Month: October 2012

“I’ve answered that question before!”

Posted on by Geoff Crocker


ALP dirty tricks adviser to the prime minister Mc Ternin seems to have given Julia a new method to quell pesky questions from media. The PM's answers in Parliamentary Question Time are, apart from her traditional vacuous spray of vitriol, now a monotonous tag, "I have answered this question before." If this is so, why are the questions being asked again, and again?

I‘ve answered this question a few times before. Wrong. Often asked, never answered. Will she now? (News limited)


''I've dealt with these matters extensively on the public record and no
amount of muck and filth from her, to the dismay of her Liberal
colleagues, will change that simple fact,'' she said.(The Age)

PM:  I’ve answered this question before.  I’m for honesty.  I’m for
saying the same things consistently.  Mr Abbott takes a different
approach. (alp.org.au Press Conference. Darwin.)

"I've actually dealt with all of these issues before on the public record and I just refer you to that. …(Daily Telegraph)

ACMA sends Alan Jones back to school

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

Those familiar with the Alan Jones/2GB/Ray Hadley affair will no doubt be more than concerned about ACMA's position regarding "vexatious complaint". That ACMA is funded by government, as is The Conversation, publisher of the report below, libertarians should not ignore what seems to be an iron-fisted blow of punishment by suppression.

Today the Australian Communication and Media Authority released the terms of its agreement with 2GB in the light of serious findings against the station over the last two years.

Read more: www.theconversation.edu.au

Elderly couple target in home invasion

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

Just another case of the elderly being bashed for money. Statistics may yet prove an increase in such crimes since that fool of an ex-official of the Reserve Bank said publicly that elderly pensioners have $50,000 secreted under their beds.

A 74-year-old man and his 72-year-old wife were inside their home on Poole Rd, Kellyville when three offenders wielding a knife forced their way through the front door about 9.40pm.

They threatened the couple and ran a path of destruction through the residence.

Read more: www.dailytelegraph.com.au

Sydney radio Survey #7 2012

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

These results should serve as a lesson to the feeble 2GB advertisers who bucked under threats to harm their brand by a questionable online petition. Instead of the intended damage to Alan Jones and 2GB the opposite occurred. A lesson for future acts of cyber extortion we may hope.

Despite the fallout from his comment that the prime minister's father
"died of shame", Alan Jones came out on top, at least in terms of
ratings.

UPDATE:
MRN's 2GB was the highest rating station in Sydney, increasing its
audience share by 0.3 percentage points to 14.5% share. Alan Jones'
breakfast show jumped 0.5 points to 17.3% share.

Only 10% learning to talk the PM’s message

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

To dream is to soar but it must be done with two feet firmly planted on the ground lest one plummet earthward. Ms Gillard has not said how her dream will be financed. With a litany of financial disasters on file, why would this plan be any different to the NBN, pink bats, BER, live cattle export, etc, etc? 

Anna Patty in the SMH writes about Ms Gillard's ambitious dream to infuse Asian languages into our daily lives. Being multi-lingual is a practical pursuit. While Ms Patty highlights the shortage of teachers and other obstacles, completly omitted is COST!

SMH: JUST under 10 per cent of NSW public school students are learning
Asian languages – far short of the Prime Minister's ''Asian Century''
target to give every child the opportunity.


Figures from the NSW Department of Education show that of 726,870 public
school students in kindergarten to year 12, just 71,343 were learning
an Asian language last year.


Julia Gillard says she wants every child to have the opportunity to
learn either Mandarin, Hindi, Japanese or Indonesian by 2025 and every
school must be linked with a school in Asia.


Only 17 students studied Hindi for the Higher School Certificate exams this year and none were taught at school.

News Limited reported: The Asia Education Foundation yesterday estimated it would cost about
$100 million a year to double the number of students studying an Asian
or other foreign language.

Liberals uneasy as Labor closes gap on Abbott

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

Davis Russell's article, "Tony Abbott, you're a goose" copped mixed opinion on these pages. Some vindication may be due David as some Party members are now thinking and speaking out with similar sentiment.

LIBERAL MPs are privately urging Tony Abbott to change tack after
another opinion poll has put Labor within striking distance of the
Coalition.

As Kevin Rudd continued to agitate yesterday by accusing
Julia Gillard of dishonesty, Liberal MPs were more concerned with the
latest Newspoll, which, for the second time in six weeks, showed Labor
and the Coalition tied at 50 per cent on the two-party-preferred vote.

Newspoll’s numbers are erratic

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

Believe what you want of polls. Recent data from Newspoll has shown some peculiar spikes, true if you favour Labor and dodgy if Tony's your man.

Essential Research, however, seems to be more stable in its findings. Labor 46% the Coalition 54%. Believe what you will.

UPDATE: According to the evening news, all channels, "Abbott has run out of puff." If Gillard and her choristers believe that, CALL AN ELECTION NOW! That would sort the spin from reality! It's too bad Abbott didn't stare down the cameras and say, "bring it on." Could the author of "Tony Abbott, you're a goose be right?"

See more stats: www.essentialvision.com.au

How’s your super doing?

Posted on by Geoff Crocker

The mini-budget served up little more than dogdy dishes from creative accountants.

Wayne Swan can say what he likes, but for all his scrimping
and saving there's no way the budget will be in surplus this year. Come
to that, any real scrimping and saving to be had won't be by him.