The South Australian Political Landscape

[redden whites]

I have a friend who saw who shot J. F. K

[fish]

I am not confident that Isobel Redman is the right person to lead the Libs in SA, I think a better option would be to convince Alexander Downer to join the party in a By Election or even in the regular election and put him in as leader. He is a very experienced politician who may have more currency with voters to suggest that he has the capacity to lead the party and get things actually achived in the time frame set out.

I agree with you on Isobel Redmond but not on Alexander Downer.

Surely there must be some young blood on the Liberal benches?

[once_were_warriors]

I have a friend who saw who shot J. F. K

[CK]

Whatever people's political affiliations are and how they may feel about the man, this is getting absolutely ridiculous:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/823 ... nd-assault

Surely he has the right to go out in public without this sort of garbage.

[dedja]

agreed CK ...

[footballmad]

Why is the State Treasurer in night clubs at the wee hours and then getting teary eyed when he gets a smack in the chops from a drunk when he is a well known figure around town??

He will get a job as soon as he leave politics as the foreman of the GOOSE factory.

[dedja]

Why is the State Treasurer in night clubs at the wee hours and then getting teary eyed when he gets a smack in the chops from a drunk when he is a well known figure around town??

He will get a job as soon as he leave politics as the foreman of the GOOSE factory.

Get your facts right, he was out at approx 9:30pm getting a meal with a friend ... after finishing work just before.

[redden whites]

Why is the State Treasurer in night clubs at the wee hours.

Jack Snelling was there too????

[mick]

I don't like Foley, but ferals shouldn't be taking swipes at him or any other citizen minding their own business for that matter.

[tipper]

thing is it happens all the time, its just front page news because it is him. people get assaulted all the time, it isnt right, but it only makes headlines when he is on the receiving end.

has anyone seen the headlines over Alan Obst getting king hit at teh same venue it happened to Foley? Obst has had to have surgery to fix his broken jaw, yet i dont see anything in the media about the nation wide man hunt for the perpetrator....

regardless wether he should or shouldnt be out, i think he needs to realise that he has made some very unpopular decisions in his time in the government, in fact he has seemed rather pleased that he could make those decisions. (headkicker Foley, im not affraid to make the tough decisions, etc) due to those decisions there are people in the community that are unhappy with him. some of those people possibly have violent tendancies. he needs to realise that it is a risk to keep putting himself in those positions and take appropriate precautions. like not going into the toilet shortly after an angry member of the public has challenged him to meet in that same toilet

i agree that this sort of thing shouldnt happen, but it does, and due to his profile it will be more likely to happen to him. dont put yourself in the situation in the first place and it wont happen at all.

[redandblack]

Unbelievable

So, tipper, we've reached the stage where Kevin Foley can't go to the toilet at 9.15 at night because he should know someone might bash him because he's made decisions that might upset someone who is violent, so it's his fault.

We all have political bias, but that's ridiculous.

[Gingernuts]

I'm not a fan of the bloke, but I feel sorry for him in this instance. It's pretty rough when a bloke can't even go out for a quiet dinner and a wee stop without being assaulted.

Politics is a tough game IMO, no matter what people say.

[footballmad]

Why is the State Treasurer in night clubs at the wee hours and then getting teary eyed when he gets a smack in the chops from a drunk when he is a well known figure around town??

He will get a job as soon as he leave politics as the foreman of the GOOSE factory.

Get your facts right, he was out at approx 9:30pm getting a meal with a friend ... after finishing work just before.

Sorry but the first incident occured in the wee hours of the morning and if you mismanage the state as badly as he and THE FUTURE have for a long time people are bound to hold some sort of grudge against them. Violence is not acceptable but as we all know add alchohol to some people and they turn that way quickly. Foley has a reputation as a sleezy womaniser and not a nice person and I wonder if he had approached the perpitrator of the acts partner in an inappropriate manner?? I have witnessed this grub do it right in front of me and it made my skin crawl as he is old enough to be the girl in questions father. He is a grub!!!!!!

[tipper]

my comments had nothing to do with political bias. i have usually voted labor in the past, apart from this last election (and i am aware that statement carries very little weight written by an anonomous person on the net ). to be honest i dont think i have a leaning to one side or the other, i would like to think i make my mind up on individual issues.

anyway, back to the topic, i know for a fact that if a bloke had just verbally abused me, and offered to sort it out in the toilet, that would be the last place i would be going. its just common sense. he should have known someone might bash him in this instance, as the person involved alledgedly told him he would. how is that hard to understand?

i also said i dont agree with what happened, or that in an ideal society it should be a concern, however, in the society we currently live in, it is a concern. when will it be time for mr Foley to maybe take his own safety into his own hands? why is it such a big deal when it is someone of his standing, yet when it is just another random person, it is just something that happens all the time?

he should be able to do what he likes, when he likes as long as it doesnt effect his job performance or infringe on other people, actually, we all should. however in reality that is not how it works.

i apologise if i came over strongly in my first post, it just sh1ts me that it is a big deal because it is him, when anyone else would be lucky to get a handful of lines buried in the back of the paper somewhere.

[redandblack]

Fair enough, but it's big news because that's the way it is. He's a public figure.

As for the assault, he said he waited for some time after being threatened and thought the danger had passed. All that is irrelevant anyway.

Regardless of what policies he presided over, or what people think of his character, it was 9.15 at night and there is no excuse whatsoever for that violence.

Neither should he have to not go out at that time of night, or presume that someone will bash him.

It's just not acceptable and it's certainly not excusable in any way.

[tipper]

it definately shouldnt happen, to anyone. i just think that he should sit back and think about the situations he puts himself in. everyone else should do the same. the paper has stated that it was roughly 20 minutes after the verbal altercation, which to me really isnt that much time. if i am out in town having a big one (doesnt happen very often any more) i try not to put myself into situations where things can go badly. i dont wander down the alleys off hindley street, i dont mouth off at people (not that i am suggesting that Mr Foley has done either of these things) and i try to be aware of what is happening around me.

thankfully this has been enough and i havent yet been involved in anything like this. the chances are reasonably low when i am just another "random" out there. the chances of something happening are greatly increased if you are a public figure, and increased even further if you are an unpopular public figure (well, unpopular with some, if not all...)

i just think that regardless of wether it should be possible, i think some responsibility should rest with individuals that continually put themselves in risky situations. so far i have only seen people come out and defend his actions with, "but he is entitled to a life", which while i agree, needs to be tempered by the fact he is a public figure. it is part and parcel of becoming a high profile polititian. you dont see "movie stars" hanging out at bars on their own till all hours of the night (and i know this incident was not late at night, but the previous one was) without their minders, or at least if it happens i havent heard about it.

until i see a greater level of sympathy for the "regular" people that have this happen to them, i will not have any sympathy for mr Foley. i fail to understand how it should be safer for people on the streets if you are "famous" than if you are just an average person going about their business.

[Psyber]

Unbelievable
So, tipper, we've reached the stage where Kevin Foley can't go to the toilet at 9.15 at night because he should know someone might bash him because he's made decisions that might upset someone who is violent, so it's his fault.
We all have political bias, but that's ridiculous.

I agree with you there R&B.
Anybody should be safe from attack when they go out and it should be a priority for any government to make sure the law and the police make it so.
If Foley is in any way responsible it is only indirectly through the government's failure to do that.

However, as things are, there certainly are places I don't go simply because I am aware that my middle class nature is apparent in my dress and speech, and may be seen as provocation by some of the denizens.
If I know in advance that I am going to certain areas it does influence what I choose to wear and which car I take.

[Ronnie]

it definately shouldnt happen, to anyone. i just think that he should sit back and think about the situations he puts himself in. everyone else should do the same. the paper has stated that it was roughly 20 minutes after the verbal altercation, which to me really isnt that much time. if i am out in town having a big one (doesnt happen very often any more) i try not to put myself into situations where things can go badly. i dont wander down the alleys off hindley street, i dont mouth off at people (not that i am suggesting that Mr Foley has done either of these things) and i try to be aware of what is happening around me.

thankfully this has been enough and i havent yet been involved in anything like this. the chances are reasonably low when i am just another "random" out there. the chances of something happening are greatly increased if you are a public figure, and increased even further if you are an unpopular public figure (well, unpopular with some, if not all...)

i just think that regardless of wether it should be possible, i think some responsibility should rest with individuals that continually put themselves in risky situations. so far i have only seen people come out and defend his actions with, "but he is entitled to a life", which while i agree, needs to be tempered by the fact he is a public figure. it is part and parcel of becoming a high profile polititian. you dont see "movie stars" hanging out at bars on their own till all hours of the night (and i know this incident was not late at night, but the previous one was) without their minders, or at least if it happens i havent heard about it.

until i see a greater level of sympathy for the "regular" people that have this happen to them, i will not have any sympathy for mr Foley. i fail to understand how it should be safer for people on the streets if you are "famous" than if you are just an average person going about their business.

It's not a case of it should be safer for public figures than private ones, I don't think anyone is making a special case just because it is Kev (probably the opposite for some) it's a case of it should be safe for anyone to lead a normal life free from threats of actual or real thuggishness.

If he was simply out at 9.30 having a quiet meal minding his own business and some goon accosts him, then of course i have sympathy for Foley.
We all walk past public figures in the streets, sometimes i feel painfully aware of their lack of privacy. That comes with a public profile which they have to get used to, but like everyone else they deserve the same rights and entitlements to go about their business.

[tipper]

that is exactly my point, it should be the same for all. i have not seen as yet a nation wide man hunt for the person who "king hit" Alan Obst at the marble bar over the weekend, the same venue which Kevin Foley was "king hit" outside of, and which made the front page of the tiser, with associated release of security camera footage etc. i think that a special case is being made because it is Kev, at the very least by the media.

[The Sleeping Giant]

I don't like Foley, but ferals shouldn't be taking swipes at him or any other citizen minding their own business for that matter.

I thought you were going to bash Mike Rann once.