Talk:John Della Bosca

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[edit] Bias and the GST

If the statement about Della Bosca's comments on the GST are biased, perhaps a rewrite is in order, rather than deletion. Joestella 13:21, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

It still says that he supported the GST. What it no longer does is laud him and his faction and condemn his opponents. Come on, Joe, I know you're capable of better than this. Ambi 13:30, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
Your revert suggests that you do not argue in this forum in good faith. But I'm not going to play a revert-war game with you over it. I do not support the ALP Right, its pragmatism does not make it "laudable" to all. That the ALP reacted hysterically to the GST proposal is a matter of public record - in 1998, Labor Times claimed "the only guarantee in Howard's package is that 10% will be added to all prices", describing the package as an "absolute shake-down". I would expect you to declare your political sympathies and (most importantly) propose alternative wording rather than simply undoing other people's work. Joestella 16:19, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
I've done some more research and refined the text. In future, if you're worried about NPOV and don't have a better way to phrase things, there's a way to flag potential NPOV problems in Wikipedia so that more people can have a look at it. That you think I was praising the ALP Right suggests that you have some sort of disagreement with the faction that you want to air here. Joestella 16:46, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
Your reworded text is better, if still slanted towards Della Bosca over the issue. As for the previous version, "Della Bosca's position suggests a high degree of political acumen and the sort of pragmatism that is a hallmark of his Labor Right faction" - what on earth makes you think this is in the slightest bit neutral? Please don't even try to defend that. If I'd written anything close to that, I'd be promptly apologising for letting my bias slip into my editing. Ambi 23:36, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
You and I know who Della Bosca is and have a reasonably clear idea about his politics. To the casual reader, the following facts are relevant: that he has a high degree of political accumen; he ran ahead of the eventual consensus in his party on the GST; and that his faction's approach is pragmatic rather than ideological. I'd like to see you defend an alternative reading of the man's record (and let's bear in mind that I'm no fan of the guy), but then I've never known you to engage in debate, let alone declare your ideological hand. Joestella 02:52, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
...this is your opinion. That someone has "a high degree of political acumen" and "pragmatic" is not verifiable fact, and is not sourced to anyone, thus is blatantly unacceptable for inclusion in Wikipedia. Ambi 02:58, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
You're not actually engaging with my point. Joestella 12:43, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
I'm not here to add my reading of the man. I'm here to report verifiable fact and if necessary, the cited views of others. Ambi 13:23, 2 January 2006 (UTC)