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.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Laura Tingle writes that the mood of the Australian electorate has changed and Morrison’s “apology” showed he fails to understand it. A good, insightful article.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-03/scott-morrison-censure-ministries-nationals-referendum/101729048
George Megalogenis lays out the map of misery in the Liberal heartland. He concludes this very readable contribution with, “Dutton has acquired by default what Morrison built by design – a party that runs on the whim of one white man. And he has a section of the media telling him that their applause is a genuine reflection of the will of the Australian people. But they continue to underestimate the new political majority in the capital cities, where two-thirds of the people live.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/here-s-a-map-of-misery-in-the-liberal-heartland-20221201-p5c2s9.html
The Liberal Party is fighting divisions within its own ranks, and a losing battle against demographics as highly motivated younger generations overwhelm its base, explains Mike Seccombe who takes us inside the Liberal Party’s ‘existential crisis’. Very interesting.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/03/inside-the-liberal-partys-existential-crisis
Here’s Paul Kelly’s take on the Morrison censure. Quite well balanced.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/clash-of-principle-and-selfinterested-politics/news-story/999e82fb8b71bf2a60fe8df1a91a221b
Morrison’s censure a political stunt but an appropriate shaming, write Peter van Onselen.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/morrisons-censure-a-political-stunt-but-an-appropriate-shaming/news-story/214809e6150860bd34be668a45decfcc
The Saturday Paper’s editorial begins with, “Like a veteran troubadour, Scott Morrison rose from the backbench on Wednesday and delivered all the old hits: indignation, self-pity and sly evasions. The moment – parliamentary debate of his historic censure for secretly swearing himself into several portfolios as prime minister – demanded new notes, of course, namely songs of contrition. But Australians were kidding themselves if they thought they’d hear them.” It describes the censure as a proportionate acknowledgement of a historically deviant act and a suitably ignominious distinction for a man who was grossly unfit for the office he once held.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2022/12/03/censure-and-sensibility
Simon Cowan describes what the Coalition needs to do if it wants to get back into power gain – and to govern effectively.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8005041/three-things-the-opposition-really-needs-to-do-to-return-to-power/?cs=14329
The National Party has deserted country people on climate change, NBN, health services, and now the Voice, writes John Menadue who says farmers are the main sufferers from climate change- droughts, fires heavy rainfall and floods, but the National Party has failed farmers and country people on numerous fronts. It has sold out to the miners.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-national-party-has-deserted-country-people-on-climate-change-nbn-health-services-and-more-an-updated-post-from-2019/
Stephanie Dorwick tells us why women cannot revive Liberal “appeal”.
https://johnmenadue.com/women-cannot-revive-liberal-appeal/
Katrina Grace Kelly, writing about the Liberal loss in Victoria, says, “In media circles, it might be time to reassess whether efforts to guide the Liberals are actually hindering them instead. Perhaps sections of the electorate now conflate the party with sections of the media, which they regard as toxic, and perhaps they are voting to reject both this type of media as well as the party they think it represents.”
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/libs-lost-in-wishful-thinking-in-wake-of-if-only-election/news-story/34b144eab41eea71d4a931ce6280dc3d
The SMH editorial says that the government has shown it can get its way in parliament, but it must not become carried away from the political centre.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-s-ability-to-strike-a-deal-a-significant-achievement-20221202-p5c3ag.html
Anthony Albanese went to the election promising “renewal not revolution” but six months in and 61 bills later, it’s starting to feel more like the latter, writes Phil Coorey who looks at Labor’s first six months and examines both sides’ post-election reviews.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/you-ain-t-seen-nothing-yet-why-labor-is-just-getting-started-20221201-p5c2xj
Measures to support and facilitate bargaining in low-paid sectors should open the door for workers to access living wages, argue IR professors Rae Cooper and Chris F Wright.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/long-overdue-industrial-reforms-pave-the-way-for-fairer-pay-20221202-p5c35w.html
According to the AFR, the Albanese government could be forced to overhaul the laws governing offshore energy projects after a court ruling slowed the approval of new gas developments, and raised doubts about how quickly wind farms, considered vital to the energy transition, can be built off the Australian coast.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/santos-has-barossa-gas-appeal-dismissed-by-court-20221202-p5c34w
Environmental laws are being used in new ways to force a review of proposed oil and gas projects, and the Australian government may finally have to take responsibility for the greenhouse emissions our exports create, says Tom Morton.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/03/legal-pushback-labors-oil-and-gas-plans
In a detailed examination, Sumeyya Ilanbey and Royce Millar tell us how Labor pulled off the sweetest victory of all in Victoria.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-labor-pulled-off-the-sweetest-victory-of-all-20221202-p5c3ak.html
The Age tells us that Daniel Andrews says the promise of resurrecting the State Electricity Commission was a killer blow in the election campaign that delivered Labor a third term in office last weekend.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/andrews-says-state-electricity-commission-pledge-sealed-election-for-labor-20221202-p5c3ad.html
The Lehrmann trial is over – but it will never really be over, asks Jacqui Maley.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-lehrmann-trial-is-over-but-it-will-never-really-be-over-20221202-p5c32v.html
Abandoning the trial of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins is an appalling and unfair outcome for all involved – the justice system included, says the AFR’s Michael Pelly.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/appalling-and-unfair-outcome-for-all-20221202-p5c352
Christopher Knaus reports that there are growing calls for a major overhaul of the way rape complainants are treated within the justice system in the wake of the Bruce Lehrmann trial, with a former federal court judge urging governments to appoint victim advocates to support women through the process.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/03/push-for-victim-advocates-to-support-alleged-survivors-in-court-following-bruce-lehrmann-trial
Women are furious about the Lehrmann trial outcome – and men should be too, declares Jenna Price.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/women-are-furious-about-the-lehrmann-trial-outcome-men-should-be-too-20221202-p5c39i.html
Rick Morton thinks Philip Lowe’s future as Reserve Bank governor looks in doubt – he’s short of allies as a major review looms, just months from a decision about his reappointment.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/03/battle-the-rbas-future-begins
The conservative lawyer favoured to win preselection in the ultra-safe Liberal seat of Castle Hill has had his nomination blocked because he criticised the Berejiklian government’s pandemic lockdowns. Noel McCoy, a former Young Liberal president, was expected to win the coveted seat after using his support in the hard-right faction to edge out centre-right rival and sitting member Transport Minister David Elliott.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-liberals-block-candidate-over-mandatory-vax-lockdown-opposition-20221201-p5c2ws.html
Allowing terminally ill people to travel interstate to be with family as they go through an assisted death will be the next step once every state and territory has voluntary assisted dying laws, writes Rachel Clun.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/right-to-travel-next-step-for-right-to-die-laws-20221202-p5c333.html
Michelle Grattan outlines her concern that, in her opinion, the Voice only has a 50/50 chance of getting up, the way things are going.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/too-important-to-fail-clock-ticking-to-get-bipartisan-support-for-indigenous-voice-20221201-p5c2y6.html
Peter Dutton saying no to the Indigenous voice, or saying maybe but meaning no, is not a cost-free exercise, writes Katherine Murphy who says Opposition leader faces a coterie of hardcore voice opponents in the Liberal party room, but saying no, and Australians voting yes, is a risk she wouldn’t want to take.
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
Paul Bongiorno writes, “Littleproud and Price should be wary of the siren song that comes from the delusional right-wing urgers who claim to speak for the ‘silent majority’. The Victorian state election, like the marriage equality plebiscite, shows how much of a dead end this can be.”
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/12/03/nationals-pull-tragic-reversal-voice
Michael Pascoe says that other that a desire to put pressure on it Coalition partner, there is a deeper, darker reason the Nationals were always going to oppose the Voice: The inability of much of their country base to come to terms with their heritage, with their families’ pasts, with the source of their wealth.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/indigenous-news/2022/12/02/why-nationals-reject-the-voice/
Nick Bryant writes that the world is watching while we grapple with the concept of an indigenous Voice to parliament. He says that, along with the internal ramifications, the outcome of the vote could determine how the country is perceived internationally for years to come.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/yes-or-no-australia-our-soul-is-on-trial-before-a-watching-world-20221201-p5c2s7.html
Is the ABC biased or merely a pawn in the culture wars? This week’s senate estimates hearing highlights the broadcaster’s dilemma as senior journalists came under fire from the Coalition, writes Chris Wallace who says the ABC is besieged on multiple fronts. Right-wing culture warriors target it for being too left wing. Critics from the left are vociferous about the way its journalistic and management ranks appear to have been stacked, with honourable exceptions, by smug Coalition fellow-travellers.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/03/abc-the-coalitions-crosshairs
Over the next fortnight, three of Australia’s big banks will face a fresh round of shareholder pressure over their responses to climate change, explains Clancy Yeates.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/climate-bell-tolls-for-banks-as-investors-turn-up-the-heat-20221201-p5c2wm.html
John Hewson opines that Australia needs Covid-19 mandates. He doesn’t underestimate the political difficulties for our governments to publicly announce such a reversal of the recent easing of mask-wearing and isolation restrictions. But it is imperative that they do so.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2022/12/03/we-need-covid-19-mandates
Jessica Yun writes that Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has defended the Labor government’s policy to return the national broadband network closer to its original design despite fresh admissions it will not be able to recover $31 billion invested into the project.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/we-ve-come-full-circle-labor-declares-regulatory-reset-of-nbn-20221201-p5c30u.html
Falls have overtaken motor vehicle accidents as the most common cause of trauma injuries being treated at Melbourne’s leading trauma hospitals. And it’s mainly men of a “certain age”, writes Aisha Dow.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/injuries-from-ladder-falls-climb-as-doctors-urge-some-to-stay-grounded-20221201-p5c2q8.html
The shape of the plan by which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement is now in place though not yet formally agreed, and it could still change substantially. Greg Sheridan writes that Defence Minister Richard Marles will attempt to finalise the key planks of the deal in a series of meetings overseas in the next week. He and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are travelling to the US for this year’s AUSMIN meeting with their counterparts, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/secret-us-nuclear-sub-plan-demands-strategic-rethink/news-story/b904a39cd8e82f69fe4fbe89f3046fb2
For the visibly disabled person, the battle against discrimination is constant, and sometimes brings uncomfortable public scrutiny as a token for inclusion, explains Georgia Cranko.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/2022/12/03/the-discomforts-disability-advocacy
“Hi Babe, always enjoy our romps” is not the type of evidence you’d expect in a corporate regulator’s case against an advocate for bank victims. Callum Foote explores ASIC’s curious prosecution of Geoff Shannon of Unhappy Banking fame, a case which has embroiled the National Australia Bank.
https://michaelwest.com.au/sleeping-with-the-enemy-asics-case-against-national-australia-banks-adversary-hits-a-sex-snag/
A former chief executive of one of Victoria’s largest rail networks is among seven people charged as part of an investigation into serious corruption. Yesterday the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission announced the charges following its investigation into corruption in V/Line and Metro Trains’ tendering and procurement processes.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2022/12/02/former-v-line-ceo-charged-corruption/?breaking_live_scroll=1
The speed with which “deeply regrettable” comments saw the late Queen’s head girl Lady Susan Hussey shown the door at Buckingham Palace speaks volumes about the new-look Windsors. It says Charles is serious about modernising the monarchy. It showcases the utter ruthlessness beneath the royals’ sentiment for tradition, writes Kate Halfpenny.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/was-meghan-right-about-the-royals-being-racist-20221201-p5c2y8.html
Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass a new criminal code this month that will penalise sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, officials have confirmed. Cohabitation before marriage will also be banned.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesia-to-penalise-sex-outside-marriage-with-up-to-a-year-in-jail-20221202-p5c3bu.html
Tom Rees explains how Xi Jinping made the ‘Chinese dream’ a nightmare for the next generation. He describes how a record number of graduates are entering a jobs market with near record youth unemployment. Housing affordability in the biggest cities has become stretched to eye-wateringly expensive levels. And the young are shunning marriage, perhaps a symptom of the financial insecurity and the male-female imbalance caused by the one-child policy.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/how-xi-made-the-chinese-dream-a-nightmare-for-the-next-generation-20221201-p5c2p4.html
Trump had dinner with two avowed antisemites. Let’s call this what it is, writes Francine Prose.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/02/trump-dinner-antisemites-nick-fuentes-kanye-west
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Alan Moir
Matt Golding
Jon Kudelka
Andrew Dyson
Fiona Katauskas
John Shakespeare
Glen Le Lievre
Joe Benke
Simon Letch
Simon Bosch
Jim Pavlidis
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
BK
Much appreciation for today’s bumper edition!
You can also see the words of Scott Morrison, delivered in parliament this week in response to the Multiple Ministries Censure Motion, as a perpetuation of the Male Victimhood paradigm. Also his refusal to resign as emblematic of the other facet of Male Victimhood politics. The refusal to be cowed (actually, held accountable), by those calling for his head on a platter.
Don’t you knows that he was a very busy man, doing a big job saving the nation fighting off COVID-19 like St George on his mighty steed slaying the dragon? How dare you question his motives! From which he will never resile. Harumph!
Zero. Self. Awareness. Plus the undercurrent of male might is right. Even when they’re wrong. 😐
Re Ven @2:23 “How The Right Developed Its Victim Complex”.
Interesting article.
Then we have Dog’s Brunch @6:38 quote a small example – his friend who can’t fit into airline seats, blaming Asian passengers for this.
Now modern airline cabins are cramped, even for those who aren’t particularly tall or “fuller figured”. Who’s fault is that? Who determines the configuration of passenger aircraft? The passengers? People of East Asian heritage demanding smaller seats? Might it not be the airlines, who order and pay for aircraft, squeezing more profit out of their investment as they squeeze their passengers?
And on and on it goes, with many much more important examples – the losers from the economic changes of the last half century directing their ire away from the winners and their political representatives onto convenient scapegoats, often encouraged by the Right but often just by their own prejudices.
PMAV
168 years ago today, at 3 am on Sunday, 3 December 1854, a party of 276 soldiers and police, under the command of Captain John W. Thomas approached the Eureka Stockade at Ballarat.
Unaware of the approaching soldiers, 150 untrained diggers armed with muskets, picks, poles and shovels waited.
The demand was made for the diggers to come out and disband. Refusing, a single shot rang out and the troopers attacked the stockade.
The battle was fierce, brief, and terribly one-sided with the ramshackle army of miners hopelessly outclassed by heavily armed military regiments.
The PMAV proudly continue this fight against the various agencies who seek to over govern, over tax and lock-up public land.
We are the ONLY organisation in Victoria who represent not only the 50,000+ Miner’s Rights holders, but the many bush users who continue to lose access to public land.
Do you stand with us in the stockade or stand and watch as we lose more land and more rights every year?
JOIN NOW.
http://www.pmav.org.au
No Mrs Shellbell, we are not putting the Cameroonian goal and celebration on constant repeat.
Thanks BK
Quite the feast of reading ahead of us today.
World Cup Round of Sixteen
US-Netherlands
Argentina-Australia
France-Poland
England-Senegal
Morocco-Spain
Japan-Croatia
Brazil-South Korea
Portugal-Switzerland
Who are you referring to c@tmomma?
~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Saudi to apply for the 2030 world cup and Qatar the 2032 Olympics with air conditioned roads for the marathon. Which is more corrupt? FIFA or Olympics?
C@tmomma says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 6:45 am
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.
____________
Howard’s “new era of free speech”
Interest rate rises have taken their toll on the mortgage market, with the value of new loans dropping for the ninth month in a row.
New home loans have hit their lowest value since December 2020, with $25.79 billion in mortgages approved in October according to new data from Rate City.
That represents a 2.7 per cent fall since September, and a whopping 17.1 per cent drop in the past year.
The Ireland green party. Why can’t we have a green party like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPQIs3GWLJ0&ab_channel=FRANCE24English
Cronus says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:50 am
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
____________
Your “objectivity” request was humour, right?
PeoplePolling UK poll (30 Nov):
LAB: 46% (+2 from 23 Nov)
CON: 21% (-3)
LDM: 7% (-1)
GRN: 9% (+1)
RFM: 7% (+2)
SNP: 5% (=)
I struggle to see the connection between Howard and the current ‘debate’ (if it can even be called that) over the Higgins/Lerhmann case.
If there is to be reform of the law around sexual crime prosecutions then those that are advocates (or ‘on her side’ as if they get to pick and choose who is guilty or not) should take a step back and let sensible discussion happen about it rather than furthering the flames and the disaster that this whole thing has become because of partisans and their beliefs about what (or who) is right and wrong. That includes the fleas that have attached themselves to either side in an effort to be seen.
Good job for the Asian confederation with three teams in only behind Europe’s eight.
”Saudi to apply for the 2030 world cup and Qatar the 2032 Olympics with air conditioned roads for the marathon. Which is more corrupt? FIFA or Olympics?”
Brisbane has the 2032 Olympics.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/world/where-are-the-next-olympics-where-2024-2028-2032-olympic-games-and-next-winter-olympics-are-and-2036-bids-3321075
Thanks BK
Trump had dinner with two avowed antisemites. Let’s call this what it is, writes Francine Prose.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/02/trump-dinner-antisemites-nick-fuentes-kanye-west
____________
Yet Florida, with it’s significant Jewish population, is becoming increasingly Republican (the Trumpist kind). If Florida helps elect Trump in 2024 and Jewish people suffer in any way, will I feel sympathy?
Labor at work …
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/12/03/legal-pushback-labors-oil-and-gas-plans#mtr
…
They certainly have. Just not in a good way 🙁
Still, there is some hope, and it is likely to come – as you might expect – from the cross-bench …
This is exactly why we needed a strong cross-bench – for those times when both major parties are clearly working in the interests of their financial backers rather than the electorate.
Steve777 says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 8:20 am
Re Ven @2:23 “How The Right Developed Its Victim Complex”.
Interesting article.
Then we have Dog’s Brunch @6:38 quote a small example – his friend who can’t fit into airline seats, blaming Asian passengers for this.
Now modern airline cabins are cramped, even for those who aren’t particularly tall or “fuller figured”. Who’s fault is that? Who determines the configuration of passenger aircraft? The passengers? People of East Asian heritage demanding smaller seats? Might it not be the airlines, who order and pay for aircraft, squeezing more profit out of their investment as they squeeze their passengers?
And on and on it goes, with many much more important examples – the losers from the economic changes of the last half century directing their ire away from the winners and their political representatives onto convenient scapegoats, often encouraged by the Right but often just by their own prejudices.
____________
Sorry I don’t have web-based sources for this. Decades ago, I bought a three part series on jetliners (Early Jetliners, Modern Jetliners, Advanced Jetliners).
The entry on the Lockheed TriStar (remember, 3 engines, almost a Jumbo jet size?) showed a photo of the economy class seating: 8 abreast. Soon, it became 9 abreast – so male victims lost 12.5% of the width of their seats!
The next way of cramming more people into ‘cattle class’ was to reduce the leg room between seats. Economy class often used to have one seat every 34 inches (86cm). Now it is often 32 or even 31.5 inches. 6% to 7.5% less leg room for male victims.
All because of an Asian conspiracy!
Poor angry, white, fat, racist males – who will protect them?
BTW, if you want to experience what Economy Class used to be like, on international flights you often buy ‘Premium Economy’ seating. Yes, pay a ‘Premium’ for what people enjoyed decades ago for Economy prices.
Also clearly an Asian conspiracy against…
#weatheronPB
Warm sun on my back,
blue air over and through me,
I breathe in my life.
Snappy Tom says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 8:56 am
Cronus says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:50 am
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
____________
Your “objectivity” request was humour, right?
——————————————————————————————-
I do wonder if at any stage, any person within our msm (particularly the Murdochracy and Nine Newspapers) has stopped a formal meeting or even within the newsroom kitchens or at the drinking fountains by saying “is it possible that we’re wrong and the majority of the rest of the country might just be right? What a parlous state our media is in.
”
Cronussays:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:14 am
Ven
Hoping you and the family are feeling a little better today?
”
My temperature, although above normal, is less than yesterday. My OH, who was rarely sick, appears to have been hit harder than me. With higher temperature than I had on first day of detection, slept throughout yesterday. My daughter is on mend. Hoping for a better day.
So there is no guarantee with COVID that a person will be less affected by it than an average healthy person because they lead healthy life.
wranslide says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 8:59 am
I struggle to see the connection between Howard and the current ‘debate’ (if it can even be called that) over the Higgins/Lerhmann case.
If there is to be reform of the law around sexual crime prosecutions then those that are advocates (or ‘on her side’ as if they get to pick and choose who is guilty or not) should take a step back and let sensible discussion happen about it rather than furthering the flames and the disaster that this whole thing has become because of partisans and their beliefs about what (or who) is right and wrong. That includes the fleas that have attached themselves to either side in an effort to be seen.
____________
I suggest there are small and big areas for reform…
Small – mainly relevant to quirks in the ACT law – ACT needs to move in line with other jurisdictions and introduce penalties for jurors who do things like the ‘outside research’ that happened in this case. There has also been discussion around the ACT system’s incapacity to use recorded testimony in re-trials, condemning the complainant to being grilled twice. Also, what’s with Lehrman being able to not testify? Could the prosecution have called him and treated him as a hostile witness? Bigger question: if defendants choose to not answer questions, should that somehow impinge on the ‘presumption of innocence’?
Also, the balance between public interest/transparency over against avoiding jury contamination seems to have failed in this case.
Big – while we continue with the current approach, victims will continue to have the intimate details of their lives made public (for example) and many will continue to either not report being assaulted or not press charges. We do not have the balance between the rights of victim/complainant and those of the defendant right.
Is there any jurisdiction around the world that has an arguably better approach?
I see that the movement to abolish trials is getting a bit of a go on in Bludgerland.
There are four broad options here:
1. Get rid of trials altogether. Just authorize your execution squads to get on with it. Basically, might makes it legal.
2. Hold show trials. Even though the outcomes are pre-ordained, there is some benefit to autocracies to go about the business of fig leaves.
3. Hold Kangaroo Courts outside the trail system. Public opinion trials mediated by social media, such as Bludgerland, and the MSM might be emotionally satisfying. But are they anything like a substitute for fair trials?
4. Hold fair trials.
As I see it, the problem we have is that our trials are not fair.
We can approach this problem in three different ways. Fix the trials. Or go to Option 1. or go to Option 3.
Ven
Best wishes for a speedy recovery to you and your family.
Cronus says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 9:39 am
Snappy Tom says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 8:56 am
Cronus says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 7:50 am
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
____________
Your “objectivity” request was humour, right?
——————————————————————————————-
I do wonder if at any stage, any person within our msm (particularly the Murdochracy and Nine Newspapers) has stopped a formal meeting or even within the newsroom kitchens or at the drinking fountains by saying “is it possible that we’re wrong and the majority of the rest of the country might just be right? What a parlous state our media is in.
____________
I think the parlous state of our media sector is due to the interests of the powerful people who own (Murdoch, Stokes), significantly control (Costello, Buttrose) or influence (Coalition govts intimidating the ABC) said media.
Said powerful people want low personal taxes, low business taxes, low interest rates, low inflation – simply because these settings help boost their personal wealth. They therefore seek govts that pursue such policies and use their considerable resources to vilify candidates/parties who threaten such policies. They use their resources to assemble a voter base via culture wars that results in govts that act against the interests of both the nation AND the majority of those who voted for that govt in the first place (2019 being a classic example).
The 2022 election was a miracle!
Cronus @ #1123 Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 – 9:39 am
Who’s Bread I eat…Who’s Song I Sing ?
Bonanza! Thanks BK.
”
The Saturday Paper’s editorial begins with, “Like a veteran troubadour, Scott Morrison rose from the backbench on Wednesday and delivered all the old hits: indignation, self-pity and sly evasions.
”
Tory victimhood. (one word for all those 3 words )
Thanks for the link Socrates (6:48am)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-03/catholic-hospitals-denying-womens-healthcare-australia-hospitals/101712558
The medical “care” described in that article is dangerous. The Catholics who run these hospitals aren’t merely playing god. To an extent all medical practice plays god. Life and death decisions fall into that category. These hospitals appear to go much further. They are protecting their own apparently fragile belief system, putting it ahead of their unsuspecting patients. Their patients are caught in a paternalistic structure, unsuspecting victims of their trusted carers’ ideology. In short. It appears that Catholic Hospitals can’t be trusted to practice medicine. I don’t know how you fix this. But I’d start with the top.
Boerwar says:
Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 9:49 am
I see that the movement to abolish trials is getting a bit of a go on in Bludgerland.
There are four broad options here:
1. Get rid of trials altogether. Just authorize your execution squads to get on with it. Basically, might makes it legal.
2. Hold show trials. Even though the outcomes are pre-ordained, there is some benefit to autocracies to go about the business of fig leaves.
3. Hold Kangaroo Courts outside the trail system. Public opinion trials mediated by social media, such as Bludgerland, and the MSM might be emotionally satisfying. But are they anything like a substitute for fair trials?
4. Hold fair trials.
As I see it, the problem we have is that our trials are not fair.
We can approach this problem in three different ways. Fix the trials. Or go to Option 1. or go to Option 3.
____________
There is an episode of the tv sci-fi show ‘The Orville’ called ‘Majority Rule’. Our intrepid crew encounter a civilisation that looks a lot like 21st century Earth but without space travel. This planet’s information tech allows people to express an opinion on everything – sort of social media on steroids. People who get large ‘downvotes’ for their conduct may be subject to ‘correction’ (sounds ominous, eh?)
Worth watching (SBS On Demand, I think).
C@T
The sheer loss of power and authority by old white males as part of a conservative, patriarchal church-led society for 2000 years is too much of a shock for many. The concept that this should now be shared is simply too much for their brains to compute.
Their way of coping therefore is to attempt to claim the title of victimhood before the transition to some form of equality is even complete. It’s the job of Progressives not only to facilitate this change but to prevent these mostly old white males from appropriating the unearned identifier of ‘victims’.
Ven
Thanks for the date and advice, here’s hoping you all pull through only lightly scathed.
Untested and anonymous accusations published in the media are now taken as evidence of guilt for another accusation which has not been completely tested
The Lehrmann case in my mind only cements my belief that our legal system, though good in comparison with many other legal systems, is far from perfect. It’s a work in progress and it’s to be hoped that progress will continue. In the meantime, this outcome can only be considered as disastrous for Brittany Higgins, she loses out regardless, no real trial, no closure. I can’t imagine the impact this will have on her and potentially other women in similar circumstances.
Huge change to US Democrats primary calendar – Iowa boned, New Hampshire demoted…
https://youtu.be/C02gaRZL4iE
Riffing on right wing victimhood: Falsely claiming victimhood for a group means that group has no responsibility for their situation. It is also how you create us versus them. It is how you promote attack rather than a search for solutions. It also reframes the situation. There’s an old saying about the power of the weak, but it escapes me right now.
”
The National Party has deserted country people on climate change, NBN, health services, and now the Voice, writes John Menadue who says farmers are the main sufferers from climate change- droughts, fires heavy rainfall and floods, but the National Party has failed farmers and country people on numerous fronts. It has sold out to the miners.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-national-party-has-deserted-country-people-on-climate-change-nbn-health-services-and-more-an-updated-post-from-2019/
”
Leaving aside SA, where they have no presence, Nationals have done quite well in 3 consecutive elections (WA, federal and Victoria) when Liberals have done dismally. National party voters know that their party cannot be in power without Liberals winning their share of seats. So even though The National Party has deserted country people on climate change, NBN, health services, and now the Voice, why do they keep voting for them instead of ALP or other parties when they are suffering so badly because of the desertion, especially when it is life and death issue? (can someone explain this to a city dweller like me)
Seriously though country people voting patterns affect the whole country because our farm produce and diary products mostly come from countryside.
Snappy Tom
“ There is an episode of the tv sci-fi show ‘The Orville’ called ‘Majority Rule’. Our intrepid crew encounter a civilisation that looks a lot like 21st century Earth but without space travel. This planet’s information tech allows people to express an opinion on everything – sort of social media on steroids. People who get large ‘downvotes’ for their conduct may be subject to ‘correction’ (sounds ominous, eh?)
Worth watching (SBS On Demand, I think).”
——————————————————————————————-
Agreed, Ms Cronus and I watched this a couple of years ago and though very humorous, it was also thought provoking.
Perceptive comment from The Bulwark today:
Lewis Grotelueschen
Ye has taken Trumpism to its logical conclusion. The joys of Trumpism are the joys of the vandal. What could be more fun than rehabilitating Hitler?
It has sold out to the miners.
Not only The Nationals but the Liberals as well. See Taylormade’s post this morning, characterising the Eureka Stockade uprising as the Miners against the Man.
Not to mention that Taylormade thinks that Miners should be able to dig bloody big holes in the ground anywhere they damn well please, environment and native flora and fauna habitat be damned! 😡
Unless things have changed recently, the arrangements between Catholic hospitals and the public system are generally that the buildings are owned by a church organisation ( a legacy of both the charity health system and the sectarianism of early C20 Australia) and the state governments contract for certain public services. These public services are within what the church considers moral, with the state presumably providing for excluded services elsewhere.
Alternative models would be for the states to compulsorily acquire the hospitals or for the hospitals to become purely private ( as e.g. Sydney Mater about 40 years ago)
suprised mccoy was rejected thought he was good friends with perottit maiden on sunday she was one of the reasons we could not get fair trial this result is whiy woman do not come foward to trial drumgold seemed les then convincing its for her mental health that the eleged afender is not prosecuted he says there was evidence but allowed the defence lawer to question higgins at length with out intervening
Oakeshott Country @ #1002 Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 – 10:07 am
Yeah, yeah we get it, Oakeshott Country. You’re quite prepared to justify the Liberal grub with whatever specious logic you can muster.
Aren’t you the person who said Ashleigh Raper was lying about Foley?
“Put his hand on her lower back” is the quote I remember
Oakeshott Country @ #1013 Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 – 10:25 am
That’s your pathetic justification for being an apologist for Lehrmann!?!
But do excuse me for believing anything a man had to say by way of justification for egregious behaviour. How naïve of me. 😐
No Mrs Shellbell, we are not putting the Cameroonian goal and celebration on constant repeat.
————————————
I am sure you could find agreement on tv timeshare with, perhaps, the 730 interview with Marin?
I have not been commenting on the justice or lack of it for Brittany Higgins and continue to do this.
On the discussion under way I will just point out the obvious. Reform does not mean throwing out innocent until proven guilty and suggesting reform and looking at jurisdictions that continue to have innocent until proven guilty but give greater support to victims is no bad thing.