Fears grow of Labor election loss

Dennis Shanahan, The Australian | THERE are senior and experienced federal Labor MPs who say quietly and privately that they can see the possibility "that we could lose the election".

This is incredible not only because the people are not newcomers unused to dealing with falls in polling and tough periods of politics, but also because no Labor MP at all would have even thought it possible six months ago.

... A "class war" waged against the "rich mining barons" over the new mining profits tax is losing its appeal by the day as collateral damage to the sharemarket, public confidence, retirement funds and claims about the future of the resources industry suggest any such plans are counterproductive.

The proposed resource super-profits tax thrust on to unsuspecting miners has united these normally warring barons in an unprecedented fashion.

At the same time, the government appears uncertain how to approach the miners and manage the inevitable compromise in a policy and political sense. One day the government rounds on the lying and ignorant industry leaders, as Wayne Swan called them, and on the next Kevin Rudd is talking about consultation with the industry.

Tony Abbott makes ground on Kevin Rudd: Newspoll

Dennis Shanahan, The Australian | TONY Abbott has won back some of the ground he lost after losing the health debate to Kevin Rudd last month.

. .. According to the latest Newspoll survey taken last weekend exclusively for The Australian, Labor is still in a clear election-winning position on a two-party preferred basis by 54 to the Coalition’s 46 per cent.

Asylum seekers 'should work'

The Daily Telegraph | THE Federal Opposition says it will force asylum seekers to work for their welfare benefits if it wins government. The Coalition is expected to outline further details of the immigration policy it will take to the next election today.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Coalition will go back to three-year temporary protection visas of the previous Liberal government.

"It's one of the many bows and arrows that you need to deal with this very difficult problem," he told ABC Radio.

Visa holders will be allowed to work, receive access to Medicare and be forced to go to English classes after a year.

But one change means they will also have to work to receive welfare support. "In the same way others are required to do work for the dole and things of that nature, we think it's only fair that those same requirements should apply to those receiving these benefits," Mr Morrison said.

Libs insist refugees work for their keep

Perth Now | REFUGEES would be forced to work for their welfare benefits and may only be permitted to stay in Australia for as little as six months under a tough new border security policy to be announced by the Coalition today.

... the continued flow of boats that have brought 2805 asylum-seekers to Australia so far this year, the Coalition will unveil a suite of measures designed to harden its border security credentials. At the heart of those measures is a new, tougher class of temporary protection visa to be issued to all unauthorised asylum-seekers.

Rudd admits home insulation scheme safety standards not good enough

Christian Kerr and Nicola Berkovic , The Australian | KEVIN Rudd has admitted that the safety standards for the government's bungled $2.45 billion insulation scheme did not measure up.

The Prime Minister has told the Seven Network the government heeded warnings during the ultimately abandoned program but mistakes were still made.

“The minister, responding to industry, responding to concerns out there in the community, said, `here is a problem, we need to do X,Y and Z about it',” Mr Rudd said.

“What cabinet and I did through correspondence was say, `OK fine, do that,' and that's what happened. But the bottom line is the measures at the end of the day were not sufficient.”

The Prime Minister also confessed the program had “not been well implemented”.

“Let's accept that as a fact,” he said.

Dr Gordon Moyes Condemns Lying Politicians

Media Release | Parliamentary Leader of Family First NSW, Dr Gordon Moyes believes that if politicians deliberately lie, and it is proved, they should be jailed.

He explained, 'Few professions have fallen as low in public perception as politics. Politicians are suspected of lying, immorality and hypocrisy.

A Morgan Gallop Poll revealed only 14% of people trust a politician's word. Rorts in parliamentarians' travel and living away from home allowances reveal the lack of integrity in the lives of those who offer to lead this nation, and who say to electors, "Trust me." In speeches in Parliament, on my radio and television programs and website, I have advanced these ideas previously and advocated positive measures to improve political integrity.  

Labor whacked on boatpeople in Newspoll

The swing to the opposition came despite the government's suspension of refugee applications from Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum-seekers and the reopening of the notorious Curtin detention centre in remote Western Australia.

WA: State says no to housing people smugglers

The Daily Telegraph | THE West Australian Government has declared it will no longer house people smugglers in the state's prisons. WA Attorney-General Christian Porter told Parliament today he had written to the Federal Government informing it of the decision.

"To the extent that there was a change in policy at the last election, that was a change mandated by the Australian people as a whole yet the West Australian community is bearing 95 per cent of the responsibility for that change," he said. "That is a situation that simply has to stop."

Outside Parliament Mr Porter said that WA had 119 people in its prison system charged with people smuggling offences in commonwealth waters. That compared with six in the Northern Territory and zero in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT, he said.

"What has happened is a Federal Government policy has resulted in more entrants, more people being charged with people smuggling, and that's a burden that needs to be shared among all Australian jurisdictions."

Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott to speak live to Christians across the nation

ACL | In the lead up to the 2010 federal election the leaders of Australia’s two major political parties have again agreed to speak live to Christians across the nation.

‘Make it Count 2010’ will see Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott address Christians and answer questions from Christian leaders in a live web-cast to churches throughout Australia from Canberra’s Old Parliament House on Monday June 21 from 7 pm – 9.30 pm (EST).

Hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), the event follows on from a similar one held prior to the 2007 federal election when John Howard and Kevin Rudd addressed 100,000 Christians meeting at 846 churches across Australia.

Around 200 church, para-church and denominational leaders will travel to Canberra for the event, which will include an opportunity for them to ask questions of both Mr Rudd and Mr Abbott, after their separate talks. Both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader’s addresses and the question sessions will be web-cast simultaneously to congregations meeting in locations throughout Australia, with a delayed web-cast from 7.30 pm for West Australians.

This year the ACL is hoping to see the number of Christians and churches involved triple in size – increasing the public profile of the event and highlighting the importance of the Christian constituency in the lead up to the election.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace urged church leaders and Christians across Australia to get involved in the event and help shape how the nation is governed.

“This is a unique chance for Christians to hear first-hand from the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader about how their party being chosen to govern would affect the character of our nation,” he said. “It also provides an opportunity to hear their responses to questions which often fall under the radar of mainstream election coverage.

“We need to be influencing all political parties to develop well-considered policy initiatives and a vision for Australia that engenders an increasingly moral and caring society.”

Mr Wallace encouraged churches to register as soon as possible for the event through the www.australiavotes.org website. The website also provides full details about the event and technical information for receiving the web-cast. Churches without the technical capability to take part in the web-cast are encouraged to join with other churches in their community for the event. Details of participating churches in different locations will also be placed on the www.australiavotes.org website.

Thank you to Bill Muehlenberg from Catch Fire Ministries

Dear family & friends in Christ,

Pastor Daniel and a team from Catch The Fire attended recent debates between Bill Muehlenbery & Rodney Croome , in order to prayerfully support Bill Muehlenberg in his stand for the Lord’s righteousness. We want to thank the Lord for people like Bill who stand up for the truth of the Word of God. He did a fantastic job in standing up for marriage between a man and a woman as God has ordained it to be in His Word.

At the end of the debate Pastor Daniel with a few others approached Rodney Croome and asked him, “Is Federal Labor or Liberal more sympathetic to the homosexual cause?” He first refused to make a clear statement, but then acknowledged that under Labor they were able to get 80 + pieces of legislation passed in Parliament to support homosexuality, which they could not do under the Howard Liberal era.

Jason Golden
Catch the Fire Ministries

Late abortions skyrocket since Vic law change

Newsletter | Journalist Louise Milligan said: “The abortion is almost always requested because the baby will die anyway or has a devastating disability.”

However, it is strange that such a sharp rise in demand for aborting babies with lethal foetal abnormalities or ‘devastating disability’ has coincided with the change in law.

Or could it be that disabled babies previously allowed to live are now having their lives ended?
And how do we know that what the hospital calls a ‘devastating disability’ is not a misdiagnosis or a non-life threatening or correctible condition?

Coalition in Election-winning lead

04/05 Dennis Shanahan, The Australian | Kevin Rudd's personal satisfaction rating has dropped the most in the shortest time in the 20-year history of Newspoll surveys, and for the first time since the election Labor no longer has a clear lead over either the Coalition or the Greens on the issue of climate change

Mr Rudd's previous standing as being seen to be "decisive and strong" also fell significantly and Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is considered almost equal with the Prime Minister in his grasp of major policy issues.

After weeks of dramatic policy reversals and broken promises, culminating last week in Mr Rudd's decision to put off his Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until at least 2013, the Government's primary vote has plunged eight percentage points to just 35 per cent. The Coalition's primary support has risen three points to 43 per cent.

Film degrading minors sparks call for review of classification system

Lyle Shelton | The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has called on the Federal Government to conduct an urgent review of the classification system following a review board’s decision to clear for release the controversial Salo film.

“In rebuffing the Minister, who clearly had concerns with the initial decision, the board has thrown out its own rules which prohibit the sexual degradation of minors,” ACL National Chief of Staff Lyle Shelton said today.

“How can any Australian have confidence in the national classification guidelines anymore?

“The Government in conjunction with the States should either rewrite the guidelines or it should act to ensure that the boards it appoints follow the rules.”

Voters turn off Kevin but not to Tony

Rudd is now in a position where everything he promises or proposes is doubted or not trusted. And the problem is being passed on to the government.

For the first time as Labor leader, he has a negative satisfaction rating with more people disapproving of him than approving and his support as preferred prime minister is at its lowest since the election. For the first time the Coalition has a lead on a two-party-preferred basis and a sniff of an election win. Labor's primary vote has dropped into the fatal zone below 40 per cent and is at 35 per cent - its lowest since Kim Beazley was leader.

Rudd's Newspoll pain: What's the Diagnosis?

Tory Mcquire, The Punch | .... research reported by The Daily Telegraph’s Malcolm Farr this morning also sheds light on the Newspoll result.

According to Farr:

No matter how worthy or necessary his policy choices, Rudd must hack through a thicket of suspicion before he can convince a substantial proportion of the electorate that his intentions are straightforward.

The poorly-handled decision to pause on the battle to introduce an ETS seriously devalued Rudd’s policy credibility, and he is paying the price on tax reform.

Just 36 per cent of voters believe the Government increased the tax on cigarettes last week because Rudd was passionate about improving health in Australia, according to an authoritative Galaxy poll.

The poll, commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs, found 53 per cent believed the attack on smoking was in fact a bid to deflect attention from other issue