Two new federal polls:
• The fortnightly Essential Research result has both major parties on 37% of the primary vote, with the Coalition up one and Labor up two, and Labor leading on the pollster’s “2PP+” measure by 48% (down one) to 44% (steady), with undecided at 7% at both measures. The Greens are down a point on the primary vote to 9%, One Nation are steady on 3%, the United Australia Party is down one to 2%, and others are steady on 4%.
Scott Morrison is up one on approval to 45% and down one on disapproval to 48%, while Anthony Albanese is up one to 43% and down three on disapproval to 36%. Morrison’s lead as preferred prime minister narrows from 42-34 to 39-36. Approval of the federal government’s response to COVID-19 is down one to 39%, with disapproval up one to 35%. These results can be found on the pollster’s website.
The Guardian also reports the poll finds the government marked down on the its response to the recent floods, which was rated good by only 26% and poor by 40%. The poll also finds 57% believe floods will be worse in the future without significant action on climate change; that 53% believe coal should be replaced with renewable energy; and that 45% believe the Morrison government contributed to the floods through failure to mitigate the risks of climate change. Full results from the poll’s attitudinal questions should be along later today. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Sunday from a sample of 1091.
• Roy Morgan has produced the most lopsided result in recent memory with its latest fortnightly federal poll, showing Labor leading 58-42, out from 56-44 last time. The primary votes are Coalition 31% (down two-and-a-half), Labor 37.5% (up half), Greens 12% (up half), One Nation 3% (steady) and the United Australia Party 1% (steady), with independents and others up one-and-a-half to 15.5%.
On the state two-party breakdowns, Labor leads 57.5-42.5 in New South Wales (out from 56.5-43.5, a swing of around 10%), 64-36 in Victoria (out from 59.5-40.5, a swing of around 11.5%), 59-41 in Western Australia (out from 53-47, a swing of around 14.5%), 60.5-39.5 in South Australia (out from 53.5-46.5, a swing of around 10%) and 60-40 from the particularly small sample in Tasmania (a swing of around 4%). However, the poll provides a further peculiarity in having the Coalition leading 54.5-45.5 in Queensland, out from 52-48 last time, though this still amounts to a swing of around 4% to Labor compared with the last election.
The poll was conducted from a sample of 1418 last Monday to Sunday.
This ABC article really has a go at Hillsong and Morrison. Hillsong for trying to cover up what Houston did; Morrison for his belated comments on his close associate and mentor.
Hypocrisy in spades:
Cheers BeaglieBoy. 🙂
I am shocked – utterly shocked – that Scomo has got himself caught in a yet another lie that can be easily disproved with a quick Google search.
Boerwar at 4:00 pm
Has NZ changed positions ? One of the original reasons for the LNP not going ahead with the swap was a NZ GAGF when to came to creating 2 classes of citizens. The barbarians wanted NZ to ensure that the people who went to NZ would not have the same travel rights as NZ citizens even when the refugees/asylum seekers gained NZ citizenship.
Australia doesn’t need an offshore detention policy for asylum seekers. It should be dumped.
An enhanced multi-purpose patrol fleet with capacity for turn-arounds should be enough.
The L/NP, Labor and the Greens all have very poor asylum seeker policies.
Asha
“ I am shocked – utterly shocked – that Scomo has got himself caught in a yet another lie that can be easily disproved with a quick Google search.”
Lying is Morrison’s default position, it’s just so normal for him that he’s probably almost unaware of it by now. In any case, the Coalition are so 20th century and regularly forget that there’s an electronic record of everything.
‘poroti says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:07 pm
Boerwar at 4:00 pm
Has NZ changed positions ? One of the original reasons for the LNP not going ahead with the swap was a NZ GAGF when to came to creating 2 classes of citizens. The barbarians wanted NZ to ensure that the people who went to NZ would not have the same travel rights as NZ citizens even when the refugees/asylum seekers gained NZ citizenship.’
—————————————
As far as I know the ones who have changed their minds are Morrison, Dutton and Andrews. I don’t think they got sick of bullying men, women and children so presumably this is part of the makeover. We are supposed now suddenly to think that the Coalition is no longer a bunch of racist, misogynistic and bullying thugs.
Lars Von Trier:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 3:39 pm
[‘Mavis, doesn’t BRS have a dozen or more witnesses of his own in rebuttal?’]
I think he has 18. The interest will be: how many of them are
his former comrades-in-arms? As posted previously, one character witness will be the mother of Rolfe, who was recently acquitted of murdering an indigenous man in the NT. Roberts-Smith “mentored” Rolfe in Afghanistan. Generally speaking, character witnesses are not given the same credence as those who were at the coal-face, so to speak; testimonials invariably speak in glowing terms.
[Could it be a dozen or more contradictory accounts that the judge has to settle? Doesn’t BRS only need one imputation on one point to be upheld to win – ie to have been defamed?’]
Besanko will weigh individually the witnesses’ evidence. And on any criteria, the evidence of the 13 witnesses for the respondents has in my strong view been most impressive. Who knows, Roberts-Smith’s witnesses might be likewise. The judge will then weigh up the totality of the evidence and make a decision on the balance of probabilities, bearing in mind this is not a criminal trial, where the evidence of one witness has the potential to raise reasonable doubt in a member(s) of the jury.
NSW MP Gareth Ward has been suspended from parliament because he is facing five charges relating to historic alleged sexual abuse.
The suspension will be in place until criminal proceedings are finalised.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-24/gareth-ward-suspended-from-nsw-parliament/100935606
We need BK to revv up Warner – one century overseas in last 7.5 years
Re Wendy Lovell and Brighton Snobbery and social Housing.
Matthew Guy showed her how its done:
“As a former housing minister, she certainly tried to find the best intention. It hasn’t certainly been put that way. Social housing in my view should go where there are services available to people who need them.”
Don’t mention iphones or sneakers, or anything like that. Just say people should go where there are ‘services’ that they need. That’s how you keep the great unwashed out of the snobby enclaves.
So the constituents of Kiama are being denied their democratic right to be represented in parliamentary voting. It’s wrong.
I don’t know much about Max Charlton. He could be a fine candidate. If he is as good as people say, he should be able to win over enough of the rank-and-file to win a preselection ballot.
Drongo @ #1446 Thursday, March 24th, 2022 – 3:52 pm
Last week Independent candidate for Federal Goldstein Zoe Daniel reportedly (there is a photo in here somewhere) had over 400 people attend a meet and greet volunteers at I think said yacht club.I would suspect Labor or Tim Wilson Liberal member failed corflute shit stirrer and architect of the ‘great Franking credit furphy’could only dream of mustering those numbers of volunteers for their campaign in the seat.
Mavis – doesn’t a committee of the great and good in Defence award the VC and ultimately Her Majesty the Queen? Presumably this committee vetted BRS and his character before the award of the VC?
Andrew Charlton, even.
Asha says Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:06 pm
Lucky for him that the media don’t use Google.
Shellbell
I think Warner’s Test days are numbered.
What have Gareth Ward, David Davis, Vicki Dunne, Wendy Lovell, Michael Ferguson and Louise Archer have in common?
They are all current or former Liberal MPs and Senators. After that they branch out a bit, showing that they DO have initiative. If nothing else:
a swag of allegations of illegal sexual behaviour
putting out scurrilous public advertising in cahoots with a gang of ultra right ratbags
being pissed at a public engagement
engaging with class warfare in relation to social housing
putting down child sexual abuse victims
Grime @ #1475 Thursday, March 24th, 2022 – 4:19 pm
You aint seen nothin’ yet…
Warner has a free pass to play for Australia because he’s from NSW. Can’t be sacked, BK.
BK
Thanks but do you want him to score 30 or 100? How about he has consistently failed to perform overseas when under pressure.
Boerwar says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:22 pm
What have Gareth Ward, David Davis, Vicki Dunne, Wendy Lovell, Michael Ferguson, Scott Morrison, and Louise Archer have in common?
They are all current or former Liberal MPs and Senators. After that they branch out a bit, showing that they DO have initiative. If nothing else:
a swag of allegations of illegal sexual behaviour
putting out scurrilous public advertising in cahoots with a gang of ultra right ratbags
being pissed at a public engagement
engaging with class warfare in relation to social housing
putting down child sexual abuse victims
got mentored by, and was friendly with, a disgraced church leader and… just possibly, lied to the MSM about not having been to Hillsong for 15 years.
Click to Edit – 6 minutes and 9 seconds
BK,
I admire your unorthodox methods to play Warner in to form.
First Starc and now Davy!
This whole thing is a total farce because of our ridiculous defamation law. Regardless of the outcome of the case it is clear by now that the journalists in question did their jobs properly – they had found an issue of public interest and properly got statements from a variety of witnesses etc. Defamation law should not need a defence of ‘truth’, just ‘journalists doing their job to an acceptable degree’, because at the moment the journalists could be in trouble if a judge decides that the ‘totality of the evidence’ – which the journalists were in no position to get an assessment of – didn’t meet the standards of the court – again, they’re journalists, they’re not expected to be able to assess to a court’s standards the truth of everything they report, only do a reasonable job at assessing the credibility of statements and reporting fairly based on statements received.
Journalists can’t have standards this onerous placed on them before reporting stuff. Uncovering serious stories means reporting on important fragments from credible sources, even if the whole picture isn’t necessarily clear. As crap as our media generally is, we still need them – the good ones more than ever – and they need to be able to do their jobs.
Senator Rex Patrick, who said he would run for the Senate again in SA, is apparently now reconsidering.
“Clearly Nick Xenophon’s decision to throw his hat into the SA Senate changes the landscape.”
“I will make an announcement concerning my own political intentions tomorrow”
Given Wendy Lovell’s opinion on Social Housing I’d be interested in her opinions on Public Housing.
Lars Von Trier:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:19 pm
[‘Mavis – doesn’t a committee of the great and good in Defence award the VC and ultimately Her Majesty the Queen? Presumably this committee vetted BRS and his character before the award of the VC?’]
On one view, based on the evidence of the respondents’ witnesses, Roberts-Smith seemed quite adept at maintaining a facade. Incidentally, if he is eventually indicted for war crimes & found guilty it’s likely, given George V’s intervention, that he’ll keep his VC.
[‘The awards of eight Victoria Cross recipients were forfeited between 1861 and 1908. Since 1920 when King George V expressed strong objections to the use of the forfeiture power, no further awards have been forfeited. The power to cancel and restore awards is still included in the Victoria Cross warrant. The power to restore a forfeited award has never been exercised.] – wiki
” Morrison has questions to answer.
We need an inquiry into what Morrison knew and when.”
No, that only applies to Labor…
Would be a shame to see Rex Patrick go, seems a really decent guy and much preferable to Griff or Xenophon when it came to policy. But even without Xenophon running it doesn’t seem like he had much of a chance.
Granny Anny @1:42
“I used the online query facility to ask how the photograph would prove that it was my ballot and should I put a secret symbol on it. The answer says they don’t know and to ask the Electoral Commission.”
My understanding is that if a vote has any indication on it to make it possible to identify the voter, then that vote is either invalid, or informal, I forget which.
Australia needs a sovereign system of military awards.
Allowing the maunderings of a long-dead pommie king to constrain in perpetuity the disposal of awards is absolutely ludicrous.
Apparently Rex Patrick will run for the seat of Grey?
Did Morrison know about the disreputable nature of his mate when he tried to smuggle a pal into the White House?
ltep @ #1494 Thursday, March 24th, 2022 – 4:38 pm
Could he be described as a teal …?
In the current climate, I’d consider Xenophon’s tilt to likely be more damaging to the Liberals’ Senate chances than to Labor’s. The only way I could see Labor winning three seats in SAs if the Greens fall short, and thats probably just as likely (or unlikely) with or without Xenophon. But X running heavily increases the chances that the Libs only get two.
It seems to me that, hypothetically, there are three lines of interest with respect to Robert-Smith’s VC.
The first is whether due diligence was done in relation to the facts of the matter.
The second is, whether, should he go down for a pattern of heinous war crimes, the VC should be forfeited.
The third is whether the War Memorial should continue to feature a uniform used by Robert-Smith.
Asha says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:36 pm
“Would be a shame to see Rex Patrick go, seems a really decent guy and much preferable to Griff or Xenophon when it came to policy. But even without Xenophon running it doesn’t seem like he had much of a chance”
I hope Rex Patrick stands again as I think he has been a much needed voice of reason.
Rather than competing with Nick Xylophone I hope they work together. Stirling Griff? No thanks.
Asha says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:41 pm
“In the climate climate, I’d consider Xenophon’s tilt to likely be more damaging to the Liberals’ Senate chances than to Labor’s. The only way I could see Labor winning three seats in SAs if the Greens fall short, and thats probably just as likely (or unlikely) with or without Xenophon. But X running heavily increases the chances that the Libs only get two (sp cor)”
Xenophon will attract the disaffected, and that must include a raft of previous Libs … who might otherwise have voted Phon or Palmer.
GG,
“BK,
I admire your unorthodox methods to play Warner in to form.
First Starc and now Davy!”
BK is the resident PB ‘Cricket Whisperer’ , long may he reign!
Usi bowled by a no ball.
Ltep:
I remember reading something like this a little while back.
Any South Australians here able to comment on whether he has a genuine chance of winning? I believe Xenophon’s candidate came very close during their high watermark in 2016.
Andrews..
The policy position has not changed. Anyone who is part of the resettlement arrangement with New Zealand, will not be able to come to Australia permanently, will not be able to become a citizen of Australia and will not be able to stay here on a permanent basis.
So can Australia make 2 classes of New Zealanders .. New Zealand nationals eligible for Australian citizenship & New Zealand nationals NOT eligible for Australian citizenship? Sounds like arbitrary discrimination .. Libs are good at that..
Edit
Mind why the fark would you want to come here after the crap they’ve been put through.
Boerwar at 4:37 pm
I’d always thought the metal for the medal had come from a couple of Russian canons captured at Sevastopal. It appears they source of the metal is actually a very shameful one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross#Manufacture
Belated thanks BK.
From the Coalition’s “It is always someone else’s fault” Dept…
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/feds-target-disruptive-classrooms-ask-teachers-to-help-find-solution-20220322-p5a6tu.html
I know a lower primary teacher who just walked away from the job. Kids now 2 years behind in social development. Classroom chaos.
Don’t worry, Scotty’s here to help…by putting it all back on teachers!
poroti
Contempt writ large.
BK says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:21 pm
Shellbell
“I think Warner’s Test days are numbered.”
But which number?
In the hundreds? 🙂
Actually, I haven’t forgiven him for “sandpapergate” but a nice ton here would be useful.
Sceptic at 4:47 pm
Two possible reasons 1) Family are here 2) A giant size UP YOURS to the people that said they would never ever ever set foot on Straya.
What I find interesting is that the Trump administration found Houston to be unacceptable, even by their own extremely low standards of propriety.
‘Sceptic says:
Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 4:47 pm
Andrews..
The policy position has not changed. Anyone who is part of the resettlement arrangement with New Zealand, will not be able to come to Australia permanently, will not be able to become a citizen of Australia and will not be able to stay here on a permanent basis.
So can Australia make 2 classes of New Zealanders .. New Zealand nationals eligible for Australian citizenship & New Zealand nationals NOT eligible for Australian citizenship? Sounds like arbitrary discrimination .. Libs are good at that..’
——————————–
As far as I know there are is neither legislation nor a regulatory framework in place to enforce differential citizenships on New Zealand citizens. That is, unless the minister for immigration has discretionary powers to stop anyone they feel like stopping without having to give a reason.
Mr X’s run will probably hurt either the third Liberal or the Greens chances. And probably more likely the former too. If the Liberals vote was already down a couple of percent on last time (2019 it 37.8%) to say 35% with the bulk going to Labor; and Mr X knocks off another 5% of that whilst grabbing the same from the ALP, then the ALP will be just shy of 2 quotas, Liberals will be just over 2 quotas, Greens will be on 8 or 9%, and X on almost 1.
Additionally there will be UAP and ONP voters who’s preferences are likely to go to X’s before the majors.
I doubt there was ever a chance of third ALP quota in this one. But I do think that X’s popularity is going to be significantly diminished compared to 2013 & 2016.