GhostWhoVotes relates that the latest Newspoll has Labor leading 52-48, up from 51-49 last fortnight. Labor is up a point on the primary vote to 36%, and the Coalition down one to 40%. More to follow. UPDATE: The Australian report relates that Bill Shorten’s approval rating is up three points to 36%, which is the first time a poll has moved in his favour in quite a while. UPDATE 2: Full tables here; to fill in the blanks, Shorten’s disapproval is steady at 43%, Tony Abbott is up two on approval to 40% and steady on disapproval at 50%, and Abbott’s lead as preferred prime minister nudges from 42-36 to 43-36.
Today’s Morgan result, combining its regular face-to-face and SMS polling from the last two weekends, was the Coalition’s worst since the election, recording a 1.5% shift on the primary vote from the Coalition (to 38%) to Labor (38.5%), with the Greens down a point to 11% and Palmer United up half a point to 4.5%. On 2013 election preferences, this gives Labor a 53.5-46.5 lead, up from 52.5-47.5 a fortnight ago, while on respondent-allocated preferences the shift is from 53.5-46.5 to 54.5-45.5. Morgan has also been in the business lately of providing selective state-level two-party results, which are presumably based on respondent-allocated preferences. From this poll we are told Labor had unlikely leads of 56.5-43.5 in Queensland and 52-48 in Western Australia, together with leads of 54.5-45.5 in New South Wales and 55-45 in Victoria, and an unspecified “narrow” lead in South Australia.
UPDATE (Essential Research): Essential Research has Labor back up a point on the primary vote after it fell two last week, now at 37%, with the Coalition up one for a second week. The Greens and Palmer United are at 9% and 4%, with others down a point and the other loose point coming off rounding. Respondents were quizzed about the attributes of the major parties, which provides good news for Labor in that “divided” is down 14% to 58%, and “clear about what they stand for” is up 8% to 42%. Those are also the biggest movers for the Liberals, respectively down 6% and up 7%, although they are still performing better than Labor on each at 50% and 32%. The worst differential for Labor is still “divided”, at 26% in favour of the Liberals, while for the Liberals it’s “too close to the big corporate and financial interests”, which is at 62% for Liberal and 34% for Labor.
A question reading “as far as you know, do you think taxes in Australia are higher or lower than in other developed countries” turns up the fascinating finding that 64% of respondents believed they were higher versus only 8% for lower, while 65% believed taxes to have increased over the last five years versus 9% for decreased. Forty-seven per cent believe the current level of taxation is enough versus 33% who believe they will need to increase. The poll also finds 50% opposed to following New Zealand’s example in holding a referendum on changing the flag versus only 31% supportive.
Wonder if Tisme is angling for a Sir before Frodo?????:devil:
“@craigjack36: RT @margokingston1: BREAKING: Quentin Bryce has accepted the honour but will not use the title. #auspol #Knights #Dames”
Abbottry…government by absurdity
[“@craigjack36: RT @margokingston1: BREAKING: Quentin Bryce has accepted the honour but will not use the title. #auspol #Knights #Dames”]
Good on her. So it can be non-titular, such as when the Queen bestows a knighthood on an American citizen.
Is Abbott really trying to piss off every demographic, except aging ex poms, all in one week?
[Mike Carlton @MikeCarlton01 4m
Abbott specifically ruled out knighthoods in the week before Xmas. So there’s another broken promise. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/pm-tony-abbott-rules-out-reinstating-knights-and-dames-in-oz/story-fni0cx4q-1226788026229 … ]
[Game of Tones. Love it! ]
I copied that from up stream maybe from possum so no credit for me
ruawake
The FreeMeatWeek people will not be happy.
Rudd still holds the highest honour of all – Global Emissary to the United Nations and Emperor of the World. I doubt any Australian will ever achieve higher than that honour.
Sir Arthur Sinodinos has a nice ring to it although I expect that honour is now out of the question.
I do like Sssssir William Ssssshorten.
“@Tim_Beshara: The Libs must really want the Craig Thomson jail term out of the headlines. #wait #what”
[Abbottry…government by absurdity]
Sounds like a plot for an episode of ‘Rake’.
Will General Campbell now become Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports?
[Quentin Bryce has accepted the honour but will not use the title.]
So Abbott insults her by calling the lady, Dame Quentin Bryce in his presser. What a tool.
Bringing back the 10 Pound Pom scheme will be next (except under Tone’s scheme everyone can do it twice).
OK so we the AWH nest of Sir Spivs with Sir Sinodinos on the stand, we have Sir Abbott ripping off War Orphans, we have Sir Cormann backing away from the Mum and Dad Spiv Open Season Bill, we have Sir Brandis giving Bigots a Go, we have Sir Tony ignoring the sh*thole that is Manus, we have renewed evidence that Sir Johnstone is not entirely across the hand-burning thing, we have Sir Morrison not sure whether there is video of the hand-burning or not, we have Dame Bronwyn doing her own points of order while showering those Opposite with yellow and red confetti, we have Dame Bishop being completely and utterly ignored by Putin…
What an effin shower.
ruawake
Well, I’m an “aging Pom” and I’m totally pissed off.
CTar1
[Bringing back the 10 Pound Pom scheme will be next (except under Tone’s scheme everyone can do it twice).]
Entrust them to the care of the Catholic Church. Worked out so well the first time.
“@DavidParis: I will take out two lifetime subscriptions to any media outlet whose gallery journo follows Abbott out of the room clapping coconuts.”
Arfur was hoping for Knight Grand Cross Order of the Redeemer
Are we going to give Poms ten pounds to go back to the Auld Dart?
Excellent.
Put Sir Rabbitt at the front of the queue.
[Serf @PointZeroOne 1h
Look this whole knighthood thing is about creating jobs, bringing back blacksmiths, squires, court jesters]
I wonder how well the decision sits in the Lib party room. There are a quite a few Republicans still, even if they’ve had their nuts removed.
[Well, I’m an “aging Pom” and I’m totally pissed off.]
lizzie, you are special. :kiss:
[Little Caesar will become royalty after all.]
kakaru Hyacinth will be so chuffed 🙂
Downton Abbey Down Under
lizzie@535
The problem and the issue is he wants to take Australia back with him into the past.
It is remarkable how otherwise sane people lust after knighthoods and dameships.
kakaru
[Entrust them to the care of the Catholic Church. Worked out so well the first time.]
I knew they’d come in handy sometime.
[Look this whole knighthood thing is about creating jobs, bringing back blacksmiths, squires, court jesters]
If there are job openings for Roundheads, I’m applying. I can even provide a guillotine, courtesy of the stationary room.
Ctar1
[I knew they’d come in handy sometime.]
😀
I guess Campbell Newman will be awarded the order IL Duce.
Steve777
[A bit disappointed that Ms Bryce has probably accepted but be that as it may I thank her for her graceful and dignified service]
This has blotted her copybook. I’d regarded her as one of the more dignified members of the boss class until now, but her last gasp acceptance of this makes her look like just another grasping unprincipled spiv associated with the last regime.
[Hyacinth will be so chuffed]
That’s “Boo-KAY”, don’t forget.
Well now we have grounds to use the term “Class War”
Sir George Pell – you read it here first!
FRAN – I agree. And what’s all this rubbish about accepting a title and not using it. Just miserable. No quentin, you can’t have a foot in both camps.
“@CliveFPalmer: Professor Sir Clive Frederick Living Treasure Titanic II Palmer sounds good but probably won’t happen .. there ain’t nothing like a Dame!”
kakuru
I have one of those robot things to sweep the floor, so I naturally named it Hyacinth.
Reading all of your posts since the news broke about Knights and Dames they are very humorous.
What a moron is Abbott – he should do what is best from Australia give himself a Knighthood and return to his homeland for good.
Fran
[This has blotted her copybook.]
When she was at the HREOC there were always one set of rules for her and another for everyone else.
Can’t wait for the PB reaction when they announce Dame Sophie Mirabella 🙂
Sorry I am being evil again but with all the problems this country faces arguing over artificial titles is just a waste of energies. Of course it’s rubbish but in the big scheme of things it’s less than important particularly as it will probably last less than three years.
It’s interesting, isn’t it, how Tony Abbott just keeps revealing himself more and more every day. I keep quoting Robert Caro that “power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals” – how right he is.
One of the bestest things about living in Australia is the informality. Abbott is trying to spoil it.
[Serf @PointZeroOne 1h
Look this whole knighthood thing is about creating jobs, bringing back blacksmiths, squires, court jesters]
lizzie Love that one
LU –
I’m not sure on these.
Setting aside my enviro/NIMBY sentiments for a second the question on both fronts will come down to what effects they have on supply and demand, obviously.
The issue with NG has been the market belief that abolishing NG will result in a dramatic fall in investment in new housing. I don’t know how much truth there is in that – if it is a real potential impact of scrapping NG then it will be counterproductive in the short term for improving supply.
On the other hand, you are presumably arguing that NG is simply stimulating the speculative side of the housing bubble, and that may be the case I’m just not sure.
As for CGT discounts – I don’t like special casing things, and while I do have a lot of time for the ideas behind reducing the relative attractiveness of housing as a speculative investment I’d rather see that done in other ways, such as your favourite land tax. CGT discounts were introduced as a way of eliminating the need to adjust for CPI impacts on assets. Now maybe there’s an argument to say that this is not really relevant and we should have a flat CGT system and people just have to live with the fact that they get charged tax on CPI. I’m also at least a little comfortable with the fact that the current regime imposes a 1 year bias on investments – short term investments have an effective disadvantage in tax treatment when compared with >1 year investments, and while I realize this was effectively accidental it seems like a good feature of a tax on investment such as CGT.
(ie I’m waffling without having anything to add on this front).
I just realized you may have been talking about the CGT-free status of principle residences – yes, IMO that needs to go, but what a ruccus there would be for whoever tries to implement that.
So … umm… yeah. Land tax!
DW:
[Can’t wait for the PB reaction when they announce Dame Sophie Mirabella]
The Puff Adder meets Black Adder.
[561
kakuru
Abbottry…government by absurdity
Sounds like a plot for an episode of ‘Rake’.]
Or Blackadder.
The Abbott is clearly succumbing to a misplaced sense of his own importance. This monarcho-revivalism just makes the LNP appear even more gimcrack than usual.
Given Bryce has declined to use the honorific Dame, what happens if Cosgrove follows suit? Egg on Abbott as usual.
davidwh
Surely we could not go as far as Mirrabella but then again it is Abbott we are talking about.
Can’t wait to see what the comedians will do with this decision.
Davidwh
You are evil!! Dame Sophie Mirrabella indeed 🙂