General Australian Politics Thread

Today at approximately 1:40 PM Australian time Incumbent Minister for the Arts Simon Crean has challenged Prime Minister Julia Gillard's leadership of the Labor party.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/crean-calls-for-labor-leadership-spill-20130321-2ghhy.html

This is potentially huge. This could well be as big as the sacking of Harold Holt, or for those unawares as big as Watergate and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Gillard, you see, had ousted the elected Kevin Rudd from power, and since then the elected Labor had been losing support to the point where latest projections forecast that if Julia Gillard remains leader then Labor will lose.

However that is not the biggest shock. The biggest shock came during Question Time. First Gillard challenged the opposition to take their best shot, then Liberal leader Tony Abbott called for a vote of no confidence, a move that ever stunned the Parliament speaker.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1748912/Abbott-calls-for-motion-of-no-confidence

The vote was called with Abbott needed 76% and just missed out with 72%, but that still leaves a vote of leadership to take place at 4:30PM.

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/leadership-live-julia-gillard-under-new-labor-leadership-pressure/story-fncynjr2-1226602153908

edited 20th Mar '13 9:25:48 PM by tsstevens

Kevin Rudd trolled the entire country and wasted the media's time.

Rupert Murdoch wasted a whole bunch of money trying to buy his way to a spill too.

Are these the same foolish dudes behind all the media censorship getting the boot? I sure hope so.

WORST. GAME. OF. SIMON. SAYS. EVER.

I'll keep banging my head on the wall there.

It's hard to keep track of who's who. I don't think even they know any more.

I believe those are local governments rather than the national one.

What is driving Gillard's approval rating into the mud anyway? I was under the impression that, compared to the rest of the world, the Australian economy was doing well enough.

Australian Political Culture, it seems.

...if you think American Politics is Ruthless, Three State or Territory Leaders have already gone so far this year, and the Labor Party in Sydney has had five different Leaders in eight years.

In terms of National Politics, the Australian Labor Party has had five different leaders in the last ten years, and the Opposition Liberal Party has had four different leaders in the past six years.

edited 21st Mar '13 3:05:19 PM by Greenmantle

American Politics isn't ruthless, it's corrupt and cushy and complacent. I actually wouldn't mind a bit more Australian cutthroat politics up here in Canada tbh. Our Liberals will pull the knives out on each other at the first sign of weakness, but the NDP are fairly civilized and the currently ruling Tories march in complete lockstep.

Kevin Rudd trolled the entire country and wasted the media's time.

At the time of writing this looked like it was going to be huge, but between the vote of no confidence being passed and no one else stepping up for leadership (Rudd had challenged twice, if he failed a third time he would lose Parliament altogether) it was a bit of a waste of time.

To answer part of why Julia Gillard is so unpopular for at least the past year Opposition Leader Tony Abbott Deputy Leader Julie Bishop and Opposition Manager for Business Christopher Pyne had spent at least the past year doing everything in their power to crucify the Prime Minister. There's more to the story than that but I believe the Liberals at the very least take credit for exposing her for issues such as the carbon tax, issues such as immigration, issues that Australians are concerned about.

You know while this media circle was happening barry o'farrell passed this abomination of a law.

NSW laws passed to end laws to silence

For once I can say this with out any trance of irony.

Fuck. The. Police.

edited 21st Mar '13 4:52:01 PM by joeyjojo

Someone go PM a mod and ask them to turn it into a general Australian politics thread. It might get some more go.

Yes, we do need a general thread for the overglorified carnival act of Govenment Politics that is Aussie Politics..

As to answer Barkey's question. Stephen Conroy (Labour Minister for Communications, Technology & Arts) has been up to his old tricks and tried to issue another act of media regulation. But pretty much everyone in the entire country think he's all piss and wind and no-one takes him seriously ever and even his own party hates his guts.

Really. I just want our state leaders and politicians to stop treating politics like a playground full of bickering, accusations, finger pointing and name calling and start doing some damn politics. I don't care about political gossip 101, I wanna see shit done.

Also. People don't seem to get that you don't vote for a single person like you do in America, you vote for a Party. Way to many people are complaining that they don't like how Julia Gillard acts or sounds and how she shouldn't be PM because she's a "bitch". So? Who cares if you don't like her, you don't like a politician, you vote for a party who you think will do the most to please your particular political faction. So the focus should be on what her party is doing (Bumfuck all because Aussie politics is at the moment a complete joke)

Gah. The current state of the two major parties just makes me wanna vote for the Australian Sex Party even more.

/end rant

edited 21st Mar '13 8:40:33 PM by PippingFool

All I know about Australian Politics comes from this video.

I'm assuming it's an accurate depiction.

So Gillard can transform into a friggin snake?

I know that feel. I think the thread expired. But last election I was on here debating between voting for The Sex Party or Family First.

Would be cool if possible.

I personally like this Taiwanese video on the 2010 elections. Not to mention the Chaser boys did the funny Politics with Cats videos about Australian Politics.

Nyyeeeh. Family First is a little of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, they have a great stance on Immigration and Indigenous policy. On the other hand, their other stances are way too Moral Guardians /Think of the Children!! for my tastes (They supported the internet Censorship bill and want more of it!)

In the end, for me at least, it will either be the Australian Sex Party or the Liberal Democratic Party.

edited 21st Mar '13 10:29:54 PM by PippingFool

I'm almost disappointed she didn't become an inland taipan.

edited 21st Mar '13 10:45:17 PM by rmctagg09

So from my understanding your Liberal Party is actually Conservative. Huh.

So how Conservative is Tony Abbot?

edited 21st Mar '13 11:49:38 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Tony Abbott is our Romney to Gillard's Obama it seems. There are parallels.

Well, Romney was not regarded by the Liberals themselves to be an idiot.

I really hate the current situation. On one hand we have the ALP who is trying their best to shot themselves in the foot. On the other we have Tony Abbot, who was only the leader because the Coalition (Liberals + Nationals) think that they are going to lose the next election after the Rudd-slide. The only way out I can see is that Abbot might not last very long as PM even if the Coalition wins, and that's just a might.

Really. I just want our state leaders and politicians to stop treating politics like a playground full of bickering, accusations, finger pointing and name calling and start doing some damn politics.

This. Just...this. On ABC Question Time is followed by Sesame Street and Play School, yet still manages to be the most childish of the three.

—>'''Oh Mrs Speaker she said something I didn't like.

You can see my reaction below.

All I know about Australian Politics comes from this video.

I can't decide if this is funny or sad but particularly at the moment this seems in the realm of possibility.

So from my understanding your Liberal Party is actually Conservative. Huh.

The basic stereotype is Labor looks after the blur collar workers like the miners and those on a pension and Liberals look after white collar doctors and lawyers. There's more, much much more, such as the carbon tax and national broadband network against stronger efforts against people smuggling, but at this point in time all that's put aside for the soap oprah of whether the Liberal attack team can take down Mrs. Big.

I really hate the current situation.

I think most Australians would agree with you. Gillard is currently stuck in such a quagmire, thanks in no small part to Abbott as well as Bishop and Pine who are spending all their time trying to take down the Prime Minister and none in showing what they have to offer to make us want to vote for them.

edited 22nd Mar '13 7:34:21 AM by tsstevens

So is there a third party in Australia, besides the Liberals and Labor?

There are several other parties, but realistically they're too small to ever really hope to win a federal election... and you probably wouldn't want them to, anyway =/. Family First, the Greens, whatever Bob Kater's party is called, the Australian Sex Party, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Australia

Currently the Greens in Tasmania have allied themselves with Labor, haranguing them all the while and saying the relationship is over, before wanting to be with whoever is in power next election. Other parties such as the Democrats, Family First and the infamous One Nation that was seen as wanting only white man in Australia and send the foreigners back where they came from can win seats in Parliament and power in their electorate but outside of allying with the big two they simply don't have the numbers to run for Prime Minister or run Australia.

The ALP is partly responsible, too. They are the ones who panicked during the Rudd-times when the polls slumped and ousted him, starting this whole mess in the first place.

The only reason why Abbot even kept his leadership is the ALP constantly shooting themselves in the foot.

edited 22nd Mar '13 4:02:51 PM by IraTheSquire