Once again, the latest haul of federal preselection news is dominated by both action and inaction on the Liberal Party front:
• Matthew Denholm of The Australian reports the Tasmanian Liberal executive has delayed until March preselection votes that were scheduled for Braddon on November 12 and Bass for November 18 amid a conservative push to oust Bridget Archer from Bass. Candidates will also be required to sign an agreement not to speak out against the party line, which was likely prompted by Archer’s outspokenness on issues such as the party’s push in parliament for a royal commission into child sex abuse.
• A report on the above matter from Benjamin Seeder of the Burnie Advocate draws my attention to the fact that Liberals preselected Susie Bower, who was also the candidate in 2022, in the central Tasmanian seat of Lyons back in April. Bower is chief executive of the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone and a former Meander Valley councillor. Brian Mitchell has held the seat precariously for Labor since 2016, Bower reducing his margin in 2022 to 0.9% with a 4.3% swing that was partly a correction after a troubled Liberal campaign in 2019.
• A Liberal preselection will be held tomorrow for Russell Broadbent’s seat of Monash in regional Victoria, where the 72-year-old incumbent faces challenges from Nathan Hersey, mayor of the Shire of South Gippsland, and Mary Aldred, head of government relations for Asia Pacific at Fujitsu. Aldred is the daughter of the late Ken Aldred, who held various federal seats for the Liberals from 1975 to 1996. While her father was a figure of some controversy, The Age reports Mary Aldred is “viewed as a moderate”, in common with Broadbent.
• The Australian’s Feeding the Chooks column reports displeasure among Liberal National Party members at the time being taken to begin preselection proceedings for the Gold Coast seat of McPherson, which will be vacated at the next election on the retirement of Karen Andrews. Mentioned as possible contenders are Ben Naday, former migration agent and federal ministerial adviser; Leon Rebello, solicitor at King & Wood Mallesons; and David Stevens, managing director of a private strategy and investment consulting firm and Howard government cabinet policy unit adviser.
• Canberra CityNews reports the Liberals have preselected Joanne van der Plaat, Cooma lawyer and former president of the Law Society of New South Wales, as candidate for Eden-Monaro. Van der Plaat was chosen ahead of Vanessa Cheng, a management consultant.
There is also the following to relate on the polling front:
• This week’s Roy Morgan poll has Labor leading 52-48 on two-party preferred, in from 53-47 last week, from primary votes of Labor 31.5% (down one), Coalition 35% (steady) and Greens 13.5% (down one-and-a-half). The poll was conducted last Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1371.
• SEC Newgate’s regular bi-monthly Mood of the Nation survey finds 32% rating the federal government’s performance as good, down four points from August, with poor steady at 36%. Expectations about the state of the economy three years from now have taken a hit, with the positive rating down eight from the last survey to 50% and negative up six to 34%. The question of whether Australia is headed in the right direction, on which opinion was evenly divided through 2022, is now running 63-37 against. Of the mainland states, small sample state breakdowns have consistently found optimism highest in Western Australia and lowest in Queensland. Queensland was targeted with an elevated sample of 603, of whom 27% rated the state government’s performance as good compared with 43% for poor. The poll was conducted October 18 to 23 from an overall sample of 1610.
• The Australian reports Newspoll found the most favoured options for helping with the cost of living were, in order, subsidising energy bills (84%), subsidising fuel prices (81%), cutting government spending to reduce inflation (77%), personal tax cuts (73%) and cash payments to low-income families (56%).
• Kos Samaras from RedBridge Group offers further results from its poll last week showing 34% consider the Albanese government has the right priorities compared with 50% who disagree, while 30% believe “the Coalition led by Peter Dutton” is ready for government and 50% think otherwise.
Cat
On offshore wind Bob Brown is a rebel without a clue.
I disagree with you on the exemptions for religion in the disinformation bill. Michelle Rowland is caving in to a lobby that always overstates its real influence, and increasingly votes Liberal anyway.
Northern Ireland polling (Belfast Telegraph)
Sinn Féin 31 =
DUP 28 +2
UUP 8 -2
SDLP 6 =
Alliance 16 +1
TUV 4 -1
Green 2 =
Aontú 1 -1
PBP 1 =
The adults in the room are rapidly disappearing into irrelevance
”
Cronussays:
Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 10:56 pm
Dr D 10:45 pm
“ It would be interesting to know what Calleo would have advised, if his advice was sought, either before or after Putin invaded Ukraine. The main point of his advice would probably have been that this war should have been avoided, or stopped at the earliest opportunity. Hard to achieve with a brutal bastard such as Putin, but sadly the costs of not avoiding the war, or not stopping it in early April 2002, have been huge, especially for the long-suffering Ukrainian people.”
————————
A determined response with the full support of the US and Europe back in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea might’ve been appropriate. Hindsight. By Feb 2021 the horse had long bolted.
”
Other than Obamacare and bailing out US Car market as a response to GFC, Obama administration is increasingly seen as useless especially in the area of Foreign policy, which is in direct responsibility of Obama.
During Obama 8 years, Democrats lost over 1000 legislature seats (MSNBC, Charlie Sykes), Republicans have been more radicalised, Iraq and Afghanistan wars continued, enabled Russia and China, nothing much done on Climate change.
Under Biden administration Democrats have actually won 100s of more seats, something done on Climate change.
Regardless of the ‘Save The Whales’ idiocy, offshore wind farms along the East Coast of Australia is the motherlode of bad political ideas.
Totally unnecessary from a policy perspective as well. Anyone who sets the debate up as ‘we need offshore wind farms to combat climate change’ is as idiotic as anyone who says ‘stop offshore wind farms to save the whales’.
Anyone who things that offshore wind farms are just ‘doing our bit’ for the environment fail to account for the fact that as a matter of demographics, beach lovers are more likely to already be early adapters to green energy (most with a personal renewable energy ‘farm’ on their roofs), and fuckwits from the shire,Gold Coast and sunshine coasts aside, most likley to have consistently voted for parties who support climate change policies and renewable energy initiatives. … unlike folk in the bush who consistently vote for the National Party, who have already cleared most of the available land for agricultural purposes (and hence are only being asked to supplement one form of existing rural economic activity – farming – with another (solar and wind farms).
Why is Federal Labor apparently determined to shoot itself in the head by even trailing the coat of the very idea of offshore wind farms given that this is all so unnecessary?
Anyhoo. I’m off to the beach for some serenity whilst i can still get it 😉
US undoes progress on child poverty as spending cuts take priority
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/8/2204222/-US-undoes-progress-on-child-poverty-as-spending-cuts-take-priority?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_8&pm_medium=web
“Across the country, the expansion of the Child Tax Credit—along with multiple rounds of stimulus payments, enhanced unemployment insurance, and food assistance—drove poverty rates in 2020 and 2021 to some of the lowest on record, offsetting some of the worst of the pandemic’s economic effects, especially on lower-wage earners and families of color.
But according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest numbers, released in September, the Supplemental Poverty Measure rate jumped back up from 7.8% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022. Child poverty more than doubled, from a record low 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% last year. Experts say the Supplemental Poverty Measure provides a fuller accounting of poverty in the U.S. than the traditional rate because it accounts for cost of living and the impact of government assistance, and is adjusted both geographically and by family size.
California-specific figures from the Public Policy Institute of California likely will show similar escalations when they’re released this month. The center last year reported that expansion of the CTC and the CalFresh food assistance program (once known as food stamps) helped significantly decrease poverty rates in the Golden State through the first two years of the pandemic. Overall poverty dropped from 16.4% to 11.7% from 2019 to 2021, while child poverty was nearly halved, from 17.6% to 9.0%.”
”
FBI seizes New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ phones as part of federal investigation into fundraising: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/10/politics/eric-adams-phones-seized-fbi/index.html
”
BTW
Eric Adams is a Democrat.
Two songs I usually put on as mood music as Im getting ready for the beach – or just a salt water emersion of some description:
https://youtu.be/UkHgUc6bOgU?si=i79QRKrm24zw1br_
https://youtu.be/8vEntK3fwp8?si=KYV56eA_VESoZzG_
Spears really is a smarmy individual.
Penny Wong gives up trying not to embarrass Speers, and embarrasses him.
And penny wonk runs rings around him. He thinks he has gotcha and she just casually bats it away.
There is no justification for attacking hospitals you stupid women,
S.Simpson,
“I see that an extreme zionist nutjob in Cassandra has come out of the woodwork calling people who support Palestine nazis. Perhaps looking in the mirror would help.”
Do you support Hamas? These protestors do. Do you believe in ‘from the river to the sea’? If you do, can you explain where Israel fits into this scheme? Taken literally, Israel would not exist.
PS: ‘Zionist’ is just a fancy way to avoid using the word, ‘Jewish’
Do off-shore wind generators have an economic advantage which justifies their existence ?
They have an obvious political disadvantage.
And on a different angle, the wannabe Deputy PM and wannabe leader of the Nats believes in the renewable cult it seems.
Could the Nats be accused of being a cult themselves ?
‘Zionist’ is just a fancy way to avoid using the word, ‘Jewish’ if Nazi is a fancy way of not saying German. Not all jews agree with what Natahau is doing.
goll @ #379 Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 9:44 am
Just more reliable, stronger wind.
Andrew_Earlwoodsays:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 9:17 am
Two songs I usually put on as mood music as Im getting ready for the beach – or just a salt water emersion of some description:
_____________________
‘Getting back’ by G Wayne Thomas off the Morning of the Earth soundtrack is another good one.
OC,Will there ever be a DUP Deputy Chief minister ?
Unfortunately for the DUP they can’t stop adverse demographic change. They must look wistfully on an Israeli style solution.
frednk,
I agree that no hospital should be attacked. All Hamas has to do is stop using sick people as human shields and using hospitals as military bases. Israel is not targeting sick Palestinians.
You build wind farms where there’s wind. Near the sea is an obvious choice, either in it or near the shore, especially headlands.
Inland, the best place to build them would be on hills and ridges.
Any suitable location would be highly visible, like the wind farms to the East of Lake George. But I don’t see that they’re an eyesore, certainly no moreso than the crap developers want to build on the coast.
And of course nuclear reactors need lots of water. They need to be next to the sea, given that Australia has no large reliable inland rivers. You could build a dam, which I suppose right-wingers have no problem with. It would need to be guaranteed not to dry up in a drought, which except possibly near the SE coast would be difficult.
Penny Wong absolutely owned David Speers today on Insiders. 😀
She called out his, wide-eyed ‘just asking questions’ schtick, and hit it for 6!
How many people here have actually experienced an East Coast of NSW windstorm? Those things can strip paint. Of course, you would want to harness that for a free supply of energy. Too bad if you don’t want to look at something far off into the distance while you are at the beach. I find Jetskis’, noise and visual pollution, much more offensive, but no one is saying, ‘Ban Jetskis!’
With Daylesford in mind, can a hypoglycemic episode give rise to a defence to dangerous driving resulting in death?
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/can-a-diabetic-episode-be-a-legal-defence-automatism-in-nsw/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=week-46
Tuvalu is one of the 13 countries which recognises the Republic of China. Will the new agreement with Australia require the recognition of the People’s Republic?
If so, Taiwan’s remaining supporters will be:
Belize
Eswatini
Guatemala
Haiti
Holy See (Vatican City)
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Palau
Paraguay
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Mavis on Sat at 11.09 pm, Cat at 6.13 am, Holdenhillbilly at 6.43 am and Cronus on Sat at 10.56 pm
The one and only Michael Kirby once affirmed the importance of a talent for simplification of complex issues, so Mavis I will respect your comment in that light.
About thirty years ago I walked from Binna Burra to O’Reilly’s. I saw only a few snakes but much of the beautiful scenery. As Stan Grant said in his J.G. Crawford Oration, good TV ain’t as good as a nice walk.
Cat, the meaning of cede is to yield by treaty. I am no more suggesting that Zelensky should legalise Putin’s criminal conquest than I, or most others, would so suggest in the parallel case of the occupied territories of Palestine that Israel has controlled, in one way or another, since the 1967 war. Not at all.
Rather, I was merely raising the lonely situation that Zelensky is likely to face soon regarding the vital support Ukraine gets from the US. There is a basic distinction between ought and is, between what should happen and what can happen, given the constraints imposed by other, more powerful actors.
Zelensky is dealing with a phenomenon once expressed in the House of Commons on 1 March 1848 by Lord Palmerston, when Britain was the dominant oceanic power:
“We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00008130
Consider this fact, reported in a link from the current Politico story about Ukraine’s Energy Minister Galushchenko threatening to attack Russian oil and gas infrastructure, that Holdenhillbilly posted.
“The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia, providing Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed revenue as it wages war on Ukraine.
Russia supplied the U.S. nuclear industry with about 12% of its uranium last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information. Europe reported getting about 17% of its uranium in 2022 from Russia”.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-us-europe-nuclear-exports-4129cbea2aaa69b1da5d09a41804f745 (dated 10 Aug 2023)
As one of Zelensky’s aides told the US journalist Shuster, “Zelensky feels betrayed by his Western allies. They have left him without the means to win the war, only the means to survive it.”
https://time.com/6329188/ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-interview/
Sadly, this situation was quite predictable. Putin’s war has a very long background story. The first point when it could, in retrospect, have been prevented was the 1996 St Petersburg Mayoral election. Putin’s protege, Anatoly Sobchak, lost to his former first deputy by 1.2%. If Sobchak had chosen Putin as his campaign manager, instead of giving the job to his wife, he would have been reelected, and Putin would have stayed in St Petersburg running corruption there, and never have got to the Kremlin.
February-March 2014 was a huge fork in the road for Ukraine. The great Czech playwright and leader, Vaclav Havel, once urged the importance of considered restraint in politics, which amounts to being aware of the Lord Palmerston rule, among other factors. If the Ukrainian nationalists, backed by a key US diplomat Victoria Nuland (who literally told the EU to get fucked, on a call to a colleague), had not spurned the agreement negotiated on 21 February 2014 by the Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski and others, then Putin would not have had the chance to grab Crimea and hence to invade fully in 2022.
Those in Melbourne who want to hear different views about the details of what might possibly occur in a post-Putin Russia, as expressed by people who want that situation to arrive much sooner rather than later, might consider attending a non-zoom conference in the CBD (Collins St) on 21 November.
See: https://aiiavic.glueup.com/event/conference-on-post-putin-russia-91738/home.html
Cassandra says:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 10:08 am
frednk,
I agree that no hospital should be attacked. All Hamas has to do is stop using sick people as human shields and using hospitals as military bases. Israel is not targeting sick Palestinians.
Hamas is hatred, you don’t destroy hatred by bombing hospitals.
Dr Doolittle:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 10:25 am
[‘Mavis on Sat at 11.09 pm, Cat at 6.13 am, Holdenhillbilly at 6.43 am and Cronus on Sat at 10.56 pm
The one and only Michael Kirby once affirmed the importance of a talent for simplification of complex issues, so Mavis I will respect your comment in that light.’]
Kirby’s judgements were usually a joy to read, and Murphy kept his very short. Don’t get me wrong, I was just taking the piss with my brevity comment.
I said that things were kicking off in the UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/11/sunak-sack-braverman-warn-senior-tories
Sunak is looking very weak at this stage. He basically has to sack Braverman as she is going to keep causing issue for his government. I doubt that she has 53 supporters to cause a leadership contest but she might have 40 or so.
If they do cause a leadership contest, Sunak almost has to call an election.
“ I find Jetskis’, noise and visual pollution, much more offensive, but no one is saying, ‘Ban Jetskis!’”
Ahem.
In his wisdom, Bob Carr banned jet skis from sydney harbour. I would support further restrictions. Pretty much every one that doesn’t own one would agree.
Dr Doolittle,
Thank you for your reply. To which I can only add, ‘watch this space.’ As there are still many American Members of Congress, even on the Republican side, who are committed to maintaining financial support for Ukraine in its ongoing battle with the megalomaniac, Putin. This issue is coming to a head over the next week or so in Congress as they debate Appropriation Bills. President Biden has wisely conceded to tying spending for Israel and Ukraine to increased spending on the border, something the Republicans keep on saying that they want. However, he will not allow the Republicans to split the baby. So, do they really want more money spent on the border, or do they just want to stymie support of Ukraine and aid Putin? We shall see. The President and the Senate will wedge the House if they try and carry out the wishes of Putin and Trump. Possibly by enforcing a government shutdown, which both men want. However, historically, the facts are that whichever party causes a government shutdown in the US, then that party suffers a loss at the next election. Though Trump Republicans have been losing, a lot, they actually want to try and win next year. So the coming machinations will be fascinating to watch and will tell us a lot about the future for Ukraine.
Andrew_Earlwood @ #409 Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 10:37 am
It’s overdue banning them in Botany Bay, that’s for sure. Considering the commercial shipping aspect.
Honestly, as I’m on Broken Bay, I get to hear them a lot. They sound like demented oversize mosquitos. And for what? So you can burn fossil fuels by going back and forth along the channel all day!?! Wow. 😐
B.S. Fairman @ #408 Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 10:34 am
And Keir Starmer? I’d say he’s happy to let the Tories go off like frogs in a sock for a while longer. 😉
LVT
The same polling had a majority wanting to renegotiate the Good Friday agreement but no details. I don’t think a renegotiation of the border is at all possible, but what of an end to mandated coalitions? On current polling this would make the Alliance the king makers. Would they look to their past or to the national destiny?
Stormont was certainly an attempt at a 2 state solution, with Unionists being the colonising power. The wonder is that it was moderately stable for 50 years. Would a 2 state Palestinian solution be more successful?
Dozens arrested as pro-Palestinian rally draws thousands in London
https://amp-9news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.9news.com.au/article/62731961-c88d-4eb3-84e3-121d69970971?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16997426472588&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.9news.com.au%2Fworld%2Fisraelhamas-update-dozens-arrested-as-propalestinian-rally-draws-thousands-in-london%2F62731961-c88d-4eb3-84e3-121d69970971
Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for a large pro-Palestinian rally in London.
There was heavy police presence in central London’s Hyde Park Corner as protesters chanted “free, free Palestine” and “ceasefire now”.
It follows similar rallies held yesterday in Sydney and Melbourne, where thousands of protesters took to the streets.
A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police told CNN that an estimated total of 300,000 people attended the demonstration, which coincided with annual Armistice Day commemorations and Veterans Day in the US.
Police said they arrested 82 counter-protesters “to prevent a breach of the peace”. They said they had “faced aggression from counter-protesters” who stormed the area “in significant numbers” as the rally was building up.
One pro-Palestinian protester told CNN she was “flabbergasted at the hypocrisy of those supporting Ukraine but not Palestine”.
“Some politicians may be on our side, but they are too afraid to speak out,” she added.
Another protester said the number of people who had turned out for the march was “inspiring”.
“We need to speak out for the voiceless,” they added.
”
Oakeshott Countrysays:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 10:47 am
LVT
The same polling had a majority wanting to renegotiate the Good Friday agreement but no details. I don’t think a renegotiation of the border is at all possible, but what of an end to mandated coalitions? On current polling this would make the Alliance the king makers. Would they look to their past or to the national destiny?
”
When other important things like not to attack Ukraine if it gives up Nuclear arsenal are unilaterally discarded, agreement with EU dissolved(Brexit), why not good friday agreement?
BTW, I am only talking about UK involvement.
Nobody seems to care about anything anymore.
The only thing positive about Jet-skis is when they are used for Surf Life saving.
”Stormont was certainly an attempt at a 2 state solution, with Unionists being the colonising power. The wonder is that it was moderately stable for 50 years. Would a 2 state Palestinian solution be more successful?”
There’s so much bad history and hate now that it’s hard to see that one could be in the foreseeable future. The very definition of intractability.
Although a sort of two state solution was worked out in Bosnia.
Ven
I think there is a consensus that GFA has passed its use by date.
But what replacement?.
Non mandatory coalition is obvious but means the Unionists may have time in opposition if they are unable to appeal to the middle ground. A loss of power is something that most colonisers eventually face but it will be painful and there is not much appetite for it from the leadership
Nuclear reactors are unnecessary in Australia for cheap electricity production.
Mining yellow cake in Australia will benefit selected large mining conglomerates, will benefit those countries still using dilapidated nuclear plants, will see Australia develop a repository for nuclear waste and is comparatively more expensive.
Economic vandalism at its worst.
The nuclear decisions associated with the Morrison government was to provide a rationale for developing the nuclear industry in Australia despite by the opposition to this type of development.
I quite like the array of turbines on the GDR between Goulburn and Crookwell.
I would think that the provide electricity to feed the existing infrastructure.
I’m not convinced that off-shore wind farms and the associated infrastructure would have an economic advantage compared to land based wind farms.
I am convinced that anything which deters the LNP cultists, nutters and spivs from achieving government at any level is the best option.
If it involves no off-shore wind farms at no disadvantage economically then that is the appropriate option.
Would we build the Sydney Harbour Bridge under current requirements and considerations if it were to be addressed ?
The overriding fact in Australia is that the sun does shine and the wind does blow and we have massive batteries being both developed and incorporated to aid the reliability of electricity supply while doing the best for the reduction in emissions.
Anything that deters the flat earthers is the better decision.
How to keep your email address
https://help.iinet.net.au/iinet-email-messaging-company
Note this affects all TPG-affiliated email addresses; see your ISP’s home page for details:
aapt.net.au
adam.com.au
chariot.com.au
iinet.net.au
internode.on.net
mysoul.com.au
netspace.net.au
ozemail.com.au
tpg.com.au
westnet.com.au
Hate jetskis with a passion. They are out of place here in Jervis Bay, which is mainly a marine reserve. The lifegaurds at Mollymook use them to scare off the Dolphins (boo hiss)
ootside left @ #640 Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 11:49 am
Why would they want to scare off dolphins? Unless sharks may follow them in to the bay
“ The Supreme Court may have struck down President Joe Biden’s one-time forgiveness plan, estimated to cost $400 billion. However, changes to existing programs have allowed for more than $127 billion in debt to be forgiven since Biden took office, far surpassing previous totals.”
Just remind me again, why is Biden so unpopular? Seems like a vote winner to me as well as being a very good policy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-11/student-loan-debt-biden-forgives-127-billion-bringing-borrowers-relief?srnd=premium-asia#xj4y7vzkg
First test flight to the B21 Raider took place yesterday:
This footage illustrates the main visual differences between the new plane and the older B-2. Note the single “W” shaped trailing wing edge vs the “double W” on the older plane.
https://youtu.be/yAWr6BC_A4w?si=0w33J9PhVayd3NQL
Adelaide’s economic future is saved! The North South Corridor tunnel freeway has been announced. Costing just $15 billion, it will deliver over $9 billion in benefits, and employ up to 5500 people for 5 years from 2026 to 2031. The benefit cost ratio of 0.6 demonstrates exceptional judgement.
That is great job creation – just $540,000 per job per year. Almost as cheap as employing cabinet ministers.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/on-the-fast-track-to-delivering-south-australias-largest-ever-road-infrastructure-project/news-story/99d8c3429b30271dd9fb948fe819dc72
Well the SDA control S.A
You’d expect some odd outcomes.
Nath
(Since I work in Adelaide in infrastructure planning) I will simply observe that for the same money they could do ALL of the following:
– $1 billion grade separating the remaining congested intersections on South Road
– $6 billion building the AdeLink tram network (five lines) catering to a far larger share of the city
– $3 billion building the new Womens and Childrens Hospital
– with the $5 billion change, build 10,000 homes for social housing.
I don’t think there is another freeway tunnel anywhere in Australia that does not have a toll on it.
Governments come and grow but this project never dies. They should rename it Afghanistan.
Confessions says:
Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 6:51 am
A clear exemption for religious expression will be among the substantial changes to Labor’s proposed misinformation laws as the revised legislation is delayed until next year after a chorus of free speech concerns from a range of organisations.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland outlined likely revisions to key elements of the draft bill, including to the definitions of misinformation and disinformation and to the exemption for government material, areas that have been criticised by legal and human rights experts.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/protections-for-religious-expression-as-labor-revises-controversial-misinformation-laws-20231110-p5eizy.html
———————————
This sounds like one of those very good ideas that unfortunately will be very difficult to implement, police and prosecute. Given that so many wealthy individuals, organisations and entities have so many vested interests in misleading, the chances of such a policy being introduced appear slim, sadly.
If religion is to be excluded from mis-information laws, isn’t that official recognition that all religion is bullshit?
The sinking of two more Russian landing ships carrying Russian armoured vehicles in Crimea and the destruction of a convoy of troops in Kherson has proven the effectiveness of Ukraine landing troops and now some armour on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
It has forced Russia to disperse much needed forces from the Donetsk region (as intended) in an attempt to plug leaks that will otherwise leave Crimea poorly defended from a northern attack. Unless these successful infiltrations of Ukrainian troops are prevented, Russia will soon face the need to redeploy very significant forces to protect this key strategic region. Ongoing Ukrainian successes in Avdiivka have enabled the fixing of Russian forces in Donetsk enabling these successes on the east bank of the Dnipro.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out a two-step government funding stopgap bill on Saturday, settling on an unusual approach to avert a government shutdown that is already getting pushback from Republicans with just days until a Friday funding deadline.
The “laddered” continuing resolution (CR) released Saturday would have some funding run out on Jan. 19, and the rest of the funding on Feb. 2 — an approach intended to discourage negotiation of a whole-of-government omnibus funding bill and to encourage the House and Senate to negotiate on the 12 regular funding bills.
The Jan. 19 date would be the funding deadline for government programs and agencies covered under regular appropriations bills pertaining to agriculture, rural development, and Food and Drug Administration; energy and water development; military construction and Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.
Funding for all other agencies and programs would run out on Feb. 2, creating the potential for a partial government shutdown before a full government shutdown.
The bill also extends the authorization of programs and authorities in the Farm Bill until Sept. 30, 2024, the end of the fiscal year — essentially adding a one-year extension to those programs from the Farm Bill that passed in 2018.