Agmates

This Sunday, 18 October, thousands of Australians will participate in a world-record breaking international premiere of Not Evil Just Wrong: The True Cost of Global Warming Hysteria.

Not Evil Just Wrong, a feature length documentary, shreds the outlandish claims made by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and shows how extreme environmentalism damages the lives of the most vulnerable. The film explores the science of global warming and compares the current “crisis” of global warming to other supposed crises that mankind has faced in recent memory.

The international premiere falls just one day before the Liberal partyroom meets to determine its position on the Kevin Rudd’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The film is expected to feature heavily in the debate. Hundreds of private and public screenings have been organised by community groups and concerned citizens in every state and territory in Australia. A full list of public screenings in Australia may be found Here

“This film premieres right when Australia needs it most,” states Ann McElhinney, codirector of the film. “Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants to impose a crippling tax on every Australian household. This film will reveal to Australians for the first time the true cost of this radical environmentalism and generate a real debate.”

The draconian measures that must be undertaken not only in Australia, but around the world, in order to have a measurable impact on CO2 emissions will have harmful impacts on all humanity, and will disproportionately affect those who can least afford it. In the same way as the banning of DDT based on discredited science led to the deaths of millions from malaria, so too will climate change hysteria lead to suffering for the world’s poor.

“This is the film Hollywood doesn’t want you to see,” says McElhinney. “It is not a mainstream Hollywood documentary. It features real people, and the real impact on their lives. We are going to distribute it the same way we shot the film – premiering it all across the world on DVD on individual TV sets in the homes of real people and to community groups.”

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Have Your Say

The Newspoll survey released in today’s Australian newspaper reveals to a massive 70% of Coalition voters oppose want the Liberal / National party to reject Kevin Rudds Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme when it comes before the Senate in two weeks time.

The Newspoll survey asked:

Which one of the following comes closest to your view about the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme?

Today’s Newspoll result is the  death knell for Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership.   From Todays Australian:

“Mr Turnbull was openly attacked by outspoken veteran backbencher Wilson Tuckey and was yesterday facing further internal revolt when he was accused of putting political expediency ahead of the national interest by supporting Labor’s emissions trading scheme.”

Liberal MP’s are as outraged at Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott’s politically expedient back flip on the ETS as I was in this article posted just days ago:

“The tragedy for rural & regional Australians and blue collar workers is that Abbott and Turnbull are actually terrified not of the coalition losing the election, which is inevitable no mater when its held in this current term, but of themselves losing their inner Sydney ‘doctors wives’ dominated seats of Warrinngah (Abbott) and Wentworth (Turnbull).

Stuff the lives and jobs of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians, they have to be re-elected. Its a sad indictment on them as men.”

Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership of the Coalition is untenable – more from the Australian.

“The latest outbreak of dissent came just as public opinion turns against Australia taking a world lead on climate change.

Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi, already sacked by Mr Turnbull for speaking out, said the party would suffer for the Opposition Leader’s actions in preparing to pass Labor’s ETS before Copenhagen. “The political price of supporting something you publicly acknowledge is bad for every family, every community and the country, for short-term expediency is likely to be very high. Moreover, it is payable in the most prized of political capital — credibility,” Senator Bernardi said in a newsletter to colleagues. Senator Bernardi told The Australian he believed changes on the support for an ETS would have a big impact on the Liberal Party.”

As far as Coalition supporters are concerned both Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal Leader and passing the ETS legislation in the Senate are unacceptable.

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Agmates Editor and Founder Steve Truman

Have Your Say!

Freelance Journalist and Agmates member John Mikkelsen writes:

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John Mikkelsen

A fog of uncertainty still surrounds Gladstone’s Rio Tinto workers after the company last week finally rejected the Chinese bid to acquire a $27 billion slice of the action.

On face value, it seems the best solution to Rio’s financial woes. The formation of an iron ore production joint venture with old rival BHP Billiton, combined with a rights issue to shareholders, should raise enough to meet Rio’s scheduled repayments on its $57 billion debt following its costly merger with Alcan in 2007.

There had been widespread opposition to the Chinalco offer, which would have delivered the Chinese Government – owned company 18 percent of Rio.

More significantly, it stood to gain 50 percent of the Yarwun alunina refinery plus significant stakes in Boyne Smelters Ltd, Queensland Alumina Ltd and the Gladstone Power Station, which collectively employ more than 3000. It would also have gained control of the company’s bauxite leases in northern Australia.

Chinalco was also scheduled to decide whether it would finance the $2 billion Stage 2 expansion at Yarwun by June 15, also the date the Foreign Investment Review Board was expected to reach a decision on the Chinalco offer.

If all that sounds confusing, that’s because it is. And unfortunately at this stage, the Gladstone workers seem to be the meat in the sandwich in what otherwise could be seen as a good deal.

When Rio was actively promoting the Chinalco offer only a few months ago, it warned there could be up to 3000 job losses if it did not proceed. Gladstone had seemed largely immune up until mid- April, when the axe suddenly fell on 600 Rio workers and contractors.

In a letter to shareholders last week, Rio chairman Jan Du Plessis said the expansion would proceed under the proposed new arrangements, but

“at a slower pace than previously announced”.

Who knows what that means? In the wake of the last job cuts, the company had already announced the expansion would be delayed by two years, rather than dropped. Last weekend a company spokeswoman told the Observer the Gladstone operations were not in the clear yet.

“We are facing challenging economic times and keeping a close eye on the market.” she said.

Back on April 25, I wrote,

“Naturally there is a concern there could be further cuts if the Chinalco bid is rejected.

However, Rio recently hinted of a Plan B …..This could involve selling shares, bonds, assets and rescheduling debt repayments; and BHP Billiton is watching…”

Obviously, they were watching very closely and the rising markets seem to have played into their hands, with Rio shares now about twice their value when the Chinalco offer was first raised. This would have made the offer less attractive and less likely to receive a final nod of approval from shareholders even if it had been passed by the foreign investment watchdog and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

The Federal Government has also dodged a political bullet by not having to reach a decision on the controversial Chinese bid. There are still some review processes in relation to the proposed BHP – Rio joint venture, but it seems likely to be a done deal.

As a Rio contact told me this week,

“What’s not to like; it’s a win/ win situation for the company and shareholders”.

(He was rubbing his hands in anticipation of what is basically a one for two share offer at the heavily discounted price of $28.29 per share.)

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce, Greens leader Bob Brown and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon will also applaud the move to keep ownership of Australian resources out of Chinese hands.

But the Chinese Government is not happy. It claims the new iron ore joint venture by the two former rivals will create a monopoly, which will drive up prices and may force it to look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government has copped some flak for awarding a $45 million contract to a Chinese company to supply glass for its new Supreme and District Courts building in Brisbane, rather than struggling local company G. James Glass.

“Sources said the windows job on the $600 million Supreme and District courts building would have been a lifeline for G. James, which sacked about 100 staff in March because of a downturn in orders.”

Interesting times, Grasshopper.

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Have Your Say!

Agmates member and freelance journalist John Mikkelsen writes:

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THE build-up to this week’s Federal Budget reminds me of the hype over swine flu – it was going to be a shocker but turned out to be a bit of a fizzer as far as horror stories go.

A deficit of almost $58 billion instead of the $20 billion surplus forecast in last year’s budget is no cause for celebration, but the leaks before Treasurer Wayne Swan’s delivery on Tuesday night made sure any shock value was lost.

So if you tuned into Auntie to watch the presentation live in the hope of seeing the fiscal facsimile of Wolf Creek or the Blair Witch Project, you would probably have been a bit disappointed. Instead of a Canberra Chainsaw Massacre, we saw something more in tune with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Not that it was all good, there was some bad news and belt-tightening mainly for higher income earners, and for those in their forties or younger who had hoped to retire at 65.

Sorry, you’ll have to be nice to your bosses for at least another couple of years before you can tell them what you really think.

There was good news for single pensioners with $32 a week more, couples gain an extra $10, carers an extra $600 a year, workers receive some small tax cuts, but those on unemployment or single parent benefits miss out.

The $22 billion approved for major infrastructure is good news, even though it had been earmarked the previous year. But the devil is in the detail and most local residents will want to hear if a sizeable allocation will be made for the Gladstone airport upgrade. Don’t hold your breath.

It’s interesting that this “third stimulus package” is about equal to the cash handed out in bonus payments. (Critics claimed these did more to stimulate the pokies or the economies of countries such as China, churning out their plasma TV’s).

Cutbacks to private health insurance rebates are bad news but again we knew about those weeks in advance.

Now fired-up Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has challenged the government to swap the health cuts for an extra three cents tax on cigarettes, which he said would raise the same amount and lower the strain on health services. Go Malcolm!

The biggest criticism of the budget is its sugar coating of forward income estimates and a return to a budget surplus position as soon as 2015, which many analysts, even punters, see as over optimistic. And there are suggestions the government would really like the Opposition to trigger a double dissolution election before they have to frame next year’s budget, when the really bad news would hit the fan.

Centrebet has described this week’s effort as “A Journey into Neverland” and its odds on a Rudd government being returned next election have taken a blow.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon labeled it ” A Harvey Norman budget – Buy now, pay later.”

Reminds me of a story I heard which could hold an answer:

“Holiday season is in full swing at a small seaside town but it’s raining so there is not much business. Everyone is heavily in debt.

A rich tourist arrives at the small hotel. He asks for a room and puts a $100 note on the reception counter, takes a key and goes to inspect the room on the third floor.

The hotel owner takes the banknote and rushes to his meat supplier, whom he owes $100.

The butcher races to his supplier to pay his debt. The wholesaler rushes to the farmer to pay $100 he owes for pigs.

The farmer gives the $100 to a local prostitute who had supplied her services on credit. The prostitute goes quickly to the hotel and pays the $100 bill for her hourly room use.

At that moment, the rich tourist comes down to reception and informs the hotel owner the room is unsatisfactory, takes his $100 back off the counter and departs.

There was no profit or income. But everyone no longer has any debt and the small town people look optimistically towards their future.”

Hmmm, has to be a catch. Or you could say, the benefits of ” Buy now, pay later” depend on good luck and good timing. I wonder if Wayne Swan had heard that story?

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Have Your say!

Below  is National Party Leader in the Senate – QLD Senator Barnaby Joyce’s speech to the National Press Club in Canberra today. I call this the speech the National Party Manifesto. A brilliant piece that succinctly sets out the future role of the National party in Australian Politics.

In my opinion this speech is proof that Senator Barnaby Joyce is a once in a life time Politician, blessed not only with an extraordinary intellect but an enormous dose of common sense. The following is a 4,500 word essay / commentary of Australian politics, political party’s, the demise of State governments,  and commentary of Labors handling of the Australian economy and our national indebtedness, the ETS, the ACCC, and much more. An fascinating, enlightening and enthralling read.

You’ll want to email this onto everybody you know.

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Senator Barnaby Joyce
Leader of the Nationals in the Senate

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB OF AUSTRALIA

ADDRESS : MONDAY 11 MAY 2009

After the last election – and I believe for the 16th successive poll going back to the 1969 Coalition victory – learned opinion-writers commented on the twilight of our Party.

And the time-honoured retort from a National Party politician in that circumstance is of course to note that we’re still here, and that one ought to check the pulse before pronouncing on the corpse.

Well, I’m not going to do that. The 2007 Federal election loss was a devastating event for the Federal National Party, not only because it saw us out of Government in every single jurisdiction in Australia, but because it underlined the drift from our Party’s history and traditions that we permitted for a decade or more in the name of unity.

It is also a low ebb in terms of our representation, exacerbated by three key features of our electoral performance since the end of the Fraser Government:

1. the loss of long-term strongholds to independents who in some cases express our traditional Party values better than we have;
2. the departure of Members to independent status, on at least one occasion because of a feeling that we had betrayed our heritage;
3. the concession of core seats to the Liberal Party, from who we had become insufficiently distinct or losses of blue collar conservatives who prefer Labor to a mute National or suburban Liberal.

In Australia there is a highly powerful political force. It has no name but it is instrumental in the determination of every election result. It has no policies but its desires are analysed and reanalysed and mused over and assumed and purported. It runs no candidates in elections nor does it have a party machine, yet everyone aspires and claims that they represent it.

In fact, this political force is the epicentre of our Nation and it lies at the heart of our system of government. That force has been brought about by the right and obligation of all to vote in elections.

In a country where voting is compulsory you do not have to inspire people to get out of bed to vote – they have to or they get fined. The trick is to somehow harness that vote, particularly the swinging voters. The swinging voters are the key to electoral victory.

The challenge for a major political party is to cultivate that centre group so that they swing to your beliefs or swing away from other’s mismanagement and put you and your political associates into Government.

In seeking to capture those swinging voters promises are made to win Government and then broken once elected where expedient to do so to stay in Government.

Playing only to the centre however has its dangers. In the desire to be opaque, lukewarm, inoffensive and passionately politically tepid, there are flanks that open up to the left and to the right of the centre.

The Labor Party strategy is very adroit in that their flank is covered by their able lieutenant, the Greens, who orchestrate political pas de deuxs on issues where it is inconceivable that the right could outflank them on the far left.

But when it really counts, that is election time, and on crucial pieces of legislation as seen in the stimulus package and alcopops tax, the Greens can be completely relied on to support the Labor Party. Good luck to the left in that they have a very clever political formula – this formula helped the Labor Party get 43% of the vote and win an election.

(more…)

G’day Agmates, here is episode 1 (and may be the last) of Agmate TV.

Today -- The Victorian Fires Royal commission ‘Whitewash’ …  NSW Landholders revolt…  Turnbull & Asylum Seekers …  Peter Garrett drowned by dodgy data …  Rudd ‘Fair Work’ rough justice for our kids …  Obama Book …  Agmates E-traders.

Headlines:

• THE Victorian bushfires royal commission began its formal proceedings yesterday amid sharp criticism that victims had been denied adequate representation.

• A MEETING of angry landowners tonight at the Memorial Hall in the country town of Yass outside Canberra will throw the spotlight on another crisis for the beleaguered NSW Labor Government.

• MALCOLM Turnbull’s aggressive attack on the Rudd Government’s asylum policy has failed to boost his party’s stocks or his own flagging popularity, and a majority of Australians reject the Opposition Leader’s contention that tougher immigration laws would reduce asylum-seeker arrivals.

• Peter Garrett, on ABC1’s Lateline on April 6, has sea levels rising way over his head, aided and abetted by Tony Jones

• THE OECD has warned that the rollback of the Howard government’s Work Choices industrial relations laws may result in higher youth unemployment, as Kevin Rudd conceded for the first time that recession in Australia was inevitable.

Currently reading:

A “political biography that concentrates on the senator’s core values,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

The New York Times noted that “Mr. Obama’s new book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’ … is much more of a political document. Portions of the volume read like outtakes from a stump speech, and the bulk of it is devoted to laying out Mr. Obama’s policy positions on a host of issues, from education to health care to the war in Iraq”.

The Chicago Tribune credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama’s decision to run for president.

Former presidential candidate Gary Hart describes the book as Obama’s “thesis submission” for the U.S. presidency: “It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur.”

Reviewer Michael Tomasky writes that it does not contain “boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness,” but does show Obama’s potential to “construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans.”

Currently working On:

Agmates E-trader - We are just finished a major upgrade of what we used to call or Agmate Business page. Agmates E-trader is now a unique, one of a kind fully functioned e-commerce ready web site for business. Businesses can be online and conducting e-commerce business within hours.

For a business to build and establish its own web site that has the power and features of their E-trader page would takes hundreds of thousands of dollars and at least 2 years development. Here are just some of the features:

1. Fully Search engine optimized. We reveal by video to our E-traders the ‘The Agmates SEO Secrets’. The video reveals how E-traders can get their business to the top of the search engine in less than 24 hours. Les than 1% of every web site ever build has made it to the 3rd page of a web search let alone number 1 on page 1, even after years of trying and tens of thousands of dollars spent.

2. Fully E-Commerce ready. E-traders can run unlimited Classifed  -- Free. E-traders can conduct unlimited online auctions Free. E-traders can operate a virtual online store with unlimited Buy Now items -- Free.

3. Direct online Commerce -- Sell direct from your E-trader page, using Buy Now. Seller pays you direct and you dispatch the goods after payment.

4. All E-traders classifieds, Auctions and Buy Now items appear on their E-trader page underneath their fixed Gallery photos. The E-trader page is paginated to handle 1,000’s of listings from the E-trader.

5. E-traders are now featured on every page of the site including the Agmates News through the E-trader tab.

6. E-traders get access to the latest internet marketing information and education through the Agmates E-marketing News letter. -- Free.

7. E-traders can now pay their annual subscription by monthly instalment to help with their cash flow.

and much more ….

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Have Your Say! P.S. Be kind … it is live TV and it is the first broadcast.

Agmates editor Steve Truman writes:

A month ago to the day I wrote an article asking Is Australia The Stupidest Nation On Earth.

Over the next 40 years Australia will convert a staggering 84 million acres of productive food producing agricultural land into tree plantations to fight climate change. That’s over 6,000 acres a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year for the next 40 years.

That’s the result of the ‘carbon sink’ legislation that the Labor government with the backing of the Liberal party passed into legislation in the Federal Parliament this week.

Today The Australian Newspapers John Stapleton writes – Farms Die for Rudds Trees

CATTLE farmer Neil Graham can see the landscape changing around him as his neighbours sell their properties for plantations, unable to compete against the Rudd Government’s generous tax concessions for forestry companies.”I’m angry,” Mr Graham said. “We’re seeing rural communities lost, schools and services closed down.

“The Government has tunnel vision: they think planting trees will solve everything. Both farms and native vegetation are being replaced by plantations, all driven by federally funded tax schemes. It’s wrong.”

… leading voices predict that dozens, if not hundreds, of rural communities will disappear.

The Australian Greens and The National Party in the Senate vigorously opposed the Labor Parties ‘carbon sink’ legislation but it passed with the support of the Liberals.

Nationals Leader in the Senate Barnaby Joyce said:

“We’re taking out the capacity of Australia to feed itself or to export food products,” he said.

Greens Senator Christine Milne is scathing in her criticism:

“Labor are talking about changing the entire face of rural Australia,” she said. “From northwest Tasmania to the Northern Territory, rural communities have suffered because the Government decided to give a greater tax advantage to Collins Street investors than to people who are trying to make their living from the land.

Rural Australia will revolt.”

Well no it won’t revolt Christine. Not when you have clowns running the supposed farmers peak lobby group the National Farmers Federation.

That’s right the very organization that is meant to be lobbying for farmers best interest did not lift a finger to oppose the legislation. I can tell you that I have been contacted by a number of major players within the rural industry who believe the entire board of the NFF should resign or be sack over this very issue.

It is outrageous that whilst the NFF was sitting mute on it’s hands that the four National Party Senators were virtually splitting the coalition in crossing the floor and vote against it.

What in the hell was Malcolm Turnbull and the entire Liberal party thinking when they voted for this legislation. As I wrote at the time:

If Malcolm Turnbull & his Liberal Front Bench are not capable of doing that as this weeks events have shown, then either the coalition is finished our they need to find another leader who understands that there is more to life in Australia than the Latte drinking, metro sexual Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

After having the numbers to block the ‘carbon sink’ legislation and the appropriation of the $2 billion dollar bush telecommunications fund and choosing not to, the conservative voters of rural and regional Australia can never again trust Malcolm Turnbull as a coalition leader.

You can tell I’m bloody angry about the way that theses people (Labor, Liberal and NFF) have  sacrificed rural and regional Australians once again at the alter of political expediency and indifference. This has to be stopped whilst we still have a viable farming industry, not to mention rural & regional communities.

Yes we are indeed doing a fine job of  proving ourselves to be the stupidest nation on Earth.

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Have Your say!

Alex Mitchell in an article published on Crikey writes:

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Alex Mitchell

Queensland Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has drawn a line in the sand: he won’t be supporting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s emissions trading scheme.

If Malcolm Turnbull’s shadow Cabinet decides to give critical support to the scheme, Joyce will oppose them on the floor of the Senate.

If his own National Party colleagues decide to give qualified backing to Labor’s ETS project, he will defy them and vote against — even though he is the Nationals Leader in the upper house.

In other words, Joyce is on a collision course with the Coalition leadership, the Liberals and his own Nationals over ETS. It could rock the Coalition: senior Liberals are demanding that the Nationals expel Joyce (and anyone who supports him).

If Joyce and his close-knit supporters are removed from the Nationals whip, they intend forming their own parliamentary grouping based on the principles of the old Country Party.

Joyce sets out his opposition to the Rudd plan in a lengthy article he has written for the Queensland-based rural website agmates.com edited by Steve Truman.

He describes the proponents of ETS as religious zealots who don’t have the science to back up their doom-laden claims.

“Those who dare to question are held as heretics,” he writes.

“I don’t pretend for one moment to be a scientist but in my role in the Senate it is implicit in my job to be a sceptic, to question and to consider all sides and be open to the views of many rather than one view.

“My current concern with the emissions trading scheme is that a religious fervour has built up around the altar of global warming. Those who serve at the altar have become ruthless in their denigration of alternate views.”

In old-fashioned populism we haven’t seen since Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson, he claims the scheme is nothing more than a tax-raising enterprise which will punish people’s pockets and jobs.

The trouble is that a large sector of rural Australia as well as climate change skeptics in the cities are listening: it is music to the ears of the mining industry too.

Meanwhile, the Labor Party can sit back and watch the squabble within the Coalition flare into civil war. As Malcolm Turnbull himself as acknowledged, Coalition disunity is electoral death.

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Have Your Say!

Is former Treasurer Peter Costello waiting in the wings for Malcolm Turnbull impending demise?

As the issue of Turnbull’s leadership unfolds remember what Senator Ron Boswell said in his article on Agmates when he was expressing his disgust at Malcolm Turnbulls back flip on the telecommunication fund that saw the 4 National Senators and 2 Liberals defy Turnbull and cross the floor. Boswell said -

“Those who ignore the interests of the bush will pay a political price.”

Boswell wrote that 9 days ago and it seems as if the wheels within the Liberal party are starting to whirl…

Supporters of Mr Costello are urging him to fight for his seat at the next federal election, saying the Liberal Party needs him more than ever as Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull fails to make headway in the opinion polls….

Of course in true Costello style the he will only take the leadership if it foystered upon him.

On Wednesday night Mr Costello’s electorate fund-raising body, the Higgins 200 Club, hosted by its chairman, former Foster’s chief executive Peter Bartels, held a cocktail party at a mansion in Toorak to raise funds and offer support to the MP for Higgins.

One guest among the 200 business leaders and members of the Melbourne establishment present said there was a strong view that the former treasurer must stay because Mr Turnbull’s leadership was flailing.

The Liberals must be in dire straits if Costello is their only alternative to Turnbull as leader. Costello did rural & regional Australia no favours in his 11 years as treasurer. Under his leadership as treasurer infastructure and services to rural & regional Australia declined badly.

Have Your Say!

If you saw Liberal Leader Malcolm Turnbull on the ABC 7.30 report last night you would understand that its been a very bad few weeks for the Liberal party Leader.

In the way only Kerry O’Brien can, he was very timid with Turnbull and Turnbull was at best ’stumbling, tentative and sheepish’. And the lesson that Malcolm learned in the last 12 weeks as leader – he has to ‘Communicate better’.

WA PM Wilson Tuckey has a great suggestion how the coalition should run its party room to achieve the best communication. Perhaps Turnbull could start by taking Tuckey’s suggestion.

Turnbull’s record over the 12 weeks of opposing everything and then at the 11th hour ‘rolling over’ has created a very bad perception of him.

And of course he’s at it again on the Industrial relations reforms again today:

THE Rudd Government’s contentious unfair dismissal rules are destined to pass the Senate after Malcolm Turnbull declared he would “not oppose” the changes, as part of a vow to alter the way he works as Leader of the Opposition.

In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Mr Turnbull said that although the new rules would be a “tax on employment”, he believed the ALP had the electorate’s backing for the new unfair dismissal laws.

So even though the laws will hurt the very people Turnbull and the Liberals represent (Business) he won’t be using the Coalitions numbers to force the amendments even though the independents have the same concerns.

But Independent Senator Nick Xenophon rightly says he has concerns as the legislation goes further than what Labor proposed to the Australian public at the last election.

These mixed messages Turnbull is sending out to the public is that he is the Opposition leader – but what do does he actually oppose. You would not know.

The impression Turnbull is creating as leader is of a Liberal elitist with no real principals that he’ll stand up for. We published this photo yesterday and I will again as I think it sums the way he is perceived by most Australians to date.

What conservatives voters are looking for is a political leader not a tricky and devious lawyer or merchant banker. Turnbull will have to make the transition in the new year if he is to have any future as the leader of the coalition.

On his performance so far he is a very deserved recipient of his appalling 19% approval rating in the latest Galaxy poll I’d say.

Have Your say!