Came accross this thread on Reddit which accurately details the newly elected 'Abbot' Government's first few months of policy changes. All changes are backed by the threat of our countries debt blowing out ie, " If we don't do this now our debt will become bigger than our ability to pay it back."
Now when money numbers get into the trillions the whole notion of money becomes absurd. Money is surreal and a society whose ideals, the highest paid, are the business man/woman , the banker, the broker etc, the distortion is so great as to be to the detriment of all and the World.
(A side note: The highest paid individuals in society should be those who contribute the most to the full spread of society, Health workers, Education, Food producers, Science & Arts and Crafts workers. And the pay ration for highest to lowest should be capped at 10:1. Even then, I fail to beleive that any one person is 10 times more intelligent than two or more working together.)
After living in Japan for 10 years, near Tokyo, and coming back to live in Australia, I felt that in many ways Australia is behind Japan, in terms of living standards, infrastructure etc. But now, I feel, with this change in Government, that we are going fall even further behind. It's as if someone wants to keep the majority of Australians quiet. Maybe we are being punnished for Wikileaks and torrenting 'Game of Thrones'.
Anyway here is the link to read the thread with formatting, easier to follow.
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1wobh4/australianpmdenouncesedwardsnowdenasa/
[–]varietygamer 1859 points 15 days ago*
He betrayed our future by cancelling the broadband network-the worlds fastest growing industry (IT services) relies on primacy in broadband infrastructure and thus here I am enjoying democratic republic of the congo speeds at ludicrous prices.
He also basically declared our public television networks as traitors because they don't support his party's position and offer too much foreign content (keep in mind that 6 million Australians are foreign born, including Abbott).
This is myopic scum put here by Murdoch dollars to serve hostile interests, pure and simple.
Courtesy of marmz11:
He also abolished the carbon trading scheme, dismantled AusAID (major Australian aid agency), dismantled the Climate Commission (agency set up to tackle climate change), changed the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship to the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Control.
Oh and he just put in motion to lift all of Australia's marine reservations, the largest marine conservation reservations in the world.
[–]Cabbagesquirrel 965 points 15 days ago
He also just let coal companies start dumping shit into the great barrier reef.
[–]dioxholster 827 points 15 days ago
WTF this is australia's worst PM yet
[–]marmz111 585 points 15 days ago
He also abolished the carbon trading scheme, dismantled AusAID (major Australian aid agency), dismantled the Climate Commission (agency set up to tackle climate change), changed the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship to the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Control.
Oh and he just put in motion to lift all of Australia's marine reservations, the largest marine conservation reservations in the world.
This is Australia's worst right-wing government arguably in our history
[–]my_clock_is_wrong 395 points 15 days ago
also we now have no science minister, somehow splitting the role between industry and education.
Worst PM I have ever had the displeasure of being governed by.
[–]marmz111 156 points 15 days ago
Also, the aid agency is now merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
I couldn't think of more inappropriate department to be issuing aid out of.
[–]AnOnlineHandle 255 points 15 days ago
Also, he appointed himself as minister for women's issues, after a long standing history of misogyny (once arguing that he doesn't think that women will ever lead due to comparative physiological weakness), and being against women's rights on issues such as abortion. He once said that his daughers' greatest gift that they could give to the world was their virginity, and said that he wouldn't be rushing out to get them vaccinated against the HPV vaccine, because some catholics believed that it would validate sexual activity, which was one way which the virus which caused cervical cancer spread.
[–]Icanonlycountto6 118 points 15 days ago*
Here's some quotes from our esteemed leader:
On immigration:
‘Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.’
‘These people aren’t so much seeking asylum, they’re seeking permanent residency. If they were happy with temporary protection visas, then they might be able to argue better that they were asylum seekers’
On rights at work:
- ‘Bad bosses, like bad fathers and husbands, should be tolerated because they do more good than harm’
On women:
‘The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.’
‘I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons’
‘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’
‘What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up, every year…’
On Julia Gillard:
- ‘Gillard won’t lie down and die’
On climate change:
‘Climate change is absolute crap’
‘If you want to put a price on carbon why not just do it with a simple tax.’
On homosexuality:
‘I’d probably … I feel a bit threatened’
‘If you’d asked me for advice I would have said to have – adopt a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about all of these things…’
On Indigenous Australia:
‘Now, I know that there are some Aboriginal people who aren’t happy with Australia Day. For them it remains Invasion Day. I think a better view is the view of Noel Pearson, who has said that Aboriginal people have much to celebrate in this country’s British Heritage’
‘Western civilisation came to this country in 1788 and I’m proud of that…’
‘There may not be a great job for them but whatever there is, they just have to do it, and if it’s picking up rubbish around the community, it just has to be done’
Edit: formatting
[–]KamikazeSexPilot 67 points 15 days ago
Formatted for readability.
On immigration:
‘Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.’
‘These people aren’t so much seeking asylum, they’re seeking permanent residency. If they were happy with temporary protection visas, then they might be able to argue better that they were asylum seekers’ On rights at work:
‘Bad bosses, like bad fathers and husbands, should be tolerated because they do more good than harm’
On women:
‘The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.’
‘I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons’
‘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’
‘What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up, every year…’
On Julia Gillard:
‘Gillard won’t lie down and die’ On climate change:
‘Climate change is absolute crap’ 10. ‘If you want to put a price on carbon why not just do it with a simple tax.’
On homosexuality:
‘I’d probably … I feel a bit threatened’
‘If you’d asked me for advice I would have said to have – adopt a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about all of these things…’
On Indigenous Australia:
‘Now, I know that there are some Aboriginal people who aren’t happy with Australia Day. For them it remains Invasion Day. I think a better view is the view of Noel Pearson, who has said that Aboriginal people have much to celebrate in this country’s British Heritage’
‘Western civilisation came to this country in 1788 and I’m proud of that…’
‘There may not be a great job for them but whatever there is, they just have to do it, and if it’s picking up rubbish around the community, it just has to be done’
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[–]Optional1 13 points 15 days ago
I spent my entire life in Australia, went a full 15 years before I met a christian person, having only known agnostic, athiest, buddhist, and muslim families. I was 20 before I met one of my best friends who went to an all-christian school, in which only about 10% of the students were actually religious. I went my whole life not even knowing that christianity or catholicism were big in Australia, until this election came and everyone went nuts over Abbott's religious statements. This is nothing against any of these religions, I'm just saying I'm a middle class white male living in Brisbane, Newcastle and Sydney, and I have never witnessed a significant population of jesus people.
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[–]Gorgash 6 points 15 days ago
What the fuck.
whenever he goes off the script you don't know what will come out. It's painful the way he tries to measure his words with ums and ahs so that whatever comes out is some generic patriotic twaddle as opposed to these gems. see if you can watch the interview with him and kerry obrien where he is cornered into saying that not everything he says is the truth.
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[–]infinis 145 points 15 days ago
Hi I am Canadian, I thought our government was shit, my bad.
Sorry for you guys.
Viva La democracy :(
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[–]dustbin3 94 points 15 days ago
Jesus. I don't know anything about Australian politics but it sounds like you guys elected one of the tea party crazy's from our country. It's chilling to think what it would be like if one of those whackos got real power.
[–]AnOnlineHandle 160 points 15 days ago
Hardcore Catholic slowly worming right-wing conservative views into the country bit-by-bit, it's pretty bad for anybody paying attention, but it's slow and sometimes forgettable as a new terrible thing comes along each week.
They got in by creating dishonest and double standard drama about the treasury-advised response to the GFC. National income dropped, and so the budget went into deficit, the new government got spending lower than the conservative party had it when they were last in power, but was recommended to not cut too far lest they trigger recession and cut things which would be fundable again when things recovered - the conservatives never got off tv going on about how the ruling party was apparently on a new spending spree because the budget was in deficit (because, how else could a budget get into deficit? The current party must have been responsible /s - where last time the conservatives were in power they sold off one time national assets and had higher taxes to keep the budget in balance, not to mention the height of the mining boom), and railed against spending that actually invested in the country, such as renewable energy which would have made a surplus for the government, a national broadband network which would have done the same, etc. Last time they were in power they tried to privatise much of this, and none of it ended up well because they were natural monopolies, which was why they shouldn't have been privatised in the first place, and the government basically is stuck in contractual agreements with them where the company is guaranteed a certain amount of profit, but can cut quality and services.
Murdoch owns most of the press here, it is in fact the only place that the new prime minister ever worked before running for elections (he was an opinion piece writer for catholic papers and then murdoch papers, ever since he was a teenager, so basically like a lifelong Bill O'Reilly or somebody).
Australians are generally way out of the loop on what this government's doing, what the global scientific consensus is on climate science, etc. It's... frustrating, to say the least.
Now they're going after the public broadcaster, as has long been a stated agenda of theirs, because it reports actual scientific facts on climate science etc, gets the views of accomplished economists from across the country and around the world and shows how many think what, instead of only getting the minority opinions as Murdoch does, etc. The wealthiest woman in the world, Gina Rinehart, who inherited her dad's mining company at the start of the global mining boom, and the world's largest iron ore reserve, is funding them and pushing for the shutting down of anything climate related, anything to slow the negative effects of the mining boom on our economy, such as raising the dollar and driving tourism and exports out of business for a temporary boom, creating a national fund such as what the Nordic countries have done, etc.
Australia is missing and killing opportunities due to the rabid and largely unqualified conservatives (they speak of being the experts, but the prime minister is an ex-journalist with an arts degree. The last leader of their party was axed for believing in climate science).
[–]simmy216 30 points 15 days ago*
great comment, Australian politics 101 right there...
The last leader of their party was axed for believing in climate science
To everyone not in Australia, he is referring to Malcom Turnbull. The crazy thing about Australian politics is that he had a higher personal approval rating than Abbott leading up to the last election... if our system of politics worked more like the USA, he would probably be running things right now...
As a "democrat" that is lol
edit: its funny because he is in the party that is our equivalent to USA's Republicans... that call themselves the "Liberal" party...
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[–]1111race22112 7 points 15 days ago
Straight on the money, its amazing how many people get sucked into the whole "Liberal saves Labor spends" dialogue. I wonder how many election victories are built on the back of such stupid fallacies. Unfortunately most people just regurgitate what they hear instead of putting real thought and research into their opinions.
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[–]F4rsight 6 points 15 days ago
The gullible who believed the media spin voted for him. I'm happy to say I didn't vote for the bastards.
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[–]zendopeace 42 points 15 days ago
He once said that his daughers' greatest gift that they could give to the world was their virginity
well that is certainly true. heres hoping they never reproduce.
[–]Merlin_was_cool 33 points 15 days ago
Actually his daughters spoke out against not allowing gay marriage. And his sister is gay.
He won't last long, I imagine there will be a coup in the party before the next election. I honestly felt bad for Australians last election, there were no good choices, idiots on all sides. Luckily for me I am just migrant scum from across the Tasman so I can't vote.
[–]1s44c 10 points 15 days ago
In a country of 22.6 million you got 'no good choices'. Democracy isn't working is it?
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[–]johnshonours 8 points 15 days ago
Also, he wants to remove 74,000 hectares of old growth forest in Tasmania from World Heritage Listing and open it up to industry.
[–]Daws12 10 points 15 days ago
This paired with the counseling for newlywed couples thing makes me believe his sole purpose for going into politics is to turn his daughters into 1950's housewives.
[–]TroubledViking 3 points 15 days ago
If you can, do you have sources for those claims? I am curious.
[–]GrimaceGrunson 21 points 15 days ago
Virginity statement: http://www.theage.com.au/national/hypocrite-abbott-panned-for-virginity-stance-20100126-mwds.html
HPV Vaccine statement: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/i-could-be-seen-as-cruel-on-gardasil-abbott/story-e6frg6nf-1111112494271
[–]TroubledViking 6 points 15 days ago
Thanks!