6 - # of Straya threads or # of times we've changed Prime Minister in a decade?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I have no idea where my meat comes from, that's kind of up to the chef. Sorry, that came out wrong; my chef.

I don't honestly care for fish all that much, maybe once in a blue moon I'll have some.
 
Some of what y'all post here is too dense for me :dowenothaveasleepingemoticon?:

Glad your party reviews are back though, hopefully you get some hits.

Finally, I'm watching Utopia randomly. Amazing how good it is.
 
Speaking of this thread title, it's mildly mind boggling to me that until well into high school, I'd lived through no more than two primeministerships (Fraser and Hawke, the former of which I had no memory). Even when I was 28 or 29, it was still only a total of four.
 
cobl04 said:
Glad your party reviews are back though, hopefully you get some hits.

Finally, I'm watching Utopia randomly. Amazing how good it is.
Click to expand...

Cheers man. I'm no good at the self-promotion aspect, so I was pleasantly surprised that last time I got some reads beyond my own friendship circle!

And Utopia is fucking amazing.

Kieran McConville said:
Speaking of this thread title, it's mildly mind boggling to me that until well into high school, I'd lived through no more than two primeministerships (Fraser and Hawke, the former of which I had no memory). Even when I was 28 or 29, it was still only a total of four.
Click to expand...

I can't believe I lived in this country for a decade before I got to experience a change in Prime Minister or an ALP government. My teenage years were ones of political stability - the decade before, when I was in New Zealand, was somewhat like the most recent ten years: there were five separate PMs, four before I turned four.

It's funny to look at the upheavals of that period of New Zealand politics, because since Helen Clark won the 1999 election, the only change in PM was when John Key won 2008. Will Australia eventually return to long-term stability? Well, I suppose of course it will, but when? Because I do not expect stability if Turnbull retains power with a reduced majority.
 
Axver said:
Cheers man. I'm no good at the self-promotion aspect, so I was pleasantly surprised that last time I got some reads beyond my own friendship circle!

And Utopia is fucking amazing.



I can't believe I lived in this country for a decade before I got to experience a change in Prime Minister or an ALP government. My teenage years were ones of political stability - the decade before, when I was in New Zealand, was somewhat like the most recent ten years: there were five separate PMs, four before I turned four.

It's funny to look at the upheavals of that period of New Zealand politics, because since Helen Clark won the 1999 election, the only change in PM was when John Key won 2008. Will Australia eventually return to long-term stability? Well, I suppose of course it will, but when? Because I do not expect stability if Turnbull retains power with a reduced majority.
Click to expand...

I think, much as we (I) might have little enthusiasm for him, a Shorten primeministership might end up being one for the long haul. Labor has more or less gotten past the craziness of the Rudd/Gillard years, too much is at stake to blow it again. If it's Turnbull and the Coalition back on a lower majority, it will be fireworks alright.
 
Kieran McConville said:
I think, much as we (I) might have little enthusiasm for him, a Shorten primeministership might end up being one for the long haul. Labor has more or less gotten past the craziness of the Rudd/Gillard years, too much is at stake to blow it again. If it's Turnbull and the Coalition back on a lower majority, it will be fireworks alright.
Click to expand...

Put it this way - I'd expect Shorten to see out the three-year term. He will then have the incumbent's advantage, but any victory would be by a narrow margin (or depend on the crossbench), so I could see him being defeated in 2019.

But assuming he can actually win elections, yeah, I think he's the only one of the two who can do the long haul. Can you even imagine the tensions within the Liberal Party if they have only a 2-3 seat majority? Especially if the Nats for once stick to their convictions and cross the floor on a key item of legislation?
 
I would be amazed if the Nats ever actually crossed the floor on anything of substance. Though, that said, there's a non-zero chance that they'll be under a different leader after 2 July, so who can tell.

Yeah, Shorten would need to show some chops in the election winning department. It would take one full term and a win, after that he could be well entrenched (or as well as anyone can be in the likely future of razor-thin margins or coalition arrangements).
 
Some... person?... from a reality show is spruiking for their mate who is a Liberal candidate and presumably not a pickup artist? This sounds charming.
 
There is some cause for concern with McEwen apparently, because the firefighter's dispute at state level - which I know very little about and have essentially ignored - could be damaging to the ALP there. At least that's what I've seen a couple of people suggest.

But Jermyn is such a flog that I don't think he can win.
 
Nice rundown on the parties on your site, Axver; I have been (relatively) faithfully reading them as they appear. Like you I find myself curious that among minor/microparties, the ones with a vaguely left-'progressive' veneer tend to be almost all identity-focused and, not only uninterested in economic questions, but probably if you scratched them, actively comfortable with the prevailing consensus (when they're not on the libertarian train).

I did pause for a second when I read that Geert Wilders was one of Holland's more unfortunate experts, but then I realised you meant exports. In any case, I'm totally voting for Angry Anderson.
 
How come Queensland is our most conservative state and nearly every seat belongs to a Liberal MP, yet at the state level there's been a ton of ALP Premiers?
 
Kieran McConville said:
Nice rundown on the parties on your site, Axver; I have been (relatively) faithfully reading them as they appear. Like you I find myself curious that among minor/microparties, the ones with a vaguely left-'progressive' veneer tend to be almost all identity-focused and, not only uninterested in economic questions, but probably if you scratched them, actively comfortable with the prevailing consensus (when they're not on the libertarian train).

I did pause for a second when I read that Geert Wilders was one of Holland's more unfortunate experts, but then I realised you meant exports. In any case, I'm totally voting for Angry Anderson.
Click to expand...

Thanks - and good catch on the typo. I can't believe I missed that, since I would've proofread the entry at least three times! And yeah it's weird how there's so little economic interest from left/progressive micros. I went (with Cobbler) to a debate on Thursday night between five minor parties. What stuck out really strongly to me was that I could not figure out why the Equality Party needed to be separate from the Greens, as their representative spent almost all of his time agreeing with Jason Ball (Greens candidate for Higgins, who was really outstanding). Only occasionally did one or two of the Equality guy's wishy-washy comments seem closer to the Sex Party candidate. Is there really anybody who thinks the Greens are insufficiently serious about marriage equality that we need a new party gunning specifically and primarily for that reform?

cobl04 said:
How come Queensland is our most conservative state and nearly every seat belongs to a Liberal MP, yet at the state level there's been a ton of ALP Premiers?
Click to expand...

Queensland can swing hard. The ALP also does well with the heavy industry parts of the state for obvious working class/union reasons. While their vote concentrates on the capital cities of most states, in Queensland the ALP is a serious chance of winning regional seats right up the coast, especially if they are concentrated on a major port. (That in part reflects Queensland's history as the only state - other than Tasmania - where settlement occurred from multiple points at once rather than fanning out from one main colonial foothold.)
 
cobl04 said:
How come Queensland is our most conservative state and nearly every seat belongs to a Liberal MP, yet at the state level there's been a ton of ALP Premiers?
Click to expand...

Also Queensland has a long tradition of near single-party rule (and it was a Labor government that saw to the suicide of the upper house, in those days a house of landed and propertied interests). Between the first world war and the mid 1950s ALP split, Labor had an almost unbroken hold on power. The same has held true again since 1989, with the exception of the short and unhappy Borbidge and Newman interregnums.

I'm not convinced that Queensland is more conservative so much as more decentralised. Like Axver alluded. More significant rural populations, but more widespread historically union-working class centres of power. Without the infamous gerrymander, it's doubtful the 32-year National Party regime would have lasted anything like as long as it did. Well, without the Split, it's doubtful they would have gotten the chance.
 
Last edited:
Axver said:
What stuck out really strongly to me was that I could not figure out why the Equality Party needed to be separate from the Greens, as their representative spent almost all of his time agreeing with Jason Ball (Greens candidate for Higgins, who was really outstanding). Only occasionally did one or two of the Equality guy's wishy-washy comments seem closer to the Sex Party candidate. Is there really anybody who thinks the Greens are insufficiently serious about marriage equality that we need a new party gunning specifically and primarily for that reform?
Click to expand...


Maybe they're vanity exercises. Cause otherwise, yeah, why not just swing in behind the Greens and help elect their candidate? Maybe it's personal in some cases.
 
Did you know that Sir Joh's 'successor' in Barambah, Trevor Perrett, won as a Citizens Electoral Council member? He later defected to the Nats and was a short lived minister for primary industries under Borbidge until an unfortunate connection to a dead hooker made the news.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
NBA 2023-24 Thread
11 12 13
Replies
386
Views
11K
mikal
mikal
LemonMelon
Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Group 2 Listening Thread
4 5 6
Replies
175
Views
6K
namkcuR
N
T
A must read article: An Open Letter To U2: What Happened To Your Relevance?
4 5 6
Replies
159
Views
12K
Headache in a Suitcase
Headache in a Suitcase
lharper
Innocent Experience - Chapter 6
Replies
3
Views
1K
lharper
lharper
youvedonewhat
Diaries Part 6.
Replies
2
Views
1K
lharper
lharper

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom