The dying days of the Fourth Reich: it's the 2007 AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL ELECTION

David Williamson: Howard, morning walks and the ghosts of 1969

Monday, 19 November 2007

David Williamson writes:

In 1971 I wrote the play Don’s Party about the 1969 election night, when Labor supporters were fervently hoping for the arrival of the Great Gough. As it turned out he was five seats short of arriving and we had to wait until 1972 before the long dark night of conservative rule ended.

The similarities with this Saturday’s election are obvious, and many of the old baby boomers, faint memories of the idealistic dreams of the sixties not yet erased by Alzheimer’s, are hoping fervently we won’t see a re-run of 1969. There are many reasons to wish Johnnie bon voyage, the most pressing being the thought of another eighteen months of television footage of his morning walks.

It’s time to say no to those daggy shorts, the horrible knees, the resolute stride towards a neo con past where Anglo man still rules the world, and the total lack of wit or spontaneity in his travelling badinage. Joy number two will be picturing the tears and foot stamping of the well paid hosts of Howard acolytes littering our press.

Any journalist who can turn a man his own party dubbed a “lying rodent”, into the Saint who saved Australia, has, like their idol, a superb grasp of slippery rhetoric which has hopefully earned them enough money to retire. These same scribes have falsely divided Australia into “Howard hating elites”, and “ordinary Australians,” without ever asking the question as to why many with the remnants of a conscience, including “ordinary Australians”, find it hard to stomach him.

The shameless exploitation of fear and hysteria over four hundred genuine and dehydrating refugees on Tampa might be a start. The ludicrous and hugely expensive “Pacific solution” might be another. The moral sleaze of the Saddam kickbacks, the lies of children overboard, the blatant and immoral pork barrelling of Coalition electorates, the attempt to deliver a cowed and cheap workforce to employers without a mandate, the constant and unrelenting grovelling to George Bush, the deathbed conversion to climate change and reconciliation lite - the list could go on.

If John can’t pull a Tampa out of his baggy green in this last week, it looks over for him. But we’ve been through 1969, and the anxiety is rising nonetheless. The thought of the most unlovely and thuggish front bench in Australian political history, namely Abbott, Downer, Costello, Ruddock, Andrews, Hockey and the rest retaining power is a thought that could send our already soaring rate of depression exponential.

If Rudd does win it will be heartening proof that the cynical pundits who say the hip pocket nerve is the only factor are wrong. Many would like a return to simple decency, and Rudd patently has more of it than Howard. If it’s not a re-run of 1969 and John and Janette are prised out of Kirribilli, the greatest relief for me will still be the end of the morning walks.

http://www.crikey.com.au/Election-2007/20071119-David-Williamson-Howard-morning-walks-and-the-ghost-of-1969.html

You know what to do on Saturday people - Don't Vote Liberal [1].

And don't forget to allocate your preferences correctly - ie Rodent last.

this is the slowest week in the history of australian weeks, every day seems a year long.

Thanks SAR, that Williamson piece is fantastic.

I don't want to sound cruel or anything, but if Bernie Banton dies before Saturday (as is expected), that's yet another giant nail in Howard's coffin.

estela: The more time passes, the more Gough-like it feels. It's definitely time.

people are also a lot more pro-Rudd than they have been any Labour leader in the last eleven years because he actually seems competent for the job.

I'm not a Labor voter*, but under a two-party system they're the only option we have in getting rid of Howard, and they simply have not presented themselves to the electorate as being a viable alternative since Keating bailed. That this has changed now has us excited, rather than specifically being Rudd fanboys.

-- energy flash gordon, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 15:30 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

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My only quibble with this 1972=2007 is that Rudd is not Whitlam; one was a genuine reformers, but Rudd seems to be straight out of the post hawke Labor Party (ie, slightly less right-wing than the Libs) and just as economically doctrinaire to the right.

Liberals caught distributing fake brochures in Sydney linking Labor to muslim extremists.

For fuck's sake.

Ah well - at least the M.E's aren't trade union thugs.

"rather than specifically being Rudd fanboys"

I have *such* a girly hard-on for Rudd.

If Rudd beats Howard, he will always be my poster boy simply for beating Howard.

During the campaign alone, we have seen the following:

- Three Australian soldiers die/injured in wars that we shouldn't have started
- Interest rates go up, despite Howard's claim that he controls them
- Massive climate change warning from the UN
- Proof of WorkChoices II (and the fact that Howard's FoI laws prevent it being released)
- Bob Geldof piss on Australia's foreign aid allocation
- Howard and Costello in happy marriage, despite banning it
- Boat people
- Liberal MPs spreading racist brochures in Sydney

IT'S HOWARD'S GREATEST HITS PEOPLE. Life flashing before eyes etc.

No church scandals yet but there's still two days. C'mon Ghost of Christmas Past, your work is incomplete.

Bronwyn Bishop warns voters of the dangers of a socialist government

WE ARE TWO STEPS AWAY FROM "RUDD EATS BABIES".

"socialist government"? Thats a laff, how can Labor me "me too" and "socialist" all at once. This is all so dumb.

And the economy being BEST EVAR and OMGTSUNAMI at the same time.

If you think Labor won't win, read this for a reality check. I already have alcohol and chocolate on stand-by.

OMG:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lib-laughs-off-mail-scam/2007/11/22/1195321902785.html?page=fullpage

Outgoing Liberal MP Jackie Kelly has dismissed the alleged distribution of bogus race-based election material by her husband as a "Chaser-style prank".

Ms Kelly, whose husband Gary Clark has been implicated in the distribution of the bogus document, said her first instinct when she saw the pamphlet was to laugh.

Yeah right, you stupid fucking cow.

And I love the way that when even the most peripheral union person says something, it's immediately attributed to Rudd by the Liberals, but when Liberal party officials and MPs husband's make an outrageous, racist bullshit claim, it's NOTHING TO DO WITH US (see shithead Andrew Robb on Lateline last night).

if that is a prank it is not chaser-style humour so much as elle mcfeast-style humour, i.e. not humour.

They're fucked.

Seriously, the only chance they had was a successful campaign in the final week. This week has been an unmitigated disaster.

AND IT'S THURSDAY.

HAHAHA HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THIS:

http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2006832414

Hahaha, hilarious!

I am trying to work out if Domain's been haxx0red or if someone who works for Fairfax or whoever it is is a sneaky bastard. Bet it wont be there long.

How did you find it?

SOmeone on LJ posted the link. I'm wondering what the hell it is and how it is still there all these hours later :D

Using Bronwyn Bishop in a fear campaign warning people to be fearful of anything except Bronwyn Bishop, is internally counter-productive.

Can anyone tell me about these nutbars?

http://www.cecaust.com.au/main.asp?sub=election&id=vicindex.htm

(warning, scary heads, er, ahead)

creepy nerds

They get creepier as you scroll down.

sash they are 'la r0uch3ians'. someone at the old job has subscribed us to their email update, it's fairly bonkerz.

http://www.cecaust.com.au//images/2007/vic/Sleiman%20Yohanna%20Thumbnail.jpg

impressive brow anyway

http://www.cecaust.com.au//images/2007/vic/Colin_Horn.jpg

^Scariest

EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATION FUN

Daily Telegraph: Labor
SMH: Labor
Courier Mail: Labor
Australian: Labor (?!?!?!!?!!?!?!?!?!?!!?!!!)
Herald Scum: Coalition
Age: Undecided (?!?!?!?!?!!!)
Westralian: Coalition

the minutes crawl by...

Centrebet:

Labor $1.22
Coalition $4.35

According to Sportingbet CEO Michael Sullivan, the only reason they stop there is that there's no real gain in putting money on Labor when you'll only win $1.22 for each dollar. It fluctuates occasionally when some nutter whacks a princely sum on the Coalition simply because the winning would be enormous.

In other words, PWND

I mean seriously, that's some ridiculous odds there.

Add to that the fact that all 300-odd polls since March show a Labor win (even today's weird 52/48 Galaxy poll showing a counter-intuitive Coalition gain*) and Labor's all over this thang.

* don't worry, today's Nielsen is more reliable and shows a 57/43 split to Labor, which is a massive 24-seat win

OKAY I AM IMPATIENT NOW.

You guys have got to see the websites this morning.

ABC: "Labor still ahead on election eve"
SMH: "Howard needs a miracle"
Age: "It's time, say voters"
Herald Scum: "Photo finish" (deluded, honestly)
Telegraph: "Half a chance" (meaning Howard)

(I left off some states because the websites are not responding)

What I hope to be happening tomorrow (drawn during a dull staff meeting)
http://home.iprimus.com.au/jrsmorrison/Images/Howardsmall.jpg

That's rather good for something idly drawn in a staff meeting!

It was a loooooooong meeting.

Hahah thats worthy of a panel in the Age! :)

111 Kirribilli is still up on the Domain website - amazing.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/kirribilli-house-up-for-sale/2007/11/22/1195321935673.html

^^totes jocular.

jocular.

Mr Wolpe said there had been no requests to pull the advertisement.

!!! So theyre fully aware of it at Fairfax. AWESOME!

I think I'm going to be very maudlin if Labor don't win.

I'm going to be extremely baffled and want to know what thehell is going on, man.