Country people are resourceful about being poor though - they're much more likely to grow at least some of their own food, have access to cheap firewood and the cash economy/labour exchange is much bigger than in cities (in my opinion)

Correct, certainly works for me in my area. But then again, like many country people, I don't consider myself poor.

Tony Abbott (sensibly) rejects Joe Hockey's "poor don't drive" comments; Christopher Pyne also refuses to support the statement.

Meanwhile Nick Xenephon points out that there's no way anyone on the cross-benches will support Abbott's expensive Paid Parental Leave scheme.

In all honesty, they need to get cracking and try and horse-trade their budget through the senate as soon as possible and dump the stuff like the PPL that doesn't have a hope in hell of getting through. It's not impossible, Julia Gillard managed to work with a hostile senate - if she can do it then surely the 'adults' can also do it.

Hockey was making veiled threats last week to shut down the whole economy rather than compromise - I seriously hope he doesn't mean that.

Hockey was making veiled threats last week to shut down the whole economy rather than compromise - I seriously hope he doesn't mean that.

Don't worry about Joe; he has no idea what he's doing. Tony winds him up and presses the Start button occasionally, but there's no guarantee that the end result will make any sense.

As reported, Joe apologised profusely for what he had said on Sydney radio - although at times he didn't appear to know what it was he was apologising for. The line about always fighting for poor people was a bit disingenuous and probably should have been left unsaid.

The situation encapsulates what has been wrong since the budget; the government unable to get their message out due to the focus being on individual MP's and their own foibles. The irony of not being able to manage their image probably doesn't escape Abbott.

Don't worry about Joe; he has no idea what he's doing. Tony winds him up and presses the Start button occasionally, but there's no guarantee that the end result will make any sense.

Hockey finally ‘apologised’ (via the state sanctioned broadcaster 2GB )  He seems to have done-in any PM prospects.

Those comments are typical of how these smug ratbags perceive anyone on the wrong side of the ledger. More than ever the Liberal Party advances the interests of the haves over the rest. There is no empathy for those with less and the softies like Turnbull are well and truly in the minority.

Meanwhile Abbott seems to pick the right time to be overseas. Where would he be without an emergency or crisis to indulge his Churchillian aspirations!

and through all this Shorten has been underwhelming

Wow, what a mess! And who do you suggest we choose to lead out of this?

Someone with a big mind and loose ar*se?

Wow, what a mess! And who do you suggest we choose to lead out of this?

Could they clone Bob Menzies?

Hockey finally ‘apologised’ (via the state sanctioned broadcaster 2GB )

As opposed to the ALP sanctioned ABC.

What Hockey said was stupid, but he ended up having to apologise to what certain sections of the media thought he said as opposed to what he actually did say.

He was right that the haves spend more on fuel, but didn't say that the have-nots spend more as a percentage of their income on fuel.

No, I think the general reaction was one of universal condemnation, it wasn't just the ABC Kremlin blowing it all out of proportion. It became a large Twitter trend in its own right and lots of people were talking about it - any wonder, it was a really dreadfully patronising thing to say. After the debacle of releasing his biography a few weeks ago I think this latest gaffe would have to put Hockey in serious doubt as Treasurer - I think Tony needs to consider whether someone who dominates the headlines for the wrong reasons like that should have a place on the front-bench.

They need to manage the message better - perhaps announce an interim mini-budget? The things they pick to run with at the moment are abysmal. They constantly get stuck on the back foot with one problem or another; whenever Tony fronts the media lately it's always to apologise for something or defend the actions of a minister... even he looks sick and tired of it.

Incidentally, the Herald-Sun yesterday had a splendid puff-piece about Julie Bishop and what a great all-round compassionate human being she is, did anyone else see that?

... ended up having to apologise to what certain sections of the media thought he said as opposed to what he actually did say...

Bulls#it  I was listening to that interview live. Our immediate reaction was "What The F#ck !"
He should have stuck to talking about Ekka, even if he did feel the need to compare buying show bags to the budget.

... didn't say that the have-nots spend more as a percentage of their income on fuel.

That's because your lot just don't get it.
Many people in this country do get it, i.e. these measures hurt the less well off a lot more than a Parrot and his Abbott. This government and their backers can go on crying wolf over Australia's finances but most people aren't buying it.

Tony is managing the message better today - he's indicated to the cross-bench senators that he's prepared to consider some of their ideas for savings. He's also made an interesting statement along the lines of "Don't come to this country unless you want to join the team".

I'm actually really glad he said that - I think multicultualism is good to a point but then ultimately if you are a migrant you need to put Australian laws ahead of everything else.

...He's also made an interesting statement along the lines of "Don't come to this country unless you want to join the team".

I'm actually really glad he said that - I think multicultualism is good to a point but then ultimately if you are a migrant you need to put Australian laws ahead of everything else.

In Abbott’s world (hopefully not yours), non-English migrants will break the law because they are different. Difference is a big thing for this bloke and his followers. You don't need to be a cynic to see his 'Team Australia' for what it is, nothing more than the school bully picking the kids he likes to play on his side.

Multicultural Abbott only thinks of Australia as another England. Same goes for Scotland!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-16/prime-minister-tony-abbott-criticised-over-opposition-to-scotti/5676148

Personally if you can own a car you are not poor in the true sense of the word. Cars are a real money pit, Tyres, servicing, fuel, registration and so on, the really poor to me are those you see living on the streets and sleeping in parks etc, they are the real poor they have nothing at all really. Except the clothes or rags on their back's and a few meagre possessions usually push around in a shopping trolley. So in one case Mr Hockey was right, but he should have said really poor not just poor or better yet would have been to say the homeless or street people of this country.

No I am not a Liberal stooge or a Labor one either! I dislike all politicians simply because of their "Stuff you Jack, I am alright" attitudes!

It just gets better and better.
http://www.pedestrian.tv/news/arts-and-culture/reddit-just-caught-joe-hockeys-car-in-a-disabled-s/59463e4d-fa3c-439f-a1ff-d155f9d4c72c.htm

In Abbott’s world (hopefully not yours), non-English migrants will break the law because they are different. Difference is a big thing for this bloke and his followers. You don't need to be a cynic to see his 'Team Australia' for what it is, nothing more than the school bully picking the kids he likes to play on his side.

Multicultural Abbott only thinks of Australia as another England. Same goes for Scotland!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-16/prime-minister-tony-abbott-criticised-over-opposition-to-scotti/5676148

Nothing was said about different - just if you want to play with us, play by our rules.

And quoting ALPBC as a criticism of Tony Abbott is like quoting Palmer as a voice for all Australian in foreign affairs.

I'm really impressed with Clive Palmer, he's turned out to be so much more than a one-trick pony. Sure, they've said and done some stupid things since being elected but you have to expect that from political novices......  

Yeah Clive and Jacqui will be fighting over who gets the foreign policy portfolio......

If Hockey's comments were offensive, and required such a huge outcry, demands or resignation and the necessity of a public apology - who is going to make the same demands of Clive Palmer over his latest round of foot-in-mouth disease?

If Hockey's comments were offensive, and required such a huge outcry, demands or resignation and the necessity of a public apology - who is going to make the same demands of Clive Palmer over his latest round of foot-in-mouth disease?

Groundrelay?

I think we regularly make the mistake in this country of assuming that we are dealing with an equivalent country with China - we're not. It's a one-party dictatorship and they proved in 1989 just how far they are prepared to go to preserve that system. Full-stop.

I was watching Q&A last night when Clive said what he did - he was referring specifically to their system of government, it was not intended as racism even though he's been widely depicted that way today.

Groundrelay?

Donald

Clive might have a legitimate business gripe but that doesn't need to be aired in a political forum. Besides, he didn’t have a moral issue about doing business with them.

The world is doing business with China Inc. State corporations that are well supported by State resources. Like it or not, we seem to need them more than they need us. Our pollies represent Australia and need to be mindful of that.

One thing about the ABC, there’s no need for bullying commentators. A Clive or Joe is quite capable of sticking their foot in it on their own.

I think we regularly make the mistake in this country of assuming that we are dealing with an equivalent country with China - we're not. It's a one-party dictatorship and they proved in 1989 just how far they are prepared to go to preserve that system. Full-stop.

I was watching Q&A last night when Clive said what he did - he was referring specifically to their system of government, it was not intended as racism even though he's been widely depicted that way today.

Whether it was racist or not is irrelevant.

The simple question is as a senior national political figure should he have said what he said?

If what he said was true, then why is he doing business with Chinese?

Whether it was racist or not is irrelevant.

The simple question is as a senior national political figure should he have said what he said?

If what he said was true, then why is he doing business with Chinese?

Clive the politician is a creation of the Laberal duopoly. If the duopoly presented a reasonable alternative then people wouldn't be voting for these minor parties at an unprecedented level.

I agree that it probably wasn't appropriate to drag out a personal business dispute with a Chinese state company in public but on the other hand I'm concerned about the fact that you're not allowed to say anything bad in public about the Chinese autocratic totalitarian regime because we're so dependent on them as a nation. It rings alarm bells that Julie Bishop - the only front-bencher I have any respect for - felt compelled to retract her own words about the Chinese government a few weeks ago.

The very reason why so many Chinese people are attracted to immigrate and invest here is because we have a proud tradition of democracy and letting people speak their minds without sending them to gulags; I would sincerely hope that we haven't arrived at a point where an international power has so much influence in our national affairs that we can't speak openly about them within our own borders.

Our toady-ing will come back to bite us, mark my words.

I would sincerely hope that we haven't arrived at a point where an international power has so much influence in our national affairs that we can't speak openly about them within our own borders.

Our toady-ing will come back to bite us, mark my words.

You mean like this?

PUP senator Jacqui Lambie yesterday added fuel to the fire by saying the Chinese government was "aggressive, anti-democratic, totalitarian" and warned of a Chinese invasion.
She said Australia needed to double the size of its military and "look into missiles" and an anti-missile defence system.
Today, she has repeated the call to arms.
"You know, whether it's a Communist Chinese invasion or whether it's an invasion from Indonesia or anybody else, all I'm saying is our defence forces are depleted and we need to do something about it," she said.
"This is what's bothering me."

You mean like this?

Well she is really right it nearly happened in WW2 did it not the Japanese could have taken a great hunk of Australia if they had the man power and the supply lines to back it up. They got to New Guinea but got stopped there because their supply lines etc were way too long! They even attacked Sydney Harbour! The attack on Pearl Harbour was shrugged off even when a certain  General Billy Mitchell told them about it well before it actually happened. He was court martialed for suggesting it but it also did happen!

I am not saying she is absolutely right but the armed forces do need a bit more spent on them than just a few new planes and a couple of ships!

Those brand new politicians are always going to say controversial things, especially from these brand new or small parties where there's not much discipline or an idea about how things should be run. Palmer was right onto this at the beginning when he started demanding extra taxpayer funds for advisors at the start of the new parliament - again, I believe things will settle down as they become more politically savvy.

As I said earlier, the fact that PUP was so popular last year was because the Laberal duopoly is failing miserably - the senate vote for the duopoly was the lowest since WW2. People are sick and tired of the major parties. Clive Palmer is entirely the fault of our two party system failing to deliver what voters actually want (whatever that is).