How long can Iemma last?

[Matilda]

For years we in NSW have been asking what we've done to deserve the abysmal Labor government we have.
If the Libs had a halfway decent alternative, we may even be prepared to hold our noses and vote for
them. We've had to put up with the decline of our hospitals, schools, roads and transport, not to
mention standing by helplessley as the developers run the state for their own profit, while the
spivs, shysters and crooks in power cheer each other on to eventual retirement and a nice cushy
job with Macquarie Bank.

Funny, if a temper tantrum by the highly unpleasant wife of one of Iemma's ministers could be what
brings down this hated and reviled government; not to mention the courage of two hotel employees
who are stubbornly sticking to the statements they made in their statutory declarations. The
Minister has no doubt leant very heavily on the club's board, who in turn have hung their employees
out to dry. Two workers are sticking to their guns about the events of last weekend, and so on the
nose is this government that the public has no doubts about who is telling the truth. And it's
not the fat boy and his harpy wife.

Iemma needs Della Bosca's vote to push through the hated electricity sell-off, but pressure is
increasing, from both the public and his own parliamentary party, to get rid of this bully-boy, and
Iemma used the apology tended to Della by the club as reason not to sack him. Now it turns out that
the apology was written by none other than Della himself, blowing Iemma's defence of his mate right
out of the water.

Now there are not only rumours of Della Bosca's imminent departure, but also of a leadership spill
for the premiership as well. If this seemingly innocuous incident brings to an end the reign of
Iemma the Witless and his cohorts, only the developers will shed a tear.


Here's the latest news from the ABC:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/13/2273722.htm

[Random_Australian]

1. I agree. But what have we done to deserve this?

Maybe.... not paying attention to politics. With Bob Carr vs. lots and lots of utter losers (who were still better than anyone in the current pack), we got kinda complacent. As in, waaay too complacent. Nearly American levels of not picking up on bullshit.

Yeah, if you told me I'd look back fondly on John Brogden back when he was a contender, I probably would have spat in the stab wound I would have just given you. But now.... the state politicians are just so chock-full of incompetent fucking around that I'd seriously give the guy a chance. If he turned out to be not an utter arsehole, even voted for him. Ack. Of course, the good feeling it would give the federal creeps wouldn't help.

Bring back the Brog! Maybe. Sort of. Bring back at least vestigal competence!

[Matilda]

2. Labor policy of spin instead of action has been going on for a long time.

Wran was pretty good at it, but he also managed to keep a handle on what
was happening in the state as well. I think the rot set in with Bob
Carr - I thought he was useless, and could see the infrastructure
beginning to topple while he was in power, but he was a spinmeister
to rival any other, and managed to fool most of the people most of the
time. I think he got out when he realised he wasn't going to be able to
keep a lid on things any longer, with people beginning to realise that
hospitals, schools, and roads were in a bad way, and transport in
terminal decline. Iemma just made a bad situation worse - the man
couldn't organise a teaspoon into a cup, and his ministers are too
busy pandering to the corporations to find time to come up with any
bright ideas of their own.

I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to vote for Brogden, but I did
think I could live with him, and I hoped he'd be elected when Iemma
faced the people for the first time. But thanks to the good old
Christian Right, he got done before we ever had a chance to see what he
could do. And the current Liberal leadership is enough to make you
wish they'd bring back Nick Greiner or Kerry Chikarovski, who at least
knew which end was up.

I'm so mad about it, I swear if there's a revolution in the streets, I'll
be there. I can't see what else is going to change anything.

[Random_Australian]

3. I'm too young to know about Wran, Greiner or Chikarovski, but I certainly agree -

our state government is as full of incompetent pandering as it is full of shit.

[Matilda]

4. I'm guilty of some Schadenfreude, watching Neal's pack of cards fall apart.

I do recall during the last election, when it was announced she had won preselection for her seat,
that a lot of people in her electorate were pissed off, because they didn't like her and didn't want
her to represent them. It was her husband's clout in Sussex Street that got her in, not her own
abilities or popularity.

If - and it is still an if - she's charged with any offence, Della Bosca must surely be charged as an
accessory, and that makes his position in state Labor very tenuous, at the least. The Opposition is
now ahead of the government in the polls, and there really is a possibility that this could be the
nail in Iemma's coffin.

I never thought I'd be happy to see a Labor government pushed out, but they are so incompetent, and
so arrogant with it, I just want to see it happen. If only somebody could get something on Costa
and Sartor - I'd love to see those two bite the dust.

[no safe haven]

5. Not to mention corrupt...

...lazy - but above all, as you say, arrogant. There are a few decent pollies in the NSW govt (John Watkins?), but I fear they are pushed aside by the ambitions of the big three - Costa, Della, Sartor. By the time Sartor and his developer mates have finished with Sydney, the place will have even less heritage sites than it has now and resemble the Gold Coast. Costa is an avowed globalist and brings to government all the negative associations that come with that mindset. One down and two to go!

You mentioned Chikka - also totally useless and in someone's pocket. I question whether the Libs will be any different to Labor, since state politics is extremely dirty where an honest pollie has no place. Too many grafts to be had and too little oversight. The Libs showed their hand when they did the dirty on Peter Collins, a decent man and probably the last Lib, or any state pollie for that matter, with any sense of integrity. It's been downhill for both parties since then.

I agree with Kevin Rudd that the whole question of federalism needs to be reviewed and the power and purse strings prised from the grasp of greedy state pollies. Leave them to set bus, train and ferry timetables. Oh, wait....

[RFKHumphreyObama]

6. I would have helped out campaigning in Robertson if Neal hadn't been the candidate

I'm in the ALP and her electorate is not far away from where I live so it wouldn't have been much of a commute. But I was disgusted when Neal was pre-selected for the seat because I've always thought she was a overrated, overhyped, undertalented political figure married to an overrated, overhyped and undertalented factional hack. Neal and Della Bosca represent the worst stereotypes of the ALP and, quite frankly, I was hoping that the Liberals would keep Robertson even while I wanted Labor to win government because I didn't feel that Neal would be an asset to the Parliament. My judgment has obviously been vindicated

I'm considering leaving the ALP at the moment because I am so disgusted with Iemma and Costa. Both of them are just such smug, arrogant, incompetent buffoons and they have such a blatant disregard and contempt for both the rank and file of their party and for the voters. I'm truly disgusted with this Labor government and cannot imagine voting for them again

[Matilda]

7. I'd never heard of her until the election, when she won preselection,

and then only because locals were calling foul. She obviously wasn't at all memorable when she was
in the Senate, because it was "Belinda who?" for most people. Then "Della Bosca's wife", and the
situation was all too clear. And it was also clear that she didn't have a lot of friends in her
electorate, but it was a safe seat.

I'd love to see her sacked from the Labor Party if she's found to have a case to answer by the NSW
police. If she's not sacked now, I hope and pray that Rudd will defy Sussex Street and put his
efforts into making sure she's not preselected again, anywhere.

I don't know what the rules are regarding preselection - I know the decisions are made ultimately in
Sussex Street (which is where the current rot started), but I don't know how much power the PM has
to push things one way or the other. Hopefully a new and popular PM will have enough power to get
rid of her.