Come on. She doesn't look that bad 
Posted on 01/23/2006 9:57:30 PM PST by naturalman1975
EDUCATION Minister Brendan Nelson would become the nation's defence minister as part of a Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Revealing his new ministry, Mr Howard said Dr Nelson would replace Senator Robert Hill as the defence minister.
Finance Minister Nick Minchin will become leader of the government in the Senate, with his deputy to be Helen Coonan.
Assistant Treasurer Mal Brough will become the families, community services and indigenous affairs minister.
Mr Howard said Tony Abbott, Peter Costello and Alexander Downer would remain in their portfolios of Health, Treasury and Foreign Affairs respectively.
He said Ageing Minister Julie Bishop would take over Dr Nelson's former portfolio of education and training.
Indigenous affairs would be taken out of Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone's portfolio and given to Mal Brough, who will become a cabinet minister with responsibility for families and community services.
The additions to the outer ministry include Bruce Billson, who will move from parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs to become the new veterans affairs minister.
Peter Dutton will become assistant treasurer and minister for revenue, taking over from Mr Brough, who has been promoted to the Cabinet.
Gary Nairn, now parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, becomes special minister of state, taking over from Eric Abetz.
Nationals MP Peter McGauran will remain in the agriculture portfolio, but will be helped by Senator Abetz who takes on the junior agriculture and fisheries portfolio.
The new ageing minister will be Queensland senator Santo Santoro, taking over from Ms Bishop.
Millionaire backbencher Malcolm Turnbull has been promoted to parliamentary secretary to the prime minister with particular responsibility for water policy.
Backbencher and former national director of the Liberal Party, Andrew Robb, will become parliamentary secretary to the minister for immigration and multicultural affairs.
Mr Howard said he had made the reshuffle decisions on the basis of performance and merit.
"Those who have not been successful should understand that I do try and do these things consistent with the obligation you do have to pay some regard to state balances and some regard to the balance between the House and the Senate," he said.
"I do endeavour as best I can to make decisions and promotions on the basis of performance and on the basis of merit."
Mr Howard said he had no previous inkling of Victorian Nationals senator Julian McGauran's decision to resign from his party in a bid to join the Liberal Party.
He defended his decision to cut the Nationals' representation in the overall ministry by one, with the axing of veterans' affairs minister De-Anne Kelly.
He said ultimately it was all a case of numbers.
"Politics ... is remorselessly governed by the laws of arithmetic," he said.
"The Government is formed by the party that gets the most seats, and then we live according to the laws of arithmetic, and that is the reality.
"I'm quite certain, and I say this for the benefit of all my Coalition colleagues, that if at some time in the future the proportions between the two parties were to change in favour of the National party, the Liberal Party would need to surrender a position."
Mr Howard said he had met Nationals leader Mark Vaile and discussed the issue last night.
"He obviously regrets what's occurred in relation to Senator McGauran, and I can understand that, but we have to deal pragmatically with the situation," he said.
"And the reality is that there are three National party ministers within the cabinet, including the deputy prime minister, and ... the major decision making body within any government is the cabinet."
Mr Howard said Dr Nelson had the ability to be an excellent defence minister.
"Brendan is a details man," Mr Howard said.
"Defence is a very challenging, detail-driven portfolio.
"It's a very big portfolio – it's a huge job and we want somebody in it who will burn the midnight oil."
Multicultural Affairs Minister John Cobb MP will become minister for community services under Mr Brough's newly expanded portfolio.
Mr Dutton will be replaced as minister for workforce participation by Sharman Stone.
Richard Colbeck will become parliamentary secretary to the minister for finance and administration.
Sussan Ley will become parliamentary secretary to the minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
Teresa Gambaro will become parliamentary secretary (foreign affairs) from defence parliamentary secretary.
Senator Sandy Macdonald will become parliamentary secretary to the minister for defence.
In the light of the possibility of his retirement at the next election, Warren Entsch had asked that he stand down as parliamentary secretary to the minister for industry, tourism and resources, Mr Howard said.
He will be replaced by Bob Baldwin.
I think this is a good choice - but it disappoints me as a teacher. Brendan Nelson was doing good things for education and I don't know what will happen with that now.
On the plus side, I know the new Minister for Veterans' Affairs very well, and I shall be bending his ear whenever appropriate.
So Liberals have taken over the Australian government? Now, down under, are liberals conservative, or are they still liberals (as in leftist socialist propoganda spewing powergrabbers)?
A coalition of the Liberal Party and National Party has been in power federally since 1996. These are both conservative parties.
There has been no change in overall government - John Howard remains the Prime Minister - but in our system, the cabinet can be periodically 'reshuffled' by a Prime Minister to reassign responsibility. The Defence Minister has recently resigned, and that has triggered a reshuffle and the Prime Minister has taken the opportunity to make some broader changes.
But it's mostly the same people - just some have changed jobs.
Aussie Liberals = Good guys
Socialists = Labour Party
Come on. She doesn't look that bad
Agreed. However even the ALP are far from radical on a number of social issues. For example, you won't hear them endorsing same sex marriages or polygamy as seems to be happening in places like Holland. The left in Europe and even the United States would be well to the left of any mainstream political groups in Australia.
The ALP may be to the Right of the left in Europe or the Us, but I'm not totally convinced of that staying that way. Beasley is a pretty much a moderate populist, and under him the ALP is likely to appear more centre than left. However they did run Mark Latham in the last election and apart from being a nutter he's right up there with the far left from anywhere (starting with being very anti-US).
However Latham got what he deserved. Beasley is a moderate and not a major concern. To be perfectly honest, I cannot see the ALP ever getting elected unless it keeps to the centre-right. Both Hawke and Keating were from the right of the party.
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