The Eden-Monaro by-election has naturally consumed my energies of late, and I’m continuing to follow the late count through the post below, although the result is no longer in doubt. There appears to be no Essential Research poll this week, which leaves me with the following to hang a new open thread off:
• A local environmental concern has published results of a uComms robo-poll of the Darwin area ahead of the Northern Territory election, to be held on August 22. Including responses to the forced-response follow-up for the 13% who were initially undecided, the poll records Labor on 39.3% and the Country Liberal Party on 31.0%, compared with 47.9% and 33.6% respectively in Darwin seats last time. The new Territory Alliance party of former CLP Chief Minister Terry Mills is on 13.7% and the Greens, who only ran in three seats last time, were on 7.2%. The poll was conducted on June 29 from a sample of 699.
• The determination of state and territory seat entitlements for the next parliamentary term was reached on Friday, with a conclusion that was long known in advance and discussed here at length: namely, that Victoria will gain another new seat while Western Australia and the Northern Territory will each lose one, bringing the total number of House of Representatives back to a more typical 150 from its current 151.
• The Australian National University’s regular post-election review of the federal election, entitled Morrison’s Miracle: The 2019 Australian Federal Election, contains 24 chapters of analysis of every facet of the campaign and result, and is available as a free download.
mundo
I am sure you have a suite of positive suggestions to make Labor competitive.
Second wave?
D’s B
They may have a different notion of what ‘we’re all in this together’ is supposed to mean.
Labor has seized on new figures showing there are now 13 jobseekers for every single job vacancy in Australia to argue against cutting government supports.
The figures show in May there were 1,635,286 people receiving jobseeker or youth allowance, compared with 124,500 vacancies, and that those welfare recipients collectively would stand to lose $900m if the $550 fortnightly coronavirus supplement was removed.
On Sunday Anthony Albanese snapped back at Scott Morrison’s accusation of Labor fearmongering about the future of the $70bn jobkeeper wage subsidy, arguing businesses still had no certainty despite government promises it would continue income support.
The government also announced a support package for national parks, with $233m injected into tourism and other infrastructure, claiming it would support up to 1,000 jobs in regional areas.
It is waiting until 23 July to reveal the future of jobkeeper and whether jobseeker benefits will be permanently raised by $75 a week or plunge back to the old rate of $40 a day – a cut opposed by unions, the social services sector and even employer groups.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/12/labor-demands-coronavirus-supports-remain-as-figures-show-13-jobseekers-per-vacancy
The LibHeavy will be aching to cut the levels of fiscal support being provided to individuals and to the economy generally. Labor are marking the point of difference.
Oakeshott Country @ #2589 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 5:42 pm
You’ve obviously never haggled for a hotel in low season.
At least if they are paying they would have paid for the right to whinge about the food.
Australia will probably pass 10,000 cases (cumulative) tomorrow if the trend of recent days continues.
‘continuo says:
The government also announced a support package for national parks, with $233m injected into tourism and other infrastructure, claiming it would support up to 1,000 jobs in regional areas.’
One of the significant learnings from the Ash Wednesday Fires may be being ignored here.
We have land in a Shire that was hit heavily by Ash Wednesday.
The Shire got all sorts of capital construction money.
But no ongoing running costs.
So the running costs for maintaining the new capital items had to be dragged from maintaining existing capital items and/or rates had to be increased. This is an ongoing problem long after Ash Wednesday.
Whatever
I have had to do an emotional reset as a result of the Victorian Second Wave.
This is partly because of relatives and friends who are back on partial lock down.
It is partly because of the impact on their jobs and businesses.
It is also because it has driven home the main message: my life options for the rest of my life are considerably constrained pending a vaccine.
It is what it is.
meher baba:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 7:27 pm
[‘Sorry to hear that: Peg, if you are still reading, best wishes to you’]
Peg will be back. It’s almost 99.999 sure.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/12/crossroads-hotel-thousands-told-to-isolate-for-two-weeks-as-sydney-cluster-grows
The cluster in Sydney illustrates very clearly that it is the behaviour of humans rather than the political affiliation of Premiers that condition the spread of the virus. We have to get a lot smarter in our handling of ourselves if we are going to arrest viral spread.
boerwar says:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 8:05 pm
‘continuo says:
The government also announced a support package for national parks, with $233m injected into tourism and other infrastructure, claiming it would support up to 1,000 jobs in regional areas.’
1,000 jobs. Pfffft. This is token money. The economy is short of a few hundred billion dollars in final demand. If fiscal/economic support is withdrawn in September it will be close to half a trillion short. The LibHeavy will find that gestural spending will not get the country back to work.
The Casula breakout may have spread wider…
By Sarah Keoghan
July 12, 2020 — 7.16pm
A gym in Sydney’s south-west has been forced to close after a member tested positive for COVID-19.
Planet Fitness Casula, just a kilometre away from the Crossroads Hotel, was forced to close on Sunday for a deep clean and urged other gym members via social media to get tested.
It is unclear at this stage whether the case is related to the pub outbreak, which has since reported nine positive COVID-19 cases.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/an-evolving-situation-sydney-gym-closes-after-member-tests-positive-for-covid-19-20200712-p55bdw.html
I doubt anyone who tests negative will isolate for 14 days
NSW Health
@NSWHealth
· 3h
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT
Anyone who attended the Crossroads Hotel Casula between Friday 3 – 10 July should immediately self-isolate until 14 days after they were last there, get tested even if they have no symptoms and stay in isolation for 14 days even if your test is negative.
Show this thread
I suppose the 1.6m jobless are just a bloody lazy bunch of dole bludgers according to the Coalition,Hanson and the Daily Terrorgraph.
Having disabled and now re-enabled C+ on Firefox, I don’t have the expected features (quote, comment number, preview button, etc).
Any suggestions?
I am 99.9% sure that Daniel Andrews will not recontest the next state election.
He will do a Bracks and leave quietly once everything settles down.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/12/us/hunger-crisis-deaths-coronavirus-oxfam-trnd/index.html
The coronavirus pandemic has already claimed over half a million lives across the world, with case numbers continuing to rise. A new report by Oxfam now warns that the hunger crisis worsened by the pandemic could potentially kill more people each day than the infection itself.
An estimated 12,000 people per day could die from hunger linked to Covid-19 by the end of the year, Oxfam said. By comparison, data by Johns Hopkins University shows that the pandemic’s deadliest day so far was April 17, when 8,890 deaths were recorded.
“The pandemic is the final straw for millions of people already struggling with the impacts of conflict, climate change, inequality and a broken food system that has impoverished millions of food producers and workers,” Oxfam’s Interim Executive Director Chema Vera said in a release.
Among the issues that have left many unable to put food on the table are lost income caused by unemployment or a reduction in remittance payments, the lack of social support for those who work in the informal economy, and disruptions to the supply chain and hurdles faced by producers.
‘continuo says:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 8:14 pm
boerwar says:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 8:05 pm
‘continuo says:
The government also announced a support package for national parks, with $233m injected into tourism and other infrastructure, claiming it would support up to 1,000 jobs in regional areas.’
1,000 jobs. Pfffft. This is token money. The economy is short of a few hundred billion dollars in final demand. If fiscal/economic support is withdrawn in September it will be close to half a trillion short. The LibHeavy will find that gestural spending will not get the country back to work.’
They are making a significant investment in the Commonwealth owned national parks. A significant amount of that investment will, in turn, assist in the living conditions at Mutitjulu.
The problem is that the parks need more management funding, including funding for staffing. The additional tourists and the increased pressure on running costs will increase the pressures on biodiversity.
I agree with Victoria, unlike the Black Wiggle who Peg could readily support – Adam Bandt has been a severe downgrade, as evidenced by the call for an independent enquiry into the Andrews government locking down the housing commission towers.
Did Bandt say anything about the 22 cases in Carlton towers reported today?
Damn I hope no other state have to go through what we Vics are going through.
Do the right thing people !
Taylormade @ #2617 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 8:20 pm
I’m interested in why you prefer Tim Smith as Premier …?
Oakeshott Country @ #2609 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 6:05 pm
You seem to think that the hotels should be making a profit out of this.
The State Governments are doing them a huge favour by giving them some cash flow.
I shouldn’t come back one last time, but I will.
AE: “The land clearing laws passed by koala killer after the protagonists literally murdered a public servant doing his job will make the koala functionally extinct in nsw within 20 years. Of course the koala is just a totem species for all the other biodiversity destruction wrought by koala killer’s corrupt government. Grow up and learn something Meher.”
You Labor die hards on PB cherish the “look over there” and “what about him” schools of argument, don’t you?
I quite clearly wasn’t talking about the NSW land clearing laws, or the appalling murder of Glen Turner – both of which are subjects on which I suspect I know at least as much as you do – but about the endless stream of bollocks about the NSW fire services that is being pumped out by the dude with the koala killer hashtag.
I hope you are able to travel a long way while engaging in the act of love.
MB
The particulars of particular situations aside, I assume that you acknowledge that the Berejiklian Government has been a general and massive disaster for biodiversity in NSW?
Sprocket
I would not be surprised if plans are being or have been drawn up to commence locking down certain suburbs in Sydney re the cluster at Casula etc from as early as tomorrow.
Reading some of the comments on Mark Latham’s Twitter feed re the hotel it appears the hotel was very lax in following appropriate measures..
In case anyone is inclined to be helpful, I’ll ask again (and thank you for the joke response about going through the motions):
What has happened to the various SAR-COV-2 (RNA ?) sewage testing plans? Most if not all states had them “ready to go” in May (having been collecting samples since January, in some cases)
Is there something badly wrong with the approach?
EGT
For the ACT:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-03/canberra-free-from-known-coronavirus-cases-sewage-confirms/12418272
E G Theodore
There is this
https://www.clearwatervic.com.au/news/melbourne-water-leading-covid-19-sewage-testing-project.php
Did the Panthers Sharks game break the social distancing rules?
continuo @ #2604 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 7:59 pm
That’s ridiculous. They’re spending $233,000 per job. Would be more cost effective to just employ people directly at that rate. You could do 2,000 jobs while still paying an entirely decent salary. Or like 8,000 jobs if you go the exploitative casual/part-time minimum-wage route instead (which, if we’re honest, is what the bulk of the 1,000 announced jobs will likely do).
Spray @ #2617 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 8:18 pm
All good now. Thanks to all those that responded.
What kind of idiot with no symptoms would self-isolate for 14 days after a negative Covid test?
Lincoln Project on corruption…
https://youtu.be/p00fxoDpaIo
Dio
I get the feeling panic is setting in
Diogenes
Donald Trump?
“ but about the endless stream of bollocks about the NSW fire services that is being pumped out by the dude with the koala killer hashtag.”
Except it isn’t bullocks, and even for ‘the dude’ with the koala killer hashtag (may he be defied) her gutting of fire services is only the cherry on top of the steaming pile.
Koala killer is an earned hashtag. Well deserved.
As Justin Bieber would say, you can go and love yourself.
boerwar: “The particulars of particular situations aside, I assume that you acknowledge that the Berejiklian Government has been a general and massive disaster for biodiversity in NSW?”
Some of their actions, particularly in the areas of land clearance, water management and the f***ing feral horses, have been absolute shockers. I don’t know enough about the consequences on the ground to say whether they have been a “massive disaster” just yet (although I do fear for the Snowy Mountains). But they will do so if permitted to go on unchecked for too much longer.
And now back to my sabbatical. I won’t post again tonight.
ar
The spend has multiple objectives, some of which are not make-work.
boerwar says:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 8:20 pm
They are making a significant investment in the Commonwealth owned national parks. A significant amount of that investment will, in turn, assist in the living conditions at Mutitjulu.
The problem is that the parks need more management funding, including funding for staffing. The additional tourists and the increased pressure on running costs will increase the pressures on biodiversity.
Thanks ….food for thought….
Rex Douglas:
Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 8:20 pm
[‘Damn I hope no other state have to go through what we Vics are going through’]
The aberrance of those holidaying on the Gold Coast is aberrant, verily believing that Palaszczuk has jumped the shark.
sprocket_ @ #2635 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 6:36 pm
Rick Wilson has said recently that Trump’s campaign is a front for funnelling money to the family. Law and order indeed.
is self-isolating being alone, on your own? I’ve done that.
I think QLD went too early on opening borders. Time will tell.
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/sanyu-hong-kong-auction/index.html
sprocket_ @ #2621 Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – 8:20 pm
Not that the laborite cabal of PB would care for the facts before saying anything
Adam and Ellen posted a vid of themselves down at the testing centre for the Carlton public housing days ago, promoting tenants getting tested and working for better support regarding public housing tenants. You’re days behind that story it seems.
Seeming to get an appreciative response from their constituents
What’s with the John Farnham impersonation MB?
“You Labor die hards on PB cherish the “look over there” and “what about him” schools of argument, don’t you?”…
Look over there: where the truth is…..
What about him, that you refuse to see!
If the big picture issue is the sustainability of NSW biodiversity under Berejiklian/Barilaro then the evidence is in.
They hate biodiversity.
20,000 feral horses in a national park
mass fish kills
waterfowl counts in the MDB at 10% of the long term average
huge areas of natural habitats burned to the ground
national laggards when it comes to renewables