Summary: JEREMY GETS STUFF OFF HIS CHEST after listening to other people’s podcasts “They’re all liars” (and here’s a handy list of Tony Abbott’s) - Well, (a) there’s a meaningful difference bw “lying” and “breaking promises”, which is whether the person intended to live up to that promise when they made it. And (b) no, they’re not “all” liars, we’re just putting a low political cost on lying by keeping voting for the ones who lie, instead of those who don’t. AND THERE ARE THOSE PEOPLE. If we want not to be lied to, increase the cost to the liars of lying. Saying “they all lie” lowers it. “They all break promises” so why do we need election campaigns? Because while we don’t need the stage-managed bullshit led by the politicians, we DO need voters and the media to pin politicians down before the election so we’re clear about what they’ve promised and can punish them if they lie to us (see 1). Seems to me the real solution is we need more of what Pyne calls the “magic of competition” in parliament. We need the barriers to entry to be lower, and the things that lock in the big parties to be reduced. We need to stop enforcing a two-party system “for stability” and look at a system that encourages multiple people to stand - if you’re a conservative, have several conservative options, so you can vote for the ones who haven’t lied to you. THE FOCUS GROUP Divided Australia - this week, Victoria, where the knife-edge parliament now teeters on an early election, if anyone can get the courage to force one, while everyone plays “ooh! don’t let Geoff Shaw’s vote touch us!” like he has cooties. Tony commemorates WW2 veterans with a message all about them and their experience (AUDIO on link) Then delete it and try to pretend it didn’t happen. What inspiring messages might he have in store for the ANZAC Day centenary next year? Bad Comedy Choices - Joe Hockey makes swipe at Clive Palmer, “Obviously Clive would have more than one meal a night”. Really, Joe? Fat jokes about fellow MPs? Somebody needs to explain to the Joe Hockeys of the world why fat jokes are nasty and unfunny, since they apparently can’t put themselves in the victims’ shoes. Adult government means never having to model your proposals - health secretary tells Senate estimates they’ve still done none on the copayment Kick The Poor Why work for the dole hurts both the unemployed AND the working poor. Who Cares What It Costs, As Long As It Hurts Them - another in the series of nasty policies that actually cost taxpayers more, but as long as they’re hurting “dole bludgers” or “queue jumpers” Daily Telegraph readers feel viciously good about them. Australia considering drug testing unemployed, even though in NZ the hit rate was something like 20 in 8000 and, like in Florida, it cost much more than it saved. Like the medicare copayment, it’s not based on any study indicating higher drug use by the unemployed than the general population. And if it had worked - how exactly does starving drug addicts not increase costs for the community in terms of increased, desperate crime? Still, loony Nationals MP George Christensen goes on the record supporting the idea. And the real reason for the pain Keeps Leaking Out. “Senior government figures” tell Fairfax “the Prime Minister and Treasurer knew ”full well” that their 2014-15 budget would be electorally disastrous among middle and low-income voters, but had taken tougher action now deliberately to free up capacity for pre-election tax cuts.” Saving Kids For Jesus Worth Every Cent - Access Ministries, the beneficiaries of a large part of that $250m of School Chaplain money, use some of it to sue critics who’ve published online leaked details of
