Richo speaks for the people when he accurately describes the bitter hatred that the Australian People have for Miss Gillard.
He brightens every Coalition supporter's day when he explains how Miss Gillard is dragging the Labor mob down down into the whirlpool of electoral oblivion.
The Coalition is pleased to see their most valuable election winning asset Miss Gillard is now being assisted by Thomson and Slipper in campaigning tirelessly for the Coalition's coming tumultuous election victory.
Despite the poll and budget uptick, Gillard and Labor are doomed by: Graham Richardson
From:The Australian May 18, 2012 12:00AM 41 comments
Labor's primary vote has lifted slightly but Newspoll shows neither Julia Gillard nor Tony Abbott have benefited from last week's budget.
ONE good Newspoll a recovery doth not make. While this week's Newspoll survey showed a healthy recovery in the two-party-preferred vote (55 per cent to 45 per cent for the Coalition over Labor represented an eight-point turnaround in two weeks), a three-point lift to 30 per cent in the ALP's primary vote can hardly be celebrated.
In the 1990 election, there was much consternation in Labor circles when the primary vote dipped to 39 per cent. The Democrat and Green preferences heavily favoured Labor, so a victory was narrowly achieved. But Labor is still nine points adrift of that figure and seemingly stuck at historical lows.
There are two reasons I'm pessimistic about the chances of a substantial recovery in Labor's primary vote. First, the message Labor MPs get when they have the courage (and that is sadly what is needed in this climate) to doorknock is much the same as the message I get on the streets.
I have spoken to two Labor MPs who have been doorknocking in the past week. While one was in the inner city and the other regional, the results were the same. Naked hostility is what the MPs faced, door after door slamming in their faces amid the muttering of foul obscenities.
While it is clear Julia Gillard just doesn't understand how bad things really are, she is at the very core of the disenchantment. These two MPs, who both voted for her in Kevin Rudd's February challenge, were staggered at the hatred -- and that is the right word -- the electorate expresses about the Prime Minister. The breach of trust, exemplified by the broken carbon tax promise, totally destroyed her standing. The long litany of political stuff-ups has only magnified the outrage. Australia desperately wants to get rid of her, and it seems the electorate won't change its collective mind because Wayne Swan brings down a benign budget. Sure, the handouts to low and middle-income families will be gratefully received, but the budget will not bring redemption. The Easter miracle will not be repeated here.
Gillard's is a political death from which there can be no resurrection. While the punters couldn't explain to the alien beings at their door exactly why their lives were in bad shape, they remained convinced of a serious downturn in their personal circumstances. They have lost all hope and do not wish to listen to anything she has to say.
The second reason is intensely personal. On my Sky News show, I interviewed the Treasurer the night after the budget. This was considered by those in the know to be a good get. Unfortunately, the viewers didn't see it that way. About three minutes into the Swan interview, there was an almost unprecedented turn-off. No matter that I thought it was a good budget and could finally say something nice about the government, viewers didn't want to view.
Having heard the rumours that free-to-air television current affairs shows avoid interviews with Gillard like the plague, I think I now know why. I wrote in this column some time back that there has never been a time when the electorate had stopped listening that they suddenly opened their ears again. It would appear on current indications that Gillard will not be the one to reverse the trend.
Two permanent reminders of what the electorate doesn't like continue their reign of terror. The Liberals may have endorsed Peter Slipper umpteen times during the past two decades, but the moment he was elected Speaker his ownership transferred to the Prime Minister. The Slipper saga bubbles along, and while I can't find anyone who believes he can take the chair again, the reminders of his presence just won't go away.
Labor should be more cautious about its pursuit of Christopher Pyne over his meetings with Slipper's accuser. The electorate doesn't care whether Pyne continued to talk to him or not. Its interest is in what Slipper did, or didn't do, not in who accused him. Slipper is threatening retribution against Pyne in a big way. As they say in the classics, I am reliably informed the personal duel could get interesting.
Then of course there is good old Craig Thomson, the best thing to happen to the Coalition in decades. I can't think of any politician in decades to have contributed more to shoring up the vote of those he got elected to oppose than the member for Dobell. Next week he will put on record his ridiculous "They set me up" defence to the allegations against him. His interview last Saturday with Laurie Oakes was truly cringeworthy. It is bad enough that we are being asked to believe his mobile phone was stolen regularly to make calls to escort agencies, but we are waiting with bated breath to hear how his hotel room could be broken into so his room phone could be misused.
On ABC1's Q&A this week, Tim Costello made a welcome appearance. Whether you agree or not with the stance he takes on issues, no one disputes the aura of decency and compassion that surrounds him. The good Reverend felt that maybe we should feel sorry for Thomson. Maybe he needs help that hasn't been provided thus far. The mob, I believe, has a very different view indeed.
A Health Services Union insider assured me the other day that neither Thomson nor Michael Williamson will have a criminal problem over the use of a credit card from the printer who had received huge sums to print the union magazine.
The statute of limitations would save them because of the lapse of time. Sadly, I am the harbinger of more bad news. When the Australian Securities & Investments Commission was investigating me over the Offset Alpine affair, the statute of limitations was no help. Philip Ruddock, then attorney-general, simply exercised his discretion to waive it in the case. Can you imagine the pressure on Nicola Roxon if this issue raises its ugly head again? She will waive the statutes effect in a flash, as will the Liberal attorneys-general in NSW and Victoria, if they are asked to. When it was done to me, I didn't worry. I knew I was innocent. I hope Thomson and Williamson are as relaxed and comfortable as I was then.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/despite-the-poll-and-bu...
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