Gilding the education revolution. Or, as Simon says, nothing to see here, move along

Rest easy, the Education Minister and the government have dodged the BER trap.

Rest easy, the Education Minister and the government have dodged the BER trap.

Simon Crean soothes on Sky News yesterday:

IN identifying a mechanism by which the complaints could have been lodged, we have moved a significant way to addressing many of those complaints.

Meanwhile on Sky:

ASHLEIGH Gillon: Kieran, you'd imagine Julia Gillard would have to be pretty happy with this report.

Kieran Gilbert: She felt vindicated, absolutely.

Abbott appears to hit on the new "great big new tax" in Devonport yesterday:

WASTE is never justified. Waste is never justified. . . . You can never justify waste. Waste is never justified.

But, as Abbott says, there's also that matter of trust:

IF you can't be trusted to manage a $16 billion program properly, you certainly can't be trusted to manage the $350bn-a-year budget of the commonwealth properly. If you can't manage a school hall program properly, you can't be trusted to manage a $1.1 trillion economy properly.

Tanya Plibersek applies the Abbott approach to Abbott on Sky News Agenda, and comes out circular:

IF he can't manage the economy, why would Australians trust him with anything as important as running our economy?

A moveable feast of numbers. Wayne Swan on July 9:

WHILE employment in other advanced economies has gone backwards dramatically, Australia has created around 350,000 jobs. That's 350,000 more Australians going home with a pay packet -- something we can all be really proud of.

Where's the consensus? ALP campaign TV advertisement:

WHEN the global financial crisis hit, Labor did what it had to do to avoid a recession and protect jobs. Our economy came through stronger with lower debt than any major advanced economy. And the lowest unemployment. 200,000 full-time jobs have been created.

Paul Howes aims for somewhere in between on Sky News yesterday:

260,000 jobs were saved because of Labor's stimulus spending. That's Treasury analysis, verified by the OECD, verified by the IMF, endorsed by the World Bank.

Jon Faine tackles the PM's carrot and schtick approach on ABC 774 Melbourne yesterday:

FAINE: Is the Mr Rabbit deliberate on your part?

Gillard: Mr Abbott? What do you mean?

Faine: It's been remarked upon that you're often slurring the 'r'.

Gillard: Oh really?

Faine: Making it Mr Rabbit rather than Tony Abbott.

Gillard: I wasn't conscious of that at all. Sorry, no I wasn't conscious of it at all.

Faine: Has it been pointed out to you at all?

Gillard: No, it hasn't. No, it hasn't.

Faine: It's been remarked upon by talkback callers and others.

Gillard: Right, well I'm sorry Jon. That's passed me by.

I will try and be more precise.

Faine: It's not a subliminal attempt on your part to characterise the Opposition Leader in a particular way?

Gillard: Jon, didn't even realise I was doing it.

Anthony Ackroyd channels Kevin Rudd to the tune of I Will Survive on smh.com.au yesterday:

AND now I'm back, from outer space / You haven't seen the last my friends of this smiling face / I should have kept my ETS and been super profits free / But I was buried and cremated along with my policies / They said go, walk out the door / Just turn around Kev, we don't want you anymore / They tried so hard to hurt me with goodbye / They thought I'd crumble, they thought I'd lay down and die / No, not I, I will survive / So long as I know how to box I know I'll stay alive / I've got all my life to give, I've got all my leaks to give / I will survive, I will survive.

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