Election 2004 | Day 39 | Roundup
ONE DAY TO GO.
Friday, then it's crunch time.
$1.20 Liberal, $4.00 Labor. Haven't moved since yesterday. My take is that the odds have blown out so far because bets of several thousand (and hundred thousand) dollars have been put on the Liberals ($200,000 was the biggest single one so far). Now who in the community would happily throw huge amounts of cash on bets? People with more money than sense? See where I'm going here?
I am feeling like Labor will win; they've definitely crapped all over the Liberals for the past six weeks. However, I've been following the news so closely this past month I've got no perspective, I have no idea what the general non-obsessed population are thinking. I'm just hoping like hell they're not as dumb as Howard thinks they are.
Costello: Goose
Okay, this is about the ALP tax package turning out to cost $500m less than expected. Now, here's what Costello said over a fortnight ago:
I wrote a tiny bit about this back on Day 24.
Costello's office will now be arguing that Treasury are wrong.
Iraq
Howard is refusing to say sorry. Wow, where have I heard that before? You participated in the fucking over of a country, for reasons that weren't even true, yet you have no intention of apologising. Good example to set the kids.
TV and News
Helen Coonan says the Liberals will once again try to get rid of cross-media ownership laws if they get re-elected. Wow. Imagine ten years down the track, if every newspaper was owned by either Kerry Packer or Rupert Murdoch. Then if they both owned TV networks each (Murdoch could go buy 7 or 10 if he wanted, Packer could keep 9). Right. Got that situation in your head? Now what stops any news at all about stuff they don't agree with ever getting reported? The ABC maybe, but the Liberals are constantly complaining about them being biased, even after stacking the board with right wingers, so what's to stop them meddling around there more? So do you have a nice picture of this utopian society in your head, where our opinions are formed based on what two people + the government decide what they want us to think? Sounds awesome!
Read more over at Web Diary's old cross-media section, or at Xmedia.org.au.
Coonan is also all for Australian FTA networks to be owned by foreign corporations. So instead of rich Australian bastards pushing their views, we can have rich American bastards pushing them instead. I'm sure this has nothing to do with News moving off to Delaware.
And the less said about the joke that digital TV has become under the Liberal party, the better (hint: placing restrictions on almost every cool feature digital TV has, in order to give a certain pay TV operator an edge, is probably not the best way to go about things if you want to increase uptake).
The policy is here.
And The Rest...
Time for an overseas perspective:
Howard did his National Press Club address today.
Nic has worked his guts out putting together a story titled Why I Will Be Voting Labor In The 2004 Election, And Why You Should Too.
The SMH has run a bit stating that they will not be advocating any political party. Unfortunately, their counterpart in Melbourne, The Age, has been instructed by management to go pro-Liberal.
Friday, then it's crunch time.
$1.20 Liberal, $4.00 Labor. Haven't moved since yesterday. My take is that the odds have blown out so far because bets of several thousand (and hundred thousand) dollars have been put on the Liberals ($200,000 was the biggest single one so far). Now who in the community would happily throw huge amounts of cash on bets? People with more money than sense? See where I'm going here?
I am feeling like Labor will win; they've definitely crapped all over the Liberals for the past six weeks. However, I've been following the news so closely this past month I've got no perspective, I have no idea what the general non-obsessed population are thinking. I'm just hoping like hell they're not as dumb as Howard thinks they are.
Costello: Goose
Okay, this is about the ALP tax package turning out to cost $500m less than expected. Now, here's what Costello said over a fortnight ago:
"It's a dodgy document, the whole thing is dodgy. The tables are dodgy, the costings are dodgy, the participation dividends are dodgy. Labor is letting the days click down hoping that they can stick this in too late for the Treasury to analyse it and too late for the public to have the facts. I hang my reputation on the independent costings of Treasury and Finance and I say: Let's get an independent assessment."
I wrote a tiny bit about this back on Day 24.
This, the so-called knock out punch for Peter Costello, all he's done is knock himself out."- Simon Crean, all those weeks ago
Costello's office will now be arguing that Treasury are wrong.
Mr Costello's claim of a $700 million hole was based on his belief that Labor had not included the cost of paying a $235 annual rebate to 3.5 million low-income earners for 2004-05 before Labor's alternative working tax bonus kicks in next year.
But Treasury said the low income tax offset had been taken into account by Labor.
Comment was being sought from Mr Costello.
A spokesman for Mr Costello said the Government stood by its claim that Labor's tax and family policy was not revenue neutral and was under funded and under costed.
- Labor's Tax Sums Backed By Treasury
- Labor's Tax Cuts $500m Under
- Treasury Backs Labor's Tax Costings
- Labor's Tax Cuts Cheaper Than Expected
Iraq
Howard is refusing to say sorry. Wow, where have I heard that before? You participated in the fucking over of a country, for reasons that weren't even true, yet you have no intention of apologising. Good example to set the kids.
"He needs to take responsibility. It's not a time for blaming his staff, public servants or the intelligence agencies. The buck stops with him and if he was big enough and a good leader, he would actually stand up and take responsibility for the mistake."- Latho
TV and News
Helen Coonan says the Liberals will once again try to get rid of cross-media ownership laws if they get re-elected. Wow. Imagine ten years down the track, if every newspaper was owned by either Kerry Packer or Rupert Murdoch. Then if they both owned TV networks each (Murdoch could go buy 7 or 10 if he wanted, Packer could keep 9). Right. Got that situation in your head? Now what stops any news at all about stuff they don't agree with ever getting reported? The ABC maybe, but the Liberals are constantly complaining about them being biased, even after stacking the board with right wingers, so what's to stop them meddling around there more? So do you have a nice picture of this utopian society in your head, where our opinions are formed based on what two people + the government decide what they want us to think? Sounds awesome!
Read more over at Web Diary's old cross-media section, or at Xmedia.org.au.
Coonan is also all for Australian FTA networks to be owned by foreign corporations. So instead of rich Australian bastards pushing their views, we can have rich American bastards pushing them instead. I'm sure this has nothing to do with News moving off to Delaware.
And the less said about the joke that digital TV has become under the Liberal party, the better (hint: placing restrictions on almost every cool feature digital TV has, in order to give a certain pay TV operator an edge, is probably not the best way to go about things if you want to increase uptake).
The policy is here.
And The Rest...
Time for an overseas perspective:
- Iraq Fails To Sway Australia Poll (CNN)
- Australian Voters Face Stark Choice on Iraq (Scotsman News)
- Australian Voters Face Choice On Iraq (Miami Herald)
- Australian Election: Key Issues (BBC News)
- In Australia, Ranking Process Is Key In A Tight Race (about our voting system, LA TImes, needs registration - check BugMeNot)
- Australia's Labor Party Faces Uphill Battle In Election Campaign (Taipei Times)
Howard did his National Press Club address today.
Nic has worked his guts out putting together a story titled Why I Will Be Voting Labor In The 2004 Election, And Why You Should Too.
The SMH has run a bit stating that they will not be advocating any political party. Unfortunately, their counterpart in Melbourne, The Age, has been instructed by management to go pro-Liberal.
posted by Dave at
Friday, October 08, 2004
