Chris Gulaptis clutching at straws after televised ad leaves him exposed

Nationals candidate for Page, Chris Gulaptis was quick off the mark to try and repair the damage done by a televised advertisement, which exposed his efforts as a Clarence Valley shire councillor to force council staff into John Howard's WorkChoices regime.

 

Chris offered this little gem on ABC radio this morning - ethanol production would not cause grain prices to rise because extra grain could be grown, and if it wasn't used for food or stockfeed then it would be sold to make ethanol fuel.

 

Don't you just love it? Even a first-year economics student would be able to shoot this simplistic reasoning down in flames.

 

This Nationals candidate should stick to what he knows best - property development.

 

A little bit on the domestic and international ethanol market:

The Age:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/extracting-grain-of-truth-on-ethanol/2006/09/14/1157827091000.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Australian Lot Feeders Association:

http://www.feedlots.com.au/news/mr18012007.htm

Planet Ark:

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43377/story.htm

Agriculture Online:

http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1171307109480.xml#continue

Campaign Day 22

I hear the pundits are saying that voters won't blame John Howard for any interest rate rise this week.

Well I'm a voter and I'm acutely aware that before Howard lit the flame of this incredible round of election promises with big money attached, the Reserve Bank warned that promises of this kind would cause inflationary pressure.

So yeah - I will blame a Prime Minister more intent on getting re-elected than on managing the economy.

Labor promises to keep Medicare Private

There will be smiles on the faces of a number of retirees on the NSW North Coast after Federal Labor promised to reverse the Howard Government's decision to sell-off Medicare Private.

They will be pleased that their equity in this medical insurance company will not be going down the plug hole if Rudd wins government.

Definitely nothing 'me too' about this promise.

News.com.au article today:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22700796-29277,00.html 

The Prime Minister is looking tired

Well it had to happen. With the blogosphere taking note of John Howard's every shoulder twitch or eye shift and occasionally commenting on his obvious ill health, someone was bound to come up with a diagnosis.

Possible TIA or small stroke has now firmed into early Parkinson's Disease.

 

The Prime Minister's health status is the real elephant in the room during this federal election campaign and it is an animal that mainstream media is trying its best to ignore.

 

This issue may be one of the reasons why opinion polls are stubbornly refusing to significantly shift in the Coalition's favour - Howard is considered a health risk. Voters have been watching the Prime Minister's pronounced variability in cognitive function and may be quietly deciding that he is no longer up to the job.

 

The Daily Telegraph on polls and campaign:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22696212-5001031,00.html

Campaign Day 21

Still recovering from the rude shock delivered by ABC TV last night.

Just before 8.30pm I was abducted by a ponderous Liberal Party election advert and cruelly waterboarded with alternating doses of JoHo and Capt'n Smirk.

Come on Aunty, be fair - if I'd been in the mood for advertising I would've been watching one of the commercial channels.

If John Howard wants more air time he should have accepted the offer of another televised debate.

Effects of a marathon election campaign

It seems that it is not only tempers that are fraying in Howard's marathon election campaign.

Nor is it only in the Liberal Party camp that unhappy mutterings are heard regarding the Prime Minister's fixation on his own needs and desires.

Small business is also expecting a negative reaction.

According to QBR on Friday:

"Queensland businesses are conscious that a possible change in Federal Government and extended campaign could take its toll on business activity during the December quarter, according to the latest Commerce Queensland — St.George September quarter Pulse Survey of Business Conditions.
The survey found Queensland businesses are expecting business conditions to soften in the December quarter, with the General Business Conditions Index (GBCI) expected to drop to its lowest level since June 2002.
The extended election campaign has had a negative impact on business activity. This can be attributed to reluctance on the part of consumers to make major purchasing decisions in an uncertain political environment."

QBR full article:
 http://www.qbr.com.au/index.cfm?storyid=33271&cp=displaystory&type=s

Things in the electorate of Page ain't what they used to be

On Friday 2 November ABC radio carried a report about the electorate of Page. The incumbent Local Member, a National Party MP, is retiring and not contesting the election.

The report states:

This is a seat that would not normally be regarded as marginal. The National party holds it by a margin of more than 5 per cent. But Labor is strongly contesting it, hoping to capitalise on a changing demographic in the area.

Read the full report at http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/03/2080830.htm

Interestingly, the National Party candidate Chris Gulaptis doesn't reside in the electorate. How then, can he describe himself as a "local"?