[Que enspastic]

So just recently the centre-right Liberal Party defeated the centre-left incumbent Labor Party in the 2013 Australian election. Elections are held once every three years.


Now there's a few people who are a bit upset that just one out of the 19 appointees to the Cabinet of the new government is female (5%). Only six out of 42 in the Full Ministry are women (14%).


Does the new Australian Govt have the most male dominated Cabinet in the Western world? Without doing any research, I would think yes.


Afghanistan currently offers better prospects to female politicians than in Australia. It has three female members in its Cabinet.


A few snippets from journalists:

Quote:

IT'S a sad day for the nation when the cabinet of Afghanistan has more women in it than the cabinet of Australia, says acting Labor leader Chris Bowen.

Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott unveiled his ministerial line up on Monday, revealing the only woman in the cabinet is Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop.

The outgoing Labor government had six, Mr Bowen said.

"The cabinet of Afghanistan now has more women (three) in it," Mr Bowen said.

"It is a disappointing day when Australia goes so backwards, so backwards."

Ironically, even The Australian - a Murdoch-owned conservative rag - gave its own female journalists scope to write articles on this matter.

Quote:

Despite knowing that political appointments often have very little to do with merit and everything to do with reward, this is the message Abbott and the party faithful are content to send to the young women and men of Australia. That here, in 2013, women are not good enough to sit on the front line of government decisions and have a voice.

I guess Murdoch wants to balance the coverage slightly now that his side has won.


The new PM, Tony Abbott, is really quite conservative. Almost became a priest at one stage. Married with 3 daughters. Gaffe prone like London Mayor Boris Johnson and former US President George W Bush.


He once told the media that his best advice for his daughters was to treat their virginity as a 'precious gift'.








WYB?


Not many SWPL women liked hearing his father to daughter advice. Nonetheless, his daughters still seem pretty happy and supportive of him as their father.


Lest it be forgotten, Australia is indeed a democracy in which women have the right to vote. Abbott's character and views were well known to all prior to the election. If all Australian women voted as a bloc for the Labor Party, which is more inclusive of female politicians, then the Liberal Party would simply not have won.


But the fact remains that women don't cast their vote just to support the careers and political aspirations of "other women" - they vote primarily in their own interest, as do men.

[Suits]

Wife has short hair. 2/10 WNB

[Kabal]

Would smash 2/3 daughters.

[T and A Man]

About half a dozen articles on Fairfax whinging about this too. They can't fathom that merit can actually produce an outcome like this.

That photo is a bit old, this is them on election night

[Que enspastic]

Some more comments on this story today.

Quote:

Howard government minister Judi Moylan said she was "a bit despairing" over how women were being overlooked and said the Liberal Party as a whole needed to act on the problem.

"I don't want to apportion blame. It's a whole-of-organisation issue, that's for sure," Ms Moylan said. "By far the biggest impediment to women getting preselection is you get several times more men than women standing.

"That's one of the really major issues for the party and we do need to examine it."

The Australian revealed the concerns about the promotion of women last Friday when former Liberal ministers including Kay Patterson and Ms Moylan noted the difficulty of encouraging women to seek higher office.

The funny thing about this is it reminds me of my old Australian university residential college. The administrative heads were "despairing" over the lack of an elected female College Student Society President, aka top dog, the grande leader. Both men and women voted on who should be President and there were more women at the college than men. There had been only one female in 20 years (5%).

On the ballot in 2008 were the names of eight men and only one woman. The male vote would have been divided among the male candidates. If the women just voted for the woman she would have won in a landslide.

Women have little appetite for politics, which is an aggressive and ego bruising vocation. Those that do have a taste for politics are perceived as masculine and combative. They also tend not to help out their fellow women once they reach the summit - Thatcher, Gillard, etc.

Highly ambitious women have little loyalty to other women. And female voters treat them with skepticism and distrust.

[eradicator]

So long as they put on makeup, I would smash all 3 of the daughters(assuming they are over 18). the wife looks like a man at first(in the first photo).

[loki]

maybe we can get our country back on track to prosperity now!

[Vacancier Permanent]

Australia heading towards the right direction! Who would have thought that a country so ripe feminism! Well done Aussies!
May this spread to other western countries!

[tiggaling]

I wonder what is going through his head at this point?

[Grit]

(09-17-2013 02:40 PM)tiggaling Wrote:  

I wonder what is going through his head at this point?

Dude has stones. Hot out of the gate and he is making men proud. Pretty sure that soldiers would not have a problem with his comment, but the feminized media can't handle innocent snowflake deaths.

And to the silence, the dude is clearly trying to make him qualify. "I gave you the answer you deserve."

Of course the media is like "This is really bad!" Aka "this guy is acting like a man!"

Edit P.S. Notice how fast the media fat
man jumps to words like stupid, flat footed, and questions his leadership. Must be furious he won such a landslide.

[tiggaling]

(09-17-2013 07:30 AM)loki Wrote:  

maybe we can get our country back on track to prosperity now!

Loki, For whatever reason, you might have failed to notice that Australia is one of the most prosperous nations on earth during a very tough time for the global economy.

The problem with Tony Abbott is that he doesn't stand for anything. He doesn't have any vision. He is conservative in that, he just wants to emulate the pig headed toughness of olde for its own sake. i.e. "we'll just throw down the gauntlet, and if those poofters can't handle it, tough shit!"

He's not red pill, as his thinking doesn't go much deeper than, "just make it back to the way it was!" he is just a guy trying to live in a 1950's fantasyland. Strangely enough, his number one priority seems to be turning away asylum seeker boats!

The point about red pill thinking is that it changes and challenges your view of the world. Tony Abbott doesn't have any such thoughts, his thinking is stymied and muddled. And he seems completely enraptured by the maddonna/whore complex.

http://turnleft2013.wordpress.com/2012/0...wants-sex/

"I think there does need to be give and take on both sides, and this idea that sex is kind of a woman’s right to absolutely withhold, just as the idea that sex is a man’s right to demand I think they are both they both need to be moderated, so to speak."

I think if someone came on this forum and started saying things like this, we'd just be scratching our heads, not even that. This is just dinosauric thinking. And then it turns out he is against abortion?

Well, guess what Tony, "shit happens", your franger might slip off and get a sheila preggers! maybe there is a reason she wanted to withold sex with you, because she might not want to spawn more weasels of your ilk!

(p.s. his daughters look like weasels to me too, watch how they move on camera, typical gauche Aussie girls. WNBEIYPM. Too scared that they would be too dry, and then having the condom falling off, with the outcome being a shotgun wedding with Tony holding the shotgun.)

[AnonymousBosch]

(09-18-2013 02:25 AM)tiggaling Wrote:  

Well, guess what Tony, "shit happens", your franger might slip off and get a sheila preggers!

Liked because I've never come across 'Franger' in print before.

[Tailgunner]

Hey Tiggaling- Abbott isn't "against abortion" as you claim...he has stated the same stance as former President Clinton did- it should be "safe,legal&rare".
As for him "not standing for anything...no vision"...shit cobber, we don't need and nor can Australia afford any more "visionary" Labor drones running the joint.
Your squad of spendthrift wastrels got what was coming to them and not before time...Knife one guy for a radical feminist leader...then knife her for...the first guy that was no good? Shit dude - that's entertainment alright!
But good governance it isn't.
The adults are back in charge-things are looking up again.

[WanderingSoul]

How was he insulting the dead solider? He said sometimes shit happens. I can imagine that while in combat, sometimes shit does indeed happen. That isn't an insult to the soldier.

To the notion that there isn't enough women in the Aussy government, do they need to appoint someone from every gender, made up gender, religion and ethnicity, even if they are not particularly qualified, just to keep "diversity" in the government?

Do they need at least one black man, one Asian, one Latino, one gay man, one gay woman, two trannies (M to F and F to M), one Arab, one Jew, one Christian, one Catholic, one Muslim, etc?

Then you end up with a bunch of unqualified people in what are some of the most important positions of power for your entire country. You shouldn't get the job based on anything other than you being the best man, woman or homosexual drag queen for the job.

[Deluge]

Feminist journalists just spent more than six years going after Abbott for being "misogynist", socially conservative, getting violent around female opposition while in student politics etc. I wonder how all these feminists can now rationalize the fact that a clear majority of Australian women voted for him despite his reputation.

P.S the public has never really liked Tony Abbott on a personal level. I highly doubt he'd get knifed during his term like Rudd and Gillard did, but it wouldn't surprise me if Malcolm Turnbull winds up as the Liberal party leader once again in a few years.

[Que enspastic]

Either Shorten or Albanese would make a solid and combative Leader of the Opposition. The new caucus rules will make it v difficult to change Labor leaders which is a good thing. Both seem happy to work with the winner.

Personally I think Shorten will win, as he has the backing of the Labor caucus. All he needs now is the vote of the Labor rank and file. There will be a strong desire to have the winner fully legitimised by winning both caucus and rank and file vote.

I think Abbott will get two terms. Will get reeled back at next election but hold with reduced majority. He's really not that impressive. A good Opposition Leader, mercilessly negative in the same tradition as Newt Gingrich, but as PM he has to govern. What are his ideas? We don't know.

Part of the reason he wouldn't announce his ideas is due to John Hewson losing the "unloseable" election in 1993. The man put out a manifesto, a sensible one at that, but people didn't understand it and Keating ridiculed him. Abbott worked for Hewson at the time and learned that putting out a comprehensive and coherent platform of ideas prior to an election is not necessarily a recipe for success.

There are a lot of highly intelligent Liberal Party MPs who vehemently disagree with Abbott on critical things like NBN, restructuring the Australian economy post-mining boom, and dealing with Indonesia sensitively. And especially paid maternity leave, middle class welfare. It makes no sense ideologically if you're Liberal, or even just a sensible person. Abbott will have his naysayers within his own party.

On the other hand, the greatest issue for Labor is how to deal with global warming, as it is electorally unpopular and it is almost impossible for Australia to reduce CO2 internationally. Even if Australia stopped its economy completely and slaughtered all its methane producing cattle, leading to zero CO2 total emissions, worldwide emissions would still rise (due to China, USA, BRIIC economies, etc).

So a resolution to this issue will be interesting to say the least. I think Labor will continue to push for the carbon tax but we will see.

"Albo" being alpha.

[loki]

Labor is and was a bunch of fuck tards, corrupt to the bone and I am oh so glad to see them out of power in multiple states and now federal as well.

As a business owner, I have felt the full brunt of labor bullshit these last few years and felt it in my ass everyday, every week and every month at work as I watched customers reign in spending and cut budgets like never before.

In case any of you have missed it, since labor got the toss, companies are spending again and sentiment is climbing in a positive way.

yes Australia is a prosperous country and that due to us Aussies working hard and not living beyond our means, we also pay our taxes not rort them silly like certain other countries.

Ok so Tony is a little old fashioned in some ways but I dont think a little famly values being injected into the country will hurt us in any way. Its better than promoting women to burn their bra's and treat all men like misogynists.

Furthermore, The only people I have spoken to so far in real life that are upset about Gillard going are fucked up women feminist whose only reason they can put forward for her going being a bad thing, was that she was female and now we dont have a female leader.

Fuck that, we need a man to run the country, a man with balls and a liberal man at that!

[tiggaling]

For sure, Labour has been a bunch of fuck tards.

We'll see how Abbott fares I suppose won't we?

To my mind, he is nowhere near the calibre of prime ministers like Malcolm Fraser or Paul Keating. And I agree with Malcolm Fraser, and think he represents a dangerous and regressive step backwards.

As for the footage, that is not a still, considered silence; that is a jerky, zombiefied, stunned silence. He doesn't know what to say. The reporter is geniuinely freaked out, wondering wtf is going on with this guy?

I think people want to have some faith in Australian politics, but I'd be very surprised if this guy doesn't severely embarass all Australians and think it is very likely that he becomes even more hated than the previous labour government.

[Que enspastic]

Tony Abbott's asylum seeker policies "offensive", says senior Indonesian politician

This is what Australia has to watch out for. That despite the Coalition's criticism of Rudd's decision to suspend live cattle exports, which proved a distaster, the new government goes ahead and undermines the relationship further.

Australia's relationship with Indonesia is the most important bilateral relationship Australia has with any country. It ranks even higher than Australia's relationship with the United States and China.

[tiggaling]

An interesting article about the life of Mr Tony Abbott and what he believes.

http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2010/...ng-dervish

[Samseau]

(09-18-2013 02:18 PM)Que enspastic Wrote:  

Tony Abbott's asylum seeker policies "offensive", says senior Indonesian politician

This is what Australia has to watch out for. That despite the Coalition's criticism of Rudd's decision to suspend live cattle exports, which proved a distaster, the new government goes ahead and undermines the relationship further.

Australia's relationship with Indonesia is the most important bilateral relationship Australia has with any country. It ranks even higher than Australia's relationship with the United States and China.

Why should Australia take in refugees from another fucked up country?

The Australians have done a great job of building their country, what do they owe anyone else?

[Que enspastic]

Australia should take in refugees, as it has always done, but not those who arrive via boat. It should always have control over its refugee intake and control of its borders. In any case, sympathetic policies on asylum seekers arriving by boat inevitably leads to mass deaths by drowning at sea which is an immoral outcome.

What is of critical importance though is that Australian politicians treat their Indonesian counterparts with respect and sensitivity. It's called "diplomacy". Indonesia is our most important neighbour after all: do not mess them around.

Some of the policies that have been touted - buying up all the Indonesian fisherman boats, paying for intelligence on smugglers - are worrying given the lack of logical thought that went into these ideas and absence of quiet consultation with Indonesia.

[Samseau]

(09-18-2013 03:51 PM)Que enspastic Wrote:  

Australia should take in refugees, as it has always done, but not those who arrive via boat. It should always have control over its refugee intake and control of its borders. In any case, sympathetic policies on asylum seekers arriving by boat inevitably leads to mass deaths by drowning at sea which is an immoral outcome.

What is of critical importance though is that Australian politicians treat their Indonesian counterparts with respect and sensitivity. It's called "diplomacy". Indonesia is our most important neighbour after all: do not mess them around.

Some of the policies that have been touted - buying up all the Indonesian fisherman boats, paying for intelligence on smugglers - are worrying given the lack of logical thought that went into these ideas and absence of quiet consultation with Indonesia.

You didn't answer the question. Why should Australia take in refugees? Just because they have in the past isn't a reason.

Australia impoverishes itself whenever it takes in a bunch of 3rd-worlders who leech off the system. It's no different than America taking in illegal immigrants.

It's obvious the average Australian doesn't want to deal with this shit anymore, which is why Abbott was elected.

[tiggaling]

http://www.news.com.au/world-news/ten-my...6676024840

Actually, the quality of the refugees who go to Australia is normally very high and they do not want to leech off the system. These people have often been running small to medium sized businesses in their country when the shit hits the fan. What people in Australia do not know is that it costs them an enormous amount of money to get to Indonesia and then get on a boat to Australia.

(09-18-2013 03:57 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

Australia impoverishes itself whenever it takes in a bunch of 3rd-worlders who leech off the system. It's no different than America taking in illegal immigrants.

That's the image I think and it is incorrect. These are normally high quality people who are very motivated to get the fuck of out of dodge (normally a war zone!) and they are willing to risk *everything* to do so. Do you really think they are just going to get to Australia and just rest on their laurels? Those who want to come to Australia think it is the land of milk and honey. They are often people who are very materialistic and love to work. They will fit right into Australia and often do.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/this-f...ess-2013-7

(09-18-2013 03:57 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

It's obvious the average Australian doesn't want to deal with this shit anymore, which is why Abbott was elected.

There is actually very little shit going on here. This is a massive first world problem. The real shit is in how Australia treats its asylum seekers in detention centres for years and years in appalling conditions, which has been condemned internationally.

Your average Australian doesn't have to deal with these refugees. As the news.com article says, it is only 15,000 people a year, which is really nothing in the scheme of things.

http://www.hrlc.org.au/australias-treatm...orld-stage

White Australians are largely just racist, ignorant people. When Kevin Rudd raised Tony to look like being the harder man on this issue, his popularity dived; as a lot of the electorate could just see him compromising his position to the racist moreons.

Give me a boat person as an Australian anyday over your average racist, ignorant, white Australian who wouldn't have the courage or ability to do what these people do. As the news.com article states, boat people from Vietnam are some of the best immigrants Australia has ever had.

[T and A Man]

Sounds like someone has a chip on their shoulder over white people.