Shock! Julia stands up to the shock jocks

[Psyber]

She should never had made the promise. Climate change was never going to go away and had to be tackled.

I'm inclined to agree that if she believed as you do, as she now claims, she should not have made the promise.
I assume she made it because she thought it would buy votes, and has changed policy for Green and independent support - who knows what she really believes?!

What disturbed me was that both she and Penny Wong tried to deny the promise had ever been made until the video evidence emerged.
[Not so much directly as by evasion, and refusing to even discuss the idea that it had been made.]
They must really respect the intelligence and memory of the public.

So, I'm inclined to favour the "Ju-Liar" and Penny "Wrong" labels that have become current.
[I don't disagree for Abbott's "mad monk" label either - he seems to have lost his balance since 2003.]

[redandblack]

I agree she shouldn't have made the promise, but this is hardly the first election campaign promise broken by a politician. She would have been better just admitting it immediately.

I also wonder about Julia's interview by Alan Jones, where he confronted her with recordings of what she had said during the campaign. That's fair enough, but why do people say Tony Abbott was 'ambushed' by Mark Riley when he'd had 2 hours notice of the question, while they're not saying that about the Jones interview when Julia has had no notice?

[Leaping Lindner]

She should never had made the promise. Climate change was never going to go away and had to be tackled.

I'm inclined to agree that if she believed as you do, as she now claims, she should not have made the promise.
I assume she made it because she thought it would buy votes, and has changed policy for Green and independent support - who knows what she really believes?!

What disturbed me was that both she and Penny Wong tried to deny the promise had ever been made until the video evidence emerged.
[Not so much directly as by evasion, and refusing to even discuss the idea that it had been made.]
They must really respect the intelligence and memory of the public.

So, I'm inclined to favour the "Ju-Liar" and Penny "Wrong" labels that have become current.
[I don't disagree for Abbott's "mad monk" label either - he seems to have lost his balance since 2003.]

Speaking of the Mad Monk. Can someone outline ANY ideas or policies this guy has? He just seems to be anti everything the Government does with no real ideas or solutions of his own.
I'm not a fan of either major party but this guy is the biggest policy and ideas black hole I've seen in years. I was no fan (under statement) of John Howard but the guy had policies and a vision (albeit one I disagreed with). Tony Abbott....nothing.

[Squawk]

LL - I think the Mad Monk has been trying to put policy out there but he doesnt get much traction.

I had to give him some credit for announcing where he would find money to enable a flood levy to be avoided. Takes some intestinal fortitude in opposition to do that.

On the Carbon Tax thing, I think there is some irony in the fact that Climate Change and the Work Choices scaremongering campaign were what got Labor swept to victory in 2007. Fast forward to 2011 and after another elction, the commitment of the Labor Party to "green-ness" is questionable given the state of the Parliamentary balance, and noting that many green programs seem to be the first ones that get axed when extra money is needed.

"Green" issues have been the achilles heel of Federal Labor.

Solar Panels rebate - axed
Green Cars program and subsidies - axed
Pink Batts - need I say much here?
Murray-Darling Basin arrangements - disasterous
Solar hot water - axed

It's almost unsurprising that many who voted for Rudd's green vision are deserting to the Greens. If the Libs are serious, they need to tell big business to shut the **** up and swallow some chill pills, we need to show some "green heed".

[redandblack]

Yes. I agree with most of that.