AI
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 7:56:09 AM
Abbott's 'rookie mistake' won't help relations with Obama: scholar
.. ooi, did anyone here see Abbott on tv in America? .. woody, i reckon .. sure walks like Bush did ..
David Wroe National security correspondent
Date October 28, 2013
View more articles from David Wroe
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/David-Wroe
US President Obama with then Prime Minister Gillard. Photo: Andrew Meares
Tony Abbott's use of a Washington Post interview to brand his Labor predecessors as ''wacko'' and ''embarrassing'' could set back his working relationship with the Obama White House, a leading US commentator says.
Norman Ornstein, an author and political scientist with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said he ''winced'' when he read the interview in which the Prime Minister put the boot into the Rudd-Gillard government in unusually strong language for a foreign interview.
''It really does violate a basic principle of diplomacy to drag in your domestic politics when you go abroad,'' Dr Ornstein said. ''It certainly can't help in building a bond of any sort with President Obama to rip into a party, government and, at least implicitly, leader with whom Obama has worked so closely. Perhaps you can chalk it up to a rookie mistake. But it is a pretty big one.''
Politicians worldwide typically refrain from engaging in fierce domestic political argument when they are speaking to an overseas audience.
Dr Ornstein, a resident scholar at the AEI - one of Washington's oldest think tanks - was one of Foreign Policy magazine's 100 ''top global thinkers'' in 2012.
Mr Abbott told The Washington Post that the former Labor government's conduct was ''a circus'' and was ''scandalously wasteful''.
''It was an embarrassing spectacle and I think Australians are relieved they are gone,'' he said.
Asked about Labor's plan to extend fibre to every household under the National Broadband Network, Mr Abbott said: ''Welcome to the wonderful, wacko world of the former government.''
Julia Gillard in particular forged what observers say was a warm and constructive relationship with Barack Obama, which included sealing the deal to station US marines in Darwin.
She was one of just 12 world leaders whose calls Mr Obama returned personally after they had called to congratulate him on his 2012 re-election.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbotts-rookie-mistake-wont-help-relations-with-obama-scholar-20131027-2w9r9.html
---- this must be the interview mentioned above as Abbott's boner ..
Lally Weymouth: An interview with Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott
.. page 4 of 4 .. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lally-weymouth-an-interview-with-australia-prime-minister-tony-abbott/2013/10/24/f718e9ea-3cc7-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story_3.html
Abbott is a jerk
===== .. he TeaPartied on General Motors-Holden ..
Blame game erupts in Parliament over Holden decision
Jonathan Swan National political reporter Date December 11, 2013 - 3:10PM
View more articles from Jonathan Swan
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/Jonathan-Swan
.. VIDEO .. Truss confirms Holden's departure
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss confirms during question time on Wednesday that Holden will stop making cars in Australia from 2017.
* Federal politics: Full coverage - http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics
* Politics Live: Judith Ireland from Parliament
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-december-11-2013-20131211-2z4ts.html
* Holden to cease manufacturing - http://news.drive.com.au/holden-future
Within minutes of General Motors-Holden announcing the carmaker would leave Australia in 2017, the political blame game began in question time.
Government ministers, led by Treasurer Joe Hockey and Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss, indicated that Holden's decision was inevitable and known for some time. They cited high wages, the relentlessly high Australian dollar and difficult economic circumstances, as reasons for Holden's departure.
Labor frontbenchers Jenny Macklin, Tony Burke and Chris Bowen during question
time in Parliament. Photo: Andrew Meares
Labor ministers, meanwhile, were booing and jeering and accusing the Coalition of hurrying Holden out of Australia and treating the company with contempt.
"You've got what you wanted!" shouted the Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek across the dispatch box.
Mr Truss rejected Labor's suggestion that the government was to blame, saying he had been advised that government action had little to do with the carmaker's decision.
A History of Holden in Australia
FJ Holden poster- PIC COURTESY National Museum of Australia View all 17 photos
"It's self-evident to us all that wages paid in Australia are much higher than wages in other parts of the world," Mr Truss said.
"[The] reality we must face is the situation as it is now and get on with helping the Holden workers to make a transition and the economy of SA to move into new areas where it can prosper and provide work for its people."
But Ms Plibersek accused the government of getting "exactly what it wanted" and bullying Holden out of Australia.
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne pretends to cry during
a point of order during question time. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Ms Plibersek referred to the letter sent by Mr Truss on Tuesday to Mr Devereux, in which the Acting Prime Minister urged Holden to "immediately" clarify its intentions.
The letter was "designed for political consumption rather than being a genuine effort to communicate," Ms Plibersek said.
"Hasn't the government got exactly what it wanted and won't Australia's workers pay for their failure?" she added.
Mr Hockey said the government would do what it could to work with unions and the governments of South Australia and Victoria to help the workers "transition" and prepare for losing their jobs when Holden leaves Australia in 2017.
Mr Hockey said it was "no surprise" that Holden was leaving and wondered why Labor had not shown similar outrage when Mitsubishi and Ford left Australia.
Labor asked the Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane why the Abbott government cut $500 million from automotive funding, and asked whether there was any concern for job losses.
Mr Macfarlane said Labor MPs had immediately degenerated to "raw politics" when Holden factory workers were going through an "extraordinarily traumatic time".
"Not one word of sympathy from the members opposite," Mr Macfarlane said. "Not one word of, 'We'll co-operate with what the government puts in place to ensure the industry and economic diversity of Adelaide is continued.'"
[ vote count now ]
Poll: Should the government have done more to keep Holden manufacturing in Australia?
Yes 45% .. No 55% .. Total votes: 26184.
Disclaimer: These polls are not scientific and reflect the
opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/blame-game-erupts-in-parliament-over-holden-decision-20131211-2z5pl.html#poll
=====
Tony Abbott is still relatively popular in roughly 50-50 Australia .. personally i've always felt glad Labor were in power when the world financial crisis hit .. good to see Professor Richard Holden also believes Labor did a good job ..
--- the end of the article ..
So, was the Rudd Government brilliant, lucky, or reckless?
My reading is: brilliant. For sure, they had a lot of other factors supporting the economy that many other countries did not have: a central bank with the decisiveness, and room, to slash interest rates; a major trading partner (i.e. China) enacting a massive stimulus of their own; and a very flexible exchange rate.
They also arguably "played it safe" by following advice from Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.
But two things merit the term "brilliant". One: the resolve to use overwhelming fiscal force, particularly in the face of political opposition; and two: the sophistication to understand the importance of shoring-up the banking system through deposit guarantees (announced in October, 2008).
Together these gave Australians confidence that we would weather the crisis. That confidence prevented the kind of expectations death spiral from which the US is still battling to recover.
Franklin Roosevelt was right. In times like 2008 "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself". Oh, and a government that doesn’t realize that stimulus only works if it’s big, bold and credible.
Richard Holden is Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales, Australian School of Business.
http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/article/2013/aug/27/did-labor-really-save-us-gfc/
.. ooi, did anyone here see Abbott on tv in America? .. woody, i reckon .. sure walks like Bush did ..
David Wroe National security correspondent
Date October 28, 2013
View more articles from David Wroe
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/David-Wroe
US President Obama with then Prime Minister Gillard. Photo: Andrew Meares
Tony Abbott's use of a Washington Post interview to brand his Labor predecessors as ''wacko'' and ''embarrassing'' could set back his working relationship with the Obama White House, a leading US commentator says.
Norman Ornstein, an author and political scientist with the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said he ''winced'' when he read the interview in which the Prime Minister put the boot into the Rudd-Gillard government in unusually strong language for a foreign interview.
''It really does violate a basic principle of diplomacy to drag in your domestic politics when you go abroad,'' Dr Ornstein said. ''It certainly can't help in building a bond of any sort with President Obama to rip into a party, government and, at least implicitly, leader with whom Obama has worked so closely. Perhaps you can chalk it up to a rookie mistake. But it is a pretty big one.''
Politicians worldwide typically refrain from engaging in fierce domestic political argument when they are speaking to an overseas audience.
Dr Ornstein, a resident scholar at the AEI - one of Washington's oldest think tanks - was one of Foreign Policy magazine's 100 ''top global thinkers'' in 2012.
Mr Abbott told The Washington Post that the former Labor government's conduct was ''a circus'' and was ''scandalously wasteful''.
''It was an embarrassing spectacle and I think Australians are relieved they are gone,'' he said.
Asked about Labor's plan to extend fibre to every household under the National Broadband Network, Mr Abbott said: ''Welcome to the wonderful, wacko world of the former government.''
Julia Gillard in particular forged what observers say was a warm and constructive relationship with Barack Obama, which included sealing the deal to station US marines in Darwin.
She was one of just 12 world leaders whose calls Mr Obama returned personally after they had called to congratulate him on his 2012 re-election.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbotts-rookie-mistake-wont-help-relations-with-obama-scholar-20131027-2w9r9.html
---- this must be the interview mentioned above as Abbott's boner ..
Lally Weymouth: An interview with Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott
.. page 4 of 4 .. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lally-weymouth-an-interview-with-australia-prime-minister-tony-abbott/2013/10/24/f718e9ea-3cc7-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story_3.html
Abbott is a jerk
===== .. he TeaPartied on General Motors-Holden ..
Blame game erupts in Parliament over Holden decision
Jonathan Swan National political reporter Date December 11, 2013 - 3:10PM
View more articles from Jonathan Swan
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/Jonathan-Swan
.. VIDEO .. Truss confirms Holden's departure
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss confirms during question time on Wednesday that Holden will stop making cars in Australia from 2017.
* Federal politics: Full coverage - http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics
* Politics Live: Judith Ireland from Parliament
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-december-11-2013-20131211-2z4ts.html
* Holden to cease manufacturing - http://news.drive.com.au/holden-future
Within minutes of General Motors-Holden announcing the carmaker would leave Australia in 2017, the political blame game began in question time.
Government ministers, led by Treasurer Joe Hockey and Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss, indicated that Holden's decision was inevitable and known for some time. They cited high wages, the relentlessly high Australian dollar and difficult economic circumstances, as reasons for Holden's departure.
Labor frontbenchers Jenny Macklin, Tony Burke and Chris Bowen during question
time in Parliament. Photo: Andrew Meares
Labor ministers, meanwhile, were booing and jeering and accusing the Coalition of hurrying Holden out of Australia and treating the company with contempt.
"You've got what you wanted!" shouted the Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek across the dispatch box.
Mr Truss rejected Labor's suggestion that the government was to blame, saying he had been advised that government action had little to do with the carmaker's decision.
A History of Holden in Australia
FJ Holden poster- PIC COURTESY National Museum of Australia View all 17 photos
"It's self-evident to us all that wages paid in Australia are much higher than wages in other parts of the world," Mr Truss said.
"[The] reality we must face is the situation as it is now and get on with helping the Holden workers to make a transition and the economy of SA to move into new areas where it can prosper and provide work for its people."
But Ms Plibersek accused the government of getting "exactly what it wanted" and bullying Holden out of Australia.
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne pretends to cry during
a point of order during question time. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Ms Plibersek referred to the letter sent by Mr Truss on Tuesday to Mr Devereux, in which the Acting Prime Minister urged Holden to "immediately" clarify its intentions.
The letter was "designed for political consumption rather than being a genuine effort to communicate," Ms Plibersek said.
"Hasn't the government got exactly what it wanted and won't Australia's workers pay for their failure?" she added.
Mr Hockey said the government would do what it could to work with unions and the governments of South Australia and Victoria to help the workers "transition" and prepare for losing their jobs when Holden leaves Australia in 2017.
Mr Hockey said it was "no surprise" that Holden was leaving and wondered why Labor had not shown similar outrage when Mitsubishi and Ford left Australia.
Labor asked the Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane why the Abbott government cut $500 million from automotive funding, and asked whether there was any concern for job losses.
Mr Macfarlane said Labor MPs had immediately degenerated to "raw politics" when Holden factory workers were going through an "extraordinarily traumatic time".
"Not one word of sympathy from the members opposite," Mr Macfarlane said. "Not one word of, 'We'll co-operate with what the government puts in place to ensure the industry and economic diversity of Adelaide is continued.'"
[ vote count now ]
Poll: Should the government have done more to keep Holden manufacturing in Australia?
Yes 45% .. No 55% .. Total votes: 26184.
Disclaimer: These polls are not scientific and reflect the
opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/blame-game-erupts-in-parliament-over-holden-decision-20131211-2z5pl.html#poll
=====
Tony Abbott is still relatively popular in roughly 50-50 Australia .. personally i've always felt glad Labor were in power when the world financial crisis hit .. good to see Professor Richard Holden also believes Labor did a good job ..
--- the end of the article ..
So, was the Rudd Government brilliant, lucky, or reckless?
My reading is: brilliant. For sure, they had a lot of other factors supporting the economy that many other countries did not have: a central bank with the decisiveness, and room, to slash interest rates; a major trading partner (i.e. China) enacting a massive stimulus of their own; and a very flexible exchange rate.
They also arguably "played it safe" by following advice from Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.
But two things merit the term "brilliant". One: the resolve to use overwhelming fiscal force, particularly in the face of political opposition; and two: the sophistication to understand the importance of shoring-up the banking system through deposit guarantees (announced in October, 2008).
Together these gave Australians confidence that we would weather the crisis. That confidence prevented the kind of expectations death spiral from which the US is still battling to recover.
Franklin Roosevelt was right. In times like 2008 "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself". Oh, and a government that doesn’t realize that stimulus only works if it’s big, bold and credible.
Richard Holden is Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales, Australian School of Business.
http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/article/2013/aug/27/did-labor-really-save-us-gfc/
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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