folks are dumb where i come from

Published on November 4, 2004 By mignuna In Politics

Now, I'm not inferring that Australians themselves are dumb. (Seeing as I am one, that would be, well, dumb of me). Yet, despite my 'love of country', I am not unaware that Australian politics has a worldwide reputation for being a little, well, different.

A quick search through the holders of Australias’ major political posts reveals why:

John Howard

Prime Minister (1996 - present)

Nickname: ‘The bonsai’ (meaning the ‘little Bush’), 'John Coward', 'the Muppet'

Famous for: Mumbling; using Australian ‘slang’ in his addresses

Quote: "You tree hugger you"; "This election, ladies and gentlemen, will be about trust"

Robert (Bob) Hawke

Prime Minister (1983-1991)

Nickname: ‘The Prime Mincer', ‘Bobs’ your uncle’ (which is Australian slang for ‘everything will be fine’)

Famous for: Crying in public; leaving his wife for his bimbo biographer

Quote: “Don’t change horses in mid-stream”; “The world is more like it is now than it has ever been before"

Paul Keating

Prime Minister (1991-1996)

Nickname: ‘Clark Keating’

Famous for: Swearing in Parliament; groping the Queen

Quote: “This is an example of the new fascism”; "You’re a bloody nong, you are !”

Harold Holt

Prime Minister (1966-67)

Nickname: None. But has (posthumously) inspired the phrase “to do the Harold Holt” (ie: ‘to do the bolt’, to disappear)

Famous for: Walking into the waves at a Sydney beach and disappearing for good, presumed drowned

Quote: None. But Australia named a swimming centre in his honour. (Yes, I’m serious)

John Gorton

Prime Minister (1968-1971)

Nickname: ‘Honest John’

Famous for: Being the only Prime Minister ever to vote himself out

Quote: "I don't like anyone putting their arm around me. And some are worse than others"

Pauline Hanson

Leader of the ‘One Nation’ party, (and the seat of Oxley)

Nickname: ‘The Oxley Moron’; ‘Pauline Pantsdown’

Famous for: Owning a fish and chip shop

Quote: “I don’t like it”; “I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country''

Comments

greywar

on Nov 04, 2004

I now know 5000% percent more about Austrailian politics than I did 30 seconds ago. I am a political junkie too, I wouldn't worry too much about the USA's opinion of Oz as we don't know a damn think about it besides Paul Hogan and Subway.

mignuna

on Nov 04, 2004

I now know 5000% percent more about Austrailian politics than I did 30 seconds ago.

i am glad to have served such a noble purpose, greywar

I am a political junkie too, I wouldn't worry too much about the USA's opinion of Oz as we don't know a damn think about it besides Paul Hogan and Subway

sad, but true, greywar. even the name 'paul hogan' conjures up an image of a badly dressed yobbo with speech full of 'slang' and a barbecue full of 'shrimp' (they're prawns !)

mig XX

greywar

on Nov 04, 2004

yobbo

Speaking of slang...?

Grim Xiozan

on Nov 04, 2004

Don't forget Yahoo Serious!!

Plinko for the Aussies!!

mignuna

on Nov 04, 2004

Speaking of slang...?

hooray ! i was hoping you would do that, greywar !. it means a lazy, badly spoken man in "australian"

Don't forget Yahoo Serious!!

up until then, grim xiozan, i think everybody did !

Plinko for the Aussies!!

we aussies are a good bunch. but our politicians, well ...

mig XX

Daiwa

on Nov 04, 2004

You'd make a great Democrat, mignuna.

I'd be expecting a recruiting call from Terry McAuliffe any day now. He just knows, knows, that if we'd only had more smart people here, Kerry would have won.

Cheers,
Daiwa

Spc Nobody Special

on Nov 04, 2004

a. what's wrong with muppets? I like muppets

b. in korean, yobbo is like a sort of nickname for your spouse, sometimes.

c. people are stupid the world over.

greywar

on Nov 04, 2004

what's wrong with muppets?

Have you ever seen "Meet the Feebles"? If you had you would know...

Spc Nobody Special

on Nov 05, 2004

Not the same, but what I saw of them, I liked too.

cactoblasta

on Nov 05, 2004

Don't forget Yahoo Serious!!

up until then, grim xiozan, i think everybody did !

I'd hoped to forget Yahoo Serious. Now I have to go back into therapy...

Mackintosh

on Nov 07, 2004

Quote: “I don’t like it”

Please explain?

lol...

powderfinger007

on Nov 07, 2004

You don't understand ? lol....

Mackintosh

on Nov 07, 2004

You don't understand ? lol....

FYI, "Please explain?" is a famous Pauline Hanson quote. She was accused of having jingoistic policies by an interviewer and she replied "Please explain?", because she didn't know what the question meant. That phrase spawned a Top 10 hit by Pauline Pantsdown (a drag queen), I think anyone who lived in Australia at the time is more than familiar with it. "I don't like it" followed a year or two later, I still have the CD somewhere

mignuna

on Nov 21, 2004

this looks like a bump, i know, i know.

marco (notsohighlyevolved) mentioned to me on the phone last night that i had been slack with my comments and had ignored a few articles, and he was right. i actually read these comments as they were made, then i got an abusive one that i deleted then i sort of forgot to come back.

anyway, thanks mack for explaining the pauline thing. pauline pantsdown rocks !. i must find those lyrics somewhere.

grim xiosan, 'plinko' is now a part of my australian vocab. love it.

daiwa, i have heard it said that those who would make the best diplomats would never consider such a role

spc nobody special, muppets are fine until they start to run countries !.

cactoblaster, sorry for making such an horrific memory surface. i have another for you ... rolf harris ... arrrggghhhh

sabrina, i'm glad you feel the same way about that as i do. i'm astonished. how on earth did they NOT laugh during the opening ceremony ?. i'm currently trying to find out if anybody ever drowned in the swimming centre to add to my list on 'don't let me die in a funny way' . it's like naming a new flavour of kool aid after suicide cultists or something. nasssssty.

mig XXX

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!