Bonnie Said:

Which policies in the 1931-9 British National Government were Liberal/Labour rather than Conservative?

We Answered:

i'm thinking you should do your own homework...

google search the national government, you'll get all the info there.

Walter Said:

Australians... Liberal or Labor?

We Answered:

There are three major political parties: the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the National Party. Independent members and several minor parties — including the Greens and the Australian Democrats — have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. Since the 1996 election, the Liberal/National Coalition led by the Prime Minister, John Howard, has been in power in Canberra. In the 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate - the first time in more than 20 years that a party (or coalition) has done so while in government.

The Labor Party is in power in every state and territory. Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in each state and territory and at the federal level; such enrollment is compulsory in all jurisdictions but South Australia.

Jesus Said:

Can anyone tell me exactly how they would benefit from Labor's policies compared to Liberal?

We Answered:

I suspect that you are really a Liberal voter and only want support in that belief. You seem to imply that John Howard is being misrepresented when he is called a liar. I wouldn't go so far as to call him that but he does have a lawyers approach to the use of language which he knows can be construed to mean various things. Not lying maybe but extremely "shifty."
To me the biggest difference between the ALP and the Coalition is the way they deal with the things that affect the less well off particularly in the areas of health and education. The LIbs. aim seems to be to adopt the American system, which a quick look at things in US, will show you is a complete disaster.
Nobody can deny that the gulf between the rich and poor has widened to a degree never before seen in Australia.
Even if there were no other reasons for preferring the ALP over the Coalition the above is enough for me.
As a retiree, living off a pension, and a bit extra I don't think either party is going to be to my advantage, but I would like to think I lived in a world where all kids had an equal chance in life, if they make the effort and that is not the case under a right wing government such as we have now.

Emily Said:

Why is it that some of the most liberal policies of the USA were when we also had our greatest success?

We Answered:

Newt Gingrich and his ill-named and ill-conceived 'Moral Majority' happened,........and everything started going to hell quickly.

Gingrich:........ MORAL???????
LOL!

Tiffany Said:

What is the illegal immigrant policy difference?

We Answered:

The changes weren't really all that significant and I think Labor is astonished at the number of arrivals - they didn't really deserve to be swamped as is happening now. It's all a matter of perception which isn't helped by the Opposition constantly bleating to the world how soft our government is - the people smugglers use those statements as ammunition in their marketing. The instant Labor came to power and the instant any changes were announced, the people smugglers came out from under their rocks and started touting for business again in the hope that Labor would be softer.

The fundamental policy differences are that the coalition introduced Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for illegal immigrants who were claiming asylum which in effect, made it very difficult for illegals to stay here indefinitely and gave them no rights to family reunion visas. They also adopted the 'Pacific solution' whereby illegals were processed not only offshore on Christmas Island, but in completely foreign countries such as Nauru. The truth however is that the vast majority of TPV holders eventually ended up with unrestricted visas under the Libs and all bar a handful of Pacific solution people were already in Australia when Labor came to power, so the Libs talked the talk but they didn't walk the walk!

The Labor government stopped using the Pacific solution, moved processing back to Christmas Island and removed TPVs. Our government will now issue unrestricted permanent visas to anyone found to be an asylum seeker. They are unfortunately widely believed to be far more accepting of the dodgy claims of so called asylum seekers and basically, if you come from a bad place, it is believed you will get asylum regardless of how you arrived but that isn't necessarily the case. Christmas Island is currently close to full with people who haven't been released to the mainland.

For an excellent explanation of how things worked under the coalition, see:
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/20…