Rudd making comeback.

[mx250]

What would have happened if the , Pink Batt / Flatscreen TV / stuck in the floods / BER / and so on, money had been spent on upgrading rail / ports / High speed trains / State manufacturing ?

.......so the true path lies some where in between.

'A pox on both houses' I say

[Marc.com]

Ah John Howard, probably one of the best fiscal managers in Aussie political history, ....

Sure he and Costello saved cash very well, but they did it in pre-GFC economic boom and at the expense of actually building the nation.

John and Elvis were visionaries.... they knew the game would be up and thankfully saved a lot of cash while the the boom was good. Besides Australia was struggling enough with a skill shortage without the Government launching a bunch of infrastructure projects it could live without when the boom tanked.

[mx250]

Ah John Howard, probably one of the best fiscal managers in Aussie political history, ....

Sure he and Costello saved cash very well, but they did it in pre-GFC economic boom and at the expense of actually building the nation.

John and Elvis were visionaries.... they knew the game would be up and thankfully saved a lot of cash while the the boom was good. Besides Australia was struggling enough with a skill shortage without the Government launching a bunch of infrastructure projects it could live without when the boom tanked.

Methinks you give them much much too much credit .

[Nathan S]

What would have happened if the , Pink Batt / Flatscreen TV / stuck in the floods / BER / and so on, money had been spent on upgrading rail / ports / High speed trains / State manufacturing ?

Socialist of me I know but I do wonder.

Ps. Some of those poems are pretty good.

Pink Batt scheme and BER were designed to happen quickly, whereas real infrastructure would have taken far too long to be effective as stimulus.

Set Top Boxes for pensioners was a typically sh17ful attempt at vote buying.

Flood money is because we're too tight to insure ourselves properly.

[Curly3]

Nathan, you're forgeting that most of those people actually thought they were covered for "Flood" damage but some of the insurance co's used the fine print & where the water came from to avoid a payout.
Which isn't surprising.
 

[pancho]

 I did do another post but I pulled my head in 'coz I got to wound up
 cheers pancho

[Montynut]

The big issue was the fact the Qld Gov had not insured public owned assetts which then left a massive clean up bill. What party is the Qld Gov?

[pancho]

 No monty I think the big issue was that previous graft and corruption allowed development on known flood plains, check out the floods around 1915.

[EML]

all the do -goders should sponsor a family of rag heads  by taking them in their home for a min. period of 5 years at no cost for the government . How does that sound ?

Well-and Davey Crocket wiill have to punch me next time he sees me-but I think Wally is onto something there!!!
Let all those that agree with the rush of boat people sign up for the above and then we'll see what happens-My feeling is that those that agree with letting them in have never had a business of their own or even a job for that matter and for the govt to waste 6 million on phone calls for them-when our own wait in hospital ques for medication is just plain wrong...
There, I've said it - and I'll say it again......

[Curly3]

EML, Walter was partly onto something there, but the Rag Head comment didn't help.
Yes we're doing well and a whole lot better than pretty near everyone else, BUT.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
If we relax our core values, which is what makes us so attractive, eventually it'll all disappear.

[EML]

That's correct Slider, but if you believe the stats, it's already too late- We'll all be following Mo by 2030 or we wont be breathing.

[Curly3]

Mate I hear Ya, I live just one suburb away from the centre of the Muslim followers in Syd, Lakemba.
I know quite a few of them and they're good people, if you agree, disagree and it's a different story.
Tolerance is a 2 way street but it aint happening.

[Montynut]

No monty I think the big issue was that previous graft and corruption allowed development on known flood plains, check out the floods around 1915.

I'm sorry to disagree. Yes I totally agree the town planning was shit a bit like the Vic fires (no clearing of timber allowed etc) and flooding in Newcastle (crap town planning and lack of storm water systems) a few years ago. What I am talking about is the levee on all TAX payers via the increased Medicare payments. This money is predominantly to reinstate Qld Gov. owned assets which had not been insured or covered by in anyway.

[firko]

My feeling is that those that agree with letting them in have never had a business of their own or even a job for that matter

You're kidding..right? Genuine refugees don't bother me one iota and I worked my arse off for 45 years, ran two small businesses and I'm now a self funded retiree. I happen to have deep compassion for people who for no fault of their own have found the need to seek a new life in a safe haven.

Calling me and people with my beliefs bludgers is as low as this debate has reached. 

[Marc.com]

I happen to have deep compassion for people who for no fault of their own have found the need to seek a new life in a safe haven.
 

Yeah and as long as they rock up and respect and don't change our society into one with the values they just ran away from then no issue. Australia has some core values and these need to be respected and protected.... if you don't like it f&^k off should be in the preamble to the constitution.

Particularly when the economy gets a bit tougher you will see far more friction like in the UK and Europe and keeping the immigrants especially the New Zealanders in line will become a major issue.