Gladys Berejiklian in trouble?

[campbell]

Who’s better? Queensland? Your health infrastructure is tiny by comparison.

NSW is the national leader on most if not all fronts, and is acknowledged as such within the sector.

Actually within the sector it is not....

 

[tandino]

Popular leaders have great job security.

Two-thirds approval, and people are wondering when she's going to resign?

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Because she’s delivered massive infrastructure investment combined with a relatively balanced budget - something that successive NSW governments have struggled with since the turn of the century.

It’s debatable how much of that is to her personal credit, and even before the recent ICAC stuff there were concerns about how friendly she was with developers. But generally, people are just happy that they’re getting all the hospitals and freeways that they’ve been promised for the last twenty years.

Throw in the generally well handled COVID response by a competent and well-resourced state health system, lack of a viable alternative in her own party, and an opposition that has mostly been MIA and it’s not very surprising that she’s massively popular.

And then just off the top of my head you have the stadium fiasco, light rail fiascos, the Powerhouse fiasco, koala fiasco, Badgery's Creek land purchase fiasco, her love affair fiasco and then now this. I just don't get it. Seriously crappy leader of a seriously crappy government and I suspect the only reason she has the massive approval rating she has, is that for some reason the people of NSW and the media have just decided en masse to drop the the idea of Labor ever again forming a government. I know there was all that Obeid crookedness, but that was yonks ago and yet people now seem to have this perception that state Labor are no longer a serious political option.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Popular leaders have great job security.

Two-thirds approval, and people are wondering when she's going to resign?

everything hangs on if another shoe drops with the corruption issues going on. right now the stuff like the land sales and her * buddy is being shrugged off as BAU in NSW, with no care factor. If something further comes out of these investigations that does piss off the people, then anything can happen.

right now i dont see it happening (and i'd have my hard earnt on her staying), but when it comes to corruption and nsw politics you never say never

 

[Caesar]

And then just off the top of my head you have the stadium fiasco, light rail fiascos, the Powerhouse fiasco, koala fiasco, Badgery's Creek land purchase fiasco, her love affair fiasco and then now this. I just don't get it.

You’re falling into the trap of disliking the government and then looking around for reasons to justify that dislike. That’s fine but it’s not the approach that most voters take.

Realistically the stuff ups you describe are mostly genuine and perhaps even a good reason not to vote for the current government. But they also don’t affect average voters as much as a new local hospital, or freeway and heavy rail upgrades to cut their commute times.

The latter are things people have been waiting 15-20 years for, since they were announced or intimated 4 or 5 premiers ago. They’re understandably reluctant to boot the premier on whose watch they were finally delivered.

 

[Gough]

You’re falling into the trap of disliking the government and then looking around for reasons to justify that dislike. That’s fine but it’s not the approach that most voters take.

Realistically the stuff ups you describe are mostly genuine and perhaps even a good reason not to vote for the current government. But they also don’t affect average voters as much as a new local hospital, or freeway and heavy rail upgrades to cut their commute times.

The latter are things people have been waiting 15-20 years for, since they were announced or intimated 4 or 5 premiers ago. They’re understandably reluctant to boot the premier on whose watch they were finally delivered.

Apply the standards you demanded of the Gillard government and rewrite this post. I think you'd end up with a very, very different conclusion.

 

[Caesar]

Apply the standards you demanded of the Gillard government and rewrite this post. I think you'd end up with a very, very different conclusion.

I’m not justifying her popularity, just explaining it.

Personally I think Berejiklian gets a lot of credit for stuff that was set in motion by Barry O’Farrell. But that’s how politics works.

 

[Gough]

I’m not justifying her popularity, just explaining it.

Personally I think Berejiklian gets a lot of credit for stuff that was set in motion by Barry O’Farrell. But that’s how politics works.

The standard you walk past and all that. Put simply if she was a Labor politician she would have resigned weeks ago and no amount of "explaining" can change that. She's brought Trumpian ethics to the Premier's office.

 

[Caesar]

The standard you walk past and all that.

I can point you to several posts where I’ve said she should resign. I just don’t think anyone should be befuddled as to why she is still popular with the electorate.

Put simply if she was a Labor politician she would have resigned weeks ago

Come come, you know that’s nonsense: popular leaders stay in jobs regardless of how much they stuff up. Andrews and Berejiklian are both living proof of that.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

You’re falling into the trap of disliking the government and then looking around for reasons to justify that dislike. That’s fine but it’s not the approach that most voters take.

Realistically the stuff ups you describe are mostly genuine and perhaps even a good reason not to vote for the current government. But they also don’t affect average voters as much as a new local hospital, or freeway and heavy rail upgrades to cut their commute times.

The latter are things people have been waiting 15-20 years for, since they were announced or intimated 4 or 5 premiers ago. They’re understandably reluctant to boot the premier on whose watch they were finally delivered.

Well of course if either of us could definitively see inside the heads of several million voters there’s be a lot of people willing to pay very good money for our services. So I don’t claim any more insight into NSW voters’ minds than the next fella.

So I think I’ll agree to disagree. I just don’t have any resonance at all with your perception of the average voter.

I really don’t think the average voter is keeping an infrastructure tally running in their head, but my impression of the way society works these days is that a lot of people most definitely notice the scandalous crooked stuff.

Which is what baffles me. NSW Labor were as dodgy AF for years but that was years ago, and the Coalition is doing everything they can to blacken their own name as much as Labor’s, but none of it seems to be sticking.

 

[Engimal v3]

I wonder how Gladys will torpedo her reputation next week?

You couldn't make this s**t up. Corrupt as corrupt can be.

 

[Caesar]

I just don’t have any resonance at all with your perception of the average voter.

Probably need to read more polling data then

Health, transport infrastructure and the environment were consistently the top issues at the last state election - the Coalition won votes on the former and lost votes on the latter (mostly out west to SFF regarding water allocations)

I mean, you say you're mystified as to why anybody supports Berejiklian - but you don't seem to put a lot of effort into trying to understand it

First step to getting a government voted out is getting a good handle on why they're being voted in

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Probably need to read more polling data then

Health, transport infrastructure and the environment were consistently the top issues at the last state election - the Coalition won votes on the former and lost votes on the latter (mostly out west to SFF regarding water allocations)

I mean, you say you're mystified as to why anybody supports Berejiklian - but you don't seem to put a lot of effort into trying to understand it

I'm putting a lot of effort in, but from the outset I keep coming up against what to me at least are gross, unignorable negatives. Trustworthiness is an absolute non-negotiable for me, as I would have thought it is for a lot of voters. My point is that the people of NSW are currently strangely willing to overlook fundamental negatives of trustworthiness, that would have brought down a government two decades ago.

That is not good, regardless of one's political leanings.

Whatevs. A seriously crooked government was unmasked yesterday, and the fact that Bladders has such a high approval rating says something very poor about the state of political discourse in NSW.

 

[Caesar]

My point is that the people of NSW are currently strangely willing to overlook fundamental negatives of trustworthiness, that would have brought down a government two decades ago.

That is not good, regardless of one's political leanings.

I don't disagree that it's bad, but realistically, NSW has never really voted out governments based on a lack of trustworthiness.

Labor under Iemma was a rabble in 2007, far worse than the current government - they'd had one Minister arrested, another sacked for misleading parliament, and several more were widely regarded as corrupt. The Cross City Tunnel project had collapsed in a financial mess, and they'd failed to deliver on a whole string of huge promises from the 2003 election. Nonetheless, they were reelected with barely a reduction in majority. They were only voted out in 2011 because infighting rendered them literally unable to function.

This is not a new thing. Neville Wran was insanely popular despite turning a blind eye to a huge amount of corruption, and Bob Askin was an out-and-out crook. New South Welshmen just seem to judge governments on what they achieve more than how they achieve it.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

I don't disagree that it's bad, but realistically, NSW has never really voted out governments based on a lack of trustworthiness.

Labor under Iemma was a rabble in 2007, far worse than the current government - they'd had one Minister arrested, another sacked for misleading parliament, and several more were widely regarded as corrupt. The Cross City Tunnel project had collapsed in a financial mess, and they'd failed to deliver on a whole string of huge promises from the 2003 election. Nonetheless, they were reelected with barely a reduction in majority. They were only voted out in 2011 because infighting rendered them literally unable to function.

This is not a new thing. Neville Wran was insanely popular despite turning a blind eye to a huge amount of corruption, and Bob Askin was an out-and-out crook. New South Welshmen just seem to judge governments on what they achieve more than how they achieve it.

Maybe these things go in waves. Because while I don't disagree with any of the examples you've given, looking at yesterday's revelations and Berejiklian's response, imagine the uproar if it were Nathan Rees or Kristina Kenneally who had got caught red-handed doing that level of pork barrelling, and they'd said "everyone does it" and "it's nothing illegal".

 

[Caesar]

imagine the uproar if it were Nathan Rees or Kristina Kenneally who had got caught red-handed doing that level of pork barrelling, and they'd said "everyone does it" and "it's nothing illegal".

It's funny you say that, because that's pretty much what happened in 2011 when Kenneally directed $160m of rail subsidies to her own electorate.

Never really got much traction, but some footage surfaced in the last couple of weeks of Berejiklian ripping into her for it. Bit embarrassing for Gladys.

Pork barrelling is the biggest blight on politics and Berejiklian should resign for that alone. Won't happen though.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

It's funny you say that, because that's pretty much what happened in 2011 when Kenneally directed $160m of rail subsidies to her own electorate.

Never really got much traction, but some footage surfaced in the last couple of weeks of Berejiklian ripping into her for it. Bit embarrassing for Gladys.

Pork barrelling is the biggest blight on politics and Berejiklian should resign for that alone. Won't happen though.

Greens seem pretty determined to stay squeaky clean in that respect.

People say "oh that's only because they haven't been in a position to hand out the goodies" and there's no denying that power corrupts.

But the fact is, no other major party refuses corporate donations as part of their platform, so being above board seems to be an integral part of the package they want to get across to voters.

 

[random260]

The standard you walk past and all that. Put simply if she was a Labor politician she would have resigned weeks ago and no amount of "explaining" can change that. She's brought Trumpian ethics to the Premier's office.

How is dan andrews still here? That will never be topped. Your own system causing the imprisonment of your citizen for 100 days and more.

 

[Christopher Buttersnip]

Gladdy, who stands for all that's right and proper. Say it isn't so, Gladdy.

NSW Premier defends $250m grants scheme to Coalition seats as 'not illegal'

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian denies any wrongdoing in relation to the Government's $250 million grants program which allocated more money to local councils in Coalition-held seats, saying all governments engage in election spending to "curry favour".

www.abc.net.au

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Gladys Berejiklian’s defence of pork barrelling is only the latest serious failure of judgment | Anne Davies

The NSW premier’s work ethic is to be admired, but recent behaviour seriously calls in to question her fitness to lead

www.theguardian.com

.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

How is dan andrews still here? That will never be topped. Your own system causing the imprisonment of your citizen for 100 days and more.

Yeah nah, pandemics are like that. Pandemics don’t care who you vote for.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Realistically the stuff ups you describe are mostly genuine and perhaps even a good reason not to vote for the current government.

They start to be if the print and television media hammer them every day , instead of being complicit in covering them up, and spewing out glamour puff pieces continually.

But they also don’t affect average voters as much as a new local hospital, or freeway and heavy rail upgrades to cut their commute times.

Not being in or from NSW, can you let me know how many new hospitals she's landed, and where these upgrades have been? Are they a result of the hundreds of millions funneled to LNP seats by any chance?

Miraculous governing that.

I know she presided over a complete light rail debacle in the CBD, I hope you're not referring to that?

 

[Caesar]

Not being in or from NSW, can you let me know how many new hospitals she's landed, and where these upgrades have been? Are they a result of the hundreds of millions funneled to LNP seats by any chance?

It's a $10bn infrastructure program over the next four years with 80+ major projects, but you can review a breakdown here. I haven't done a breakdown by seat, but several of the centrepiece projects are in Labor heartland (the Newcastle and Liverpool redevelopments are getting $1bn+ each).

There was a recent Audit Office report that criticised some of the value-for-money aspects of some of the projects, but as far as I am aware there has not been any suggestion of pork barrelling. It's a pretty comprehensive program and has been desperately needed for a long, long time.

I know she presided over a complete light rail debacle in the CBD, I hope you're not referring to that?

No, heavy rail. Residents of southwestern and northwestern Sydney have been waiting on them for years - the northwestern link, Bob Carr promised would happen 15-20 years ago. People had just about given up on them ever happening.

Light rail is a well-acknowledged boondoggle.

 

[pugsville]

Popular leaders have great job security.

Two-thirds approval, and people are wondering when she's going to resign?

It's about is her behavior acceptable? flaunting the rules she expects others to follow,
She clearly has no trouble justifying her behavior to herself, that she willing tolerate corruption, flout reporting requirements or abiding public health instruction when it suits her not to. Shreeding records of gher administration just happned, nothing to do with her.

really is this what we accept.

It's has the liberal party got a spine, some responsibility, some some spec of basic honesty to force her


to go,

It clearly has not

Why should any politician follow their register of interests, the laws of the land, or report corrupt colleagues. one rule for popular politcians another for other politicians one rule for politicians and another for ordinary Australians.


It's just about what one can get away with.

 

[Messenger]

sorry, not sorry.