The economy and jobs was the big story on day four, with the unemployment rate remaining steady at 5.7 per cent in July.
Labor’s policy announcement
- It’s not a policy as such, but Kevin Rudd announced former Queensland premier Peter Beattie will be the candidate for the seat of Forde.
Coalition’s policy announcement
- Tony Abbott announced that a Coalition government would pay employers $3,250 per employee if they employ long-term unemployed person in Tasmania. The policy would be capped at 2,000 places and cost $6.5 million.
Must read
There’s been plenty of talk in recent times on the way this election is adopting a presidential approach.
Jonathan Green captured the meaning behind such a battle brilliantly in this piece, highlighting the switch towards charisma over substance — on both sides of the house.
Quote of the day
Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie’s political comeback made the biggest splash on Thursday, announcing he’ll be running for Labor in the Brisbane seat of Forde.
However, Member for Sturt, Chris Pyne, was far from thrilled with Beattie’s return, dishing up this tasty morsel:
“We’ve already got one narcissistic egomaniac from Qld in the Fed parliament in Kevin Rudd. We hardly need two.”
We shouldn’t be surprised at Mr Pyne’s ability to turn a phrase. After all, he’s the man who referred to the government’s education reform as “a con-ski” — and somehow managed to keep a straight face.
Tweet of the day
https://twitter.com/corybernardi/status/365353732642316288
Regardless of how you feel about Cory Bernardi’s politics you kind of have to admire his willingness to incite controversy.
Bernardi’s website proudly quotes a few journalistic summations made of the Liberal senator, calling him “one of the most controversial figures on the national stage”, and “an unapologetic advocate for conservative causes.” A slogan is stamped to the web page in red, like a branding stamp would sear into cattle. “Common Sense Live Here,” it reads.
Today, the focus is not in the tweet itself, but the image Bernardi has linked. Under the heading “Greens Fact #3” is written, “Greens senator Lee Rhiannon was a member of the…”—font colour change for dramatic effect—”…Communist Party of Australia.”
A blackened image of Rhiannon appears as the backdrop.
The tweet incited some equally as interesting replies from several directions:
“She didn’t change party. The party just changed it’s name.” – @TophStewart
“I like the use of colour, with McCarthy-ish tones.” – @herrlow
Inexplicably, Bernardi doesn’t seem to have included a #1 or #2 Greens fact. But that’s okay, this one has quite a lot to say for itself already.
— Kimberley Thomson
Slip of the day
On behalf of media snarks everywhere, we’d like to thank Stephanie Bannister for her gift Thursday morning.
In a blunder that would have made George W. Bush blush, the 27-year-old One Nation “poster child” put her foot in it when speaking to Channel 7.
“I don’t oppose Islam as a country, umm, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia,” Ms Banister said in the one-on-one interview.
Here at The Trail Wrap, we’d like to consider ourselves somewhat well-travelled, but none of the team has had their passport stamped crossing the border into the nation of Islam.
To cap off a shocker, Banister stated only two per cent of Australians “follow haram”.
Channel 7 reporter Erin Edwards quickly corrected Bannister’s mistake: “Or the Koran, as the Islamic text is known.”
Wrap by Liam Quinn and Erdem Koç. Follow them and send them tips on Twitter – @Quinn_LP and @erdemkoc.
Photo: Twitter – CanberraInsider
