The latest weekly Morgan face-to-face poll has Labor shedding another two points on the primary vote – down over the last three surveys from 42 per cent to 40 per cent to 38 per cent – and the dividend again being picked up by the Greens, who have gone from 8.5 per cent to 11 per cent to 13 per cent. The Coalition is down half a point to 41 per cent. As a result there is only a slight change on the two-party vote, with Labor’s lead down from 52-48 to 51.5-48.5. There seems to be an anomaly with the “others” rating, which has supposedly jerked up from an anomalous 2 per cent to 6.5 per cent. The fact that last week’s figures only add up to 97 per cent probably has something to do with this.
Elsewhere:
• New South Wales Labor is bracing itself for tomorrow’s Penrith by-election, which you can discuss here. Tune into this site from 6pm tomorrow for live coverage.
• The Senate passed legislation yesterday that will allow pre-poll votes cast within the relevant electorate to be treated as ordinary rather than declaration votes, and thus to be admitted to the count on election night. This will account for about 4500 votes per electorate – roughly 5 per cent of the total. Nearly 20 per cent of the votes cast in 2007 were declaration votes of various kinds, slightly under half of which were pre-polls. The bill also allows changes to enrolment to be made online, and will prevent a repeat of the Christian Democratic Party’s effort from last year’s Bradfield by-election where it fielded nine candidates without having to go to the bother of obtaining the 50 supporting signatures required of independent candidates.
• Wyong councillor John McNamara has been chosen as the new Liberal candidate for Dobell. The nomination had been vacated by the withdrawal of original nominee Garry Lee, who seems to have been pushed because his establishment of a company to take advantage of the government’s insulation scheme threatened to muddy the election campaign waters. VexNews published a colourful account from a local Liberal who tipped the outcome earlier in the week, which suggested the party does not fancy its chances in the seat.
• The Queensland Times has published a list of eight starters for the June 27 Liberal National Party preselection in the new seat of Wright, to be held following the disendorsement of Hajnal Ban. Not included are the previously discussed Bill O’Chee and Ted Shepherd. Former Blair MP Cameron Thompson appears to be the front-runner, the others being Scott Buchholz, chief-of-staff to Senator Barnaby Joyce; Richard Hackett-Jones, “a long-term tax-review campaigner who helms the Revenue Review Foundation which advocates for a uniform rate of income tax”; Bob La Castra, Gold Coast councillor and perennial preselection bridesmaid; David Neuendorf, a Lockyer councillor; Scott White, an aircraft engineer; and the unheralded Erin Kerr and Jonathan Krause.
• Yet more trouble for the Liberal National Party, with the Courier-Mail reporting local members are calling for Forde candidate Bert van Manen to be disendorsed because “he had not kept his promise to fund his own election”. While van Manen was reckoned safe for the time being, “sources admitted there had been problems and his position might come under scrutiny if there were any further issues”.
• The Liberal National Party has preselected Logan councillor Luke Smith to run against Craig Emerson in the safe Labor southern Brisbane seat of Rankin.
• The Illawarra Mercury reports former rugby league player David Boyle will withdraw as Labor candidate for the winnable south coast New South Wales seat of Gilmore, after his installation by the national executive caused an uproar in local party branches.
• Following the withdrawal of original nominee Tania Murdock, the Nationals will preselect a new candidate tomorrow for the Labor-held north coast New South Wales seat of Richmond. The preselection has attracted four candidates, an interesting turnaround on the first round when Murdock was the only person interested. According to Alex Easton of The Northern Star, the nominees are “Richmond Nationals president Alan Hunter and lawyer Jim Fuggle from the south of the electorate; and businessman Phil Taylor and pharmacist Brian Curran from the seat’s north”. Oddly, Hunter was quoted on Wednesday saying “party members would not automatically appoint a candidate if there were no stand-out nominations”, with suggestions the one-time Anthony family stronghold should be left to the Liberals.
• The Tasmanian Liberals are hawking internal polling which it says shows Labor in trouble in as many three seats, although the only figure provided – a 37 per cent primary vote tie in Bass, which would translate to a comfortable win for Labor – doesn’t bear this out. The other two seats are Braddon and, it seems, Lyons. Barnaby Joyce has today been talking of a Queensland hit-list consisting of Leichhardt, Dawson, Flynn, Longman and Wright (a slightly creative inclusion given it’s a notionally LNP new seat), with Forde as a roughie.
• Left faction powerbroker and state party assistant secretary Luke Foley has taken the place of Ian Macdonald in the New South Wales Legislative Council, following the latter’s resignation after an adverse review finding into travel expenses.
[We are heading down a very slippery slope and I am fearful.]
Sounds like Joh B-P. 😛
How come Conroy keeps giving Iinet as an example of an ISP that supports the draconian filter, when Iinet explicitely keeps repeating that it is dead against the scheme?
Is it becuase Iinet signed up for the trial to see if it was a dudd or not, before withdrawing with condemnation? Is Conroy too bloody stupid to use Google and find out what Iinets REAL position is?
Michael Wilbur-Ham (MWH)@197
Telephone Companies are already keeping records of EVERY phone number you dial.
And ISP‘s are already reqquired to keep copes of every email you’ve sent since the anti-terror laws were introsduced by your mate John Howard.
Are you outraged there ??
jeezlouise,
Fair enough. But I don’t see why simply throwing the five (and all the satellite, and all the radio, and all the books & magazines & semaphores & everything else) in with the billion is not the way to go…
ruawake @ 198
I agree. I do believe that TV, radio, newspapers and bookstores will still exist but they will be several standard deviations away from the mean. This is precisely why I would argue that investing any effort in altering the current classification system is futile. The future belongs to the Internet and it is there that we must concentrate our efforts to ensure free and open access to information.
[29 Seats gained: Chilling stuff, hey labor voters?]
The only thing that is chilling is that you believe this will happen.
If Kevin Rudd said that red hair was a sin, and he will legislate so that all red hair must be dyed a different color or shaved off, I would not be surprised to see many of the posters here defending Rudd.
No 202
Conroy has been a dunce since day dot, uninterested in facts or cogent argument. He’d rather garner support by resorting to hysterical rhetoric and liken critics of his flawed policies to paedophiles.
[If Kevin Rudd said that red hair was a sin, and he will legislate so that all red hair must be dyed a different color or shaved off, I would not be surprised to see many of the posters here defending Rudd.]
You must get over this complex and get back to the issues.
Red hair is alright, it’s the Gingers that scare the crap out of me.
It has been a satisfying discussion on the internet filter thus far, however, I am still interested to hear from any conservatives who are against all manifestations of a nanny state but in favour of an Internet filter. Anyone?
One thing I think the Greens and their adherents here forget is that Rudd believed his ETS would get through because he had a deal with the Libs until the 12th hour.
Thus ‘other’ movements in terms of Global Warming weren’t the priority.
Other things have been in the works, and whether you believe clean coal, for instance, is likely or not, it is an initiative aimed at contributing to the problem. As is the solar and insulation initiatives.
Issues surrounding those initiatives aside (as many of those issues also depend on your perspective), the blanket declaration “Rudd has done nothing” is selling him, and yourself short. And you cannot blame state problems on the Feds, no matter how much you’d like to lump those in to reinforce your argument.
Parroting your ‘party line’ might be effective for the media’s sound bites but smacks of a lack of research and understanding.
Opinion doesn’t make an argument true. Nor does passion or desire. Nor does principle, no matter how noble.
We’ve seen the Green vote rise in polls during this pre-election period. But like with the Democrats, when push comes to shove, while people might feel justified voting Green in the senate, they understand that power exists solely with the two parties in the lower house. And in the privacy of the booth, they’ll probably revert to one of the two rather than give their vote by proxy to someone they definitely don’t want in power.
Idiot, Truthy.
Therese Rein, if she is earing a big salary, DOES pay the equivalent of a tax on super profits, excet that personal income tax is paid out BEFORE expenses, unlike the case for miners.
When her tax is paid, only THEN does she pay the bills, run the car, buy the family groceries or whatever else it is that, for a company, would be tax deductible.
Donate to find a cure now:
GP, Conroy would no doubt be aware that his plan is a turkey, yet he persists. Why do you think he does so?
No 215
He persists because he knows a large section of Joe Public are blissfully unaware of the technical problems of the policy, even if they agree in principle with the idea. The thing is, it would be a everyone-wins policy if there was an opt-out/opt-in; but Conroy has more sinister ideas in mind. It’s the slippery slope in motion right before our eyes.
Jenauthor,
I’ve never heard THE GREENS say that Rudd never ever intended to take any action on climate change.
They are my words, and I think the Greens should be saying this, but they are not.
So on this, please attack me and not the party.
I’ve answered all your comments before, so no point in repeating why I disagree with you yet again.
If Rudd cared about climate change there would be legislation in parliament now. For me the evidence is clear, Rudd never ever cared about taking real action on climate change.
Conroy persists because unlike many, he feels he is on a mission that will save lives or at least save some from moral taint.
Principles tend to colour one’s actions and attitudes. We see it on this list constantly.
The difference is, people don’t agree with him.
Funny though, everyone condemned Rudd for backing away from the ETS even though most people here kept saying it was a turkey. I have constantly read “We voted against it because it was bad, but Rudd was a coward for not pushing it through, regardless.”
Is that not the ultimate double standard? Shouldn’t all you ETS nat-sayers be relieved that Rudd HASN’T followed through
What are you going to say of Conroy if he backs off? Hmmm?
Will he be a coward, just like so many called Rudd, even though you don’t actually WANT what he is trying to make happen?
I find this contradiction in people’s assessment ridiculous to the extreme — and that is putting it very politely!
Michael Wilbur-Ham
If Tony Abbott said that red hair was a sin, and he will legislate so that all red hair must be dyed a different color or shaved off, I would not be surprised to see Michael Wilbur-Ham defending Abbott.”
Mmmmmm……..
According to Michael Wilbur-Ham Rudd has not initiated any environmental policies because he shelved the ETS, yet, MWH was against the ETS.
Mr. Ham I listed all the government environmental intiatives just as you requested but you then changed tack & started posting about the ETS after indicating it was a herring.
Liberal first, wanna be Greenie second. You are no different to Fielding & Xenophon who are Libs first, Independants second.
GP, agreed.
Any chance I could swap you a Conroy for a Troeth, or perhaps a Washer? I think Conroy would be quite comfortable with the Abbott cabal.
jeezlouise,
Conroy is the second most religiously fundamentalist member of the Cabinet.
@MWH
[So on this, please attack me and not the party.]
And here I was, trying not to make personal attacks — funny that.
Hell. It’s geezlouise. Sorry!
Dee, I think for myself, and don’t mind saying when I disagree with Rudd, Abbott or Brown.
My feeling here is that some are so bonded to THEIR party that they would defend anything that their leader said.
And your comments are a perfect example of locked-in party thinking. You think Rudd is good, Abbott is the enemy, MWH is attacking Rudd, therefore he must be supporting Abbott.
This blog moves very fast, so if you did list government initiatives and I missed this, then I apologize.
I much prefer a carbon tax, would accept an ETS along the Garnaut lines, and think that Rudd’s CRPS was worse than nothing. I see no inconsistency in my views.
[Scorpio, a search on the word “Hyacinth” in the comments archive turned up a number of comments made by yourself with respect to our erstwhile First Lady which were uniformly derogatory, and in several cases plainly defamatory.]
Maybe. That particular “lady” was a rather involved partisan political operative as you very well know.
I have no objection to you re-posting them here for everyone to cast their considered opinion on.
Ms Rein is “not” a closely involved partisan political operative and has done her utmost to avoid being or being seen as being one.
She does not deserve to be treated as a political weapon in a low level attack such as occurred earlier today.
You seem to have a strong objection to me commenting here on this blog and I would very much like to know why.
I would appreciate you re-posting those comments to support what you are accusing me of here.
jenauthor, you are right. I should have said “please attack my ideas”.
[My mistake, Finnigans. I am aware of the show’s premise, but no more.]
It’s OK Bilbo. It’s a bit like when you mention Dylan, and they all thinking you are talking about Dylan Thomas, aint got no culture and No Direction Home. 😉
[If all you whizz bang computer nerds can circumvent the government internet filter then what are you bitching about?]
One reason is the $50M or so wasted on a sop to the wowser community. Another is the enormous international embarrassment it will cause us.
Finns
I go away for a few hours and the loons have taken over the asylum
Where is the flipping flippers
😉
Diogenes @ 228,
Well, as you said, at least our American allies are doing their best to help us out there!
Conroy will eventually introduce the Lundy option. An opt in system for ISPs.
ISPs will then make a commercial decision to offer a censored or clean feed. Some will advertise a child friendly service and will attract customers, others will advertise a clean feed and attract customers.
The crunch will come when one of these options is less profitable than the other. Then consumers will get charged more for their choice.
Kersebleptes – I’m assuming you mean the most fundamentally religious member of cabinet is Rudd? You’ve no doubt heard the story of him whipping out the bible the first time he met Steve Fielding?
Did you know that Philip Nietsche has been running classes with the elderly showing them how to circumvent internet filters if they want to look up info on euthanasia?
Scorpio, the comments were, as I said, defamatory (not that I have a problem with them personally, but the point of view of the law is highly regrettable in this area). I personally am not aware of any basis on which Jeanette Howard can be described as a “partisan political operative” which exists outside the realm of scuttlebutt.
Certainly not, Skybeau! Go and self-flagellate yourself!
The most religiously fundamentalist member of the Federal Cabinet is of course Peter Garrett.
Kersebleptes, jeez or geez, it matters not but the sentiment is appreciated!
Joe Lieberman’s desire for a big red button on the Internet is a fascinating development. I wonder what his motivations are.
K
I thought is was mar’n
[You’ve no doubt heard the story of him whipping out the bible the first time he met Steve Fielding?]
Did Fielding know what is was?
[I go away for a few hours and the loons have taken over the asylum]
OK Gus. Back to normal. i am in a salacious mood this friday.
Crikey Diog, come on, this is your specialty. please tell us what is happening here? Was it on the DJ’s Food Hall counter?
[What did David Jones’ CEO do? – By lunchtime today, everyone in corporate Australia will know that the widely regarded Mark McInnes has resigned in disgrace. The former CEO of David Jones has admitted he acted inappropriately towards a staff member in question in a manner “unbecoming of the high standard of a chief executive officer”.
By this afternoon we will probably know exactly what he did. The SMH already has a large prompt on their news page urging people to send in tips.
And then the old debates will begin. Did his punishment fit the crime? Exactly how serious was his “inappropriate” behavior? In fact, it has already begun. The Australian’s lead story says that some in corporate Australia say the alleged offense “wasn’t even a kiss”]
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/06/18/djs-scrambles-to-keep-women-on-side-while-everyone-asks-what-did-mcinnes-do/
Michael Wilbur-Ham
OMG! What a load of sanctimonius claptrap.
REPEAT
MWH
From my Greens site.
“Rudd immediately signed the Kyoto agreement. He announced his support for government investment in renewable energy. He formed a new ministry for climate change under Penny Wong.”
ALP Government site;
To prepare for the future challenges on climate change and water the Government has:
1. Ended ten years of delay and denial by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and working to introduce a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in Australia. To give effect to our commitment on climate change we have introduced legislation to create a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme that from 2011 will for the first time reduce Australia’s carbon pollution.
2. Expanded the national Renewable Energy Target to require 20 percent of Australia’s electricity to be obtained from renewable energy sources by 2020.
3. Established a $4.5 billion Clean Energy Initiative to speed the growth of clean energy generation – in particular low-emission coal and solar technologies-to reduce carbon emission and stimulate economic activity in sectors that will support thousands of new low-pollution jobs.
4. Made the largest commitment to energy efficiency through the Energy Efficient Homes Package, which will see ceiling insulation installed in almost two million Australian homes and help around 420,000 households install a solar hot water system, reducing carbon pollution and assisting households to reduce their energy bills.
5. Implemented a $12.9 billion national water strategy that:
Established the Murray Darling Basin Authority as an independent, expert body to manage the water resources of the Murray Darling and to establish for the first time a basin-wide cap;
For the first time purchased water entitlements to return water to the environment, including the purchase of 651 billion litres of water entitlements as at 30 November 2009 at a cost of $1.01 billion;
Committed $5.8 billion to improve irrigation infrastructure and water use efficiency in rural Australia;
For the first time made a direct Commonwealth investment in urban water security projects across Australia, including the $1 billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan, which provides $228 million for the Adelaide Desalination Plant, establishes Centres of Excellence in water recycling and desalination in Brisbane and Perth, and provides $200 million for stormwater harvesting and reuse projects; and
Provided rebates of up to $500 for households to install rainwater tanks or greywater systems under the $250 million National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative.
6. Committed $200 million to the Reef Rescue initiative to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Supported the installation of a record number of solar panels onto Australian rooftops;
Established the $427 million National Solar Schools Plan;
Committed $100 million to develop a new ‘smart grid’ energy network; and
Signed the National Strategy on Energy Efficiency with all States and Territories Governments
Yep! In 2.6 years this government has done nothing.(sarcasim) All in the face of the GFC.
[Did you know that Philip Nietsche has been running classes with the elderly showing them how to circumvent internet filters if they want to look up info on euthanasia?]
I thought Howard made looking at topping yourself sites a no-no?
[Joe Lieberman’s desire for a big red button on the Internet is a fascinating development. I wonder what his motivations are.]
How the hell would the red button work? Presumably the ISPs would have to be contacted and be told to close down. I can’t imagine a technical way of doing it.
Well Dee they stopped doing anything as soon as it became politically unpalatable – and I’m assuming you are going to trumpet Copenhagen as a raging success?
BTW if all the delegates at Copenhagen were so concerned about climate change why didn’t they have a teleconference? Those jet planes are terrible emitters….
And I’m also fed up with Conroy presenting himself as Helen Lovejoy – “oh won’t someone PLEEEASE think of the children?”
[Scorpio, the comments were, as I said, defamatory (not that I have a problem with them personally, but the point of view of the law is highly regrettable in this area). I personally am not aware of any basis on which Jeanette Howard can be described as a “partisan political operative” which exists outside the realm of scuttlebutt.]
Well then re-post them. I don’t have any problem with taking full responsibility for any comments I make here.
Otherwise tell me how the retrieve them and I will post them here again myself.
[How the hell would the red button work? Presumably the ISPs would have to be contacted and be told to close down. I can’t imagine a technical way of doing it.]
AT&T pull the plug. Ooops where did the intertubes go. Nothing to do with ISPs its the guys who own the backbone. (The ones who are already censoring the internet).
Ru
I reckon they just stop the hamsters running
😉
Lots and lots of little remote-controlled guillotines on the sides of all the servers, with the cables going through them.
MWH
[My feeling here is that some are so bonded to THEIR party that they would defend anything that their leader said.]
Now I will be personal (grin).
Everything I have ever read from you on crikey displays this exact characteristic. Sorry, but the Green’s idealism has permeated everything I’ve read and commented on.
That said — we all have our own perspective based on our background and experience.
My experience of the previous govt. was one of hypocrisy — especially for someone who came from an outer-western-suburb (Sydney) single-parent family. The middle class welfare appalls my egalitarian sensibilities (as do the few policies of Abbott’s of the same vein).
The current govt’s policies, especially the social welfare, pensions and the stimulus decisions, have shown a positive concern for those who have little power to create their own wealth or improve their lot in life, while NOT thwarting the economic prosperity of the country as a whole.
That is not ‘rusted on’ belief, that is seeing what the policies have brought to me and those around me.
Just so you know, I am no longer in the financial/social position I was born with — but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten that the BULK of our society is made up of people who live from week-to-week and do rely on how govt. policy effects their lives socially and financially.
Like I’ve said before, I respect Green principles, but responsible govt cannot be idealistic. It might have an idealistic undercurrent, but pragmatism and practicality is the reality of governing. The Green ‘place’ if I might term it that way, is the to be the idealistic conscience of us all — but that does not equip them to actually govern.
ru
What would be the equivalent in Australia? Could Telstra kill the internet?