tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post3914941504956342244..comments2023-12-06T00:23:28.790+11:00Comments on Press gallery reform: No doubt, no benefitAndrew Elderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-23514680403695575802012-02-19T12:36:41.792+11:002012-02-19T12:36:41.792+11:00People who use "punters" to describe the...People who use "punters" to describe their fellow Australians tend to have a patronising attitude toward them, which they confuse with realism. Abbott's skill is limited to making a statement and not being questioned on what it might mean if he were to be entrusted with more responsibility than he can handle. But then, if you think one set of words means the same as any other set of words, what's the point?Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-2121161504992934792012-02-19T10:13:05.698+11:002012-02-19T10:13:05.698+11:00Just delete "carbon tax bribes" with &qu...Just delete "carbon tax bribes" with "carbon pricing mechanism bribes" and the point is the same.<br /><br />"Clarity" was the word Maxine McKew used recently when describing Abbott's ability to communicate with the masses. The point had nothing to do with focus group derived messages - all parties use those (eg Moving Forward). It was about communication skills at delivering those messages.<br /><br />Surprised you deride the term "punters". They are, after all, the 20- 30% swingers who actually decide elections, -not those of us who obsess about policy or party.<br /> <br />In my experience they "do" punt - ie if they are in the mood not to like a government they just vote against it, punting that the other side won't be worse. This may be partly, perhaps mostly, because they are forced to vote, so have to make a choice on the day.bbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-72055144465153292412012-02-18T17:49:45.992+11:002012-02-18T17:49:45.992+11:00Sounds like a smart investment, might try somethin...Sounds like a smart investment, might try something similar.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-5449223134660765062012-02-18T17:49:05.037+11:002012-02-18T17:49:05.037+11:00bb, I should start out by saying that I despise th...bb, I should start out by saying that I despise the use of "punters" in political commentary. <br /><br />What you call "clarity" is focus-group bullshit on which Abbott cannot deliver. Your second paragraph is rubbish, the carbon pricing mechanism isn't a tax so there goes you third paragraph; and as for your last you've got the cart before the horse, as my next post will point out. I wish you'd use your own brain rather than outsource it to a herd of halfwits.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-37497933944260121442012-02-18T10:35:45.272+11:002012-02-18T10:35:45.272+11:00Newspoll and essential polls going back to 2009 sh...Newspoll and essential polls going back to 2009 show that the coalition has been ahead of govt by a consistent ratio of 40s to 30s on the question of which party better at handling economy. The punters seem to buy Abbott's clarity: lower spending, wiser spending, no big taxes and goodbye carbon tax. Derision re 70 billion blackholes and surplus timing appears to leave them unmoved. Press gallery has to have something to write so it grabs every straw available.<br /><br />I put the punters obduracy down to a default sky-won't-fall-in position - ie when they have taken the baseball bats out of the shed they assume the opposition won't be worse.<br /><br />imo Labor will only be saved by a significant shift in the punters opinion of the competence of the government. Whether the carbon tax bribes will achieve this remains to be seen. May instead be pocketed with a horse laugh, as was the ungrateful response of the multitude to the stimulus cash hand-outs.<br /><br />btw - it is now evident that press gallery was spot on its foreshadowing of the Rudd challenge - and they were reporting off serious backgrounding from Rudd himself. Interesting times ahead.bbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-12130828276815904722012-02-15T13:03:44.580+11:002012-02-15T13:03:44.580+11:00I had no idea who Harry Edwards was until I google...I had no idea who Harry Edwards was until I googled him. LOL.David Irving (no relation)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05728918405973140125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-63508411784848187412012-02-13T21:16:16.005+11:002012-02-13T21:16:16.005+11:00I just placed all my accumulated sport bet winning...I just placed all my accumulated sport bet winnings on Labor for the next election. Can't see the odds getting better. <br /><br />Today has to be a low point in the behaviour of the press, with a poll reporting improved public perception of Labour economy management skills as a loss. <br /><br />Can't see Abbott getting the boot, so I think it's a safe bet.<br /><br />Regards<br />CharlesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-58772651037942681032012-02-13T20:01:01.230+11:002012-02-13T20:01:01.230+11:00Your quote "If news junkies like me don't...Your quote "If news junkies like me don't need the press gallery, and the great majority of the population don't take any notice of them either"<br />It's OK, Annabel Crab is going to host a cooking show on the ABC (featuring politicians) called "Kitchen Cabinet" (seriously it's not yet April 1st).<br />Suggest Michelle Grattan might get a run on a gardening show (she knows a lot about manure).Notushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03173819673356724711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-69655250143993656242012-02-13T17:37:11.282+11:002012-02-13T17:37:11.282+11:00She could be the next Harry Edwards.She could be the next Harry Edwards.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-53310558120935218682012-02-13T17:24:57.806+11:002012-02-13T17:24:57.806+11:00CD Kemp set up the IPA to be the intellectual back...CD Kemp set up the IPA to be the intellectual backstop for the Liberal Party, which he believed to be a shallow and populist creation of Menzies. This idea of an intellectual backstop is a position it has never fully occupied until now, when there has never been less congruence between the stated beliefs of the two organisations. Funny how things turn out really. <br /><br />Wouldn't be surprised if Turnbull uses gay marriage to relieve himself of the BCDE portfolio.<br /><br />Abbott will be slapdash until the end, as he was in 2010, and only mugs (within the press gallery, the Liberal Party, the electorate of Lindsay or anywhere else) will expect otherwise.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-251455227712072422012-02-13T17:15:35.986+11:002012-02-13T17:15:35.986+11:00You might like this piece from Malcolm Farr.You might like <a href="http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-liberal-party-is-offering-opposition-but-no-alternative/?from=scroller&pos=2&referrer=home&link=text" rel="nofollow">this piece from Malcolm Farr</a>.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-60065557762569366482012-02-13T17:13:23.759+11:002012-02-13T17:13:23.759+11:00I do too - don't know where this 'talking ...I do too - don't know where this 'talking slowly' rubbish comes from, suspect it's something Bernard Ingham schooled Thatcher in and people have drawn the wrong lessons from that experience.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-17676759373610252302012-02-13T17:11:43.288+11:002012-02-13T17:11:43.288+11:00Zuvele, I read the Carney piece but everything he ...Zuvele, I read the Carney piece but everything he said was pretty much covered by the others I quoted. He used to be more than a poll jockey but now he's hiding behind them too, which is sad.<br /><br />PB, not too many finance supremos in the Liberal Party, not since Howard's days as Treasurer. Gittins is jumping at shadows too.Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-85518175040164576012012-02-13T14:28:28.835+11:002012-02-13T14:28:28.835+11:00I think I have noticed a difference with Gillard t...I think I have noticed a difference with Gillard this year. She seems a little more assertive in press conferences and interviews. She's also talking faster - I used to think she suffered from the Crean disease of talking too slowly (which can appear to be condescending and monotonous).Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02179691507887634088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-61967901125994181702012-02-13T09:46:16.262+11:002012-02-13T09:46:16.262+11:00It's an interesting point. Ross Gittins had a ...It's an interesting point. Ross Gittins had a good article on this topic a while ago as well. (Might have actually scored a mention here.) Gittins says that industry economists set the bar higher for Labor, not because they are anti-labor, but because of timidity, being too frightened to give the Liberals the same scrutiny as Labor because they don't want to offend the boss who may well be a Liberal party supremo. Sort of sin of omission, rather than commission. Here's the link <br />http://www.smh.com.au/business/economists-are-playing-politics-over-surplus-20111204-1odh0.html<br /><br />It feeds through into the rest of the commentariat and as a result, when it comes to economics, the bar is set higher for Labor than the Liberals. <br /><br />I suppose this will always be the way it is, but over the past year I've been flabbergasted by just how much Abbott has been allowed to get away with. A modest bias is one thing. Willful blindness another altogether. But maybe, just maybe, the tide has turned...PBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-25965125205253942572012-02-13T09:06:19.891+11:002012-02-13T09:06:19.891+11:00"The problem is that he doesn't want to t..."The problem is that he doesn't want to take the political risk of offering up a genuine economic blueprint to secure Australia's economic future, because doing so would involve elements of unpopularity."<br /><br />Or because Abbott is simply unable to produce anything of worth - other than, as you say Andrew, pretending to do other people's jobs for a few minutes.<br /><br />The free ride that the press have given Abbott has made him lazy, to the point where he doesn't feel the need to come up with any coherent policy. Interesting that Abbott's main advantage will turn out to cause his downfall.<br /><br />Zuvele: So Carney is still playing that 'we know facts but the public doesn't therefore it's the government's fault' line? Sheesh, when will journos do their job?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-41108571827801485662012-02-13T08:52:33.548+11:002012-02-13T08:52:33.548+11:00Carney in 'The Age' had a similar article,...Carney in 'The Age' had a similar article, recognising Labor has having a good economic record and wondering why Abbott was allowed to play 'fast and loose' with the truth and get away with inconsistencies, while Labor couldn't get its message out (Carney contradicted himself on this in two paragraphs, firstly saying that Labor had only just begun to fight on economic grounds and then saying that they'd been basically doing that forever...)<br /><br />His conclusion was it was all the fault of the polls.<br /><br />Apparently the media are now resorting to admitting they have no influence on public opinion, seeing this as preferable to admitting they're the ones who have created a false perception of the government's performance.Zuvele Leschennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-20511871537001967932012-02-12T23:39:37.747+11:002012-02-12T23:39:37.747+11:00Anonmous is correct - the baseball bats are waitin...Anonmous is correct - the baseball bats are waiting.<br /><br />It's just that they will be wielded by Coalition supporters who realise that Abbott has led them to two election losses - both of which will have been his to lose.<br /><br />As for Judith Sloan, if she is the best the Liberal's can produce, the pool must be very shallow indeed.BigBobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-53987623029036479032012-02-12T22:29:33.166+11:002012-02-12T22:29:33.166+11:00While reading this post I had wondered if you were...While reading this post I had wondered if you were going to mention the point you made in your last paragraph. This has been Abbott's main problem - that there has been such policy convergence over the past twenty years (Keating's legacy) that it's very difficult for an opposition to craft an alternative that has any credibility with the mainstream, often institutionalised, viewpoint. Labor struggled with Howard's centrist economics and only really got back to form once he stumbled with Workchoices and had started to look tired. Thus Labor was able to distinguish itself on employment regulation and via future oriented investment, such as the NBN.<br />Abbott has barely tried any form of differentiation other than 'no'. His few active policy moves have proven clumsy (parental leave) or thick ($70bn budget cut).<br />In contrast, Malcolm Turnbull has taken his rather ridiculous role very seriously and though fighting a losing battle has at least tried to offer an intellectually coherent critique of the NBN and an alternative. But he is an exception that proves the Coalition rule.<br />We have two budgets before the next election and Labor has a lot of positive but incomplete agendas running (taxation, econ transformation, Asia etc) which no doubt will produce fruit - they have learned from Rudd on that front. They won't have to come up with much to make Abbott look (even more) like a dunce.<br />The more amusing aspect of this is that all of Abbott's fellow travellers over the past couple of years - I'm thinking IPA et al but quite a few journos too - will also be made to look like rubes, having thrown away their ideological and intellectual purity for political allegiance with a bunch of imbeciles.<br />Will be a fun 15 months or so watching this happen.Alphabajangodeltanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-48329592744796108692012-02-12T22:16:33.989+11:002012-02-12T22:16:33.989+11:00The Rudd / Gillard experiment has been a monumenta...The Rudd / Gillard experiment has been a monumental disaster.<br /><br />Labor's anti-business obsession with restructuring industries and lining the pockets of their mates.<br /><br />The wretched spin doctoring and manipulation of the public in the name of worker's is a transparent scam.<br /><br />The baseball bats are waiting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com