finders
Norm Smith Medallist
So Kevvie as balls as well .Nice to see him getting into that smug bastard Costello.
Rampant Rudd goads rivals
Peter Hartcher Political Editor
September 11, 2007
KEVIN RUDD has mocked John Howard's promise to deliver a plan for the future as a "five minutes to midnight" discovery that lacks credibility, and has dismissed his heir, Peter Costello, as a failure.
With the Federal Government in a funk over its leadership options, the Labor leader delivered a withering critique of both the Prime Minister and the man being assessed inside the Liberal Party as his possible replacement.
His attack came as John Howard refused to leave the prime ministership yesterday, even as his longevity was highlighted by the resignation of the Queensland Premier, Labor's Peter Beattie.
Mr Beattie cited the need for party renewal, but Mr Howard dismissed comparisons. "Every government and every person has their own circumstances," he said.
In an interview with the Herald yesterday, Mr Rudd said Mr Howard had a "wheel of fortune" approach to fiscal policy.
"He engaged in a spendathon where he spun the wheel of fortune and then he spun it again at the last election," he said.
And he sarcastically described the Treasurer's response: "Our resolute, strong, disciplined, fiscally committed Treasurer said tick, tick, tick, tick. He's a man of robust, fiscally disciplined principle."
And Mr Rudd offered a new Labor agenda for reform - a systematic program to roll back business regulation, seeking to outflank the Howard Government as credible economic managers and reformers.
"We are deadly serious about this - I think the regulatory overhang on business has become unsustainably high, the Government's attempts at reform on this have failed, the quantum is right out of control," Mr Rudd said.
"When you start to have 15 per cent, 20 per cent of corporate time spent on compliance burdens you are killing enterprise, you are killing innovation, you are killing entrepreneurialism."
Mr Rudd said Labor had discussed ideas for institutionalising business deregulation in a Labor government, perhaps creating a minister for deregulation: "We think we can do it - we will have more to say about this."
On The 7.30 Report last night, Mr Howard ruled out a snap election. He said Parliament would definitely sit for the next two weeks, which meant an October 27 election at the earliest.
Struggling to buttress his leadership, he warned his colleagues it was too late in the electoral cycle to change leader now. Mr Howard admitted he had erred by spending too much time on the past and present, and not enough talking about the future. He refused to say whether he would serve a full term if re-elected.
In his Herald interview, Mr Rudd said Mr Costello was a failed Treasurer who also carried the baggage of complicity in Mr Howard's principal failings.
"At the end of the day, 11 years as deputy leader of the Liberal Party, he backed Mr Howard to the hilt on the Iraq war," Mr Rudd said.
"He backed Mr Howard to the hilt on Work Choices and would go further based on his statements on the public record.
"And he backed Mr Howard on his inertia on climate change, he did not engage departmentally on the water initiative, he presided over the disinvestment in our universities from 1996 to 2003-04 - I would say fail, fail, fail, fail.
"Here's the key challenge for this guy - you have since 2001-02 a resources boom. And so given this unique historical opportunity, what has Mr Costello done - has he seized the opportunity or squandered it?
"Has he seized the opportunity to invest in human capital? Nope.
"Has he seized the opportunity to invest in fundamental economic infrastructure? Nope.
"Has he seized the opportunity to rewrite the functional relationship between Canberra and the states? Nope.
"He has a litany of squandered opportunities. He has never become a genuinely reforming treasurer."
Rampant Rudd goads rivals
Peter Hartcher Political Editor
September 11, 2007
KEVIN RUDD has mocked John Howard's promise to deliver a plan for the future as a "five minutes to midnight" discovery that lacks credibility, and has dismissed his heir, Peter Costello, as a failure.
With the Federal Government in a funk over its leadership options, the Labor leader delivered a withering critique of both the Prime Minister and the man being assessed inside the Liberal Party as his possible replacement.
His attack came as John Howard refused to leave the prime ministership yesterday, even as his longevity was highlighted by the resignation of the Queensland Premier, Labor's Peter Beattie.
Mr Beattie cited the need for party renewal, but Mr Howard dismissed comparisons. "Every government and every person has their own circumstances," he said.
In an interview with the Herald yesterday, Mr Rudd said Mr Howard had a "wheel of fortune" approach to fiscal policy.
"He engaged in a spendathon where he spun the wheel of fortune and then he spun it again at the last election," he said.
And he sarcastically described the Treasurer's response: "Our resolute, strong, disciplined, fiscally committed Treasurer said tick, tick, tick, tick. He's a man of robust, fiscally disciplined principle."
And Mr Rudd offered a new Labor agenda for reform - a systematic program to roll back business regulation, seeking to outflank the Howard Government as credible economic managers and reformers.
"We are deadly serious about this - I think the regulatory overhang on business has become unsustainably high, the Government's attempts at reform on this have failed, the quantum is right out of control," Mr Rudd said.
"When you start to have 15 per cent, 20 per cent of corporate time spent on compliance burdens you are killing enterprise, you are killing innovation, you are killing entrepreneurialism."
Mr Rudd said Labor had discussed ideas for institutionalising business deregulation in a Labor government, perhaps creating a minister for deregulation: "We think we can do it - we will have more to say about this."
On The 7.30 Report last night, Mr Howard ruled out a snap election. He said Parliament would definitely sit for the next two weeks, which meant an October 27 election at the earliest.
Struggling to buttress his leadership, he warned his colleagues it was too late in the electoral cycle to change leader now. Mr Howard admitted he had erred by spending too much time on the past and present, and not enough talking about the future. He refused to say whether he would serve a full term if re-elected.
In his Herald interview, Mr Rudd said Mr Costello was a failed Treasurer who also carried the baggage of complicity in Mr Howard's principal failings.
"At the end of the day, 11 years as deputy leader of the Liberal Party, he backed Mr Howard to the hilt on the Iraq war," Mr Rudd said.
"He backed Mr Howard to the hilt on Work Choices and would go further based on his statements on the public record.
"And he backed Mr Howard on his inertia on climate change, he did not engage departmentally on the water initiative, he presided over the disinvestment in our universities from 1996 to 2003-04 - I would say fail, fail, fail, fail.
"Here's the key challenge for this guy - you have since 2001-02 a resources boom. And so given this unique historical opportunity, what has Mr Costello done - has he seized the opportunity or squandered it?
"Has he seized the opportunity to invest in human capital? Nope.
"Has he seized the opportunity to invest in fundamental economic infrastructure? Nope.
"Has he seized the opportunity to rewrite the functional relationship between Canberra and the states? Nope.
"He has a litany of squandered opportunities. He has never become a genuinely reforming treasurer."
