Tragic end to Guy Sebastian`s honeymoon

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Full employment is not possible.I work in recruitment and the amount of jobs I have going paying decent wages that we cannot fill because of the boom.Ihave people with no experience at all wanting $50, 000 for a trainee position and they have no experience.What happened to the Aussie ethic of working hard for your money.And before anyone comments I work for less than what these people are wanting and I am doing 50-60 hour weeks.It's called a work ethic.....shame that it seems to be something that is diminishing in this "the world owes me a living" atmosphere.
Posted by: auntyfoz 2:32pm today

Peter Costello might end up being 68 before he become PM...
Posted by: Bill grieve of Enoggera q 2:32pm today

Yeah cut off the free money for those who dont work, reduced tax for ppl who works hard, stop refugee intake.. i will support you. We work so hard, high taxes, and if the taxes going for something good is fine, but not as above to refugees and lazy bones..
Posted by: Alex of Perth 2:32pm today

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PRIME Minister John Howard has announced the federal election will be held on November 24, kicking off the official campaign with a promise to achieve full employment as he enters the twilight of his own career.

Mr Howard has said the country`s "best years lie ahead" but only if the "right leadership" team is at the helm. Kevin Rudd has said the country is facing some of its toughest challenges and the greatest risk would be to retain a "tired, stale" Government.

Mr Howard visited the Governor-General for about 20 minutes this morning (video) to ask that Parliament be dissolved, allowing him to kick off what is likely to shape up to be a spiteful six-week campaign that will be the toughest of his career as Prime Minister.

Mr Howard, who has lagged behind Mr Rudd in opinion polls all year, said the country needed someone prepared to take a stand on the issues that matter.

"Love me or loathe me," he said, "the Australian people know where I stand."

Mr Howard emphasised the Government`s experience and argued that he still had a vision for the future. He said the country was enjoying a "remarkable level of economic prosperity" and claiming that the "best years lie ahead".

He said Australia`s record low unemployment rate "could go either way" but said it would go lower under the Coalition, an echo of his claim at the start of the last campaign that interest rates would rise under Labor.

"One very important commitment I make is that to full employment," he said. "If Labor is elected ... unemployment will rise."

The Prime Minister, 68, enters this election in the unusual position of having promised to retire mid-way through the three-year term to make way for his Treasurer, Peter Costello.

Labor needs to gain a further 16 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to win office.

In a swipe at Mr Rudd`s unofficial campaign slogan, Mr Howard said: "This country does not need `new leadership`, it does not need `old leadership`, it needs the right leadership`."

He claimed that Mr Rudd was a blame-shifter and that the Labor team would be a risk to the country`s economic prosperity. He said the Coalition was the only team with the "experience to expand economic prosperity and ensure everybody gets a fair share" - acknowledging that some people were missing out on the good times.

In Brisbane, Mr Rudd opened his campaign by saying that "great challenges lie ahead". He said the Government had lost touch and gone stale - "when it comes to our future we need better than that".

He repeated his key theme of "new leadership", saying that "we as a country need to widen our vision".

He agreed that he too would push for full employment. "I will always say with pride that I am an economic conservative," he said.

He said a Labor government would ratify the Kyoto protocol, prohibit the construction of nuclear reactors, abolish Work Choices and invest in education and broadband infrastructure.

Mr Howard favours a six-week campaign to allow extra time for scrutiny to be applied to Mr Rudd in the hope that the ex-diplomat will crack under the pressure, as did then Labor Leader Mark Latham in 2004.

Mr Rudd has been arguing that the Coalition is a tired and stale Government after 11 years in office, while also agreeing with the Prime Minister`s policies in key areas.

The Opposition Leader has warned his supporters that Labor`s lead in the polls will tighten over the course of the campaign and he will be keen to ensure that he and his frontbench maintain the discipline that has seen them stay ahead to this point.

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The election ends months of speculation about the poll date and allows politicians to abandon plans to travel to Canberra for a parliamentary sitting.

It signals the start of what could be a spiteful six-week campaign and comes as a new poll predicted voters under 29 were set to dump Howard.

The Taverner / Sun Herald newspaper poll gave predicted Labor could pick up 59 per cent of the vote, compared to the Government`s 41 per cent.

Mr Howard took his usual morning walk around Lake Burley Griffin this morning and spent more than an hour in his office before heading to Yarralumla. Onlookers clapped and cheered as Mr Howard`s commonwealth car arrived at the gates.

In Sydney this morning, Health Minister Tony Abbott saying the Government was the underdog, but that the official start of the campaign signalled a "new beginning" for both parties.

In a television appearance before the PM visited Government House, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said voters would be betting their financial future at the election.

"Do we really want to place our future, that`s our mortgages, our car loans, our economic security ... do we really want to place that in the hands of a government that would be led by a former diplomat and public servant who has no experience?"

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on the Nine Network that most Australians were "happy with the way the economy`s going, they`re happy with Australia`s place in the world, they feel very confident about our country.

"And what we`ll be reminding them is that to change the government is to change the country."