• Big round of applause to whoever it is who runs this website, which looks like it will be the place to go for booth-level results on Saturday night. Included are maps of polling booth locations for every single seat.
• A “senior ALP source” tells the Northern Territory News that party polling has their candidate Damian Hale “just ahead” of CLP member Dave Tollner in Solomon. The source further notes that such polls do not factor in the Defence vote at Robertson Barracks, suggesting the race is actually “neck and neck”.
• Independent candidate Danielle Ecuyer continues to capture more than her share of the media coverage from Wentworth. Yesterday she went public with an email from Caroline Overington of The Australian who told her, in what Peter Garrett might describe as a jocular moment, that she should direct preferences away from ex-boyfriend George Newhouse and towards Malcolm Turnbull, as it would be “such a good front page story”. In other Wentworth news, indignant gay rights campaigner Gary Burns has been dumped as a Labor volunteer after physically intimidating Lucy Turnbull and telling her husband he had a “middle-aged well-dressed ‘fag hag’ impersonator of a wife”. According to the Daily Telegraph, Burns reckons George Newhouse does “not know how to run a campaign”.
• The Greens will direct preferences to Labor over the Coalition in every Queensland seat except Wide Bay, where an open card will be issued as a gesture of protest over the Traveston Dam and council amalgamations.
• Hat tip to Sacha Blumen for drawing my attention to the fact that a state redistribution process is under way in Queensland. The deadline for submissions of “suggestions” passed yesterday, so publication of proposed boundaries is presumably still a few months away. A redistribution of Tasmanian Legislative Council boundaries is at a similarly early stage.
I hope the ABC got their lowest ever ratings for the 7.30PM slot tonight.
I bet the Ruddster gets a bigger audience for his address tomorrow.
Didn’t you all learn last week not to believe crap rumours posted on the Crikey site?
VBotW, if 40 doewsn’t qualify as almost middle-aged, then I don’t know what does 🙂 – hopefully JWH will throw some pork my way soon 😉 Armadale is more like it, St Kilda, Middle/Albert Park (anywhere in the buggery belt actually), now you’re talking!!
Julie, I plan to grow old in Fitzroy and moan about the good old days. It has changed, my mum never gets offered heroin anymore -she has to go looking for her hard drugs 😉
I actually watched that 20-1 crap on some commercical channel rather than endure the post-campaign “launch”; or those earnest but frustratingly ill-informed swinging punters (plus Ubertwat Downer) on SBS.
@ 335 Hemingway Says:
Fortunately no-one watches SBS.
Those Insight programs on SBS are very bad. How on earth do they choose the supposedly undecided voters? They all seem like committed Liberals to me.
And why the hell was Lord Downer on? So Julia could make a fool of him, I guess.
Still, it was preferable to 30 minutes of the Rodent’s Valedictory.
I think he should say “How about Malcolm Turnbull – that’s the rumour isn’t it. Although he’s not really my type. Then there’s Christopher Pyne but he just looks like he’s got a rat up himself”
352 – Chris – Of course once I started thinking about my reply (which usually happens an hour after I post), I realised that Kew/Camberwell was a bridge too far even for me. I’ve always largely lived on the north side – Carlton, North Carlton, Fitzroy, Brunswick, North Melbourne, but crossed the river when the kids came. Bourgeois sell-out alas… Armadale I always liked, especially High St; Prahran even more. (But I agree with you about the horrors of the leafy suburbs.)
And no, 40 doesn’t qualify as middle aged; not from the photos on your blog. You’re still young, fancy free, and able to get around without the aid of a zimmer frame. And living in St John’s Wood! Now there’s somewhere I’d happily move to.
” I would say Julia Gillard “looks French” LOL ”
Just like John Kerry, I suppose.
Haven’t you heard Edward? The French are back in fashion with you lot. Sarkozy charmed the pants off Bush.
You do need to keep up.
The safe answer is…”I’d only turn for you Rove…sweetcheeks”
Triffid and Albert,
Thanks, you’re absolutely spot on. No genuine undecided voter could be bothered to watch this show. By now, the only undecideds are people who just don’ give a…….(insert whatever Rudd was going to say today about private/public schools after Mike Kelly’s crazy comment)!
Supporting what others have said, Julia Gilliard was composed and sharp as a razor. She has been the strongest performer of the Rudd Team by a long shot this year, and it was especially enjoyable to see the way she transformed Glen Milne’s attempted smear campaign last weekend into an brilliant triumph. Can’t wait to watch the new Deputy PM in Parliamentary Question Time taking the good fight to the Coalition’s Shadow Ministers.
Downer has been a Minister for 11 years yet he is still pig ignorant, how can it be?
I’m so excited about tomorrow! I think Rudd is going to blow the Rodent right out of the water! Kevy looked fantastic at his old school today.
The key reason why the Government has spent so much effort trying to bait the ALP or as often referred to a wedge, in my view has little to do with the actual policies involved. In that sense it is not a traditional wedge.
What they are trying to do is to get the ALP off message. Every time the ALP gets distracted from the big message by having to explain the finer detail of a position, particularly if it is something the Government has initiated, will lose the voting public Rudd will come across a detail nerd who does not connect with people. All the time will be spent on the specifics of one or two issues that will be dictated by either the Government or the media. You usually end up alienating mall numbers of voters long the way.
That is not to say these issues cannot be caried when the ALP as the benefit of incumbency, but it is too big a risk for little if any additional return in the current environment. That in itself is an indictment of what political debate has fallen to under the political correctness of this Government.
It is a measure of the success of the Rudd strategy so far that so many of the issues have been of the ALP’s choosing.
Kevin Andrews seems to be running to be King of Australia.
What gives him the right to completely abuse the care taker provisions?
The sooner that moron ends up in on the back bench – in opposition – the better.
“359
marcd Says:
November 13th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
The safe answer is…”I’d only turn for you Rove…sweetcheeks” ”
Or how about “Dennis Shanahan – he looks like he could do with cheering up.”
I was polled AGAIN tonight after being polled two nights ago. Different organisation I think but very similar questions. Many questions relating to my electorate of Deakin. However unlike the last polling company this smelt of an internal Liberal poll. Firstly I felt as though the interviewer was directing me at times to supporting the Lib candidate by asking things “like are you sure?”. Secondly, get this for a question (and yes I challenged it) – “Which party is too close to the unions?” I commented that I thought this was a loaded question and then questioned him on who he thought he was conducting this poll for. Amazingly he stated that he had a good idea who given the nature of the question but didn’t elaborate further. I think at that point we both knew who it was for, internal the Liberal Party.
#273 after reading your post I checked mine and moi aussi. I did add Rudd as a friend and I think he has filled his quota of friends so I’m now a fan.
357 – Don’t recommend Camberwell to anyone. After 4 years of renting here in mono land, finally purchase a big old house in Coburg, moving on 24th. Big partly that night.
Oh and Howard would be foolish to link Rudd to this cos 2 Libs are also caught up in this 🙂
[A WA parliamentary inquiry has recommended criminal prosecutions be considered against lobbyists Brian Burke and Noel Crichton-Browne, and two sitting MPs.
The select committee found Mr Burke and his business partner Julian Grill sought to influence the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Estimates and Financial Operations in late 2006 and early 2007 as it considered an inquiry into WA’s iron ore industry.
Mr Burke and Mr Grill had been hired as lobbyists by Cazaly Resources in its fight against Rio Tinto for control of the Shovelanna iron ore mining tenement.
The committee found Mr Burke and Mr Grill had devised the idea for an iron ore industry probe with the aim of positively influencing the battle for Shovelanna.
Central to their plan, the select committee said, was influencing two members of the standing committee in question.
Labor MP Shelley Archer was found to be in contempt of parliament for disclosing details of the committee’s deliberations on the iron ore inquiry to Mr Burke and for giving false information to the select committee’s hearings.
Liberal MP Anthony Fels was also found to have given false information to the hearings and to have disclosed details of the committee’s deliberations to Mr Crichton-Browne.]
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22755212-948,00.html
Hemingway at post 335: “Words fail me to convey how woefully incompetent Brockie was…”
You got that right, Ernest. She should have stuck to flogging detergent.
The state of journalism in this coutry is enough to make anyone puke.
The sheer incompetence of the Overingtons, Brockies and Kellys, not to mention the flatulent emanations of the Shamahams, Albrecthsens, Ackermans and Bolts, is enough to drive anyone with two neurons to rub together to ditch the MSM entirely and plug into the Blogosphere.
Crime is up 80% Labor – soft on crime.
Only problem with that is that it doesn’t match any reality.
They may as well be saying – Labor, soft on Dingos.
Howard went negative from the start and it cost them – they don’t get it still, making people feel uncomfortable now only pushes them away. People are sick of the negative feelings, the fear and anxiety they want relief from it.
Gary at 366 – that sounds like push-polling to me?
Did they ask which parties is more likely to eat babies after that?
VBotW – St john’s wood is nice, but it’s gone downhill since Kate Moss moved in 😉 and that Ian Wright attacked teh Parking inspector. It’s lovely and safe, but I’d rather be living somewhere a bit edgier 🙂
Apparently there are 2 news stories breaking in SMH tomorrow re Wentworth which might be of interest.
1. Allegations that ALP candidate for Wentworth did not register in time for election and may be challenged if he wins. Not sure if this is true or just a dirt story trying to swing voters ahead of poll.
2. Overingtongate continues with allegations she first courted and then threatened Newhouse to get an interview. People mentioned lowest of low and it looks like everything we suspected about her is actually true but only much much worse.
368. That brings back memories. I went to an election night party in Coburg the night Hawke got in back in 1983. I think the host was a senior union official for the ACOA. I’d been handing out HTV for John Brumby in Bendigo and was pretty pumped.
It was all going very well until some old timer with a long memory started banging on about Groupers and who in the room had deserted the party in the 50s for the DLP. (You might not know this, but Coburg also had a long history of “independent” Labor politics.) It all turned pretty nasty on a night when they should have been delighted to be returning a Labor Government with their local MP as the new PM. I made a mental note that night. Vote for ’em, hand out HTVs for ’em, but for godsake don’t join ’em.
This may come as a surprise to a lot of pole bludgers, but a substantial number of people with excess cash would already have that money invested in property, shares, super, etc..
To think that abolishing CGT would increase house prices especially in this present environment with rising interest rates is CRAZY. House prices are going to fall!
CGT is the most ludicrous socialist tax known! Far out, I think Glen would agree. Fancy penalising people for being smart enough to make good investments on their hard earned, it’s ridiculous.
Do you know how to get the rich bastards, tighten the tax laws.
Just notice this by centaur: I love London though. I think it’s my favorite out of 216 cities visited..”
216 cities? Jaasus, what are you? An airline?
As for Julia Gillard sounding french, I reckon she might just act french too come the 25th. The heads of a few Departments, not to mention M’selle Betty “it’s the Law-ah” Bollocks may find they have appointments with the public razor, AKA La Gillardtine.
I’d love to see a few heads on pikes.
There is a question about George Newhouse’s nomination? Is it just stupid newspaper talk? Or is he gone?
VBOW I joined the ALP in 2001 after the election I was apalled at the country. Since returning I have been an active member of 2 branches, met some great people and listened to many informative talks.
Evan @ 370, how could you call Caroline Overington incompetent? I mean, she was just doing Albrechtsen’s hubby’s bidding. Hubby works for Malcolm, Janet tells the little b1tch to suKK up to Ecuyer and turn her preferences to the ‘great man’.
Hey, come on now, that’s how things work here in Sydney! Poor CO was just being the fem bitch to JA’a inner bull dyke. All so very “Wentworth” really!
Thanx Evan not an airline just well travelled. The worst cities hmm Coober Pedy (I know not really a city but in area 1 of the biggest) and Toronto
jasmine_Anadyr I don’t know any more details than what I wrote. Hopefully we should see the full story on their site after midnight.
Kirribilli, an interesting take on the issue, a geographical/sexual critique.
Stuart Henry has been using WA Police Officers in his ads, while Judi Moylan used a modified pic of the AFP wiith the patch altered so as to distort the AFP Coat of Arms, while obscuring the rego of an AFP Vehicle.
[A federal Liberal MP in a marginal seat has been asked to remove images of Northern Territory police from his election advertising campaign.
The Country Liberal Party’s David Tollner, who holds the seat of Solomon with a 2.8 per cent margin, was contacted by NT Police Commissioner Paul White because of concerns over the use of images of uniformed officers.
The print and television campaign attacks the Northern Territory Labor government for being soft on crime.
In a leaked email obtained by AAP and sent to police, fire and emergency services personnel, Comm White warned staff against appearing in election campaigns.
He said the images of police in Mr Tollner’s ads had been used without authority or permission and were “contrary to the stated aim of preserving the independence of the police force”.
“I have written to the candidate requesting that he withdraws election material that involves use of the Northern Territory police force,” the email said.]
http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=436410
OH sorry John, the suggestion I heard was that he hadn’t resigned an office for profit under the crown 24 hours before nominating, resigning it some 24 hours later, and the NSW minister dobbing him in.
Re Newhouse, I don’t know the rules but I fail to see how the AEC can print up a ballot paper with a candidate’s name on it without checking on a small detail like whether he or she is actually eligible to stand. Makes no sense, surely?
VBotW – Bendigo – that’s where I was born and went to school – My parents know^ Jacinta Allen*&
God, don’t mention the DLP, I’m sure half my extended family voted for them because their priests told them too. And to think some of them probably still won’t vote Labor even tho they’re working class and are f*cked over by the Libs. The ‘discussions’ I’ve had ……..
*Youngest ever Victorian parlimentarian or something like that
^ Well if Mum running the office where she went to school is knowing
&and she’s good friends with my cousin
380 Centaur. I like London, but I still prefer Paris, New York and Brisbane (true!).
Not been to Coober Pedy or Toronto. Hated LA. Love Sydney, but it rains too often when I’m there. Whenever I go back to Melbourne from the UK or the US I always assume it’s a public holiday cos the streets are so quiet. Loved Kyoto, but not Tokyo. Seoul is a hole, as is Taipei. Shanghai is brilliant. Loved Mumbai, although the air pollution is a bit strong. Dublin’s good fun, although I preferred Galway. Edinburgh is very beautiful and lots of good restaurants. Venice is fine the further away you are from St Mark’s. Nothing ever seems to be open in Madrid. I love Stockholm (and Uppsala), but I gather the weather is a problem in winter (quelle surprise).
Auckland’s quite good too!
My skin crawls everytime I see Albrechtsen, feel like I’m watching some alien lizard. Haven’t read one of her columns for about 7 months as it usually uninteresting rubbish.
It always feels that way returning to Australia – like walking into a slow motion scene. Takes time to wind down to the local pace.
Well I’d have to say my favourites are London (but could never settle here permanently), Madrid, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Valencia (it’s great!!! and so cool), Lisbon (amazing). Stockholm is nice, but a bit small. Spain is no 1 for me – a bit like Australia – nice weather and they know how to let their hair down a bit, not like the French and Italians.
Oh and they have socialist govt 🙂 (and so will we soon)
“feel like I’m watching some alien lizard”
Aaah, that would be PJ O’Rourke’s Republican Party Reptile.
Once a powerful Jedi, was he. Strong with the Force. Until seduced by the Dark Side.
[My skin crawls everytime I see Albrechtsen, feel like I’m watching some alien lizard. Haven’t read one of her columns for about 7 months as it usually uninteresting rubbish.]
She’s hilarious, she sics her lawyers onto Media Watch simply because she couldn’t be arsed answering questions about her misleading opinion pieces.
She can’t even back up her arguments, she needs a law firm to give her an alibi for intellectual dishonesty.
Further to my comment at 375. Rudd should get in before Team Smirk.
Jasmine A @ 384
This “office of profit under the Crown” thing affected Jackie Kelly too when she was first elected. She was disqualified but subsequently re-elected.
For more info see
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/POL/Section44.htm
http://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Publications/Backgrounders/No_2.htm
I think Rome’s my fave. Just love the place.
Dario at 395 – Rome is lovely – history at every turn – I was lucky enuff to live there for 18 months 🙂 Put on about 2 stone……
“396
Chris in LDN Says:
November 14th, 2007 at 12:00 am
Dario at 395 – Rome is lovely – history at every turn – I was lucky enuff to live there for 18 months Put on about 2 stone……”
I put on two stone in Venice in a week and a half. Perhaps that’s what Ruskin was referring to when he wrote The Stones of Venice.
(sorry, just came to me while writing and I couldn’t resist)
For those already suffering poll withdrawals (fair dinkum, we need help), AC Nielsen will be released on Friday.
Go 56/44.
There is a bit of scuttle but about Newhouse, you must resign all positions that involve a ‘gain through an office of the crown’ never been challenged, one person who did lose, but was replaced by another party member was a one nation senator who was not an Australian citizen, Same act different part. This is low level static. He resigned but it was a matter of timing. This particular part of the act has never been challenged in the High Court. For instance, is someone recieving any form of Welfare recieving etc, School teachers have faced the same, same as Nurses, etc etc. It would have to be challenged and would go all the way to the High court. The fact that he had resigned from the relevant authority but it was still in the in tray would means that there would be huge reasons to dismiss the claim. Especially if there was a Rudd government with a sympathetic Senate. Just further reasons to question the Media’s activities around a very sensitive seat.
My my aren’t we all a well travelled bunch. Bet those 4 courners people don’t even have a passport.
Yes France is fantastic, Paris, Nice, Bordeux, Strassbourg, Lille (well worth the visit), but je parle on peu Francais! So no banana.
NY wears a bit thin after a while, London is cooler and has longevity.
Brissy I like but Sydney is our only real international city.(but you need more argent)
I love Moscow and speek enough Russian to get by, Prague before the tourists, Lubjiana, Thessaloniki, Hiroshima and Bracelona all rank high.