Piers Akerman
LABOR’S coast-to-coast stranglehold on government has been breached with the fall of Western Australia’s Carpenter regime.
Recent Newspoll surveys show South Australian Premier Mike Rann and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh are in deep trouble and would struggle to be re-elected, but satisfaction ratings indicate voters are not showing great enthusiasm for the alternative premiers.
With voters turning against Labor and not embracing the Coalition leaders, the message seems to be that “anyone but Labor’’ could win, although the state and federal oppositions have a lot of work to do if they are to capitalise on this trend and actually take office.
It would be easy to write off the disaffection with Labor as the natural handicap of incumbency, but there’s clearly another factor at play: the type of government Labor has given Australians across the nation.
Change the names, and it’s been the same political apparatus at work in every state.
This model, labelled the Hawker Britton approach by some conservatives, was first trialled successfully by the young Bruce Hawker when he was former NSW premier Bob Carr’s chief of staff.
It has been adopted by Labor in every state and federally since Hawker, and Carr’s former senior adviser David Britton, left Carr’s office in 1997 to form the eponymous political consultancy.
The Hawker Britton approach is about spin, not substance.- The success of the model you describe was reliant on the success of the Libs federally. Once the libs collapsed in '07, the wheels fell off the model. I'd hesitate blaming the opposition as being weak because I think the blanket opposition mounted by non political people has been too strong, and is seen to be throughout the Western world with one analyst saying that conservatives need an extra five percent for status quo.
I think so long as people like Iemma, Della Bosca and Tripodi can sidestep answering serious questions over the death of Hamidur Rahman that the ALP will retain government no matter how unpopular. The press are not supposed to be the tame pet that the ICAC seems to be .. - ed.
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McCain’s experience won the debate
Piers Akerman
Watching US presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama debate, it was clear that McCain spoke from experience and Obama attemped to remember what his advisers had told him to say.
On almost every issue, McCain was able to demonstrate from his own record,l historical precedents and his stated policies, that he was equipped to lead the United States.
Obama, unfortunately, stumbled, misquoted, and attempted to obfuscate his way through the lengthy presentation.
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Opposition disagrees with alcohol ad ban proposal
Gemma Sapwell
NSW opposition leader Barry O'Farrell said his own battle with weight loss is one of the reasons why he's against a move to ban alcohol advertising.
Health Minister John Della-Bosca has called on governments across Australia to consider banning all alcohol advertising, and place warnings on bottles.
The NSW opposition leader said his days as a binge-eater have taught him that bans don't work and people must take responsibility for their own actions
"No one knows better than me about binge eating and no one knows better than me that the cure to it was personal responsibility," said Mr O'Farrell.
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US bailout: Leaders strike a deal
US Congressional leaders and the Bush administration have reached a tentative deal on a bailout of imperiled financial markets.
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Military-grade technology added to Sydney ferries
Thermal imaging cameras and radar will be installed across the entire Sydney ferry fleet. - why are we applauding the government for doing what we expect of them? We wanted them to do this a long time ago. Why did they wait for people to die? - ed.\
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SIMPLER TIMES
Tim Blair
Mark Davis in the Age:
The last time Geelong played Hawthorn in a grand final, in 1989, we crowded around CRT screens, impressed by the novelty of seeing live footy on TV.
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SEE YOU IN CHINA, AL
Tim Blair
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HE SEES THE FUTURE
Tim Blair
Barack Obama discusses his celebrated 2002 speech:
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GO GO GO!
Tim Blair
We’ve broken through the 10 billion tonne barrier:
Global carbon emissions are continuing to rise at alarming rates despite efforts by households and governments across the developed world to go green.
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SHE’S NO MISS WRIGHT
Tim Blair
A letter to the editor from Sarah Palin:
“San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase ‘under God’ away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words. God Bless America.”
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SWAN DIVES, FLIPS
Tim Blair
Wayne Swan catches a tip from Malcolm Turnbull and performs a rapid about-face.
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IDENTITY LOST
Tim Blair
A perfect symbol of modern Britain:
The UK’s first identity card for 60 years has been unveiled by Jacqui Smith—with no sign of the union flag or mention of the word Britain.
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OTTER OVER
Tim Blair
An otter departs:
After surviving the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as a pup and teaching millions of fans about the spill’s devastating effects on her species, Nyac, the Vancouver Aquarium’s oldest sea otter, succumbed to leukemia Tuesday, leaving staff profoundly saddened …
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WELL DONE BUSTY YASMIN
Tim Blair
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HOLY FLYERS RUMBLED
Tim Blair
Airport arrests in Cologne:
Police in Germany have arrested two terrorism suspects on a plane preparing to take off from Cologne-Bonn airport.
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