"One should always question the motivation of those purporting to be experts on a given topic."
And yet your whole post seeks to garner information derived from a HC politics forum?
I suspect that your post is not seeking to "encourage rational input", given your slight: "many of the anticipated respondents will adhere to the tried and disproven, outdated Labor mantra".
Your post reads more like a set of rhetorical questions, structured to reinforce your own mindset (and hopefully sway others).
However, should I be wrong I suggest a novel idea: how about engaging in self-education and researching these areas yourself and weighing up the evidence to support any position your take.