2 days after the election

Ch - ch - ch - ch - changes

It’s been 2 days since the triumphant win of Kevin Rudd and the Labor party over John Howard and the Liberal coalition.

This is what has occurred over the past few days:

Bye Bye Mr. Costello
Prime Minister in waiting, former Treasurer Peter Costello has decided not to become the Liberal leader and exit out of politics for a life in the commercial business world.

Bye Bye Deputy PM
Former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals party has also quit as the leader of the Nationals.

New Liberal leader candidates
Malcolm Turnbull (former environment minister), Peter Abbott (former health minister) and Brendan Nelson (former defense minister) have declared their intentions for the leadership of the Liberal party. Also possibly in the running may be Julia Bishop from Western Australia.

Unlike past leader John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull is all for ratifying Kyoto.

Kevin Rudd acting quickly
Only 2 and half days into the job and Kevin Rudd is already looking into the following:

• Ratifying the Kyoto protocol
• Saying “Sorry” to the Aboriginal people
• Abolishing Work Choices (through a Liberal Senate)
  
• Selecting a new Cabinet on Thursday
• Providing every secondary student with a PC

Former PM seat still not accounted for
The riding of Bennelong, to which former PM John Howard has held since 1974 is still not decided. The outcome is dependent on postal votes being counted. Results are not expected until Friday. But it is looking like a Labor win.

Commentary
The Liberal party needs to rebuild itself and provide a viable opposition in parliament. Hope to be able to connect with voters in the next election with a new leader and a new vision.

The Labor party has to come through with their promises and show that their union history will not interfere with business and economic polices .

Kevin Rudd – new Australian Prime Minister

The Labor party lead by Kevin Rudd has swept into power defeating the Liberal coalition led by John Howard.

At 11:02pm Kevin Rudd addressed the nation as the new Prime Minister of Australia. Thanking John Howard for his service, outlining the plans for the next 3 years and thanking all who supported him (a long list).

After 11 and half years of a Liberal coalition government, the Labor party has come into power on the popularity of Kevin Rudd and a year long movement of change by the Australian people.

Some seats are still to be decided, including the seat of former Prime Minister John Howard. But it looks like of the 150 seats in parliament it breaks down like this:

Labor: 84
Liberal Coalition: 58
Independent: 2
Too close to call: 6

I will write in the next day or two on the final outcome of this election as all the ballots are counted and decisions are made for the future by both the Labor and Liberal party. It will be interesting days ahead, especially for the Liberal party as they decide on a new leader.

Election Polls and Cheap Airfares

The Polls – Mixed Results

One day before the federal election and polling is inconsistent. Three polling results have been released today and they are all over the place.

A Galaxy poll is showing a primary vote for Labor with 52% and 48% for the Liberal coalition. Where as a Nielson/Fairfax poll, is showing 57% for Labor versus 43% for the coalition. Finally a telephone poll has found 45.5% of the vote for Liberal collation and 54.5% for Labor.

Labor needs to unseat 16 Liberal seats to win the election. That would require a massive change to the electorate. But all year polling has been favouring Labor and all through the election.

“Polling in 22 marginal Coalition seats found only a 5.2 swing to Labor. That would still see Labor win - but only just. "This suggests an ALP gain of between 14 and 20 seats even with the likelihood of Labor losing a seat in Western Australia.”

Now that it’s down to the wire, it’s up to the people of Australia to decide.

What mood are they in ?
In the mood for change or content with the existing government of the past 11 and half years?

It’s a very divided electorate. Tomorrow night we will know the outcome.

Tiger Airways, a new low cost alternative

Tiger Airways a subsidiary of Singapore airlines and RyanAir have entered the Australian domestic market with low cost air fares. The prices range from $40 to $200. But if booked in advance you can get flights in the range of $40 – $90.

Today was the launch of the Australian service and to celebrate Tiger announced a one day sale of 75,000 tickets for $19.95. I snapped up a flight for 2 to Adelaide in March for $80 return. A deal considering that the petrol for a car would be 3-4 times the cost.

Australia already has 2 low cost carries in Virgin Blue and Jet Star, a Qantas subsidiary. Tiger has said they are here to compete and offer Australians a low-cost alternative. I personally welcome their arrival to Australia and have already booked two flights with them. The first one in January to the Sunshine Coast and another one today to Adelaide. In both cases I have had reaped huge savings compared to the alternatives. But both flights were purchased on special deals. I will wait and see what prices are like going forward.

But the introduction of Tiger has created price wars between Tiger and Jet Star. There have been $9 fares offered by both airlines. This week Jet Star offered 5 cent fares. But it was limited to 5000 tickets and limited destinations.

With the backing of Singapore airlines and RyanAir, Tiger is here to compete and also make a profit. I look forward to the competition this creates. The winner in this is the Australian flyer.

When I have my first flight in January, I will write about my experience with Tiger Airways.

A change in government ?

Are Australians coming out of their slumber ?
On Saturday November 24th 2007, Australians go to the polls to choose a federal government. According to the polls it looks like Labor will upset the Liberal collation to win. But anything can happen between now and Saturday. For the past 11 years John Howard has been the Prime Minister. I don’t expect it will be an easy election to win for either party and it will be a close call that could go either way.

Probably for the first time in Howard’s 11 year tenure he has a real challenger in Labor leader Kevin Rudd. The Australian people have finally woken up from their slumber and are interested in politics again. During Howard’s reign many people were content to stay away from politics and “enjoy the fruits of the economic boom and leave the running of the country to Howard for most of that time.”

But now people have re-engaged politically and want to “redress issues of equity and morality, and to push for more active policies to deal with their concerns over climate change.”

The Two Leaders – Rudd and Howard

It looks like the Labor party can finally be taken serious and the main reason behind that is Kevin Rudd. Kevin Rudd is different from previous Labor leaders and the PM. He’s much younger than the PM and looks like a nerd with glasses. But over the past year he has exuded a certain “je ne sais quoi”. School children, especially girls scream and rush for him. Young adults wear Kevin07 logos on their T-shirts and dresses. He provides an alternative to the older John Howard, even though many of his economic/tax policies mirror the Liberal collation. Compared to Howard he is concerned about climate change and talks about the future of Australia and all it’s people in a compassionate way. He talks about Australia in a global sense and aims to ensure Australia is ready to compete in a global way.

As for John Howard he turned 68 this year and is the 2nd longest serving PM. His main attributes have been his conviction, self-belief and cunning. He is also the master at "Plausible Deniability" and can dismiss anything he does not want to talk about. If Howard wins the election he will leave office 18-24 months into his term and pass the touch to the Treasurer/Finance minister – Peter Costello. Does any of this sound familiar my fellow Canadian readers ? Howard has not talked about the future and seems to only be concerned about the economy.

What sets these 2 parties apart, let’s have a look:

The issues
The top issues for many people and both parties are the economy, climate change, work choices, education, health, national security and the troops in the Iraq war.

What does Labor stand for ?
The areas where Labor differs from Liberals are in climate change, work choices and education. Kevin Rudd and the Labor government are committed to policies for climate change (emission targets, clean and renewable energy), including ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Abolishing Work Choices is another priority and establishing a high-speed broadband network across the country as part of their education revolution.

What does Liberal collation stand for ?
Where as the Liberals, have been preaching the economy is their strength. They are the ones who can best manage the economy and guarantee low interest rates. They are using past Labor governments and high interest rates as an example of how Labor will “stuff our economy” in television ads. As a government that preaches about the economy they are promising lower taxes and tax rebates. As for other areas I am not too sure, all I hear is the economy. I know they have an education plan for more technical colleges. They implemented Work Choices, so no change there. As for the environment, they won’t ratify Kyoto. But they are concerned about the environment, once countries like India and China set emission targets.

The Outlook
As I stated earlier it’s going to be a close election. All through the campaign Labor has been leading the polls. But within the past week the gap between the 2 parties have narrowed substantially.

There are many people out there who are content with the current Liberal (Howard) government and will vote to keep it the same.

At the same time there are people who are concerned with the environment/climate change, work choices, education and the future of Australia and will vote for Labor.

Commentary
When I hear John Howard speak I hear an arrogant man and government. Their main concern is only the economy and make sure it’s growing. I find that he is out of touch with real people and has no ideas for the future of Australia.

I personally want Kevin Rudd and the Labor party to win this election. When I hear Kevin Rudd speak, he makes me believe in a better Australia. A government with compassion and integrity, that isn’t only concerned about the economy but people.

Regardless of the outcome, the days leading to and the night of the election will be interesting. There are people that want a change and those ok with the status quo. One good thing is people are talking about and concerned about the future of Australia.

A cinematic experience:

Blade Runner: The Final Cut
2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the movie Blade Runner. For this occasion Warner Brother has released a version of the film called Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It has been showing in North America in limited release across the continent. It made it to Melbourne this past weekend and on Saturday I took in a screening at the Astor theatre. It was projected using a digital projector at 4K resolution. The projector was brought in special for this showing of Blade Runner.Over the past 25 years Blade Runner has garnered cult status as being one of the most influential films of modern time. Initially when Blade Runner was released it was a flop both commercially and critically. When the film was released in 1982, it was not what film maker, Ridley Scott intended. It was changed from the director’s view to make it more accessible to the audience with voiceovers and a happy ending.

In the early 90’s Warner Bros. released Blade Runner as a Director’s cut because of increased interest in the film. This director cut was not really the director’s cut as he had little involvement in it. But it changed quite a few things that annoyed him. The voice-over was removed, being the big change.

In 2000 there was a movement towards a real director’s cut, but because of legal issues it didn’t resolve itself for a few years. Finally when all the legal obstacles were cleared work began to create a release to celebrate the 25th anniversary.

A lot of work was done cleaning up the film removing dust, scratches and other defects. The film was scanned at 4K resolution and colour-timed to Ridley’s specifications. As for the changes Ridley Scott made, it’s not that different from the Director’s cut from 1992.

Changes were made to make the film complete. Small edits were made to make the film flow smoothly. As well as fixing numerous continuity errors and adding scenes to flesh out the story or atmosphere of the movie. Lots of small digital enhancements, effects and changes were made to fix problems with the original production and continuity issues. As well the audio was remixed to make use of current surround sound technology. The changes do not change the film in any way and add to the overall authenticity to the film.

I was 5 years old when Blade Runner was initially released and 15 when the Director cut was released on VHS and a limited theatrical showing. I was never a big fan of Blade Runner. I always thought it was a cool movie for it’s time. But had already seen and experienced movies that were influenced by it. But I am glad I got to see it on the big screen at a theatre in such a good condition. The film will never look as good as it did on the digital projector at 4K resolution I saw. It was quite amazing; it looked like a modern film. I am glad I saw one of the iconic films of the 20th century at the cinema and not on a 27” square television.

This definitive version of Blade Runner will be released on DVD and Blu-ray(1080P High-Definition) on December 18/19, 2007.

Howard Spoof and Melb. Blogs

John Howard pimps his campaign
To get a view into some of the issues facing the 2007 federal election, have a look at this video spoofing John Howard:



Melbourne Blogs
If you are contemplating visiting Melbourne; the best place to get info on places to eat or visit are blogs, check out the following blogs:

The Breakfast Blog
Need a yummy breakfast, check out the Breakfast Blog and aim for a rating of 19/20. No place has ever received 20/20.

Tomato
Looking for a place to eat or other items to consume - drinks and sweets.

The Melbourne Coffee Review
Melbouranian's love their coffee. They have their own special names and type of coffee. Check out the best places in Melbourne to drink a cup of coffee.

Melbourne Today
See a different picture each day of Melbourne. You never know what you will see.

Melbourne Buildings
A site with pictures and history of significant buildings in Melbourne.

Aussie Customs

Being in Australia for close to a year now; I have observed or inferred the following Australian customs or cultural practices.

Common foods (fast food or pub food)

Meat Pie

Sausage roll

Sausage sizzle – sausage served with onions (optional), on a piece of white bread, with the bread folded up to create a bun. You can also add tomato sauce (ketchup).

Sausage sizzles are very popular during summer to eat or serve for fund raisers or at social events like lawn bowling.

Sausages on their own (Snags) are popular BBQ items to eat during summer.

Kebabs – Lamb kebabs served in pita bread or Turkish bread is very popular. I would say the 2nd most popular after a tie for first for meat pie and sausages. You can also get chicken or beef (Steak) kebabs.

Sushi – Take away Sushi is very popular here, especially with the young people. It is not uncommon to see young people walking down the street or on the bus eating Sushi out of clear plastic containers.

Fish and Chips are very common in Australia. Many neighborhoods have their own Fish and Chips restaurants.

Chicken Parma or Chook Parma – is a chicken schnitzel or huge chicken breast breaded with tomato sauce, pieces of ham and melted cheese on top of it.

It is a very common dish at pubs. Many pubs will designate a cheap parma night or Beer and Parma for a reduced price. Usually comes with chips and salad.

Drinks

Cordial (a sweet liquid) is a very popular drink here in Oz. Your pour a cap full or splash into a glass of water or soda water.

Milo is popular chocolate drink, described as malted chocolate drink. It was developed in Sydney in 1934. Milo is also very popular in the Caribbean and in Asian countries.

Beer – When ordering beer at a pub or bar and you want a small glass ask for a pot and for the largest ask for a pint. Valid for the state of Victoria, other states have their own naming conventions.

Social Customs

The 21^st Birthday seems to be a very important age to celebrate, becoming an adult ? People will have big parties or celebrate in a special way with large groups of people – family and friends.

For regular Birthdays or other significant occasions, a lot of people will celebrate at Bar/Pub/Funky bar. You invite all your friends/family, say join me for a drink. Those who show up share in your special occasion.

Clothing/Footwear

Singlet
Is basically a T-shirt without arms and less material around the shoulders and upper chest, worn by men during summer time.

Thongs
Thongs or flip flops to North Americans are plastic rubbery slippers. Many people will wear this in summer time both men and women.

Words/Slang

Mate
It’s common to refer to both males and females as mate.
Examples: Thanks mate, See you mate, Cheers mate.

Ta
Ta is thanks. It is more common to hear Ta than thanks.

A spring weekend in Melbourne

The weather has been warming up and on the weekend we decided to take advantage of it. On Saturday it was 26 degrees, we went for a bike ride along the beaches of Melbourne’s southern suburbs. We took our bikes on the train into the city to Flinders’ Street station and then transferred trains to take us to Brighton Beach. This is south east of the centre of the city.
As we rode about 11km from Brighton Beach to the Port of Melbourne we rode through different areas. At times there could be beach on one side and road on the other. Or beach and green park lands, restaurants and lavish houses that look like they could be in Miami or Beverly Hills. Not only were there beaches for people, but also beaches for dogs and their owners.
On the beach people could be seen sun-bathing, reading, sleeping, flying a kite or in the water cooling off. Further on the horizon you could see sailboats out for a leisurely sail or racing with other sailboats.

As I was riding and taking in all the sites, I was enjoying the sun and the warmth. I was amazed that I was doing this in November and that there was no icky humidity.

After our ride we headed to a park to meet up with some friends and enjoyed the afternoon sitting out in the sun, having lunch and talking. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The Melbourne Cup

On the first Tuesday of November, The Melbourne Cup is held. It is billed as The race that stops a nation. In the city of Melbourne, it is a holiday, but not one that is recognized by all organizations. I had to work today, as Universities are open.

The Melbourne Cup is the culmination of the spring racing carnival. It is a marquee event that attracts over 100,000 people to Flemington Racecourse. Two big things that occur on this day are betting and dressing up.

About 80% of the Australia population will place a bet on the race. Either through proper betting organization or through home or workplace “sweeps”. In the workplace sweep, you place a small wager anywhere from $2 - $5 and draw a horse randomly like a raffle.

If you are lucky to attend the race it is a time to dress up. For men it is custom to wear a suit. For women it’s all about the dress and the hat. The hat is the focal point of the entire look.As for the race itself; 24 horses scheduled (3 years and older) race a distance of 3200 metre’s (or almost 2 miles) at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. The winning owner receives 5 million dollars. The first race took place in 1861, at that time the winnings was 170 British pounds and a gold watch.

The reason it is called the race that stops a nation is that no matter if you are working or not, at 3pm you will stop for 5 mins to watch the race, if you have access to a TV.

The 2007 Melbourne Cup

The winner of this year’s Melbourne Cup was #6 Efficient, ridden by Michael Rodd at 15-1 odds. In second place was Purple Moon and in third Mahler.

21 horses ran for the cup with 3 scratches earlier in the day. Master O’Reilly had been favoured to win, along with Purple Moon and Zipping.

I took in the race with other University colleagues’ watching on a projector. I also entered into the office sweeps. I got the last horse on the $5 sweep, #24 Mahler. I have tripled my money, with a 3rd place finish.

Over 120,000 people attended the Melbourne cup this year and for the rich and famous it’s all about shoomizing and being seen. Various companies or parties have their tents (similar to Oscar parties) where people can visit, mingle, eat and drink. For the rest of people there is a segment of the crowd that wants to be noticed. They dress-up in loud colours and bold costumes.

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD

Today’s blog entry is on the 2 (Blu-ray and HD-DVD) competing High-Definition formats vying to replace DVD. If you are not into technology or audio/video standards you may not even be aware of these 2 formats. So far both standards have attracted the niche uses or early adopters. Intent on having the highest quality these “early adopters” are the first people to embrace new technology. Because there are 2 formats, it has created a situation where people (average consumers) who are aware of them are not budging until one format is the winner. They do not want to buy hardware/software that is obsolete (ie. Betamax vs VHS).

A brief history of past formats - VHS, DVD and Television

When DVD came out 10 years ago it increased the resolution you saw on VHS 200 - 230lines (330 x 480) to 400 – 500 lines (720 x 480) for DVD. It provided a big step in quality, sharpness and colour reproduction.

At the same time DVD came out there was movement towards Hi-Definition TV. Standard analogue broadcasts were 330 lines (440 x 480) resolution range.

High-Definition increased picture quality to 720 – 1080 lines. Also changing was the format of the TV to a widescreen format, also known as 16:9 aspect ratio.

Over the past 7 years high-definition TV has been gaining ground as televisions sold became capable of accepting and showing higher resolutions and cheaper to buy.

The next DVD format

Back in 2002 there was work towards a high resolution format/player that would succeed DVD. In 2005 the technology had advanced to the point it became viable to implement. But there was a split between 2 companies – Toshiba and Sony. To spare you all the details, 2 competing products emerged: HD-DVD (supported by Toshiba/NEC/Microsoft) and Blu-ray (supported by Sony/Panasonic/Samsung/Pioneer/Sharp/Hitachi/LG).The first HD-DVD player from Toshiba and accompanying HD-DVD titles were released on April 18, 2006 in North America.

In June 2006 the first Blu-ray player from Samsung and accompanying Blu-ray titles were released.

HD-DVD beat Blu-ray by 2 months. And for the past 18 months there has been a format war between the 2 formats.

Technology (Interactive Features)

These players are capable of displaying 1080 lines of resolution (1920 x 1080) and advanced interactive features. As well as being backward compatible with DVD. They each have different methods and technology for implementing high-definition picture and interactive features. But I will not go into the technology.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray both have advanced capabilities like PIP (Picture in Picture). The ability to have a 2nd video/audio stream (a window on top of the movie) and show things like video commentary from the director or how special effects were done while the movie is playing.

Other advanced features include accessing a menu while the movie is playing, no longer having to exit the movie to go into special features, select a scene or adjust audio functions. Another feature is pop-up windows displayed during the movie, with facts and information. The technology also allows games to be played that have themes similar to the movie.

Side-note:Blu-ray has only started implementing the hardware to do PIP functionality as of Oct 31^st, 2007. Only one player released on Nov 6^th is capable of this function. Because of this no Blu-ray disc has had this function, expect for a select few which used other technical methods to achieve this. But new players announced after Oct 31. will be capable of this. Where as HD-DVD has had the hardware and capability to do PIP from day one.

Software Rules!

Different movie studio’s support different formats and there is only 1 studio that supports both. Here is the break down:

HD-DVD
Universal, Paramount and DreamWorks studio’s exclusively support HD-DVD

Blu-ray
Sony, Disney, Fox/MGM, and Lionsgate exclusively support Blu-ray

HD-DVD and Blu-ray
Warner Brothers and its subsidiary New Line Cinema releases in both formats.

Software sales

For the past 9 months Blu-ray has held a 2:1 sales advantage over HD-DVD. Despite having players that are more expensive than HD-DVD.

Pricing

In the United States particularly, Toshiba has been pricing their player much lower than Blu-ray. Being the only manufacture and main supporter of HD-DVD it’s their prerogative to do so. Currently in the states you can get a player for as low as $198. Some sales of older hardware are selling for $98 (but only for a short time, Nov 2-4, 2007). On the Blu-ray side the cheapest you can get a Blu-ray player for is $400.

Toshiba has been consistently lowering their prices where as the Blu-ray members have started high $1000 and slowly come down to $400-500 range.

Final Thoughts

I have been following this “format war” for the past year and a half. It’s starting to get a bit tiring following it. There are 2 groups, each who really believe in their format and want it to win. I personally want Blu-ray to win because of some of the technical issues and the fact it has 5 studios, 4 exclusively supporting Blu-ray.

My main concern is that neither format succeeds and it turns into a niche product. Most people think DVD is high definition or is good enough. Also most people don’t even have high definition TVs to take advantage of Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

As someone who has enjoyed the big screen aspect of home theatre, I definitely want to experience High-Definition movies at home.

The problem may be that DVD was to successful for its own good. When it reached mass consumption, it drove down the prices for hardware and software. You can now go into to a Walmart or Kmart and pick up a DVD player for $40 and DVD movies (not brand new, but not too old either) for $5-20 dollars.

If people are not perceiving an improved product with high definition media, because their TV cannot display it or they think DVD is high definition, why are they going to spend hundred of dollars on a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player and $30-40 for movies ?

The dilemma that both hardware and movie studio’s face is that they want to start a new revenue steam because prices for DVD players/software have plateau.

The only way around it I see, is education by both the hardware companies and the movie studios. They need to differentiate it from DVD. But before that happens one format needs to win and then I can see a possible future for High-Definition media.

Halloween and Health Minister

In today’s posting I want to talk about 2 issues - Halloween and the Health Minister.

Halloween in Oz

Yesterday was Halloween; Halloween is not part of Australian culture. But because of the influence of American television, movies and the Internet children want to take part in it. Yesterday on the morning radio shows, many adults were very anti-Halloween. Saying it was an American tradition and not Aussie. Today on the radio morning program there were many parents calling in and saying their children were getting doors slammed in their face. Children go Trick or Treating and target any house. Because it is not a tradition in Oz that have not adopted the Jack-o-Lantern rule we have in Canada. Where a Jack-o-Lantern or even lights turned on, signal that a house is accepting of Trick or Treaters.

As Halloween gains more popularity in Australia I think this should be adopted. I don’t think this time of year is pumpkin season in Oz. Just even turning the lights on and having a decoration on the door would do. This would make it easier for Trick or Treaters and not have so many unhappy children. I may pose this to the Mayor’s of Melbourne and its suburbs.

Federal Health Minister – A disgrace

Right now the campaign for a Federal election is on. Yesterday was not a very good day for the Health Minister – Tony Abbott. It was a “bad day” that included 2 apologies for mistakes he made. First he had to apologize both personally and publicly to a terminally-ill asbestos campaigner, Bernie Banton. In a public outburst the Health Minister suggested he was not “pure of heart”. Mr. Banton has been petitioning for the inclusion of a drug (Mesotheliomia) to be put on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.

Then he had to apologize for arriving 35 minutes late for a health debate with Labor’s health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon. At the end of the debate there was a terse exchange between the two as they shook hands. Ms. Roxon stated – you could have been here on time if you really wanted to. Mr. Abbott’s reply was “That’s bullshit. You’re being deliberately unpleasant. I suppose you can’t help yourself, can you ?”

Mr. Abbot did not apologize for “That’s bullshit” comment and later stated you can say that to someone and still have respect for them and the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) used that word all the time.

I was very angered at the Health Minister’s demeanour and actions yesterday. He seems very arrogant and out of touch with how to treat people. Coming from Canada, the country that always say “excuse me or sorry” it was a shock to me that a politician act this way.

Although Canadian politicians are not always kind to other politicians I can’t seem to recall in recent memory that kind of behaviour especially to constituents.

This is a different country than Canada, a country where men are men. They act tough, blokey and swear. Not all of them; see Labor leader Kevin Rudd and his team. Maybe that’s why they(Labor party) won’t get elected. They seem too intellectual, calm and reserved. No Aussie charisma! I hope that’s not the case. The people of Australia deserve better than a Liberal/Howard government. Even if they don’t know it and stick with what they know because they feel “ok and comfortable”.