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Comment by d_t_w | Hacker News Reader

"Coal is the future" - Tony Abbott, Australian PM, 2014.

There are many things to take from Musk's master plan part deux, but the most important for me is the intent and aspiration.

I live in Australia, the leadership here is absolutely dire both political and economic. A relentless cycle of vested mining interests and climate change deniers espousing at length on the cattle exports to Asia suffering if marriage equality is passed.

Maybe Musk succeeds, maybe not, but here's someone with vision, a plan, and he's going to have a fair swing at it.

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Abbott is the last person anyone should quote to support an argument. He wasn't voted in; the other party was voted out. His policy for everything was "No!", and once in power, found out that "No!" didn't cut it anymore. He did do a lot of damage, but his leadership was so bad that he was ejected by his own party in his first term despite them using that 'they ejected in first term!' argument in their election campaign to win power. That's kind've promising, actually... the party was worried about the public enough that they'd eject a lunatic leader.

The leadership here isn't dire, it's just boring (in global terms) and a bit of a soap opera. The country is still a great place to live. If you look beyond the media, there is leadership - for example, in Gillard's tenure, more articles of legislation were passed than in any previous government, including some key items, despite the media loudly claiming (with plenty of misogyny) that the minority government was hamstrung and paralysed.

Turnbull is not the guy I want in right now, but his leadership is hardly 'dire'. Besides, if you use 'dire' for something as beige as Turnbull, what have you got left for something like Erdogan's latest activities in Turkey?

"He wasn't voted in; the other party was voted out"

He won the 2013 federal election as the leader of the Liberals, that's fairly conclusive.

"The leadership here isn't dire"

We disagree.

"Besides, if you use 'dire' for something as beige as Turnbull, what have you got left for something like Erdogan's latest activities in Turkey?"

Criminal? The question is whataboutery.

Ah, you're right. Rather than living in one of the most stable and wealthy societies on the planet, we're actually falling fast towards a Mad Max-style dystopia. I must remember to weld some more armour onto my car tonight...

Just because we're not living in an impossible utopia doesn't mean the situation is dire. We haven't had great leadership since the Hawke/Keating years (over 20 years ago), yet still the country is going grand - not having great leadership doesn't mean we must be having the polar opposite.

I don't know what you think this hyperbole adds to the conversation?

"Dire" is hyperbole, and pretending that you don't know what I mean when I say "voted out, not voted in" is just insulting.

I also tried giving you reasoned paragraphs, and you responded with trite lines adding very little - I wouldn't go taking the high road here about 'contributing to the conversation'.

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