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NEWS AND VIEWS
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Australian Political PartiesObituaries prematureMonday, 30 June 2008 - One thing the Gippsland by election result proves is that the obituaries for the National Party after the last federal election were premature. The Nationals vote on Saturday was solid and taking the Coalition as a team, there does not seem to have been any major problem caused by the Liberals standing as well. The combined primary vote for the Nationals plus Liberals of 60.5 per cent is the highest since the election of 1996 Rudd's retreat on privatizationFriday, 2 May 2008 - The way Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used weasel words to try and escape any embarrassment from the humiliation NSW Premier Morris Iemma is facing at the hands of his Labor Party hardly inspires confidence about his ability to stick with difficult decisions. more Ending merger madnessWednesday, 12 March 2008 - It seems that Brendan Nelson has seen the error of his ways and has abandoned the naïve notion that it would somehow be possible to combine the Liberal and National Parfies into one happy little party. more Self Interest Prevents Liberal-National MergerTuesday, January 29, 2008 - The renewed talk of an amalgamation between the Liberal and National Parties into one grand conservative organisation gives a wonderful insight in to the influence of self interest on the way political parties operate. more A Quartet of Colleagues Playing the Role of Factional BossesThursday, November 29, 2007 - Perhaps we should call them the faction bosses you listen to when you pretend not to be influenced by the factions. more Generational Change Coalition StyleFriday, November 30, 2007 - It was time for generational change said Mark Vaile as he announced he was stepping down as Leader of the Nationals. "It's an appropriate opportunity for renewal and a fresh face to lead the party," was how he put it. And so it comes to pass that the 51 year old Mr Vaile is about to be replaced by the 59 year old Warren Truss. Going for an older generation of politician - generational change Nationals style. more Perhaps All Nationals Should Become Family Men NowTuesday, November 27, 2007 - It is a wonderful sight to behold how politicians become so concerned for family life when they lose access to their white cars and all the other lurks and perks of ministerial office. more See also A Hint from Barnaby Perhaps the Small "l's" Provide a ClueMonday, November 26, 2007 - As the Parliamentary Liberal Party contemplates its leadership future, members should perhaps give more than a passing glance to what happened in the Victorian seats of McMillan and Kooyong. more Gains Around the Fringes for Greens and DemocratsMonday, 25 June 2007 - While the Labor Party has sensibly followed the safe course of basically agreeing with Prime Minister John Howard on the need for immediate and decisive action in the Northern Territory to try and stop child abuse, Greens and Democrats have equally wisely chosen to quickly make their opposition to the proposals known. For the two minor parties the issue could well be a political life saver as they have a chance of luring back the Howard haters who have voted for them in the past but who more recently had moved to supporting the Kevin Rudd led Labor. more A Temporary Greens Decline?Tuesday, 6th February 2007 - The surge in support for Labor as measured by the Newspoll out this morning has been at the expense not just of the Coalition but of the Greens as well. more Labor's Latest Third Party EndorsementFriday, 2nd February 2007 - Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd clearly has a soul mate in South Australian Premier Mike Rann. In announcing yesterday that Sir Rod Eddington would chair a council of business advisers for a future Labor Government, Rudd is following down the path pioneered by Rann who gave Robert Champion de Crespigny the title of chair of his state's Economic Development Board and started inviting him to Cabinet meetings. more A Fearless PredictionThursday, 23rd November, 2006 - I didn't think the day would come when I predicted the Greens would win a single member seat in a general election but I am doing so today. I have the Greens favourite in both the Melbourne and Richmond seats of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. more The Anomaly of the LiberalsFriday, 6th October, 2006 - When Don Chipp quit the Liberal Party in search of more liberal pastures it was to escape men like Petro Georgiou who back then was the apprentice to that supposedly conservative sorcerer Malcolm Fraser. Chipp wanted the freedom to speak his mind whereas his Prime Minister was surrounded by disciplined apparatchiks like Petro concerned with grabbing and holding on to power. These were the kind of men who had to be kept honest. Fast forward 30 years and I read in The Age this morning a piece by Greg Barns that “the question then for Georgiou and his fellow dissenting Liberals is whether they should form a new political force to give these voters a natural home.” How times have changed. more Time for the American Way ?Wednesday, 19th July, 2006 - In broad terms, each of Liberal/National and Labor will win 40% of the seats on offer whichever way most overall elections go. How people in these safe electorates vote is not the real election. The real and important election was earlier when the party chose its candidate. more Saved by EcstasyMonday, 17th July, 2006 - The Australian Democrats just might be undergoing an ecstasy led revival and the Federal leader Lyn Allison seems to realise it. more Timid Democrats Have No ChanceFriday, 7th July, 2006 - That shrinking minority who are members of the Australian Democrats are getting their knickers in a knot because their solitary remaining member in the South Australian Parliament has dared to say she would prefer to be at a rave party with people on ecstasy than at a pub with a bunch of drunks. more The Good News in Labor's Faction Fight - the Left Has LostWednesday, 8th March, 2006 - There is some good news in Victorian Labor's very public factional fight - the maddies of the left are no longer in control. For almost all of the last 50 years, Left factions have been dominant in Victoria and their way out, doctrinaire views were a major factor in Labor being in government federally for less than 30% of that time. Now that the moderate forces - people actually interested in winning government - are in control, it is understandable that they want to get rid of people put into parliament by their leftist predecessors. more New Political PartyWednesday, 6th February, 2005 - Had enough of Christians trying to impose their anti-abortion views? Horrified by Moslems trying to bully the world into submission? Think Scientologists are complete nutters? Saddened by Jewish militants clinging to the occupied territories in the name of God? Appalled by Hindu nationalists? Bemused by Buddhists believing in reincarnation? Then perhaps the recently formed Secular Party of Australia is for you. more
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| © Richard Farmer 2008 |