What if you lived in Australia?

[Sir Honkers]

Originally Posted by blondifan

I would like to see political leaders tested for Intelligence Quota, regardless of which party they belong to.

Never mind the political leaders, test the bloody voters

[blondifan]

Originally Posted by Estreeter

Mate, won't happen in our lifetime

Yeah. Pauline (Please explain) Hanson (former fish & chip shop owner) and Robin Gray (failed Victorian dairy farmer) spring to mind..

Why not Cliffy Young, aside from the fact he died in 2003.

The outcome of Saturday's N.S.W. state elections could be interesting.

Compulsory voting is just wrong.

[Tmee2020]

Originally Posted by blondifan

...

The outcome of Saturday's N.S.W. state elections could be interesting.

I think it will be a bloodbath- Libs getting back in.

[blondifan]

Originally Posted by tmee2000

I think it will be a bloodbath- Libs getting back in.

Yes, I noticed polls were looking that way.
The Sydney Morning Herald was running headlines of "Remove Mike Baird and you remove Tony Abbott".
I noticed Abbott's polling was up during the Queensland election, when he was on vacation, although I also noticed recently that someone claims Abbott is polling lowest in the history of polling.

InvisiBill Shorten seems to have noticed that also.

Abbott is present for the N.S.W. election, but hasn't been saying much, to date.

[andw]

Originally Posted by blondifan

Abbott is present for the N.S.W. election, but hasn't been saying much, to date.

give him time...or is that rope?

I'm beginning to think abbott is going to "out-bush" bush.

[Estreeter]

Originally Posted by buttsie

Liberal or labour = broken promises eventually

Even though I class myself as a swinging voter. but in later life have tended to vote to the right and don't trust any party, I like to look all the policies of all the major parties. I don't just make up my mind on the policies that might benefit or hurt my pocket

But, as is probably the case in most countries, to win an election here

1, Take the popularist policy on the flavor of the year topic
2, Promise to cut little or nothing in the budget
3, Label your opponent a liar and incompetent
4, Defend any past mistakes you've made by avoiding the issue
5, Claim you care for families
6, Claim you haven't or won't cut spending on heath and education
7, Praise the armed forces
8, Be seen with the public as much as ya can
9, Claim you care for Aussie made goods and manufacturing and farming
10, Say there will be no new taxes, call them levies if need be.
11, Look and sound intelligent

Both parties have always done that since I can remember

Whichever side of politics does that and also avoids ugly internal party politics will win, no matter how stupid they really are

I've watched parliament question time now and then, and it's the same garbage every day covering the same ground.

[blondifan]

Peoples memories are no longer as short as they were when Abbott was a journalist and not adverse to metadata retention back in the eighties

Originally Posted by deepsepia

...
I know that folks are very down on Abbott, for lots of good reasons, but on aboriginal issues, I think his heart is in the right place. He'd had some personal involvment in Aurukun, if I remember...

Abbott’s visit brought CEOs from around the country to Aurukun to paint a library and plant trees, much like the volunteer tourists who pay great sums of money to “help” locals in developing countries do work they could probably be employed to do themselves. The payoff is Facebook profile pictures and a feeling they are doing good.

But with Abbott’s visit, there was one key difference: His ‘volunteerism’ turned out to be a pretty big impost on the Australian taxpayer, costing almost $10,000 in travel allowance.

https://newmatilda.com/2014/09/03/he...ry-haughty-boy
May have been cheaper to get professionals in
Incidently while looking for this I found

"5 Mar 12 – Sydney to Bendigo 5 Mar 12 – Bendigo to Horsham $23,560"

Tony Abbott's taste for chartered flights
As one bright spark pointed out “He should have just caught the bus from Bendigo to Horsham, it only costs around 30 bucks.”

Earlier this month he backed W.A.'s plans to close 247 remote communities and commenting that the indigenous spiritual attachment to the land is a "Lifestyle choice". http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-1...nities/6295296

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Estreeter

Mate, won't happen in our lifetime

I believe you. It's hard to test intelligence anyway, no matter what people say, and intelligence might not be necessary

What is necessary is integrity, and there is a way to test one form of it. You just have to be sneaky

Give them a polygraph

Huh, a polygraph?

Sure, a polygraph. All politicians will lie to us, it comes with the job. So find the biggest BSers, and polygraph them

Don't worry about the ones who fail -- you know they are lying, but at least they can tell between right and wrong

But be careful with the ones who pass, because they're the ones who don't care. They are the sociopaths who are too dangerous for High Office

I told you it was sneaky

[Estreeter]

Originally Posted by palo5

I believe you. It's hard to test intelligence anyway, no matter what people say, and intelligence might not be necessary

How's this for intelligence ....

"All politicians are equally worthless, only some are more worthless than others"
Estreeter, 2015

[blondifan]