2010 Election Campaign Day 10 - Into the Twilight Zone

It all started on the second day of the Federal Election campaign. I woke to find the world bathed in a strange half light and eerie music playing tinnily in my ear.

Then those emails started:

"Caller Lorraine says Julia Gillard was featured in the Launceston weekend paper doing a Nazi salute and that this is not the first time she has done this". {Quote from Crikey news email on 19th July 2010}

"She's a secret NAZI. When she thinks nobody will notice she heils." {Chain email 18th July 2010}

{Picture of Julia

supposedly 'saluting'

doing the email rounds

on 18th July 2010}

Jules draws our confusion over citizens' assemblies

Jules Faber in The Daily Examiner 0n 24 July 2010

Citizens' Assembly 101

Abbott's credibility gap widens?

ABC News online 19 July 2010:

On Saturday, as the election was being called, Mr Abbott moved to neutralise that scare, promising that WorkChoices was "dead, buried and cremated" and to make sure a Coalition government would keep Labor's law, The Fair Work Act, in place for its first term in office.
"The Coalition won't change the Fair Work Act, at least for the duration of the next parliament, at least for the three-year life of the next parliament," he said.
On Saturday Mr Abbott told Melbourne radio 3AW he will put the death of WorkChoices in writing if it will help.
"Give me a bit of paper, I'll sign it here. Dead, buried, cremated," he said.
But this morning on ABC's AM, Mr Abbott caused confusion by saying he would never, ever make changes to the Fair Work Act, rather than giving a guarantee of three years.
"We have no plans, no plans whatsoever to make any changes to the legislation. Not now, not ever," he said.
"As far as I'm concerned, I have no plans for any change to the laws, not now, not next year, not the year after, not ever."
However the issue of WorkChoices did not die. Just an hour later on 3AW he was not giving that guarantee.
When asked how long he would guarantee not to touch the laws, Mr Abbott said he could not say that he would never change them.
"Obviously I can't say that there will never, ever, ever, for 100 or a 1,000 years time be any change to any aspect of industrial legislation, but the Fair Work Act will not be amended in the next term of the government if we are in power," he said.
This afternoon he was back to saying Labor's law would stay in place beyond just one term.
"You cannot bring back WorkChoices, other than through legislation," Mr Abbott said.
"The legislation will not change, not today, not tomorrow, not next year, or the year after, not in three years time, not in ten years time."

Abbott's doorstop on 19 July did not rule out a return of regulations similar to those which accompanied the Howard Government's WorkChoices which allowed for punitive individual employment contracts and summary dismissal in certain circumstances.

On the same day elsewhere in the mainstream media:

The Essential Report for 13-18 July 2010 reports these polling statistics from 932 respondents:

40% approve Tony Abbott’s performance as Opposition Leader and 44% disapprove.
Since this question was asked 2 weeks ago, approval has increased
by 3% and disapproval decreased by 3%.
82% of Liberal/National voters approve and 10% disapprove.
Among Labor voters, 19% approve and 69% disapprove.
There were some differences by gender ‐ men 45% approve/43% disapprove and women 35% approve/46% disapprove.

Abbott in The Age on 20 July 2010:

Asked about a pledge in his budget reply to remove the unfair dismissal burden from the back of small business, he said: ''I think that there are provisions within the existing legislation to make our workplaces fairer and more flexible.''

Then on 21 July Abbott exposed his political rear by saying he will create law which supersedes certain provisions of Fair Work legislation.

The Daily Telegraph reported on 24 July 2010:

Support for the coalition has fallen over the past fortnight, with the latest Nielson poll putting Labor ahead 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis. Labor also leads 58-42 per cent among women voters, and is tied 50-50 with men.

A whale of a question for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and the Coalition in 2010

Humpback calf from the whale series at ScottS101 on Flickr

If the Liberal-Nationals Coalition wins government on 21 August 2010 will party leaders Tony Abbott and Warren Truss support Australian Government legal proceedings currently underway in The Hague (lodged in order to protect whales in the Southern Ocean) or will they cravenly withdraw the application?

''Coalition policy is not to take Japan to the international court. We are against whaling, but we wouldn't seek to advance [the cause] in that particular way" (Tony Abbott in January 2010)

QUESTION:
But that’s a loose term. If you were in government would you take Japan to the International Court or not?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, if we were in government we’d be able to see the legal advice and, as I said, we support appropriate and effective action in international tribunals. (Tony Abbott in May 2010)

2010 Election Campaign Day 9 - Lock up your babies!

Beware! Rampant baby snatching underway across the nation as I write.
These are some of the Oz pollies to look out for...........

150 wankers will save Oz? G'arn!

"And so today I announce that if we are re-elected, I will develop a dedicated process – a Citizens' Assembly – to examine over 12 months the evidence on climate change, the case for action and the possible consequences of introducing a market-based approach to limiting and reducing carbon emissions." {'Moving foward together on climate change' speech on 23rd July 2010}
That rumbling sound followed by a slight tilt to the floor which you experienced after Prime Minister Gillard finished her climate change policy speech was caused by thousands of Aussies running towards The Green's camp.
Insulting the intelligence of the average voter can't have been intentional surely? Telling us all that 150 hand-picked wankers are worth more than we are - after the majority of us voted for climate change action in 2007 and have doggedly held on ever since despite denialist propaganda flooding the mainstream media and blogosphere.
Waaay to go Juuuulia!

Unlawful War: well we always knew that they knew and.............

.....they knew that we knew, but it was nice to have it confirmed when Clegg rose to his feet on 21 July 2010!

Nick Clegg was tonight forced to clarify his position on the Iraq war after he stood up at the dispatch box of the House of Commons and pronounced the invasion illegal.

The deputy prime minister insisted he was speaking in a personal capacity, as a leading international lawyer warned that the statement by a government minister in such a formal setting could increase the chances of charges against Britain in international courts.

Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London, said: "A public statement by a government minister in parliament as to the legal situation would be a statement that an international court would be interested in, in forming a view as to whether or not the war was lawful."

[The Guardian 21 July 2010]