Tuesday, August 07, 2007

How to Speak Your Mind Aussie Style

Kiwiblog reports an interview with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. He was asked what he thought about the handful of protesters outside the Gnat’s conference.
Well they are from the Socialist Alliance. These people are losers, you know.
They lost the Soviet Union and they lost the Cold war. Yes I thought about them.
It was raining and I thought the harder it rains the wetter they’ll get.

Can you imagine a British politician saying that? They would drone on about what a democratic country we are for allowing them to express their opinion in the form of a public protest!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yet at least half the regular protesters around the place are the same old Trots who have been protesting since Aldermaston was opened...

Tapestry said...

I used to play tennis with Lecky Downer at school. He had a sense of humour then, and was a popular boy. Not overendowed with grey matter though, but too much of that can clearly be a hindrance in Australian politics. They like straight talking down there, unlike our twisted lot of spinning two faced creeps.

Johnny Norfolk said...

Spot on Iain. Thats exactly what is wrong with Britain today. You are not allowed to speak your mind.

I do and a lot of people get very upset by it.if I am allowed to say that.

jjafo said...

There's a lot to be said for plain speaking - and the Australians certainly like to tell it like it is. I recall hearing an item on a news programme a year or two ago when the Australians had had problems at a detention centre for asylumn seekers, whereby said asylum seekers rioted and caused considerable damage to the centre. Among the rioters' complaints was that the detention centre was situated a long way from anywhere in the middle of Australia. (I know Austalia is huge and everywhere is a long way from anywhere, but that's not the point).

I recall hearing a female Australian politician being interviewed about the disturbances. The interviewer asked her if the Austalian Government was going to make any concessions because of the riots.

"Concessions?" said politician indignantly "To a bunch of ungrateful bastards we didn't ask to come here in the first place? Not likely".

Don't think the interviewer knew quite what else to ask...........

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

I agree. That's why I'm emigrating to Oz together with 1000s of potential Tory voters.

Oz, France, NZ... will soon all have sensible right wing governments.

The Tories are trying to brand themselves as soft lefties at a time when the major concerns are crime & immigration.

Iain, please call "a spade a spade". Cameron is a spade.

Jonathan Sheppard said...

You should see some of Peter Costello's performances!

Jim said...

No Iain I cant imagine a British Politian saying such a thing. And that is good. Your Aussie quote shows that the type of Politian that you aspire for is a mix of Jeremy Clarkson ,Alf Garnet and Vinny Jones....No Thanks.

To take your idea of so called “”straight talking””.. I suppose Maddies parents got what the deserved...Discuss that !!!!! Not so nice now.

Your Aussie Politian is very uncouth, not exactly what any Politian should aspire to.

I wonder if a German Politian said Thatcher reminded him of Aldolf… would you be so keen on that Politian talking from the hip

Colin D said...

Can't be real aussie though? Not a crikey or struth to be heard! Never the less good on yer Leckey me lad

4x4 the people said...

One of the reasons I emigrated from Oz to the UK (yes it does happen, England is a lovely place and, frankly, I hate the heat) is my embaressment at the barely concealed racism of Australian politicians. The Australian PM said he "understood" and would not condemn people who called for the wearing of burqahs to be outlawed. As a contribution to the debate about multiculturalism this was the pits.

Iain Dale said...

Jim, are you by any chance related to Chris Paul?

Jim said...

Iain Dale said...

Jim, are you by any chance related to Chris Paul?

August 07, 2007 11:54 AM

Nope.

Are you related to Newmania

Tapestry said...

Lecky's fair dinkum okker alright. His old man was the Aussie High Commissioner to UK in the 1960's amd 1970's. Turned up at school in big roller carrying aussie flag. Called a spade a spade in those days too.

Little Black Sambo said...

Chris Paul can spell.

Sir-C4' said...

Spot on Iain. Thats exactly what is wrong with Britain today. You are not allowed to speak your mind.

Johnny is right - sadly one of those places that enforces censorship is this blog. The truth really does hurt, especially if you're an embittered old hag who exploits your son's murder to impose a vengful tyranny on the rest of us.

Iain Dale said...

C4 - you have to be joking. How exactly do you justify that remark? I only delete a comment if it contains swear words or if it gratuitously offensive. You tend to test my patience quite often but to say that I censor is outrageous.

Sir-C4' said...

You tend to test my patience quite often

You're not alone, I test everyone's patience - including my own. I was tempted to make one bombast comment about a recent news story, mainly just to bait the lefties - but thought better of it as it would have been going too far.

I blame it all on being brought up in a single-parent household in a socialist stronghold with two other siblings and an overbearing, dictatorial and foul-mouthed mother only every did us a good deed so that she could blackmail us with guilt later on.

And don't ever get me started on univeristy, Jo Salmon and that lot make Red Ken look like a Thatcherite.

I'm just moody B'Stard, Herr Dale, not that you would notice that at first glance at a social gathering.

Tapestry said...

Iain is right in every respect - except when he loses his own temper very occasionally, when he has been inclined to let a few funny words out himself. I guess he's only human.

In Australia the word 'bastard' means a person - and is not really a swear word. Here in the UK it is still considered a bit rude however. I've heard kids in Oz call their own mothers 'yer b..... bastard' before now, and one mother called her own son - 'you b..... son of a bitch'. Well she should know.

I take it we will carry on observing the British standard of profanity on this blog, and not be encouraged by the stronger language used so effectively and colourfully by our Australian cousins.

If Iain were to develop a taste for the Aussie approach to politics, however I'm sure we could easily oblige. But then we already have the Devil's Kitchen and Guido for that.

Trumpeter Lanfried said...

I am reminded of Dick Cheney's remark: "The reason we are dropping cluster bombs on the enemy is to kill them."

Barnsley Bill said...

750 kiwis a week are leaving to live in Australia and the numbers are increasing. Howard and Downer have managed an economic miracle in Australia where incomes have risen and taxes have been cut many times.
We have a shade over 4 million people down here so 750 a week is a very high number.

Sea Shanty Irish said...

Speaking of straight talk, note that John Howard's coalition government is trailing the Labour opposition led by Kevin Rudd by 9-12% in latest opinion poll published this week in The Australian.

Sea Shanty Irish said...

Aug 5, 2007 -Australian press report:

"Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd is the preferred prime minister as voters see current PM John Howard as 'old and dishonest', a key government consultancy firm has found."

and am ALSO reminded of classic Cheneyspeak:

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."

"I had other priorities in the sixties than military service."

Peter M said...

Steve said "Oz, France, NZ... will soon all have sensible right wing governments". He is obviously not aware that Oz has had a right wing Government (sensible or otherwise) for the past 10 years which is hopefully going to get kicked out in the forthcoming election and a better Labour Government in late 2007.