If there’s been any polling relevant to the federal tier over the past week or so it’s escaped my attention, other than the weekly Roy Morgan numbers, with have Labor’s two-party lead in from 58.5-41.5 to 56.5-43.5, from primary votes of Labor 37%, Coalition 34.5% and Greens 13.5%. This was conducted last Monday through to Sunday, with no detail provided on sample size or survey method. The tracking polling of international leaders’ approval conducted by US pollster Morning Consult has recorded a slight weakening in Anthony Albanese’s standing over the past few weeks, with a current result of 57% approval and 31% disapproval, respectively down three and up four from the start of the year. The BludgerTrack poll aggregate, which makes use of results from Newspoll, Resolve Strategic, Essential Research and Freshwater Strategy, likewise records a declining trend in Albanese’s net approval over the past two months.
Boerwar
Its going very well. Still getting my head around it. Thank you.
What about you?
Klaus Eriksen
@Fireblade577
·
4m
This is what Russia has achieved so far with its 300,000 conscripts in its much hyped winter offensive:
– Two stalled offensives
– One offensive turning into an absolute disaster
– One as yet unconfirmed pyrrhic victory
#UkraineRussiaWar️
They’re just the warm up to the real Trump show.
We charge our EV’s at home from our Solar panels and overnight, if needed, from our batteries……also when we go shopping we plug in at the centres EV charging stations for an hours free top up. Servicing over the last 4 years is negligable….Transport fuel costs are negligable……Home energy costs are zero…..Four years ago we decided to forgo the annual holiday overseas and instead invested in Solar + batteries +EVs (with a personal loan for part of the costs) Ice cars were traded in…. We can go on holidays now with just these savings.
A government loan scheme to facilitate doing similar would be a good idea for everyone….and the country, as oil imports will inevitably fall
Socrates says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 8:31 am
…
I have been doing some policy work on this problem with Engineers Australia and we think the opposite is true. Adding EV’s power demand to the grid will help incentivise the building of new grid and renewable energy generation infrastructure.
…
Hi Soctates
Can you please get William to send me your email.
We are developing/installing a solution for high rise buildings. Put simple, use the spare capacity to charge the cars overnight.
Regards
Eston Kohver says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 7:32 am
On EVs, I bought a grey import 2015 Leaf out of Japan for $17000 a bit over 2 years ago. It is now due for a service for the first time since I had it checked on arrival.
Nissan will charge me $200.00.
The 24kWh battery still has 75% capacity and easily gets over 100km on a full charge. For normal city driving I charge every other day. On solar when I can, but offpeak smart metering otherwise.
My fuel cost averages 1.5c/km. The car meets all my business needs 99% of the time.
My wife drives a Corolla hybrid.
Our previous car was a Kia Carnival. Our fuel and maintenance costs have now plummeted.
And as others have said, an EV is a joy to drive. Especially if you can get one without all the “smart tech” telling you what to do.
____________
How did you import it? Did you use some sort of agent, for example?
Fess
It has been great. Thanks!
How are things going in your part of the world?
Fess
From the reportage I have seen at CPAC, it isnt going so well.
Cronus says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 7:47 am
Steve777 says:
Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 10:01 pm
The fossil fuel industry will in due course go the way of the whale oil and bullock dray industries. It’ll take a few decades, we can’t shut it down now, great as that would be. Labor is trying to create an environment where this can happen. The Coalition, if they return to power in the next decade or so, will work against it and do what they can to tightly enmesh fossil fuels in our economy.
The best thing we can do for our share in saving the planet is to keep the Coalition out of office for a decade or more, like 1983-1996. That’s the thing that the Rexes and the Player Ones (assuming for the moment that she posts in good faith) don’t seem to get.
———————————————————————————-
+1, I can’t understand why this isn’t obvious to these contributors. History shows us that so much good that takes so long to establish can be undone quickly if it’s not embedded culturally, psychologically and functionally. This takes time. Anything that risks re-electing a Coalition government undoes everything, possibly for decades.
____________
P1 and Rex spend far more energy criticising Labor than Liberal, while claiming to be only about the policy.
No Labor policy is ever good enough. Example: the 09 Greens’ siding with most Coalition senators to vote down Rudd’s CPRS. Greens, Rex and P1, of course, quote Treasury figures to claim the CPRS would’ve been worse than the decade of climate vandalism we actually had under Abbott et al.
When I have challenged the likes of P1, Rex (and Firefox) to provide info useful in assessing the Treasury numbers – namely, who defined the assumptions under which the Treasury analysis was carried out – deafening silence has followed.
As we increasingly recognise, the functioning of the Public Service has been politicised. Assumptions in modelling are critical.
Until P1 and Rex (et al) are prepared to engage on this sort of debate, their attacks on Labor can be pigeon-holed as pro-Coalition bias.
Looking forward to another masterclass from Angus Taylor on Insiders
‘Victoria says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 8:44 am
Boerwar
Its going very well. Still getting my head around it. Thank you.
What about you?’
——————
It is said that they keep you young!
The republican party has over a long period of time increased the cray cray. Trump just knew how to take it to the next level.
Hopefully it is getting to a point where it will devour itself.
God is insider pathetic.
Insiders intro has been outsourced to Menzies House
sprocket_
Worst yet!
lol sprocket , very accurate about insiders
‘C@tmomma says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 8:46 am
Klaus Eriksen
@Fireblade577
·
4m
This is what Russia has achieved so far with its 300,000 conscripts in its much hyped winter offensive:
– Two stalled offensives
– One offensive turning into an absolute disaster
– One as yet unconfirmed pyrrhic victory’
———————————–
Phyrrus ran out of soldiers. There is no indication that Russia is running out of men. It is too early to call any Russian (or Ukrainian victory) a phyrric victory.
Victoria @ #2006 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 8:58 am
I’m good. There are flood warnings for today and tomorrow when I’m going home. Oh well, being stranded in FNQ unable to return to work is just such a hardship! 😆
So the ABC and the Liberals are going to die on 3 million limit on generous tax concessions for super.
That CPAC meeting hall looks soulless, dismal. And keeping, what I can only guess are the press, behind bars doesn’t help. Even if you were attracted to the junior Trump I can’t imagine a less inspiring venue. It looks purpose built to make you feel small and helpless, and looking for a way out. Perhaps there’s a suitable metaphor in there somewhere.
UK Cartoon catchup:
Finally Dave Brown:
The original Serafino Macchiati:
What are folks weekly podcasts? And has anyone got a recommendation for a long listen history or economics podcasts.
Here’s my weeklys
1. Guardian Politics Weekly America
2. Guardian Politcs Weekly UK
3. Guardian Politics Weekly Australia
4. The Party Room (Aust Politics)
5. Back to You (Aust Politics)
6. 538 Politcs
7. ANU National Security Podcast
My long listen history one, which I’ve now finished but highly recommend.
1. The History of Rome Mike Duncan
2. Revolutions Mike Duncan
3. Fall of Civilisations
Whinging and whining on behalf of the filthy rich is all the go this Insiders.
How well is this detail of super entrails and tax minimisation playing out in the Western Suburbs? Or amongst the young and migrant cohorts who have deserted the Liberals?
I suspect this is a nothingburger.
After Angus Taylor predictably goes off on Labor, Speers should ask, “Then how would the Coalition go about overcoming the structural deficit left by Howard and Costello?”
Gawd, that David Koch is a loudmouthed lardhead!
god the press is pathetic
the ‘politics’ of super changes is megaphoned by pants wetting in the AFR and NewsCorpse, who have a dog in the fight
Put Insiders on for the intro and almost immediately switched off. Do these turkeys not realise that the government has most likely GAINED support by giving one in the eye to the over $3m Super cohort?
So wrapped up in their “insider” bundle they have no perception of what the vast bulk of voters think!
Good morning all. Re, Socrates:
“ The Labor change will affect o.5% of people. Labor’s promise is 99.5% intact.”
Even for the 0.5% the changes are progressive. Ie. for assets up to $3 million, earnings remain taxed at 15%.
Yet Integrity rails against Labor over these changes.
The simple fact is the total cost of the various tax concessions is currently $268 billion per year – more than THIRTEEN TIMES more costly than S3 in its first year of operation. The ‘top 10’ concessions cost $150 billion a year by them selves. The vast majority of these are simply devices used by the wealthy to remove some, most or even ALL of their actual income from the assessment of ‘taxable income’.
The likes of P1 and Integrity rail on behalf of ‘the principle’ of a Progressive System but either downplay, ignore of – in Integrity’s case – simply don’t understand how the degree of tax concessions at play in our system is the most important obstacle to that principle.
The OECD has done numerous studies as to the distorting effects of excessive tax concessions (what they term ‘Tax Expenditures) over the past decade, and Australia is truly a world leader: we have twice the level of ‘tax expenditures’ in operation than the OECD average. That is not to say there shouldn’t be any ‘tax concessions’, because it is generally accepted that they can be of some benefit (family tax benefits and the low income tax offset come to mind), but we should be very careful to ensure that they are kept within limits and targeted fro some identified greater good.
In short, IMO we need to find a politically achievable way to give that $268 billion annual figure a fairly substantial hair cut.
If we were to aim to reduce the level of concessions down to the OECD average there could be as much as a $100 billion annual save. Clearly these modest super changes are not big enough in themselves, but I think they are Albo’s ‘beta testing’ of the political marketplace: a test to see how far and how fast labor can go in government to stop the rot.
Personally I hope that over time labor can find a way to pay for S3, obtain some more budget saves and also fund extra social programs, but judging from the hostile meltdown from the corrupt MSM – hand in glove with the LNP as always – over this modest change, I think that process is going to be very slow going. Probably – best case – the work of 3 or 4 terms in government, adopting ‘salami tactics’ (one thin slice at a time: a ‘Yes Prime Minister’ reference, FYI).
Good answer, Angus. By Jingo he’s on top of his brief!
Taylor on for some bullshitting and bluster.
Bloody hell the quality of public policy discourse is depressing.
Victoria @ #2008 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 9:00 am
Matt Schlapp *cough*
Oh and the History of Liberalism was very good too.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has defended changes to taxes on superannuation, arguing tax concessions on retirement savings would soon cost more than the aged pension without intervention.
The government doubled the tax rate on super accounts with more than $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, with the changes set to come into effect from mid-2025. Mr Burke said the changes put forward were only modest ones and necessary to lower spiralling levels of government debt.
“How can we have a situation where we keep hurtling towards a time where superannuation tax concessions cost more than this age pensions, which is where we’re heading,” Mr Burke told Sky News on Sunday. “If you’ve got more than $3 million, good on you, you’ll still get a tax concession, it just won’t be as generous as for what it is for the 99.5 per cent of Australian balances.”
The minister said those with wealthy super balances would have the next two years before the changes kick in to reorganise their finances if they want to. “We already have taxation on superannuation, it’s concessional, it’s already there, it’s an advantage to have your money in superannuation,” Mr Burke said.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8108739/super-changes-needed-to-stop-hurtling-concessions/?cs=14264
Speers is vainly trying to interrupt the gish gallop of drivel.
Angus is on message – tight as a drum. Dutton should be looking over his shoulder.
Well, at least the panel pinned the tail on the, how are the Opposition proposing to fill the $5 Billion Budget Black Hole? donkey.
I have avoided Insiders pretty much since David Speers took over the hosting duties, and with good reason I think.
sprocket_ @ #2037 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 9:26 am
Because the Opposition really need a guy as leader that the NACC might be coming after. 😐
Cronus says:
Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 7:39 am
a r says:
Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Pi @ #1917 Saturday, March 4th, 2023 – 7:00 pm
If there are 10 million electric vehicles in Australia of 100kwh, that’s a terrawatt hour. Australia uses about 0.5twh per day in its grid. A grid that is about to get much much larger. We are going to have to support these cars.
The thing to remember is that regardless of the size of the installed battery pack, supporting those cars only really requires 10-15kWh per vehicle per day on average. People like to just multiply the numbers across, but you don’t actually run an EV from full to empty every single day any more than you would a petrol vehicle. For most people most of the time, 10-15kWh is all they need.
———————————————————————————————
Agree entirely. We have been and continue to be incredibly wasteful. We built coal fired power stations for more than a century that run all day regardless of the amount of power actually required and we’re never able to store the unnecessary excess power for later use.
Equally people talk about needing vehicles that can travel a thousand kms with one petrol or diesel stop (something EVs will do soon enough and at a similar refuelling speed) but the reality is that most people only travel such distances 1-2 times annually. Yet they insist they must own such a vehicle in the event that they might need it 50 times a year. We’re delusional, it’s simply not reality. Only once a week to we drive a distance requiring 40 kWh, half our battery capacity.
____________
One of the many things that infuriates me about the political Right is the subject of energy storage.
There is a simple energy storage technology called “pumped hydro” It involves having two water storage locations (typically dams) quite close to each other, and separated by altitude. It also involves hydro-electric turbines and pumps.
All of these things have been around for decades.
One doesn’t even need to believe in climate change for pumped hydro to be useful: it could’ve stored coal-generated energy to help deal with peak demands during heat waves, for example, without requiring spinning up extra turbines (a slow process that struggles to respond to sudden spikes in demand).
Often, half the infrastructure needed for pumped hydro already exists. Liddell power station, for example, draws cooling water from the adjacent Lake Liddell. Build another dam, separated by the requisite altitude, increase the flexibility and reduce the running costs of a coal-fired power station.
I thought the Right loved dams – but, apparently, they only love the Right kind of dams.
Angus has learned that if you take the 10, 20, 30 or 40 year view, all manner of anomalies can be posited- learned this from his days as a McKinsey consultant.
Compelling arguments
ajm @ #2029 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 9:22 am
You didn’t listen for long enough. Eventually the support of the couch was behind the government. It’s just that the guy from the AFR got the first word in.
Spears redeemed himself.
sprocket_ @ #2042 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 9:29 am
We really, really need a sarcasm emoji. 😐
The correct answer, Angus, is that ‘we had no idea how defined benefits would be taxed in 2016, and after some months of ATO hand wringing, they came up with 16 times the annual sum..’
But hey, let’s bamboozle the eye glazed viewers.
C@T – Not sure that NACC chasing Angus will be such an issue with the rank of file MPs of the LNP. The LNP already feels that it is not a legitimate body – sure they voted for it in the end but only after being hounded into it by the media.
I still think Dutton is still their strongest person to be leader at the moment (and that is sad). Nobody else in the lower house has much between the ears or is not covered in muck.
Fess
Haha. There is always a silver lining. Take care!
C@tmomma @ #2043 Sunday, March 5th, 2023 – 8:29 am
But the “official” ABC introduction was to frame the whole story as anti-government and becasue of the fancy graphics and editing that is what will remain in people’s minds.
Any mention of Robodebt yet?
Smart move Angus. Ignore the question, and just make a statement.
Learned this from Yes Minister.