Australian Federal Election 2016

[Culprit]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/blogs/federal-election-2016-political-advertising-lacks-class/news-story/06f2049bdc8a2a651cd6cc0bc2b88779

[David]

An amusing and enlightening documentary about Australia's far right parties, presented by John Safran:

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/705551427989/The-Goddam-Election-with-John-Safran

[luvdids]

[David]

^ I've never figured that one out � or why Shorten so adamantly refused to get on board with exempting them, when it seems like such a painless thing to do as well as a relatively easy public relations move. How much tax revenue are we depending on from GST on feminine sanitary items, really? And how can anyone justify such an unfair tax when so many other essential goods are exempt?

[stui magpie]

I take the point, but I think there's already too many exemptions which chew up money in managing them and add complexity. Id prefer it to be flat across the board, no exemptions at all.

The easier something is to administer the less of the money collected goes to pay administration.

Anyway Luvdids, goot to see you're a far right union hater like me (well, according to some on here I am anyway)

[ronrat]

My concern was that the election would stop Australia plus showing the footy but they are showing all 6 games this weekend live. Well technically Thursday is not the weekend. Can't see why they need Thursday night games in a shortened round.

[watt price tully]

What bunch of mendacious cnuts & plicks: That is the right wing rump of the Liberal party. Orchestrated by the Mad Misogynist Miners Monk & continued on by his loyal servants. Marriage equality. Lib scumbags reveal themselves yet again.

....It's a neat pre-election trick in which the Coalition is taking the political dividend of appearing modern and progressive, while studiously avoiding discussion of critical details of its plebiscite......

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016-opinion/election-2016-malcolm-turnbulls-marriage-equality-faustian-pact-is-unravelling-20160629-gpu8su.html

[watt price tully]

[stui magpie]

[Morrigu]

^ yeah except we wouldn't need a plebiscite or a vote or anything else at all if little Johnny hadn't changed the Marriage Act in 2004 from 2 consenting adults to a man and a woman to deliberately stop same sex folk getting married!

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/27/1085461875956.html

I reckon the plebiscite is a complete waste of money - they were happy to change it when it suited them in 2004 and quite frankly why should anyone get to vote on something that really has zero personal impact on their life except to annoy them because it doesn't fit with their beliefs - no one is asking them to turn and marry some one of the same sex

This has been around some time but says it all for me

https://voxpopulisphere.com/2015/08/01/why-cant-i-own-a-canadian/

[David]

^ Honestly, it'd be a mark of huge disrespect to the Australian public to go to the expense and effort of holding a plebiscite and then vote against the majority decision in parliament. But we already have a promise from Bernardi, Abetz et all that they're going to do just that.

In situations like that, MPs should have no concern other than to ratify the result � and I'm not just saying that because of my own stance on this issue (the same would go for British MPs voting against leaving the EU now the referendum has passed). Turnbull should simply make the plebiscite result binding on his party room. That he won't do it is very telling and shows the grip that the backbench has on him.

[stui magpie]

^

Fair point, I wasn't aware of that change to the act.

It may be a waste of time but it also gives the change a legitimacy that can't easily be undone.

[Skids]

What have I missed?

The coalition is now at an almost unbackable price of 2/25
While the ALP has drifted to 8/1....

It's all over if those moves are anything to go by.

[David]

I think the consensus was that the Liberals were almost home with a week left to run and Labor would have had to have an astoundingly good final week of campaigning to catch them. If anything, it's gone the other way � Shorten's looked shaky over the past few days and put his foot in it a bit by threatening to veto the plebiscite (an option, it emerges, that he vocally supported just three years ago).

Perhaps a small chance of a hung parliament if the Xenophons, Windsor, Oakeshott and a few Greens get up, but otherwise I think we'll be seeing a victory speech from Turnbull.

[nomadjack]

Betting markets tend to follow the polls and are no more reliable. I picked the libs to win between 74-76 seats about 4 weeks ago and still think that's how things will end up. Turnbull minority govt with support from McGowan and maybe Katter.