Election 2004 | Day 27 | Roundup

TWO WEEKS TO GO.

Nic: Yes, I realise 99% of religious people aren't like this. I just don't want Carrie's mum to be in any position of power.

Bob Mathews And John Howard
I wrote a tiny bit on this last night. Bob Mathews is the national expert on WMDs (says SMH, not me), and kept trying to tell Howard prior to the Iraq war that it was a bad idea. His superiors kept blocking him from seeing Howard, so three days before the decision to go to war, he ended up writing a letter and sending it not as a government official, but as a concerned citizen. Obviously Howard gave it a lot of thought, because we luckily didn't get involved in Iraq, and aren't partially responsible for the fucking over of an entire country and the deaths of thousands.

Latham Launches Pre-Emptive Strike On Downer

"He's made a lot of errors in recent times as foreign minister, I just don't think he's fit for the job. I find it horrifying that the foreign minister would be publicly talking about circumstances where it is understandable if another country attacked Australia."

- Mark Latham

That's Latho, predictably calling Downer an idiot, for commenting that it's perfectly fine for other countries to come over and bomb us.

Poll Fallout
So we still have this Herald poll showing Howard could win easily if the election was held this week. I really don't get it. He has performed like crap since the election even began, could possibly lose his seat in Bennelong (go Darp go!), yet all of a sudden the Coalition is ahead of Labor? No idea. Back Pages went into it.

Latham Visits
Latham spent yesterday hanging around Seven Hills, helping launch Ed Husic's campaign.

As far as Latham is concerned, no one is more of a westie than he. "You can say it's a political experiment, it's a political novelty, but I've always called it home ... I hope it says something about western Sydney and also the Australian Labor Party that if you can grow up in a public housing estate and get put through a government school and [have] a family that cares, years later you can be running to be prime minister."

So awesome. *dreamy girlish sigh*

"We're not in a campaign where we wander around to Penrith Stadium and drop money out of our pockets to marginal seats."

- Latho

Campaign Launches
Both major parties are formally launching their campaigns. Coalition tomorrow and Labor on Wednesday. Read more at The Age.

Oh For Fucks Sake...
Libs have announced $50m for the rollout of broadband. Wow. And to think we have Richard Fucking Alston, the former Liberal Greatest IT Minister In History, to thank for the current shitty rollout of it. Plus the whole Telstra monopoly thing that the ACCC never properly investigated thanks to him. I should devote a post to all of his fuckups and dodgy deals.

And The Rest
Labor announced $48m to improve cancer treatment. News Ltd are saying $112m though. *shrugs*

Howard is freaking out over delays in Labor approving their anti-terrorists advertisements. "Goddammit Labor! Look what you've done! If only those fridge magnets were out a day earlier!"

The Dems are scared that the Coalition could own the Senate. I think I'll vote Dems, then Greens, then ALP, then the rest for my Senate vote. And for the House of Reps: ALP, Greens, Dems, indie, and I'm not sure whether to put the Liberals in front of the crazy religious parties or not.

News Ltd are reporting the ALP wants to review Woolies/Coles and their petrol dockets.

And one of Howards kids is helping Bush get re-elected. Friends in high places, hey?