Another asylum seekers policy question

Same sex marriage, civil union.  (No admendments to the marriage act at all)

Since you go your uni degree for free while we now pay for ours, how can we know you wont waste any more money.

Another Rudd question (couldnt answer when she last actually spoke to Rudd)

24 questions in total

Comments are Abbott gave another good performance, however Gillard had brought her performace level up to his.

They arent declaring anyone a winner, but said both did well to try and win the crowd.

Verge wrote on Aug 18^th, 2010 at 8:37pm:


Mr Rabbit is a REAL human being. He has my vote.  That dyed redhead is a bitch and not real. Catch her off camera and guess what you get?

Not long ago the Coalition was telling us our grand children would be paying off Labors debt (which was due mainly to lost revenue) and now we look like being in the black before the end of the decade if not sooner.....If Australia does not take advantage of the position we are currently in and build for the future we will never get the chance again...this constant political ploy of being negative and obstructive is not helping Australia take advantage while it lasts!!!

They are saying we will not be out of debt, just deficit, and will work on the debt.

Difference between debt and deficit remember.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hockey and his Robber mate stated today that the Libs would pay off 30 billion of the debt and be 7 billion in surplus by 2014.....so if history is anything to go by the mining boom will fuel much higher revenue and Australia will be out of debt and running huge surpluses by 2020.....by overplaying the debt the Coalition will fail to take advantage of Australia’s envious position.....the last thing Australia needs is a non progressive conservative leading the country during this time of opportunity.....just look at the decade of missed opportunity during the Howard years.....a decade of record growth with nothing to show for it.....Abbott will ruin Australia and fail to take advantage of technology and economic opportunities!!!

Verge wrote on Aug 18^th, 2010 at 8:36pm:



http://au.news.yahoo.com/election/a/-/election/7785663/gillard-levels-score-desp...

Julia Gillard evened the score with Tony Abbott in the second "people's forum" last night, disappointing coalition strategists who had hoped a repeat of the new format would stoke momentum for government change at Saturday's election.

The Opposition Leader, who outshone the Prime Minister at a similar event last week in western Sydney, was subjected to much more hostile questioning at the Broncos Leagues Club in Brisbane.

Mr Abbott received curve ball questions on banning abortions, WorkChoices, his refusal to debate Ms Gillard on the economy and the National Broadband Network.

And though he handled them in a calm and measured way, there was less warmth in the room for Mr Abbott than there was in the Rooty Hill RSL last week.

Ms Gillard, who faced the audience of 200 uncommitted voters after Mr Abbott, also got difficult questions. She was asked if she was a hypocrite for "lauding" Kevin Rudd as a great achiever despite knifing him as PM.

It was one of four questions she got about the former PM and among some equally tricky questions about the massive cost of the NBN.

Mr Abbott told the audience the coalition was right not to support the Government's $42 billion economic stimulus last year because "we knew that rushing out programs like this weren't going to work (and) would result in terrible waste" and said the Government had overreacted to the global financial crisis.

"The school hall program is dragging on for four years . . . longer than the First World War to deal with a crisis that, in its acute phases, lasted about six to eight weeks," he said.

Ms Gillard rejected Mr Abbott's claim, saying the GFC was "the biggest economic shock the planet has ever had since the Great Depression" and that the Government's stimulus package had saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, whereas the Western world lost 16 million jobs.

Mr Abbott used the forum to announce a new policy: forgiving some HECS debt for students who give "considerable time" as volunteer workers to community organisations.

"It's only a pilot policy at this stage but volunteering is an important part of the Australian tradition," he said.

"It's not going to be for everyone and it'll start off small but that is an idea that came out of the 2020 Summit, it's not one that's been progressed at all by the Government."

Ms Gillard was asked what she would do if the Government was unable to bring the Budget back into surplus by 2013 as forecast.

"Failure is not an option here, and we won't fail," she said.

In a light-hearted moment, Ms Gillard was asked if she was prepared to stop supporting the Western Bulldogs and instead follow the Brisbane Lions.

She said she would not leave the Bulldogs, but suggested a "unity ticket" of people against Collingwood.