Generator said:
As my previous post suggested, as an outsider, he didn't stand for a conservative and bland Labor party run by the factions. Latham may not have been the best person to lead the party (unlike others, I thought that his performance as leader wasn't that bad, even without a law degree under his belt
), but at least he sought to push the party onto a distinct political path (as much as he could, anyway). Beazley may be liked by many as the conservative yet verbose man that he is, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's the best person to lead a party that has been in opposition for so long. The ALP is in need of something new yet relevant, and it seems as though Beazley and the faction system will only deliever what is relevant. If the ALP is to account for the 'why fix what isn't broken' idea at the federal level, then something has to change.
exactly! Latham, in comparison to Australia's newfound conservative political environment, could even be considered as revolutionary.
Recalling the proposed policies for the 2004 campaign, who recalls his $8 billion hospital plan for elderly people (forgot what it was called, something involving a senior gold pass), i mean cmon, that was a potential policy of pure genius?
and Howard's reply? $12 billion increased funding to hospitals. yeah just throw money at it why don't you. the last time i've heard anything close to Latham's idea and display of leadership from the Howard government is porbably the *cough*medicare safety net*cough*. (IMO that was one shitty plan, no one understood how it worked...why? because it doesn't.)
and in light of his tasmanian forest policies. he lowered his political rating in TA for the sake of a radical environmental plan. When's the last time you seen Howard do anything like that for the sake of the environment? (or even Beazley) That's not leadership, that sacrifice.
The media's influence is quite scary; the majority in this thread already seem to show at the very least, minor convictions that affirm the general consensus of the media. He called the Liberal party "a congo-line of suckholes"...cmon you gotta give him something for that. Not only is he bloody hilarious, he's also honest with his feelings too. and you what? it's true. the liberal party have just been sucking up to everyone for the last decade they've been in office; the elderly, the taxpayers, the taxpayers who pay top marginal rate (so they can 'work harder' but in reality it's just so the party can recieve more donations to the party from the big shots), home owners (blatant interest rate promises), even our buddy Mr. George Walker Bush
He could have been the Gough Whitlam of the 21st century; albeit Gough Whitlam screwed up the economy [during a time a global recession due to backdoor oil trading] he has remained the most revolutionary political figure in Australia (think medicare).ps. in case you don't know Whitlam was Mark's mentor during the 80s...and he also has a bachelors of economics degree at Sydney uni...with honours. (he may have screwed up in liverpool, alright, give him a break. then again the incident was more probable than not, taken out of context)
the autobiography is Mark Latham's explicit opinion, which should be respected instead of rejected. i can't wait to read it.
