View Full Version : HOW did this happen?
Sheer Bliss
22-08-2010, 08:22
OK, so I know that my 'small' window into the world really is small, but almost EVERYONE I know talks about how scared they are of TA being our prime minister. It seems that out of all the people I know there is only a very small % that would actually vote liberal out of sheer fear of him (I usually DO support liberal, but that disgusting excuse for a man made me think otherwise this election)....so HOW do we end up with a hung parliament? Is it as some talked about - baby boomers have the numbers and he appeals more to them?? I am at a loss as to HOW this has happened. I guess I was very wary of KRudd, and he did a decent job - can we hope that I will be pelasantly surprised if TA gets in and the same happens?? :no: :confused:
Hollywood
22-08-2010, 08:40
You must know a hell of a lot of labor voters then (or Greens or whatever), because a LOT of people clearly DID vote for liberal :yes:
I voted Greens first and liberal second. Nothing to do with how I feel about Tony Abbott, I voted for them second because I feel they would do a better job managing the economy.
Blairysmum
22-08-2010, 08:42
It's a hung parliament!
Yes there will be a PM and it will be either Tony or Julia but neither party will win;)
Be prepared to vote again in the next 12 months;)
I don't think Tony is all bad... Just because he could be PM doesn't mean he controls the country!
waterlily
22-08-2010, 08:43
I think it's because alot of labor voters voted greens this year. And the polls clearly show that greens have gone fantastic.
Pippi Longstocking
22-08-2010, 08:44
I don't know how it happened but I am really grateful for my protective bubble.
I just thought the liberal party were the lesser of two evils.
not keen on getting involved in a political debate, but why vote for "the lesser of two evils" when there were other parties to choose from? i didn't vote for either labor or liberal as i disagree with both of the parties' policies (particularly around same sex marriage).
I think a lot of liberal voters have kept quiet during political discussions in real life. I can't see any other reason for it. I don't know anyone in real life who said they would vote for them yet clearly some I know must have. My mum is a pensioner and they don't like Tony either. I think its people from all walks of life that voted liberal to be honest.
i think wl was bang on the mark. Greens are gainig in popularity, but i think it's primarily alp voters making the swing. The lnp supporters have stuck to lnp.
I know that I certainly couldn't have voted lnp, they're so against alot of what i stand for, but our good friends did. We were there last night. It was kind of funny to see his reaction to ta's speech though. He was somewhat dumbfounded and called him a 'cocky little b***tard' :laughing:
I think both speeches last night were annoying .. I could have played a drinking game with how many times Gillard said the word 'friends' (I'm not your friend .. I've never met you .. so bugger off!!!) and Abbott's was just odd ... why the heck were his daughters dragged up on stage?? they didn't DO anything .. or say anything they just stood there.
I want Abbotts wife to be interviewed ... WWeekly did an 18 page spread on gillard .. I want a four or five page article on Mrs Abbott .. I want to know what her life is like .. living with him????
elleandsam
22-08-2010, 10:39
Moxy - my other choices were the Australian Secular Party and the Greens. I actually had a hard time trying to pick who to put last. I couldn't vote for the greens as they want to pull out of Afghanistan and I don't believe that is in the best interests of the Afghanee people at this point in time.
My brother just sent me a message saying "WTF". I agree with him. What the?!?!?! I honestly haven't met ONE proud Liberal voter. I am proud to vote Greens, I am not embarrassed. Where are all these Liberal voters hiding? My brother messaged me saying "Christians and old people" :laughing: if only it were that simple!
Moxy - my other choices were the Australian Secular Party and the Greens. I actually had a hard time trying to pick who to put last. I couldn't vote for the greens as they want to pull out of Afghanistan and I don't believe that is in the best interests of the Afghanee people at this point in time.
fairy nuff. i was thinking for a minute there that you were one of those people who only vote either labor or liberal without considering other parties, just because they are the two biggest.
disclaimer - i mean "one of those people" in the least judgemental way possible....couldn't think of another way to phrase it though. hell, i used to be "one of those people".
I think both speeches last night were annoying .. I could have played a drinking game with how many times Gillard said the word 'friends' (I'm not your friend .. I've never met you .. so bugger off!!!) and Abbott's was just odd ... why the heck were his daughters dragged up on stage?? they didn't DO anything .. or say anything they just stood there.
I want Abbotts wife to be interviewed ... WWeekly did an 18 page spread on gillard .. I want a four or five page article on Mrs Abbott .. I want to know what her life is like .. living with him????
Don't you know? She is 'a bit of a single mum'. That's what her husband said anyway. Lol.
Jax Tellers Old Lady
22-08-2010, 13:36
I think both speeches last night were annoying .. I could have played a drinking game with how many times Gillard said the word 'friends' (I'm not your friend .. I've never met you .. so bugger off!!!) and Abbott's was just odd ... why the heck were his daughters dragged up on stage?? they didn't DO anything .. or say anything they just stood there.
I want Abbotts wife to be interviewed ... WWeekly did an 18 page spread on gillard .. I want a four or five page article on Mrs Abbott .. I want to know what her life is like .. living with him????
Do we really want a five page spread on her ironing his speedos?, although I would like an explanation on how she became attracted to a weasel with a head that resembles a potato.:)
Don't you know? She is 'a bit of a single mum'. That's what her husband said anyway. Lol.
I'm a bit of a single mum too :P I consider myself a partnered solo parent as my DH works 60 hours a week minimum to support us and get our business off the ground. Though I don't have the financial burden of a single parent, I have very little support.
A bit of a single mum? LOL with thousands upon thousands of dollars and a husband :laughing:
I'm a bit of a single mum too :P I consider myself a partnered solo parent as my DH works 60 hours a week minimum to support us and get our business off the ground. Though I don't have the financial burden of a single parent, I have very little support.
Same :yes:. When DH was in the navy he spent upwards of 10 months a year away. When he worked on the staff of various ministers he was away from Sunday-Thursday roughly half the year.
I don't understand the point people are trying to make? There are many negative things you can say about the Abbotts, however you can't say it's easy being married to a politician (unless you like spending a lot of time alone of course!).
I think most single mums know it's different having a partner who works long hours to ACTUALLY being a single mum - they are not comparable :no:
I think most single mums know it's different having a partner who works long hours to ACTUALLY being a single mum - they are not comparable :no:
I think the man was just trying to throw a compliment his wife's way. There would have been difficult times for her; perhaps not as difficult as having her marriage collapse, but lonely and difficult all the same.
From his perspective, consider that he probably felt like his family was estranged a lot of the time. Many politicians face marriage breakups and bad relationships with their children because they simply were not there when they were growing up.
When someone with a partner in the services compares their life to that of a single parent we don't dare question them. I can verify that the time my husband was deployed for long periods was actually easier for me than when he worked on ministerial staff.
Is it so important that we bring down politicians at every turn that we can't find common ground with them or have to jump at the semantics of every comment they make? This all seems petty to me :(.
OK, so I know that my 'small' window into the world really is small, but almost EVERYONE I know talks about how scared they are of TA being our prime minister. It seems that out of all the people I know there is only a very small % that would actually vote liberal out of sheer fear of him (I usually DO support liberal, but that disgusting excuse for a man made me think otherwise this election)....so HOW do we end up with a hung parliament? Is it as some talked about - baby boomers have the numbers and he appeals more to them?? I am at a loss as to HOW this has happened. I guess I was very wary of KRudd, and he did a decent job - can we hope that I will be pelasantly surprised if TA gets in and the same happens?? :no: :confused:
I haven't read the whole thread, but in response to the OP, although I really don't think Tony can cut it as PM, I wasn't any more confident about Julia, and in terms of my electorate, I felt the liberal candidate had a better understanding and focus on the future.
Unfortunately, that means I technically voted for Tony.
Probably because a lot of single mums in Aust can't even afford decent food ;)
I don't like his flippant comment. They are not comparable. I'd be just as angry if he said his child had the flu as a baby so his wife felt like the mother of a special needs child.
As for your last point: no, apart from TA :laughing: He just makes it TOO easy though!!!
rynosmum
22-08-2010, 14:47
Benji, why assume that what he said wasn't just in jest? Why assume that it was a remark to offend single mums? I've heard many people refer to the male or female in their family in a similar manner, doesn't mean that they trying to offend anyone....they are just saying that the other partner is away a lot.
Proud LNP vote here. There are policy disadvantages and advantages on all sides but for my family and the future we wanted to see for Australia, most of the LNP ones were preferential imo. I don't agree with turning back the boats (granted though we are told that real asylum seekers will be let in and being harsher on the people smugglers might protect many others from making a tragic trip in substandard transport) but I also don't agree with $43B being spent on a NBN.
Most of the people I work with and live near voted LNP. I'm pretty sure it's a combination of location, age, socio-economic situation, type of work etc. Horses for courses. Some will always see the best in the ALP, some in the LNP etc. The Coalition did get 400,000 more votes than the Labor Party so there are obviously at least half the population voting for them.
Regardless, I hope someone can form a government out of this mess.
not meaning to state the obvious but im gathering the amountof people you or I or any individual know or speak to make up a drasticly small percentage of australia
Benji, why assume that what he said wasn't just in jest? Why assume that it was a remark to offend single mums? I've heard many people refer to the male or female in their family in a similar manner, doesn't mean that they trying to offend anyone....they are just saying that the other partner is away a lot.
Um :confused: Most of the offensive things he says are "in jest". I never said he intended to hurt single mothers, but I can guarantee you - he has hurt some of them!
And yes, I hear it all the time. It's just simply not true. My partner works a lot too. My DAD is a politician and is interstate a lot too. He'd never be silly enough to think my mum knows what it's like to be a single mum because he knows the reality.
I think most single mums know it's different having a partner who works long hours to ACTUALLY being a single mum - they are not comparable :no:
Absolutely. I have been both and they do not compare. Maybe if he said she was a bit of a fifo wife it would be more palatable. Plenty of money coming in but hubby being a away a lot.
A bit of a single mum? LOL with thousands upon thousands of dollars and a husband :laughing:
ROFL I hate that fraise, A bit of single mum or like a single mum, your either a single mum or you aint it the simple.
My husband works either 6 or seven days a week the weeks he is not working sunday he is at moto x, He gets home most nights when mik is in bed, He doesnt get up to her in the night, he leaves when I am doing her morning meds and what not, He is no help.
Am I a bit of a single mum no I am bloody not, i am the wife of a workaholic who is selfish with his time off, But He brings in a wage so I am nothing like a single mum, who has to juggle work and kids or live of a pitence that some seem to think is plenty.
I think most single mums know it's different having a partner who works long hours to ACTUALLY being a single mum - they are not comparable :no:
I'm not denighing that its hard being a single mum, or saying they have it easy. However dismissing people with partners who work away or are rarely around does not make them seem more "in need".
I think there is great support in Australia for families compared to other countries, low income earners and single parents.
I do agree that there is a big difference being a "solo parent" as opposed to a "single parent", one has financial worries as well as being a full time parent with little or no respite.
peanutbutter&jelly
22-08-2010, 14:58
Probably because a lot of single mums in Aust can't even afford decent food ;)
I don't like his flippant comment. They are not comparable. I'd be just as angry if he said his child had the flu as a baby so his wife felt like the mother of a special needs child.
Benji, why assume that what he said wasn't just in jest? Why assume that it was a remark to offend single mums? I've heard many people refer to the male or female in their family in a similar manner, doesn't mean that they trying to offend anyone....they are just saying that the other partner is away a lot.
It offends me greatly, and I'm partnered, always have been (in my kids lifetimes anyway lol). Just because your partner isn't physically there, doesn't make you a single parent. Same as I'm not, though my partner has Asperger's and is emotionally unavailable often atm :/
As for how its happened... people who see him as the lesser of two evils - my cousin for one :confused: 19 year old who apparently thinks he's going to do more things beneficial for the country, send us into less debt and debt is apparently the worst thing that can happen to a person, not lack of medical care or anything else.. lets just say, I wouldn't vote for George W. if he was leader of either party, and thus wouldn't vote for TA either ;)
Plenty of broad assumptions being made here. I know families with "solo" parents (good term!) who struggle financially and I know single parents who are wealthy. Money is not necessarily a defining feature of either.
The English language often calls for us to take things in the spirit in which they are intended. He wanted to acknowledge the times he was absent and the duties of parenting fell solely to his wife. Simple.
As for how its happened... people who see him as the lesser of two evils - my cousin for one :confused: 19 year old who apparently thinks he's going to do more things beneficial for the country, send us into less debt and debt is apparently the worst thing that can happen to a person, not lack of medical care or anything else.. lets just say, I wouldn't vote for George W. if he was leader of either party, and thus wouldn't vote for TA either ;)
Debt is important, think of how much money is being wasted every day paying interest to other countries on our debt? That is money that could be going towards things like health and education. The money is on loan, the longer we take to pay it off the more money we lose in interest.
I don't believe that the liberal or the labor government will make a dramatic difference to either health or education this term TBH, they both have huge amounts of miss spending, but I see the liberal spending is more targeted and thought out than the labor government.
Your cousin also does not have children (least you didn't say he does) and is most likely in good health, so things like public health and education may not be big things for him. He is voting for what he believes is the best thing for this country, repaying the debt so we don't waste as much money and the economy. It is your right to disagree with him if you want, but neither of you are "right" or "wrong", just different choices.
rynosmum
22-08-2010, 15:15
Plenty of broad assumptions being made here. I know families with "solo" parents (good term!) who struggle financially and I know single parents who are wealthy. Money is not necessarily a defining feature of either.
The English language often calls for us to take things in the spirit in which they are intended. He wanted to acknowledge the times he was absent and the duties of parenting fell solely to his wife. Simple.
Yes, what you said :-):iagree:
I couldn't put it as eloquently as you did.:o
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