The demonising of John Howard

May 17, 2008, 9:57am, 176 views,  Leave a Comment

Kudelka cartoonI like this cartoon by Jon Kudelka, who gave me permission to use it here.

You could read it a couple of ways, which is an attribute of a good cartoon.

To me, it speaks of how John Howard was demonised: not by cartoonists, but by the media and sections of the community.

He was portrayed in some quarters as an untrustworthy, ugly, mean-spirited, rodent-tailed runt. Read more

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Gong for Howard?

February 28, 2008, 9:40pm, 125 views,  Leave a Comment

There is increasing speculation the Queen will appoint former Prime Minister John Howard a Knight Companion of The Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The Order of the Garter is the most senior and oldest British Order of Chivalry and the oldest continuing order of chivalry in the world.  Knight and Lady Companions may come from countries of which the Queen is Sovereign.

Its creation is said to have followed an incident at a royal ball, where Joan, Countess of Salisbury, lost one of her garters. Seeing her embarrassment, King Edward III is said to have retrieved it, bound it to his own leg.

A vacancy arose with the death of New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary of Everest fame. If Mr Howard is knighted he will be installed at a ceremony at Windsor Castle in June.

Knights of the Garter

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Union influence and poverty

October 18, 2007, 7:17pm, 189 views,  Leave a Comment

The Prime Minister has stepped up his attack on union influence within the ALP. In the only published news item today on the Liberal Party web site, Howard comments on Gavan O’Connor’s loss of pre-selection in Corio and his decision to stand as an independent.

This is the latest example of how former trade union officials have muscled aside long-serving Labor Party members. Gavan O’Connor to my understanding, I could be wrong on this, was the only person in the Labor Party that actually had a farming background. And for his pains he’s been kicked out and replaced by somebody who holds a senior position in the ACTU. So, when we say that 70 per cent of the ministry in a Rudd Labor government would be former trade union officials we are not joking.

It was otherwise a quiet day on the campaign trail, with Labor’s web site posting bland media releases on costing promises, beating poverty and criticising the National Farmers Federation on broadband rollout.

Although laudable, Labor’s track record on banishing poverty isn’t all that great, as Bob Hawke would recall.

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Rules of debate

October 15, 2007, 8:53am, 166 views,  Leave a Comment

The Liberal Party has invited Kevin Rudd to debate John Howard early in the campaign on its terms. These include burying the “worm”, ordaining the moderator (David Speers from Sky) and having no audience participation.

Of course Labor will accept. Along with the election timing, Howard controls when, where and how he debates Rudd.

It’s partly mind games to give no response to Rudd’s request for three debates and use of “new media” such as the internet.

Debates rarely have a decisive winner. A major blunder though could derail a campaign, so they are largely about risk management, rather than seeking a knockout punch. The contenders play for a draw.

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Prime Minister’s statement

October 14, 2007, 5:34pm, 229 views,  1 Comment

Here is the text of the Prime Minister’s first statement of the election campaign:

Today the Governor-General has accepted my advice for an election to be held on Saturday 24 November. This election is about Australia’s future. It’s about the leadership Australia needs right now to stay strong, prosperous and secure.

Australia has come a long way in the last decade based on the hard work of all Australians and the tough decisions of the Coalition. Now we must make Australia even stronger.

This will not happen automatically. It will not happen through new leadership or old leadership. It requires the right leadership.

The right leadership is the team that knows how to do the job. The right leadership has the experience to further expand Australia’s prosperity and to ensure that everyone gets a fair share of it. Read more

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Decks cleared for poll

October 13, 2007, 5:05pm, 269 views,  1 Comment

John Howard is teasing the media quite nicely about the timing of the election. He’s ready to go but won’t fire the starter’s gun until he is ready. Fair enough, the timing is about the only thing in his control at the moment.

One could be forgiven for being cynical about Howard’s embrace of Aborigines and gays in the past week.

One theory says the new-found liberalism is designed to shore up the party’s vote in marginal city seats in the event of a total whitewash. “The government is trying to plug too many holes in the dyke. It needs to simultaneously belt the Sudanese and love Aborigines,” Andrew Landeryou writes.

I’m a cynic from way back, but in this instance I don’t see it that way. I don’t believe Howard’s reincarnation is either pragmatic or defensive. I think it’s more tragic than that.

I see a tired old man who didn’t know when to quit. I see a man desperately seeking a legacy which isn’t the Iraq War. I see a man who doesn’t want to be remembered like his predecessor Malcolm Fraser as someone who squandered an opportunity.

I see a man who left it all too late.

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Howard under pressure

September 15, 2007, 4:52pm, 354 views,  Leave a Comment

Campaigning in his electorate today, Prime Minister John Howard said:

“If I’m returned and the government’s returned at the coming election I will serve my full term at the member for Bennelong, the full three years, and I won’t be inflicting a by-election on the people of my electorate.”

AAP has just filed these remarks to various news sites and there has been no commentary yet. People will pick up on the obvious proviso in the Prime Minister’s words (”If I’m returned and the government’s returned”).

There is very little chance of the government winning, which means the voters of Bennelong are almost certainly facing a byelection if Howard wins the seat.

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PM salutes mining industry

July 23, 2007, 5:31pm, 291 views,  Leave a Comment

Prime Minister John Howard was in Kalgoorlie today for the first stop on a three-day tour of Western Australia. He visited the Rural Clinical School and a local engineering firm before attending a Liberal Party fundraising lunch at the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame.

Predictably, he told the party faithful and supporters the world will come to an end if Labor wins power later this year. The economic good times would be undermined by Labor’s industrial relations policy, he said.

Howard saluted the mining industry and said that, unlike Kevin Rudd, he believed the boom would continue.

He paid tribute to Liberal MHR Barry Haase for his hard work and perseverance on policy pushes for higher zonal tax rebates and flow-through shares.

Howard ruled out a shift on both of those fronts, but said he would continue to listen to the arguments.

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