So, a poll says Rene: Early state poll push
Fascinating.
Two things.
1. Labor’s definitely on the nose. Well Blind Freddy can see that.
After all, this is the government that governs for a tiny, rich minority of Tasmanians.
It is the government of mates and Fifties’ stalinist mentality …
The most stark recent example of this mindless, philistine, blinkered, Third World, dark-ages, burnt earth policy being Recherche Bay.
Do not be in doubt. Recherche Bay could be saved with the stroke of a pen; it’s only 100ha for god’s sake; the owners of the contentious logging area easily compensated, visionary conservation internationally-acclaimed.
But no. Be in no doubt. We’re the “F. . .in'” bosses. We look after our “F. . .in'” mates (especially the very rich ones). You do as you’re “F. . .in'” told.”
Rough Red (Rough Red) leads a government reliant almost entirely on the still-trickling effect of the upturn inspired by hordes of terrified-by-the-apocalypse, Tassie-flavour-of-the-month tourists and the national-upturn (with adequate tweaking from Bacon-Crean). Lucky bastards.
It is the Government reliant on the indifference, fear and easily-manipulated conservatism of the Great Unwashed.
It is the government of elevated Labor mates with a spinner in every nook and cranny to grossly overstate anything, well, everything.
And it is the party apparently unwilling to engineer the elevation of Dunc (tho’ watch this space, Hag is hearing fascinating goss, more follows …)
Now Dunc (and Nick) got a big rap in Crikey Sealed yesterday … while some significant other Tasmanian Labor colleagues – Dick, Harry, Sue, Kay (who?) got a bum-rap.
Hag quotes His Eminence Crikeyness Christian Kerr:
8. Labor’s duds, thuds and buds
Labor’s national secretary Tim Gartrell might be staying shtum on the specifics of his comments last week that the party should dump its “duds” and get a new generation of MPs into parliament if it wants to win (here) – but many of his comrades don’t seem to share his reticence.
The emails have been flooding into Crikey over who should go and who should
stay – so many that we’ve decided to put together three lists of Laborites. The DUDS: people who should go now. The THUDS: people who should go and have
a good think about their position. The BUDS: people who should stay.No need to thank us, Tim and Kim. It’s a pleasure. All we ask in return is that we get allowed into the budget lock-up if and when Labor is returned to government.
THE DUDS: Dick Adams, Arch Bevis, Sharon Bird, Nick Bolkus, Chris Bowen,
Geoff Buckland, Anthony Byrne, George Campbell, Jacinta Collins, Pat Crossin, Kay Denman, Laurie Ferguson, Jennie George, Sharon Grierson, Jill Hall, Michael Hatton, Kelly Hoare, Harry Jenkins, Linda Kirk, Joe Ludwig, Sue Mackay, Gavin Marshall, Jan McLucas, Claire Moore, Roger Price, Harry Quick, Rod Sawford, Ursula Stephens and Ruth Webber.THE THUDS: Anthony Albanese, Mark Bishop, Tony Burke, Kim Carr, Peter Cook,
Ann Corcoran, Simon Crean, Michael Danby, Annette Ellis, Martin Ferguson, Joel Fitzgibbon, Michael Forshaw, Steve Gibbons, Alan Griffin, John Hogg, Steve Hutchins, Carmen Lawrence, Kate Lundy, Daryl Melham, John Murphy, Kerry O’Brien, Bernie Ripoll, Bob Sercombe and Kim Wilkie.THE BUDS: Kim Beazley, Anna Burke, Stephen Conroy, Graham Edwards, Justine
Elliot, Kate Ellis, Craig Emerson, Chris Evans, John Faulkner, Peter Garrett, Steve Georganas, Julia Gillard, Julia Irwin, Duncan Kerr, Catherine King, Jenny Macklin, Robert McClelland, Bob McMullan, Gavan O’Connor, Julie Owens, Tanya Plibersek, Robert Ray, Nicola Roxon, Kevin Rudd, Nick Sherry, Stephen Smith, Warren Snowdon, Wayne Swan, Lindsay Tanner, Kelvin Thomson, Maria Vamvakinou and Penny Wong.
2. There’s no bloody choice. Who would want the Lock-step Libs with their identical quarry mentality and visionless, dam-it, log-it, keep the old order of Masters-Overseers-Servants firmly in place. Then again, a change is as good as a rest … and we might get rid of some of those bloody elevated Labor mates.
So Hag again authoritatively states:
This will be a Hung Parliament.
And she repeats … this will result in the Government of State Unity: Sow the wind
And another thing: What does the fact that only two pollies have booked to go to the premier media event of the year, The Media Ball, indicate.
Onya. Nick and Peg?
But:
But what about you other buggers?
Does the fact there is not a single State Government polly booked to table-top dance at the GC indicate such a degree of hubristic belief there is nothing to be gained from oiling the journos; they’re already well under control anyway?
And no Libs? Have they already spent their election entertainment allowance?
This is all very disappointing to Hag. She was looking forward to reporting on gross misdemeanors from naughty pollies.
But Nick and Peg always behave with exemplary decorum.
Then again Hag wonders what might happen if she spiked Peg’s drink with absinthe?
She will report all she remembers … Sunday …
editor
May 5, 2005 at 03:58
Link Update:
World’s Best Practice of forest management, when one believes man made ‘catastrophic destruction’ is good…
Or just another plundered war zone, created by greedy objectives?
On day people will remember these sad times together with names deeply engraved into dishonour boards at the start of the nature walk.
Disgusted
http://www.bluetier.org (Permanent link, click on Links (Masthead)
Another link: Join the dots: http://www.landliteracy.com/20FAQs.html
Frank
editor
May 6, 2005 at 04:08
I gotta disagree (re pollies snubbing the media awards). In my (admittedly limited experience) the food at the Media Balls-up is normally put together with all the skill and careful preparation necessary to kill a large brown dog – or at least make it very ill.
It’s a toss up whether it’s arrogance or just heretofore unnoticed commonsense on the part of the pollies that’s keeping them away.
ninj
HAG update: Three pollies … Terry’s coming too!
Greg Barns
May 6, 2005 at 09:26
Who cares if politicans don’t attend the Media Ball?
I don’t. But it’s typical of some in the media’s sense of self-importance that they expect political leaders to attend their functions.
I attended last year’s and found it a tiresome bore.
Dr Kevin Bonham
May 15, 2005 at 11:35
Demoting Duncan Kerr into state parliament and making him leader would be the dumbest thing the state party could possibly do. He may be phenomenally popular in Denison but outside the south he would scarcely connect at all.
The state ALP is indeed on the nose … but not over forestry. No amount of wishful thinking shifted the government’s popularity in years of complaint over this issue and Tasmanian voters showed us, at the last federal election, exactly what they think of the kind of ill-disciplined response to the forestry issue that Duncan Kerr could be expected to support if he was leader.
Rather, the issue that caused the government to suddenly nosedive in the polls was one largely ignored to that point by both the mainstream and alternative media – basic service provision, especially in the area of hospitals. Paul Lennon also lacks the charisma of Jim Bacon and some notional Liberals who voted ALP because of its leadership may now see that Lennon and Hidding are really not so different. If only Lennon was more socially progressive …
A hung parliament is a distinct possibility but the jury is still out – I see it as roughly an even chance at present. All the ALP needs to do is recover perhaps half of the support it has lost to reach a position where it can credibly say that only it can govern in majority. Memories of the Field and Rundle years, perhaps tarnished by circumstances that were not those governments’ faults, could then do the rest.