Personally though I think the poll was good news for Decimal. If 70% preferred Mr O’Seven and 21% were undecided Decimal has the chance to build to 30%. Or of course to fall off the chart entirely.

“There is no compensation fund, nor should there be. How can any sum of money replace a life deprived of knowing your family? Separation was then, and remains today, a painful but necessary part of public policy in the protection of children. Our restitution for this lies in our determination to address today’s injustices, learning from what was done and healing those who suffered.”

Apart from the ingenuous refusal to understand the principle of compensation (which never replaces what was lost), saying that we need to learn from what was done only one sentence after saying separations were necessary just floored me. Of course separations based on child protection principles are justified, then and now. But what a dog whistle to suggest that that’s what last Wednesday was in any way about. Shame. Shame. Shame.

What a tiny man Nelson revealed himself to be: cowardly in every dimension.

Regardless of the actual debate about any issue, the Australian people, through accepted Democratic process, elected the Rudd Government to govern. It is the Opposition’s job to monitor, scrutinise, and where it deems appropriate, criticise the program put forward by the government.

If, in this particular policy area, the people in question, the Aboriginal people of this country, simply cannot be helped if there is any hint of dissent within parliament, then I would venture that they are beyond helping. You are allowed to disagree with someone in this country, and it is the job of the opposition to voice this disagreement publicly.

I would venture what Rudd is doing is mere politics, which is fine, but not being called what it is. Drainers make drains, politicians make politics.

and this where “Senior Libs” say they should have forced howard to quit.

this could only have happened with the Coalition in opposition.

The former minister for workplace relations now saying

And former employment minister Joe Hockey says most members of the Howard cabinet were unaware of how the original Work Choices legislation allowed workers to lose conditions without compensation.

This is why i dont like the voting on party lines thingy, John/Kevin/Brendan says do this.

and

The former ministers also say the Coalition should have signed the Kyoto Protocol years before last year’s election – although it was unclear whether they supported former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull’s failed cabinet recommendation of last year.