PM raises the spectre of an even bigger kick in the public's teeth
The indoctrination isn’t working. We have to increase the dosage. The indoctrination isn’t working. We have to increase the dosage… Where’s Penny Wong when you need her? Unfortunately, the Australian public are too smart for your nonsensical climate policies, Julia and Greg, as evidenced by the disastrous poll slump earlier today.
But hey, like I said, it’s got nothing to do with the policy being a crock of s#!t, it’s just that we’re not getting the message across properly. So we’ll waste even more of your taxpayer dollars with a pointless and, almost certainly, deeply irritating, advertising campaign. Seriously, it just gets worse. From ABC’s PM programme:
ALEXANDRA KIRK: The Government isn’t ruling out a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign. Julia Gillard’s reinforced the message on 7.30:
JULIA GILLARD: On Government advertising – from time to time we advertise to get necessary information to people, so I’m not going to rule in or rule out government advertising in the future.
PRESENTER: But it’s possible?
ALEXANDRA KIRK: PM has been told there’s a $30 million pool of funds for advertising that was never spent because of the demise of Kevin Rudd’s carbon pollution reduction scheme.
But an ad campaign before any carbon tax legislation’s introduced into parliament would leave the Government open to a barrage of criticism.
Government MPs are worried by today’s poll showing Labor eight points behind the Coalition after preferences. And they’re worried by the prospect of months more campaigning from Tony Abbott before the Government reveals the rate of the carbon tax and compensation to households and businesses.
Martin O’Shannessy says it all boils down to one thing.
MARTIN O’SHANNESSY: It’s certainly played out as a broken election promise that has left Julia Gillard taking opposite positions either side of an election.
It’s more damaging for her because if you like the license to lead us into the tough place of doing something about climate change and make no mistake, I believe that people do want to do something about climate change judging by the polling we’ve done [really? – Ed] But the license to lead us into that place is a bit of a, to mix metaphors, a double-edged sword.
A lot of optimism in Kevin Rudd, which obviously was dashed through the late 2009 and 2010 with Copenhagen being talked down and the CPRS going onto the backburner and that played out very badly for Kevin Rudd, there were other things going but these obviously important things.
It appears that Julia Gillard has disappointed in the other direction on this and people are punishing her for it. It’s a very sensitive issue that if you like amplifies their reactions. (source)
Can you imagine the voter anger at a taxpayer funded campaign for a policy that was expressly ruled out before the election? It really doesn’t bear thinking about… actually, Julia, go ahead and do it. It would finish you and your government off good and proper.
Australian Climate Madness 
I think you’re right on that one.
A taxpayer funded propaganda program, just after we’ve been asked to shell out for the Qld floods with a levy, will REALLY piss the voting public off.
Lets just see how daft and out of touch this government really is?
She repeated more or less the same thing on an interview with Chris Uhlmann on the 7.30 report tonight. Her demeanour during this interview was very poor – she looked more shifty than usual, and kept ducking and weaving, and couldn’t answer a straight question about “Australia going it alone.” She then had to resort to another lie – that even though U.S. Cap & Trade wasn’t going to get up in Congress, that American states were going it on their own.
To his credit, in the follow up interview with Leigh Sales, Uhlmann called her out on this lie, and pointed out that the U.S. was in retreat on this issue. How this comment got past the ABC thought police astounds me. I was speechless!
Uhlmann did a great job to be sure.
Credit where credit is due.
Hey, if you think it would help, we’ll send you Al Gore. He has experience and a track record in campaigns like this.
thanks julia giving a nice tips about business work.
I would put nothing past this lady. She is the consumate politician. Always ready with a weasel answer to a ticklish question. I hope she goes ahead and funds an advertising campaign with taxpayer dollars. That would seal her, and her party’s fate. Long live people power.