Worst PM ever?

[Turbo]

Just wondering what people think about our Prime Minister history. I for one reckon Julia Gillard is a bit of an embarrassment especially in the sense that she is the current figurehead of the nation and sounds comes across as a 'bit slow' when interviewed. What do you think?

[The Sleeping Giant]

Kevin Rudd. Made Bundy and Coke too expensive. Plus a girl made him cry like one.

[mick]

I don't like Julia Gillard much, but she certainly is not slow, she was a brilliant lawyer who gave up a meteoric legal career. The way she speaks very deliberately (slow) is probably a recommendation of her minders and advisors.

Worst PM - EG Whitlam by a mile, although he did end conscription which was an important issue for me at the time pulling the troops out of Vietnam was the right thing to do, but is lack of support for those troops on their return was disgraceful.

[redandblack]

I suppose everyone's answer to this will depend on their political persuasion.

I'd suggest there was one PM that both sides of politics and nearly all political scholars would agree wins this in a canter.

The Right Honourable Billy McMahon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McMahon

[Bat Pad]

Yes Billy McMahon. Having not been around for his time, all I can say is I have never heard one redeeming feature of his time as PM. At least Whitlam gave us Medicare.

[Psyber]

I agree with you there R&B, Billy McMahon would have to be a contender.
Paul Keating would also get my vote, and I did help chuck Gough out after voting for him twice.

Bat Pad - we had a better scheme before Medicare that enabled patients to be transferred between private and public hospitals depending on their need for more intensive care - a cooperative system that saved to states money.
Private health cover was so cheap my railway worker father subscribed to two private funds - he was allowed to claim on both then.
Gough's "million uninsured" was either a myth or those who hadn't bothered to apply for the increased support for private insurance John Gorton had introduced.
If they were poor enough the Gorton scheme fully paid for the insurance at share ward level.

At the time government subsidies covered share ward and 75% of medical fees.
You paid the extra for private room and 100% of fees yourself.
[Most doctors accepted the 75% for poorer people as a it was 75% of a realistic fee.]

[Bat Pad]

I agree with you there R&B, Billy McMahon would have to be a contender.
Paul Keating would also get my vote, and I did help chuck Gough out after voting for him twice.

Bat Pad - we had a better scheme before Medicare that enabled patients to be transferred between private and public hospitals depending on their need for more intensive care - a cooperative system that saved to states money.
Private health cover was so cheap my railway worker father subscribed to two private funds - he was allowed to claim on both then.
Gough's "million uninsured" was either a myth or those who hadn't bothered to apply for the increased support for private insurance John Gorton had introduced.
If they were poor enough the Gorton scheme fully paid for the insurance at share ward level.

At the time government subsidies covered share ward and 75% of medical fees.
You paid the extra for private room and 100% of fees yourself.
[Most doctors accepted the 75% for poorer people as a it was 75% of a realistic fee.]

Cheers to be honest how we got our current system and what it used to be is something I know very little about.

[Psyber]

Bat Pad - in brief it was all private insurance.
It was run by the local unions or private organisations like the IOOF, which meant there was no big bureaucracy to pay for, so it was relatively cheap.
Thus everyone could afford to be in it - my father joined two - the Druid's Lodge (later NHSA) and the SA Railways Workers' Union fund.

The government subsided share ward level cover and 75% of the AMA fee - the subsidy was up to 100% (subject to a means test) under Gorton.
That meant when a patient needed to be transferred to say the RAH for more intensive care the RAH charged private fees to subsidise public patients.
At the same time acute beds could be cleared at the RAH by transferring non-acute patients who now just needed to rest and recover to a small private hospital.

[mick]

I suppose everyone's answer to this will depend on their political persuasion.

I'd suggest there was one PM that both sides of politics and nearly all political scholars would agree wins this in a canter.

The Right Honourable Billy McMahon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McMahon

Yeah forgot about him and I agree.

[Ronnie]

McMahon the worst, followed by Whitlam.

[Jimmy_041]

Paul Keating by a mile

Appalling PM

[mick]

Paul Keating by a mile

Appalling PM

Reasonable treasurer, I believe McMahon was a reasonable treasurer as well

[Ronnie]

Paul Keating by a mile

Appalling PM

He had a terrible last term. The baseball bats were out for him in the end.

[Leaping Lindner]

Mc Mahon. No one else comes close. Did nothing. Stood for nothing. Sat around on his hands whilst the rest of the world around him underwent massive change. Got rid of Gorton and got the job he felt he was entitled to by birth. Seriously the family should be made to pay back the wages he took when he was PM.

[Bully]

Julia Gillard IMO is the worst PM. This carbon tax is the wrong thing and will be the end of her. Good ridance i say

[dedja]

Mc Mahon. No one else comes close. Did nothing. Stood for nothing. Sat around on his hands whilst the rest of the world around him underwent massive change. Got rid of Gorton and got the job he felt he was entitled to by birth. Seriously the family should be made to pay back the wages he took when he was PM.

Agree on all but one point ... did nothing

His missus wasn't a bad sort ... at the time!

[southee]

Paul Keating by a mile

Appalling PM

I agree...terrible human being.

He still seems to be bitter and twisted......

I thought Rudd was bad but Gillard is definately closing in.......

[redandblack]

Seems to be a common theme there, southee

I can assure you that nobody come close to Billy McMahon as the worst PM.

[CK]

On a purely political level, personalities aside, the dissent toward Paul Keating as PM surprises me a bit. Certainly, there were difficulties with some international relations, but thought his reign was pivotal toward Aboriginal reconciliation, as well as the native title legislation, among others.

[southee]

On a purely political level, personalities aside, the dissent toward Paul Keating as PM surprises me a bit. Certainly, there were difficulties with some international relations, but thought his reign was pivotal toward Aboriginal reconciliation, as well as the native title legislation, among others.

....and massive unemployment figures, high interest rates, hard to get into Uni...shall I go on??

FYI I was actually one of the unemployed down at Glenelg in the early 90's putting my dole form in (I was about 17 or 18...just out of school)when Keating was outside the Grand Hotel. The line "go get a job" came from his mouth. I vowed then and there I would never vote Labor in my life. As you can see R&B ...the seed was sown then and there