Western"/developed nations with huge resources and a scarce population, namely Canada, Australia and Norway, where the gov't has a lot of loot it can rake in and spread around. Yet in each of these nations it taxes the living daylights out of its citizens.