Pre-election beatups
Well, it must be an election year in the land of Oz. The Labor party has changed leaders from a pleasant but ineffectual Kim Beazeley to a rather more potent Kevin Rudd. He has been giving the government a hard run for its money lately, and the members of said government don't like it one bit.
So we begin to see a series of nasty personal attacks and beatups, the latest of which is trying to tarnish the reputation of Mr Rudd by associating him with a disgraced former politician turned lobbyist, Brian Burke of Western Australia. Well, it backfired at the outset, with the only scalp taken thus far is a government minister who also had some dealings with Mr Burke, clearly seen now as a lethal pariah on the Oz political scene. (Wicked wizard of the West?)
And the stoush goes on, the government is on its high horse decrying the blatant hypocrisy of Mr Rudd. In the meantime what is being forgotten by the media and all else apparently are the key issues of an election year. To wit:
* global warming issues and this government's ostrich approach to the consequences of non-action;
* other environmental concerns, like running out of fresh water and a l o n g drought;
* industrial deform (see previous blog entries) -- a BIG issue;
* government veracity and tenure;
* immigration policies (or lack thereof)
* diminishing resources for key services like education at all levels;
* an ageing population
* the government recalcitrance to come up with a withdrawal plan from Iraq (which we shouldn't have gotten into anyhow;
But folks, be sure to vote for Mr or Mrs Clean, wherever they may be. The media's underlying message is: be sure to get a human candidate with human failings so they can shred him/her, regardless of talent and ability in governance.
And the current government? They will play every nasty trick in the political arsenal to attempt to destroy a very powerful opposition at last feeling its strength, and doing the government serious damage.
No furry cuddly animals were harmed in the writing of this blog.
Enough for now
P B White
So we begin to see a series of nasty personal attacks and beatups, the latest of which is trying to tarnish the reputation of Mr Rudd by associating him with a disgraced former politician turned lobbyist, Brian Burke of Western Australia. Well, it backfired at the outset, with the only scalp taken thus far is a government minister who also had some dealings with Mr Burke, clearly seen now as a lethal pariah on the Oz political scene. (Wicked wizard of the West?)
And the stoush goes on, the government is on its high horse decrying the blatant hypocrisy of Mr Rudd. In the meantime what is being forgotten by the media and all else apparently are the key issues of an election year. To wit:
* global warming issues and this government's ostrich approach to the consequences of non-action;
* other environmental concerns, like running out of fresh water and a l o n g drought;
* industrial deform (see previous blog entries) -- a BIG issue;
* government veracity and tenure;
* immigration policies (or lack thereof)
* diminishing resources for key services like education at all levels;
* an ageing population
* the government recalcitrance to come up with a withdrawal plan from Iraq (which we shouldn't have gotten into anyhow;
But folks, be sure to vote for Mr or Mrs Clean, wherever they may be. The media's underlying message is: be sure to get a human candidate with human failings so they can shred him/her, regardless of talent and ability in governance.
And the current government? They will play every nasty trick in the political arsenal to attempt to destroy a very powerful opposition at last feeling its strength, and doing the government serious damage.
No furry cuddly animals were harmed in the writing of this blog.
Enough for now
P B White
posted by Peter W | 10:01 am
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