Fashionising.com > Fashion Forums > Current / World Affairs

Seems to be something developing with Julia Gillard and her days with the Socialist Forums. Certainly doesn't seem like she's telling the truth, and journalists seem to be picking it apart.

RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC891 ADELAIDE
8:45AM MONDAY
22 OCTOBER 2007

JOURNALIST: How do you counter, in terms of paying for these sorts of things? Would you describe yourself as an economic conservative?

JULIA GILLARD: I would certainly describe myself as from a conservative economic tradition. I studied economics at Adelaide University and Melbourne University so they instilled in me the benefits of a conservative approach. And across Labor, Kevin, me, Wayne, Lindsay, the whole team, we have endorsed a set of very conservative economic principles. We want to keep the budget in surplus over the economic cycle. We certainly support the independence of the Reserve Bank in setting interest rates. We want to make sure that we are running a fiscal policy that puts downwards pressure on interest rates, not upwards pressure.

JOURNALIST: So when did you cease being a member of the Socialist Forum?

JULIA GILLARD: [Laugh] Well, many a long year ago. Obviously my most active involvement was when I was a university student more than 20 years ago.

JOURNALIST: Is it correct that you were still on the management committee until at least 1994 or is that just a furphy?

JULIA GILLARD: I was still involved in a sort of volunteer capacity for a number of yearsâ¦

JOURNALIST: Were you on the management committee of the Socialist Forum until 1994?

JULIA GILLARD: I would have to say, I donât clearly recall which years I was on the management committee and which years I wasnât. What basically happened was that I worked there as a part time job when I was a university student. I thenâ¦

JOURNALIST: Yeah, but we are not talking about your twenties.

JULIA GILLARD: â¦moved into a full time legal careerâ¦

JOURNALIST: Yes, butâ¦

JULIA GILLARD: â¦and as I moved into a full time legal career, whilst I maintained notional involvements in other things, obviously my legal career was all-consuming. So I sort of drifted out of things rather than having some big, clear cut off point.

JOURNALIST: OK. So you werenât on the management committee of the Socialist Forum until at least 1994?

JULIA GILLARD: My name may still be on those records on the management committee, but what Iâm trying to explain to you is as a matter of reality, I commenced a legal career at Slater and Gordon, I worked my butt off â if I can use that expression on radio - I made partner in three years. You only do that if you absolutely dedicate yourself to your legal career and I did. I worked huge days, I regularly worked weekends, I used to organise myself so Iâd have one day off in the first fortnight of the month and then two days off in the second fortnight of the month. So I really burst a boiler to invest in my legal career. It did pay off. I did become a partner very quickly. But that meant that other things just drifted away.

JOURNALIST: Julia Gillard, thank you for joining us on 891 Mornings.

JULIA GILLARD: Thank you.

The Gillard (ugh) issue again, this time from Andrew Bolt;

The issue isnât just whether thereâs a Red under the bed, but a liar as well.

Laborâs deputy leader Julia Gillard has claimed she was just a part-time âtypistâ in her âuniversity daysâ to a mere âdebating societyâ called the âSocialist Forumâ, and has really been a âfiscal conservativeâ all along.

In fact, she was on the management committee of this far-Left group, which was formed by former communists to help them join Labor, and she stayed there even when she was well into her law career.

But how desperately she tries to deny the truth. Yesterday she was asked this on Adelaide radio:

Interviewer: So when did you cease being a member of the Socialist Forum?

Gillard: Well, many a long year ago, and obviously my most active involvement was when I was a university student more than 20 years ago.

The Herald Sunâs Gerard McManus runs this past the fact-checker:

The parliamentary register of interests states Ms Gillard remained a member of Socialist Forum from 1998-2002, after which the group merged with the Fabian Society.

The Herald Sun has also seen a 1994 promotional flyer presenting her as a guest speaker at a Forum event. It describes her as a âmember of the Socialist Forum Management Committeeâ.

Other documents show she authored numerous Socialist Forum papers and organised events, summer schools and conferences on topics such as âBeing a Socialist Teacherâ.

she scares me.

Sorry if I'm out of touch, but what is the significance of Gillard's Socialist Forum association?

Her insistence on rewriting her past right down to forgetting how long her association lasted and subsequent claims of being an economic conservative, despite no prior evidence of such. She's attempting to redress herself and rewrite her history and people would prefer direct honesty.

You're right about people wanting honesty. Personally, I don't see any problem with the socialist bent in her background, however Liberal's biggest drawcard seems to be Labor's economic uncertainty. In this case, Gillard's attempt to gloss over the complexities of the issue works to fuel that uncertainty, not stave it off like intended.

Yeah I agree with those sentiments. Every party needs it blend, personally I'm not in favour of such a socialist bent but she certainly isn't doing anything to allay my concerns by lying about it.

tonight i went to a small dinner (35 people?) with our local labor candidate and the shadow health minister, nicola roxon and was actually pleasantly suprised by what seemed like an actual plan to get our health system sorted out, which included dental and aged care, as well as the usual more docotrs and reducing surgery waiting lists. Can't remember all that much of what was said, our state health minister was there as well, but it all seemed to make sense...

Personally I am split with this election- while i have more conservative views, i dont see the current government as particularly trustworthy and traditionally conservative views are those that are in tune with constant checks and measures of policy, as opposed to this vigalante "lets go to war" notion. I'm big on foreign policy. I am highly skeptical of the anti terror laws (in the UK, residents around heathrow that were protesting against the airports expansion were handed down judgement based on anti-terror laws as the airport was deemed vital to national security...i can see stuff like this happening here) but the political parties here are just not giving me any real choice. so i'm going rudd based on the fact that he seems semi decent and normal, as opposed to the old dude with busy eyebrows..

Three questions Ruru. In choosing Rudd do you believe that you've been presented with the real one yet? Does it bother you that Rudd claims to be a conservative, while most of his cabinet certainly would be? And did Nicola Roxon discuss a referendum as a part of their health policy?

in choosing rudd i am simply making the decision to not choose howard. though i would probably choose anybody over him right now. It bothers me that you cant tell which party is the conservative one, rudd is a very very very intellegent guy who has tried to come across as a conservative because he knows thats how he has to win the old voters votes. Whether or not his tune will change, we dont know. I would not like another term with howard and i would like costello even less.

Nicola said something about a referendum i think, but not sure where because it was as food was being served and i was bloody hungry! There was talk about the state and federal portfolio's and how they needed to work together and she was talking a lot about working with state health ministers and about $200 million for GP super-clinics to take strain off emergency rooms, which sounded interesting, as well as training etc- i think the spend on healthcare was around $2 billion. But then again, she was talking to a majority of doctors. The state health minister said a very interesting point- he said since he had been minister, Abbott had phoned him on one occassion, and the urgent matter they had to discuss was bibles in hospitals...