The latest Essential Research survey has its monthly favourability trend ratings for Anthony Albanese which, as distinct from its straightforward approval/disapproval question, asks respondents to rate his performance on a scale of one to ten. This finds 46% giving him from seven to ten, up one on a month ago; 26% from four to six, down two; and 23% from zero to three, up three. On the question of national direction, 44% rate that Australia is on the right track, down two on a month ago and four on two months ago, compared with 36% for the wrong track, up two on a month ago and seven on two months ago.
Other questions relate to Australia’s relationship with China, which 46% expect to be better under the Labor government compared with only 9% for worse. Asked whether they wanted the government to look for opportunities to rebuild relations with China, take a more confrontational approach or maintain the current course, 54% opted for the first (up two from May), 13% the second (down six) and 12% the third (steady). Forty-four per cent think the AUKUS submarine partnership will make Australia more secure compared with 16% for less secure and 39% for about the same.
The poll was conducted Wednesday to Sunday from a sample of 1042. Note that progressively updated coverage of the Victorian election count continues on the post below.
I hope you and your family get thru without severe symptoms, ven. Covid can be horrible!
It seems that a few have managed to dodge the covid till now. I don’t feel so odd. (Also, 2 initial shots plus 2 boosters.)
in this case semantha majiden is just as bad if not worse then wilconson in this matter maiden along with the project broke the story and kept on giving higins air time nowing it would prjeduce the case then maiden also broke the laming story but turned to defend laming and the liberals drumgold seems acording to maidens report consulted lehrmans laawer and not higgins
in this case semantha majiden is just as bad if not worse then wilconson in this matter maiden along with the project broke the story and kept on giving higins air time nowing it would prjeduce the case then maiden also broke the laming story but turned to defend laming and the liberals drumgold seems acording to maidens report consulted lehrmans laawer and not higginsmorrison is worse then the jernalists as he publicklyu apoligized to higgins knowing what we know about him knowing that a prosecution could not happin from that point the wilconson interview was a big mistake theacused should be forced to speak in there defence the strange fact is the greens which are good at preaching respect for woman have a act aterney generalwho runs a justiss system that that puts all the waight on the victem non on the acused not shore how ratinbury and the prosecuter did not know this ratinbery has been aterney since 2016 he would have most likely known about the loop hole when asult happend in his party buy one of the act greens vollinters where was he the greens have a terible record on this like there to slow responce in 2018 to the buckingham ishue
the greens in nsw and arround the country campaigns against gambling but the act greens minister says the law is fine wonder how ratinbery and his greens minister get along with the rest of the party saying labor and liberals are same same at least when mckim was minister in tasmania he got some things dun all ratinbery achieved is runing the worst justis system
Late Riser @ Friday, December 2, 2022 at 9:28 pm
Yes, you are likely to be in the minority.
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/vast-majority-of-australian-population-has-had-cov
Asymptomatic (initial) infection is a thing.
Hope you’ll have a speedy recovery, Ven.
I haven’t had Covid and neither has my OH.
Both wear masks at the shops and on public transport.
I only wear a mask when legally required to do so. I’ve had 4 vaccinations though.
C@tmomma @ #1062 Friday, December 2nd, 2022 – 9:46 pm
Also that. I don’t think masks ever did all that much on their own.
Alpha, Beta, and (barely) Delta could be managed with lockdowns and quarantine, with or without masks (compare early pandemic results in the USA, which pushed masks but mostly resisted lockdowns, to Australia where we had lockdowns almost immediately but were fairly late to the mask party). Omicron (and anything that comes after Omicron) does what it wants.
this ddrumgold seems one of the worst prosecuters ever his explanation does not make sence it seems he did not do a very gjob of defending her allwowed the defence lawer to question her evry aaction and did not question lehrman at all maybi we should allow victems to have there own legal team as well as the prosecuter and not leave the prosecuter as i n feffect there legal rep on nsw liberals wonder if mccoy will apeel cant see david elliott coming back
We’ve had all the required vaccinations (4) but friends who had the same, caught Covid from their grandkids who caught it at school.
I haven’t had COVID yet, to my knowledge, but recently I’ve had some serious taste aversions that make me wonder if I’ve contracted something (I know loss of taste/scent is associated with COVID; I am not aware of taste aversions/changes in taste perception being linked) unknowingly. I literally cannot eat vegetables, no matter how they are cooked, right now without gagging. Even thinking about eating them sometimes makes me gag. Thankfully, fruit does not cause the same reaction; as a vegetarian, I have been eating fruit for tea some nights.
I find I am also gagging on bread/have gone off bread, which I used to love.
I’ve always been a picky eater, but the gagging is a new thing for me.
i can not see the move formccoy going down well with the members several federal and state mps Tania davies craig kelley and crisinson from qld regularly attacked lock downs plus the veting comiitty rejevcting him on political views goes against there claim there party of conshints looks like perottit will do the same as morrison
the faction bosis like kean andmaybi alixh hawke should triy and get rid of abotts terible plebersite modil it seems the party membership is choosing candadates that are un electible hard line conservative cristins carsilhill is a safe seat but it could end up like victoria or qwa
“I have not had it because of my super powers”
AR, LR and I have all not had it because of our superior Queenslanderness.
The rest of you who have missed it so far just got lucky.
Steve777says:
Friday, December 2, 2022 at 7:30 pm
If we had proportional representation, the “Liberals” would probably split into a Centre-Right and Right to far Right party. Maybe the current Liberal Right would join with the Nationals, the remains of Family First and other Right-wing Christian groups and possibly even One Nation to form something that might be called “Australian Conservatives” or similar.
—————————–
It already looks like the urban small-l Liberals and the rural conservatives are too far apart and probably drifting too much further apart to keep that marriage alive. It looks to me like the old urban heartland seats the Liberals lost are likely gone long term to the teals or if that fails to some successor political movement.
The LNP is preaching to an older base and do not appeal to younger, more educated and less easily manipulated voters, they need to change with the times fast if they are to remain relevant and that’s not happening or seeming likely under Dutton who seems directionless atm – it doesn’t help with the rise of Morrison that he actively tried to empty the party of moderates, who were their only hope of appealing more broadly. The LNP is fast becoming a rural party which will not be able to form government if business continues as usual. I predict Morrison’s legacy as seen as the guy who killed the Liberal party – not that he was the only or even main cause of this but the fact he was PM showed how moribund and in late stage decline this party/coalition is.
Labor isn’t immune from this fragmentation as we’ve seen with the rise of the Greens but look a lot better positioned as a party that can survive if they can govern as a sensible, centrist party either government in it’s own right or with support from the Greens and/or independents. Younger people now are very worldly whether formally well educated or not. They are not going to fall for scare campaigns.
Dandy Murray @ Friday, December 2, 2022 at 11:15 pm
“AR, LR and I have all not had it because of our superior Queenslanderness.
The rest of you who have missed it so far just got lucky.”
The location does help. Multiple sclerosis as well, surprisingly enough 😉
a r @ Friday, December 2, 2022 at 10:55 pm
The evidence for masks says otherwise. They are moderately effective. Air filtration as well. The masks need to fit well, though. N95 usually have a better fit. The best type is still up for debate. A recent trial in Annals of Internal Medicine cast doubt on the inferiority of standard surgical masks. However the trial has a few issues. Underpowered, alterations to the protocol, and poor controlling for use of masks at home.
Sadly there is a lot of misinformation out there.
Griff,
Another important feature of masks is that they limit the area that you project the virus into if you are infected.
Dandy Murray says:
Friday, December 2, 2022 at 11:15 pm
“I have not had it because of my super powers”
AR, LR and I have all not had it because of our superior Queenslanderness.
The rest of you who have missed it so far just got lucky.
中华人民共和国
4 vaccines for the Upnorth family and we all got the Thai variety. Sore throat for a day. No muscle aches but a week at home together. It was like an enforced holiday.
I guess we were lucky. But yes Queensland blood seems to make the difference.
Night all. Be safe.
How The Right Developed Its Victim Complex
Once a party that touted rugged individualism, today’s Republicans have an ever-expanding list of grievances and complaints about perceived wrongs.
It’s perhaps a little surprising to consider how widespread the cult of victimhood is on the right: weren’t they tough on crime, didn’t they thump their chests, invoking appeasement at Munich whenever a threat appeared on the global stage, and didn’t they talk ceaselessly about rugged individualism and pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps?
Why did victimhood become so central on the right?
In fact, it has been central from the start. But only in the last 30 years have its idioms been destigmatized for mainstream conservatives, facilitated by a combination of national and international political disruptions which revealed the central role that the victimized ethos has played in GQP( LNP) politics.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/how-the-right-developed-its-victim-complex
The Great Barrier Reef is ‘in danger’: Australia pushes back
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/the-great-barrier-reef-is-in-danger-australia-pushes-back-8301161/
On Tuesday (November 29), a joint report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (WHC) expressed concern about the status of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia, recommending that it “be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.”
Citing “major threats that could have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics,” the panel of two scientists made 10 priority and 12 additional recommendations to preserve the “Outstanding Universal Value” (OUV) of the coral reef system. The team had undertaken a monitoring mission earlier this year, travelling from Brisbane to Cairns in order to determine the current status of the GBR.
In response, the Australian government immediately released a statement highlighting its commitment to GBR’s conservation, while skirting around the recommendations of the report.
MP Tanya Pilbersek’s statement said, “We understand that the people who live and work on the Reef might find the report alarming. It’s important to note this is not a UNESCO proposal for listing the Reef as ‘in danger’. This is a technical report and the World Heritage Centre is yet to make a recommendation, which would be considered by the World Heritage Committee.”
Morning all. Finnish PM Sanna Marin had some important things to say in a major speech delivered to the Lowi Institute yesterday. Too bad the ABC was more interested in her dance moves.
It was mainly positive for things like Australia having a free trade agreement with the EU. Finland will support Australia joining and wants to focus trade for critical resources and energy on democratic nations committed to action on climate change like we now are.
It was also honest about the need for Europe to have stronger defence and not be so reliant on USA. Both lessons are relevant to Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/02/finland-pm-sanna-marin-says-europe-is-not-strong-enough-without-the-us
The full speech is here. Some of the answers to questions are significant.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/event/sold-out-address-sanna-marin-prime-minister-finland
Ven, that article on right wing victimhood is very interesting. As I said a few weeks back, an old mate who had just returned from a weekend with mates at the Bathurst 1000 was full of ‘poor me’ issues related to older white men. This was very much at odds to his attitudes and demeanour before…he even seemed quite capable of overlooking his considerable obesity (likes a drink and his food) to complain that he couldn’t fly overseas because aircraft seats were designed for asians since he couldn’t fit into one.
It was sad to see him talking this way as he had been a very knowledgeable man, worked in responsible and important areas on local council staff.
Dog’s Brunch,
That was partly due to the malign genius of John Howard. He took the black-shirted Mens Movement group of miscreant harassers of their former wives, and crafted a culture of victimhood and sympathy around them. He gave them concessions they should never have gotten and he gave them a national voice. This then spawned the momentum that has kept it going and growing to this day. Pauline Hanson played her part too, but if it wasn’t for Howard legitimising their victimhood and culture of complaint, which metastasised into whole new areas when they began to feel the power that they now had, then we might have been able to nip it in the bud.
The catholic church is using (nutty) catholic teaching on sexuality to dictate medical care for public patients in public catholic hospitals that are also publicly funded.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-03/catholic-hospitals-denying-womens-healthcare-australia-hospitals/101712558
This is not ok ethically or even legally. All patients are supposed to give their informed consent to all procedures. And no religion has the right to impose its teaching on people who are not members of that religion.
Nor should the catholic church accept public funds to provide medical care to the public, if it will compromise that care on religious grounds.
Policy action is required here urgently.
A handshake with Gough Whitlam and a divide between my parents that time couldn’t heal
The election win 50 years ago delighted my father and angered my mother. Their politics were never reconciled yet they stayed together until my father’s death
I grew up hating politics. No good could ever come of it, I knew that for certain. For as a kid I’d heard my parents arguing all those times about Gough Whitlam.
Dad, a lifelong Labor devotee, was at death’s door when he voted against John Howard at the November 2007 election that ended nearly 12 years of Liberal rule. It was, perhaps, Dad’s last moment of great pride.
Mum loathed Whitlam. She wished federal Labor an eternity in opposition. And Gough, it turned out, was the ALP messiah – the one who eventually rescued Labor in the wake of the 1955 split.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/02/a-handshake-with-gough-whitlam-and-a-divide-between-my-parents-that-time-couldnt-heal
From the Land of Freedumb.
Boy mad at mother for waking him early shoots her because she wouldn’t buy him a VR headset.
https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/10-year-old-upset-over-vr-headset-fatally-shoots-mother-charged-as-an-adult
Dr John @ 9.16pm
With a definite 55 seats, and a possible 56th in Pakenham – The Andrews Government has done well.
Narracan on a 10% margin, would be great, but I believe unlikely.
Late Riser
I’ve escaped covid so far too. Fully vaccinated and living in a semi-rural area (far less people) I think has probably helped.
Ven
Hoping you and the family are feeling a little better today?
Re: Covid Avoiders.
My wife and I have avoided Covid, because we are fully vaccinated, maintain social distancing and continue to wear our masks in crowded, or potentially crowded, public places.
I urge everyone to continue practising these measures for their own good health and that of our communities.
so the liberal paarty in nsw seems to be adopting the same stratigy as morrison the carsilhill members will not be happy
“Macca RB says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:08 am
Dr John @ 9.16pm
With a definite 55 seats, and a possible 56th in Pakenham – The Andrews Government has done well.
Narracan on a 10% margin, would be great, but I believe unlikely.”…
The bells toll for Rupert Murdoch…. and Costello’s 9Network…. and chunks of the ABC…. and even the allegedly progressive The Guardian (that is only lukewarm positive – and often negative – to the ALP but very enthusiastically supportive of Teals and Greens)…..
@Alpo –
Yep. Its the reason I won’t donate a penny to Guardian.
Re: Alpo @ 7.22am.
The Oz has always been a loss creating vanity project of Rupert’s.
As the mainstream print media continues to suffer from declining circulation and advertising revenue it will be interesting to see for how much longer NewsCorp continues printing the OZ.
Once Rupert is gone, the OZ will quickly follow.
The Bells are tolling for NewsCorp … but not quickly or loud enough for my liking.
RE: Covid
I worked in a COVID Ward for 6 months this year…just flew to and from Amsterdam (with side trips to Singapore, Rome and Brussels)….and have never had COVID!
That’s just luck, but I do wear a mask and sanitize religiously.
“Ven says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 2:23 am
How The Right Developed Its Victim Complex”
It’s more like: How right-wing manipulators have spread the victim complex. Why have they done that? Because the ideology that they love so much, Neoliberalism, has failed; but they want to save it, hence what best than to divert the outraged victims of Neoliberalism towards convenient scapegoats? That was the whole issue about Brexit, and now the fools that were victim of Neoliberalism and voted for Brexit and the Conservatives, because they believed that they were victims of the EU and those pesky immigrants, find themselves even deeper in s..t, under the hammer of the Neoliberal Tories (plus the added Covid and economic recession).
Mr. Newbie @ #1062 Friday, December 2nd, 2022 – 11:01 pm
I believe, with my limited medical knowledge, that this isn’t COVID-19 but a new form of gastrointestinal virus. We were told that other viruses would be mutating and lying in wait for us when we came out of the Covid lockdown bubble and I think here we have it.
I had a similar attack ad response to the one Mr Newbie described. However, I did a couple of RATs to see if it was Covid and they both were negative with the space of a week between both of them and because I was still ill I did the second one in case it was too early when I did the first.
I also cannot come at bread anymore. I used to have toast for breakfast but now I have fruit and a Low GI wrap. I also have to avoid any product with yeast associated with it.
Oh well, it’s better for my general health in the long run I guess. 🙂
AFR Editorial – with the usual ‘But’s” and “Yet’s” –
Albo ends year on top, but harder grind ahead
There is no guarantee that Albanese’s mix of old-school Labor politics and new-style progressivism will be able to weather the economic storms on the horizon.
The AFR View
https://www.afr.com/politics/albo-ends-year-on-top-but-harder-grind-ahead-20221129-p5c27n
This is a fascinating article about a Centrelink Compliance Officer that blew the whistle, internally, to the higher ups, about Robodebt, but was studiously ignored:
‘You are being misled’: the Centrelink worker who tried to stop robodebt as it started
Exclusive: As the disastrous program gathered pace, Colleen Taylor reached out to her boss with strong concerns, only to be dismissed as overly sympathetic to welfare recipients
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/03/you-are-being-misled-the-centrelink-worker-who-tried-to-stop-robodebt-as-it-started
I have not yet had Covid – obviously it’s because my wife and I have no life and our kids have no friends…
I do have UK cartoons:
Martin Rowson: sinking the unsinkable
Andy Davey: Is that #RishiSunak fellow really up that ol’ creek sans paddle? Well, things ain’t smelling rosy
Graeme Bandeira on #RishiSunak #WinterOfDiscontent #Strikes #rmt #AmbulanceWorkersStrike
Christian Adams on #PrinceHarry #MeghanMarkle #Spare
Finally, Dave Brown’s #RoguesGallery cartoon, after #Fragonard, for @Independent… #RishiSunak #KeirStarmer #ChesterByElection #LabourPollLead #ToryCostOfGreedCrisis #ToryShambles
The Original Jean-Honore Fragonard – The Swing.
dave
“ Next year’s bumpy ride of continued high inflation, higher interest rates, high energy prices, and a sharp economic slowdown could lay bare Labor’s lack of any kind of genuine growth agenda.”
During nine years of crap government I don’t ever recall the AFR commenting on the Coalition’s lack of growth agenda. And in any case this ALP government has only just started (noting 61 bills in six months) and is only getting warmed up. A little objectivity in reporting might be reasonable.
https://www.afr.com/politics/albo-ends-year-on-top-but-harder-grind-ahead-20221129-p5c27n
Insiders Sunday, 4 Dec
David Speers joins Andrew Probyn, Samantha Maiden and Dan Bourchier to discuss an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Scott Morrison censured, IR and National Anti-Corruption Commission bills passed plus a review of 2022. (Final)
Guest : Linda Burney – Minister For Indigenous Australians
“dave says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:40 am
AFR Editorial – with the usual ‘But’s” and “Yet’s” –
…There is no guarantee that Albanese’s mix of old-school Labor politics and new-style progressivism will be able to weather the economic storms on the horizon.”
… and after Albo and the ALP have shown that they are indeed capable of weathering the economic storms, see how even the AFR will suddenly become interested in sports, fashion or birdwatching…. with Phil Coorey leading the distraction maneuver, of course.
Comment of the Day, for mine, goes to Katharine Murphy, as she puts Jacinta Price in her place:
One of the members of the subcommittee was Country Liberal party senator and Warlpiri-Celtic woman Jacinta Price – who sits in the Nationals party room. Price contends the voice proposal would divide Australians “along lines of race”. 😀
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/03/peter-dutton-saying-no-to-the-indigenous-voice-or-saying-maybe-but-meaning-no-is-not-a-cost-free-exercise
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/media-alleged-that-bruce-lehrmann-assaulted-other-women-court-20221202-p5c39n.html
In a judgment by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum on April 29, 2022, in which she refused to halt the initial trial, the judge noted that in the weeks after Higgins went public with her claims in early 2021, “allegations were published to the effect that the man who had sexually assaulted the complainant was also accused of having sexually assaulted or harassed a number of other women”.
“The most damaging material, in my view, is the material disclosing that other women had come forward with similar complaints after hearing the complainant’s allegations.”
Interesting that the judge noted “who had sexually assaulted the complainant“, rather than “the man accused of sexually assaulting the complainant”. Had she already made up her own mind?
These other women, though. They must all be liars, of course. The law demands it.
A contributor to The Age headlines that the problem for the Liberal Party is demography
No
In my view the problem for the so called Liberal Party is ideology
Complicated by the demography introduced to the Party to give power to some
Ideology is classic Tory, embraced by the recent short term pm in the UK – so “free” markets, the most effective form of regulation being self regulation and that austerity delivers confidence and that confidence will trickle down
Witness the short term UK pm referencing Thatcher, giving tax cuts to moneyed people and, to boot, borrowing to provide those tax cuts, the benefits of those tax cuts to trickle down to those impacted by the austerity measures also introduced
Classic Tory
Representing and advantaging their base
People of substance – and those who hang off their coat tails engraciating to receive a trickle down benifit (and there are plenty of hangers oners across society, importance by association)
Added to this in Australia is the membership recruitment from God botherers, to take control of State branches (and the money – witness Cormack)
Hence the personality driven politics (factions) of the Liberal Party, including the deferral to the arch Tory, Howard as an extension of Menzues
By comparison the ALP is housed in “the mighty Union movement”, to quote at least Albanese and Andrews in recent months
Hence factions of Centre Left and Centre Right – not factions based on the temporary and personalities now introduced by the God botherers and scoundrels looking to associate with the moneyed
We see the result of trickle down in the UK, and racism born of elitism
Economic disaster
And a revolving door of “Leaders”, there for ego not delivery to the Nation and its citizens
Be very careful of what you read and hear from media
They will promote a new “moderate” Leader but in reality they are who and what they are, representing the coterie they exclusively represent
Those who promote Tory ideology so starkly put before us by the recent shorr term pm of the U.K.
Polling saw her replacement
In the UK it is time for that (effective) polling to finish the job and distance that Nation from Tory ideology
Australia is on course
Look at the number of seats the Tories hold federally and at State and Territory level (so LNP numbers)
Starting with 58 out of 151 federally, then Weat Australia, South Australia and now Victoria as our most recent election results
When you work across Corporate Australia you see money – and those who seek to engraciate and hang off their coat tails
That said, there is money where they say their wealth is not on the Balance Sheet but is in the Profit and Loss so their employees
These are the successes in business, in industry and in commerce
You can pick then – easily
Cronus @ #1093 Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 – 7:50 am
Cronus – Stutchbury with Shit on the Liver as the old expression goes.
Coorey’s article was positive though and AFR couldn’t let “Praising Labor” go too far.
Go Get’em Albo!
yabba @ #963 Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 – 7:58 am
Thank you for taking us through the history, yabba. There are those here, on a supposedly enlightened-mindset blog, who would prefer to take a strictly legalistic perspective in order to show support for the Defendant. You would think they would feel some degree of shame about doing this, but that male victimhood mindset, encouraged by Howard as I said earlier, just won’t lay down and die.