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KEVVY/KERRY
For a guy who’s so down on markets, Kevin Rudd sure as hell takes advantage of them. His wife runs a business based on getting people into jobs - and job creation is at an all-time high under Howard, thanks to his new legislation and solid economic mangagement.
And check out the shares that the Rudds own. By my count they list about $1 million worth, in such green-friendly companies as BHP. Rudd also says that education is a “public good”. I bet he sent his kids to private schools.
Rudd is the John Kerry of Australian politics. Pleeze halp us Kevan wee r stukk heer in thees horrable pryvate skools!
(By Alex Robson)
I haven’t had a lot of experience in these things, but it strikes me that the key difference between the Right and the Left is that the Right believes, generally, people are good and you can trust them to handle things for themselves, while the Left wants to tell people what they should want (even though the elites often like to ignore their own diktats).
Kevvy certainly fits in with the Left, then.
I read as much of that opinion piece of his as I could stomach:
In the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development data, Australia is the only one of 30 developed economies in the world that has gone backwards in its public investment in higher education during the past 10 years. Public investment in higher education per student is only 93per cent of what it was in 1995. But this is entirely consistent with the Prime Minister’s market fundamentalist view that higher education opportunities should be made more and more captive to market forces rather than made available to all young people based on their ability, not their socioeconomic background.
Dickwad seems to think market forces don’t reward ability.
I’d also like to note that even in Hawke/Keating’s heyday, you didn’t see many Sydney Uni grads who grew up in Mt Druitt.
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2006 12 20 at 04:48 AM • permalinkRudd is the John Kerry of Australian politics
Well that is a bit unkind. The swat womble’s wife has built her business, after all, and with unemploymnet being as low as it is, particulary in sunny brisbane, well, business might be a wee bit slow atm. No wonder she (and kevin) is down on JWH.
Mind you, if kevin were to advocate an expansion of government work programs, it would be a wee bit of a conflict of interest, wouldn’t you say?
#4 - ...swat womble…
Almost choked on the coffee. LOL!
Posted by Villeurbanne on 2006 12 20 at 05:00 AM • permalinkI read as much of that opinion piece of his as I could stomach
maybe this will be more to your liking
As well as being a potential PM,..., Kevin makes “a great, fierce chocolate cake ...and he’s really good at the icing.
Kevin says that he has actually won several baking contests in his local area.
no just as stomach churning really
(on ninemsn now- al;ong with the prize winning recipe)
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2006 12 20 at 05:01 AM • permalinkAs well as being a potential PM,..., Kevin makes “a great, fierce chocolate cake ...and he’s really good at the icing.
Kevin says that he has actually won several baking contests in his local area.
Funny how Big Kev has no problems with markets when he’s buying chocolate cake ingredients.
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2006 12 20 at 05:16 AM • permalinkwhat next- john howard’s anzac bikkies? bob brown’s fairy bread?
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2006 12 20 at 05:23 AM • permalinkTroll alert. freedy aka xyzl, lxyz. Posting the same, tired Bush hate video.
This person is a sad, lonely loser, inadequate to the point of using animals for his er, gratification. Predictably unoriginal.
Herpes personified.
Posted by Stop Continental Drift! on 2006 12 20 at 05:36 AM • permalink#15
Watch it all unravel as time goes by. There’s nothing to be gained by being a one issue voter.
I once had a mate who voted for the No GST Party in a state election. He said even though it wasn’t a state issue, he still wanted to make his point. I said “How, in the stupidest way possible?”
I think the dream team’s honeymoon will be over by the time Parliament resumes.
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2006 12 20 at 06:38 AM • permalink#17 I agree slammer, teh swat womlbe is on hell of a lot smarter than Kerry. But he seems to think we are stupid.
Howard is a free market zealot? bwwaaahhahaha!
We have come to a political fork in the road. repeat. repeat.Also, it is a repeat of Latham so far (without the brain explosion):
Howard is a free market fundie. check.
We all need to be more caring and sharing again. check.
let’s go on a listening tour. check.
let’s come up with ill considered policies (curriculums for toddlers-in rudd’s case, Mem Fox theories for toddlers- latham) check.All according to plan so far…....
#17
Underestimate Rudd at your peril. He’s no Kerry.
As Entropy points out, Rudd underestimates US. And he does so at HIS peril.
Besides, HE may be smart, but his party sure ain’t.
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2006 12 20 at 07:17 AM • permalinkI await with breathless anxiety for the Great Labor Messiah, Saint Gough of Werriwa to anoint Kruddy as the next PM.
Kruddy’s downfall will then be assured. THe hatred and hurt runs deep.I reckon the Chief Bastard (“Bastards Inc” on the left sidebar) coined “Swat Womble”.
Copyright pending?
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2006 12 20 at 07:23 AM • permalinkRudd hates being asked serious questions.
Wants a free “Sunrise” ride into power.
While spinning the vilest of accusations against the government.I hope he gets lots of media. He is, at best a “hollow man” ala Peacock or, at worst, a better disguised Latham.
Posted by boxofmatches on 2006 12 20 at 07:37 AM • permalinkA paradox, a paradox,
A most ingenious paradox ...
(G&S)
It works like this: in order to win the middle ground and therefore the next election, the ALP has to temporarily disown its policies. But unless the ALP Grand Cyclops Conference (of course I use the term cyclops only in the context of the renowned Australian tricycle) has changed the policies, the policies remain the same after the election as they were before the election. But allied media forces (dare I mention the ABC/SMH/Age to name a few) will come to the aid of the party (on cue) and spread the good news that this is the new and reborn ALP, not that old ACTU-union-left dominated ALP that caused so much trouble every other time they fell into government. This time there won’t be any of that coddling of unions or fringe minority interest, will there?
(difficulty posting - may have done this already)There’s much to be admired in Kevin Rudd. The mere fact that his family has a million dollar share portfolio merely reinforces the fact that he has a clue.
When first elected he funded a case against Brisbane Airport Corporation over aircraft noise out of his own pocket. He lost. I haven’t seen him on ‘Sunrise’ but I have seen him at my daughters Catholic School fete. This grass roots stuff, probably accounts for the 8% Swing he enjoyed last election.
Don’t underestimate him. Rudd is “the leper with the most fingers.”
So what if Cruddy is rich, sends his kiddies to a private school I’m sure they’ve earned it. The Employment Services markets that his wife’s business is in is very competitive and as a side note without a doubt one of the great achievements of the Howard Government.
Is he a hypocrite, no, he want a strong public education system. By the sounds of it you think that the head of the Labor party has to live and die by his vision. So all Greenies should live in tents and drink their own piss (some probably do), All Labor party members should accept only the minimum wage, and all Libs have the right to 98% of the worlds resources to do with whatever they want, gee what brilliant thinkers you all are.
Alex Robson education is a public good and without it Australia would be a basket case.
Albury Shifton as you highlighted markets are the equaliser when they work. The problem is they don’t always work, self interest doesn’t mean you always play by the rules.Ian Deans you’re so right the ‘right’ don’t want to dictate to us at all abortions, medical research, media restrictions (BB). The new PC these days is not criticising the market when it clearly fails.
**** me your guys are so in love with the Howard Government that you can’t see that they are the biggest taxing and biggest spending Government we’ve had and most of this money is inefficiently spent (admittedly the States have also ****** things up). Don’t get me wrong Howard’s had some good policies, but the man is fallible and his ideas are old.
#27 - If you paid attention cloth ears, you’d see that Mr. Howard cops a lot of grief around here for not being a true conservative economically. Our tax systems shite, our economy is way over regulated and our government never saw an opportunity it didn’t take to spend our money incompetently. Our churn and burn welfare tax system needs a complete overhaul.
However, I ask myself what would be the result if Labor or any of the other socialists got control of the nation’s hard earned? Total fucking disaster is what I come up with. A poor conservative is a better option than a weak socialist.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2006 12 20 at 08:28 AM • permalinkLet’s not get too excited about Kevin Rudd somehow becoming Prime Minister at the next election.
For that to happen, the ALP would have to win 16 Coalition seats.
The 14th most marginal Coalition seat is Bennelong, held by John Howard.
So the ALP would have to have a swing big enough to tip the Prime Minister out of his own seat, and then some.
All this means that the Coalition can soak up a large swing against it and still hang on to its seats, because at the last election, most of its marginals became safe seats.
Meanwhile, labor is left defending marginal seats that once were safe. Keep an eye of Brand, Kim Beazley’s seat. It was very marginal until 1998, and it took Kim Beazley’s profile as opposition leader to make his own seat safe. Take away the Beazley factor and I think Brand will go Liberal.
Don’t underestimate West Australians getting pissed off when one of their own has been shafted.
Posted by Young and Free on 2006 12 20 at 08:28 AM • permalinkyeah, should have siad ” public brain explosion”.
nevertheless, do not dismiss everything tdot (#27) said out of hand. Tdot may have been vitriolic, but some good points were made.
I particularly liked the one about “all greenies should live in tents and drink their own piss”.
I am sure that Howard also agrees that education is a public good. Just as long as it is acknowledged that there are considerable private benefits too, in fact that is probably where most of the benefit lies.
As to the method of schooling, I am sure Kruddy and Howard are just points on a continuum. Personally I am in favour of a friedman voucher system equally available to public or private schools, with the vouchers means tested. But that’s me. Howard and Rudd have other ideas.
tdot
There is virtually no policy difference between Howard and Rudd which makes me favour Howard.
The problem is that the return of the ALP to power will see all their bumchums elevated to all sorts of roles in the public service. They won’t be able to control spending and the culture of the federal public service, which has improved out of sight under the coalition, will return to being lazy, as well as aggressive and dismissive toward the plebs.
Compare and contrast your dealings with federal officials during the Keating years to now.
In 2003, when I returned from the UK after 6 years, I could not believe the change in the general attitude of those who work for the tax office. They were helpful, understanding and pro-active.
Under Keating, it was like being a Chinese peasant taking on a Mandarin.
Go to school, learn something, get a job, get paid wages, pay taxes, contribute to the “commonwealth”, advance in life, depart this life mourned and honoured by family and colleagues.
Don’t go to school, learn nothing, live on other people’s charity (welfare) the rest of your life, be a bludger, sponger and “public liability”, stagnate, depart this life, buried when the rubbish collection arrives on Tuesday morning.
It ain’t rocket science.
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2006 12 20 at 09:40 AM • permalinkIt was noted above that “When first elected he funded a case against Brisbane Airport Corporation over aircraft noise out of his own pocket. He lost.”
This was a stunt that went wrong. He got press in the local throwaway paper. When it looked like he would lose the case, he appealed (and received) public donations to cover costs.
.
Posted by boxofmatches on 2006 12 20 at 11:39 AM • permalink#35 - He has form in this area. When he was head of Premiers in the Goss Government, they cleared the decks of the public service. They didn’t sack people they thought to be conservative, they transferred them to a building out of Brisbane city limits and gave them no work to do and no contact with their previous departments. Sounds like bliss to me, but all resigned within 12 months.
Rudd was called “Dr Death” and was fearsome. He marched around with a notebook, barking out instructions - often in Mandarin. The call went out and heaps of policy positions were created, rather than productive service providers. It is instructive to talk to anyone who was close to the fire.
All of the above was of course NOT reported by local rag, the Courier Mail.
Posted by boxofmatches on 2006 12 20 at 11:46 AM • permalink#27—Don’t get me wrong Howard’s had some good policies, but the man is fallible and his ideas are old.
His ideas are indeed old. They go all the way back to the Enlightenment and such luminaries as Locke and Burke. They realized their finest hour in the second half of the 18th century in a little place I like to call home. If anyone has come up with better ideas, I’ve not heard them.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2006 12 20 at 02:11 PM • permalink#2 Ian Deans:
I haven’t had a lot of experience in these things, but it strikes me that the key difference between the Right and the Left is that the Right believes, generally, people are good and you can trust them to handle things for themselves, while the Left wants to tell people what they should want (even though the elites often like to ignore their own diktats).
I think there are two levels to this…morality and ability to take care of oneself. The Left certainly thinks that all people are basically good in the moral sense, hence their misguided policies in welfare and crime that are frequently subject to the law of unintended consequences.
So I’d say it’s more like the Right believes that all people are competent but with faults, while the Left thinks people are incompetent but morally flawless. Basically it’s the difference between treating people as adults or as children.
Infidel tiger guilty as charged, yes I don’t spend every waking minute on this blog but occasionally look at it, and it has its highlights. The difference between you and me is that I’ll give the guy a look in. No government is going to implement the policies that you and I want. What government will drop the top rate to 30% for individuals and companies, raise the threshold to $15,000, increase GST and apply to all goods to compensate for some of this tax lose and most importantly eliminate State governments. Not Howard nor Costello nor Kruddy.
Murph you might be surprised to know that there are public servants out there that work there but off, perhaps speak to some parliamentarian chief of staffs to give you an idea and without public servants who would implement policies whether they are Left or right.
tdot, some of those hardworking public servants even participate on this blog. The story at #39 about life in the Queensland Public Service under Rudd is completely true.
There was a bunch of Director-Generals basically removed from their jobs and parked in an office with nothing to do. Being all type A personalities, I don’t think they lasted six months, let alone twelve.
And there were/are a lot of positions created for ‘mates’ etc etc.
I always laugh when I hear lefties accusing Howard of political appointments - he is a rank amateur compared with what goes on in the Queensland Public Service.Rudd is probably already lining up people in the QPS who will take over in Canberra when THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY COMES.
#42
Beazley lost the Labor leadership; Rudd merely filled the vacuum and couldn’t get outright leadership without a deal from the Left: Gillard.
From all reports Gillard doesn’t like Rudd & following recent behaviour, he’s probably gaining more enemies from within the party.
Rudd has to manage his own camp before he can hope to manage the country; definitely not leadership material in my book.
My money says he’s a Latham on medication and the John Howard he seeks to emulate will slowly grill him.He has to win the punters’ respect & the blatant Tassie forest policy back-stab to Garrett wouldn’t go down well, even if not a fan of Garrett.
Rudd has a tough job on a number of fronts. He has to work out how to defeat a Prime Minister who is arguably the best in our history and who has no visible plans to retire. He needs to combat a government who have delivered huge surpluses and have spent a lot of that in targeted largesse to voters in need. He needs to make a case that we are in trouble when virtually everyone who wants a job has one. He can’t even make a case out of the involvement of Australians in the middle east as election after election have shown that Australians think it is a positive thing.
It’s a tough job. He could start out by saying that he is younger and that Howard is old and liable to let his age interfere with his performance except that Howard looks a hell of a lot fitter than he does. He could use the issue of friction between Howard and his Treasurer except that there doesn’t appear to be any.
Instead he has made a distinction that he believes in social democracy and Howard doesn’t. The only response Howard can make to that is “yes…and?”. The problem with this tactic is that it will make only the voters who would have voted Labor anyway vote for him again. “Howard’s battlers” are not and never have been social democrats.
#35- You can’t deal with the shiny-arse set much then, Murph. not only uncoperative, but there seems to have been a substantial lowering in the entry requirements viz literacy, numeracy and the ability to breathe while answering a telephone.
I’ve seen and interacted with more intelligent things lying on their backs in the bottom of ponds (yes I mean you, Federal Office of Road Safety).
Under Keating, public servants (and I was one) were right afeared of losing their jobs (particularly due to the swashbuckling style of Peter Walsh), so service levels improved for once. Admittedly a lot of halfwit ALP hacks were parachuted into senior roles, but seeing as none of those dickheads actually do anything it didn’t make much difference, except when the shit hit the fan and they’d run around like poodles, blaming everyone and everything within eyesight for the fuckup. That hasn’t changed much, either.
There’s only one cure for this sort of disease, privatise what you have to have, shut down the rest.
Neither side, either the ALP or ALP Lite, are spruiking any sort of reduction in government, quite the contrary- GDP might be growing, but I doubt it’s keeping pace with the metastasing malignancy of government expansion.Looking through the Rudd share portfolio, I see it’s as boring as Kev is! All “safe” investments. At least Latham, if he’d had shares, would be the type to own shares in arms manufacturers, green eco power start-ups and speculative mining shares.
And as for Kev doing surprisingly well, give me a break, people! It’s, what, two weeks into his reign, parliament is in recess and everyone, except Leunig, is winding down the venom for Christmas. As has been pointed out, his party isn’t universally behind him, and he’s inherited Garrett and Gillard as part of the dowry for this marriage. And Labor has to pretend to distance itself from its disdain for ordinary Australians. It can’t be done, people! This fantasy ride will come to a screeching halt long before the election.
Posted by AlburyShifton on 2006 12 20 at 09:35 PM • permalinkRudd hates Hayek, the man who warned that the removal of economic freedom is always the first step on the road to totalitarian facism. Hayek should know, he watched communism and Nazism at close range. He founded the Chicago school of Economics to champion economic neo liberalism. The Chicago School has now won more economics Nobel prizes than any other. Hayek warned that the anti freedom socialist always proclaim the need to restrict economic freedom to achieve social justice. Hayek contended that this was the ‘road to serfdom’. Conservative parties, especially in the Anglosphere, took his advice whereas continental Europe stuck with government control. If Hayek put the case that this is the road to serfdom, France is living proof of his warning. When Rudd calls himself a social democrat think of the social democratic policies destroying France. Mr Rudd, having criticised the philospher of freedom should tell us which freedoms he would like to remove.
Posted by platey mates on 2006 12 21 at 02:26 AM • permalinkI should think that Labour would have a much better chance if they would run MS Rudd. Just from reading the article it would appear she has more on the ball than Kevin.
Of course that is just this Yank’s opinion but she doesn’t seem all that bad. She seems to be more in touch with the mainstream of an OZ or an America
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Elitists always hate markets, because they provide little people like us with those things we want, and big grand important people like them can’t control us when markets are working properly. They’d much rather be doling things out that they deem we need, when they deem we need them. With appropriate tugs of our forelocks, of course.