Today I was going to do a post on the budget, but then I tough “what the f##k for?” after all every man and his dog will be writing about it.
We all know that after this budget we will all be hurting in the vicinity of our back pockets so much it will feel like we’ve just done 10 years in a Turkish prison.
What I did want to write about though was one particular aspect of the budget and the question that it raises.
One of the policies that make up this budget is Tony Abbot’s Parental Leave Scheme.
This is the scheme that Abbott came out with when most of Australia, and even the world thought he was a misogynist.
Abbott released his “Rolls Royce” Parental leave scheme dream in the hope that this might prove the misogynist tag wrong and pull him back out of the crapper.
Abbott has since been forced to water down his “Rolls Royce” policy so it now appears to be more like a “Hyundai Hatch” policy but with some of the option extras.
For those who were looking forward to his policy being put in place it must be disappointing to see Abbott break this promise, particularly as he called it his “signature policy”. Not a token promise, not something on a wish list, but the Prime Ministers “signature policy”
This has put Tony back in that crapper in the eyes of many, as Tony’s signature appears to have been a forgery.
But hang on, let’s not judge Tony too harshly, after all he does have a get out of jail free card.
The Greens.
Tony had to bow down to the Greens in order to have his policy pass through the Senate.
Christine “you will do as I say Tony” Milne
Casting my mind back a couple of years I remember the last time someone had to do a substantial deal with the Greens.
Her name was Julia Gillard, and it was all over putting a price on Carbon, something Gillard had promised to do her entire campaign but had to amend to satisfy the Greens. This allowed Abbott and his extremist followers to make a meal out of a snack and label the agreement with tags such as “Unholy Coalition” and the like.
Both the Labor Party and The Greens became Abbott’s punching bags in his fear campaign over the economy as we know it coming to an end, all because of this unholy alliance and the Carbon Tax.
Of course the economy didn’t end. In fact unemployment stayed extremely low and we survived a Global Financial Crisis without a recession.
It took the election of a Coalition government for unemployment rise 20%, big companies like Qantas to shed jobs like they were bad habits, and the announcements by the major car manufacturers that signalled the death of our automotive industry.
They even stooped to grovelling to these firms to try to make them lie and blame the Carbon Tax for their issues.
How f##king desperate is that?
Tony Abbott fanned the flames of discontent amongst both the extremists and the extremely gullible and the agreement between the two political parties was the subject of discussion for bitter right-wing columnists and shock jocks all over the country.
According to these people The Greens were the political extremists. A bunch of socialist hippies with no idea how to run an economy.
As far as Abbott and his followers were concerned doing a deal with the Greens was tantamount to doing a deal with the devil.
What you get for doing a deal with the Greens
Most will recall the Carbon Rallies and the sexist slogans.
The one slogan that seemed to resonate and stick, was the one that referred to Julia Gillard as “Bob Browns Bitch”.
The slogan implied that doing a deal with the Greens meant that Gillard was willing to bend over and let the Greens have their way with her in order to get what she wanted, a bit like prostituting yourself out.
This is how the conservatives view negotiation between parties when it doesn’t work out how they’d like it.
Now Tony Abbott has found himself in the position where he has had to negotiate with the Greens to have his “signature policy” able to pass Senate. Abbott has found himself having to make drastic alterations to his policy, cutting the ceiling by 33% and bringing it down to a more reasonable $100K.
Given that Abbott has had to alter major policy to suit The Greens, this to me raises a serious question although I hate using the word.
Does this make Tony Abbott Christine Milne’s Bitch?
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Wow Peter, are you blaming the Greens for sticking with a long held policy or Tony Abbott for doing what he does best…lying through his teeth? I recognise the need for some to play petty politics but Abbott generally doesn’t need help being an a/hole and in this case the Greens were prepared to negotiate an outcome based on policy,as they’ve always committed to do. Don’t get me wrong the greens aren’t naive and don’t trust him any further than he can be thrown. Pls note no deal was actually done that I recall only discussion on what might be. PS I think Christine might stomach turn at your suggestion ????
Well said, Peter. When I mentioned this very same thing, on Twitter, re Christine Milne backing Abbott’s PPL scheme, provided it was capped at $100,000 pa salary someone claimed I was making “an absurd statement!!!”. They obviously thought the Greens would do no such thing & never bothered to read the link provided.
Christine Milne is, often, only too happy to do deals with the Liberals (as she did when in Tasmanian state government) & we know the hypocrite Abbott is happy to “sell his arse” to gain whatever he wants. How his loathsome hypocrisy is brushed aside, by the complicit mainstream media & his barrackers, is beyond comprehension.
BTW I believe there is also two branches to the Greens. Christine Milne is one, the rest are the other branch. I don’t trust either, except, perhaps Errol Bandt & Scott Ludlam.
Please don’t take me wrong, this is not a shot at the Greens, they are just doing what they feel is best and like you say sticking to their policy. What I’m trying to point out is the hypocrisy of those on the right.
Christine’s stomach would no doubt turn at the thought, and you’re right deal is probably the wrong word, however the policy was amended after the Greens publicly raised their concerns and clearly done with them in mind.
I’m in no way saying that is a bad thing on the part of the Greens
The Greens will do whatever they need to do to further their policy agenda. They will negotiate with whoever, over whatever. It’s how you get on if you are a small party otherwise nothing you want to achieve ever happens. And they have never said they would do any more or any less than negotiate to get the best result without compromising ideals. And why not ? We want them to do that, we expect them to do that. It would be good of everyone else in the parliament got together and negotiated as well.
What choice do the Greens have? If they opposed the policy they would be labelled obstructionists. But by supporting something similar to their long-standing platform, they are labelled sell-outs. No matter what path they take, they are labelled by either side and the compliant media as irrelevant or standing in the way.
While the Greens may not be perfect – jeez show me a party that is. At least they have more of a tendency to stick with their principles that the duopoly. They have consistently stuck to their guns about cuts to welfare, education and health and insisted the rich, the miners and the big corporations should not be exempted from paying their fair share, something neither of the major parties are prepared to do.
But again I say what is the Greens Policy they voted to lift the amount the Federal Government could borrow and Hockey quickly doubled out debt which means we now owe more. They have agreed to vote for the excise increase on fuel which means everything that requires transport will go up and it is linked to increases twice a year through cpi and passed on to the consumer. They are happy to sign off of this very handsome child package for some paid by large companies which will pass these costs on to consumers. So far they have pushed up expenses with no dollar savings and no climate advantage. Yet again the Greeen’s prove they are untrustworthy and completely in tune with the the views of the wealthy who are the biggest consumes of dirty energy and disposable products.
I wonder how many people out there actually know there is a PPL scheme in place and has been for a number of years, admittedly it is means tested to women under the limit that Our beloved leader believes is necessary for women of quality ( read very rich ) to take time off from work and it doesn’t include a super co payment but hey it’s not like they are staying home to raise the children anyway
Yep, the first paid parental leave scheme, and it was introduced by Julia Gillard, and it is fair too
What the liberal government did was disgusting. However I want to make the point that the political parties are all in it together. Does anyone remember electricity prices being jacked up, university and family tax payments being cut, as well as politicians receiving pay rises, in the previous government.
This is just another snark against the Greens. The legislation has not even been fucking written yet.
Bl**dy Christine Milne saw a tweet the other day with CM calling 1 of Abbott’s lies his Juliar moment, that finished her with me forever. If not for Milne Australia could have had an ETS first in 2008, then in 2010, now Australia faces losing the green energy economy
Sue, I’m with you.
I would love a viable alternative left of centre party, mainly because I think it would stem Labors constant need to keep moving to the right, but I just can’t support a party that has so little bend.
Particularly as seeing that that lack of bend has led to a situation where Tony Abbott is Prime Minister, where class warfare is on the rise (I know the Cons think the middle, low, sub classes have no class so therefore it is of no consequence) and the environment is under attack and almost every green advancement that was made is being systematically destroyed.
Dealing in such an unbending way, being so unwilling to give an inch in your desire to enforce your ideology never works. Never. I don’t care which side of the political spectrum the blind ideology come from.
Tony Abbott lowered the limit on the PPL because he knew he wouldn’t get it through.
His belief in his baby was weak he didn’t even fight for it but rather tried to create an illusion of making tough decisions rather than be seen dealing with the Greens.
I will assume this will be his way of dealing with any hostile activity in the Senate. Cave before he even tries and pretend it was his choice all along because I don’t believe he has the cojones to go for a DD.