The site has been grappling with a few technical issues over the past day or so, which are hopefully now resolved. Perhaps this was the reason yesterday’s post following the count for the New South Wales state by-election for Northern Tablelands, which as expected was a lay-down misere for the Nationals, attracted a grand total of zero comments. Or perhaps not. Looking ahead, I believe we have a quiet week coming up on the polling front, unless The Australian treats us to quarterly Newspoll aggregates with state and demographic breakdowns, which are about due. Other than that, there is likely to be only the weekly Roy Morgan until the three-weekly YouGov poll, which past form suggests should be with us on Friday.
Much of this week’s preselection news relates directly or indirectly to the federal redistributions, which I discussed with Ben Raue of The Tally Room in a podcast you can access at the bottom of this post:
• The West Australian reports former state Nationals leader Mia Davies has confirmed approaches from “senior Nationals in the eastern states” to run in the proposed new seat of Bullwinkel, which partly corresponds with the state seat of Central Wheatbelt that she he has held since 2013. The idea has been talked up by party leader David Littleproud, and not ruled out by Davies. Davies led the Nationals from the defeat of the Barnett government in March 2017 and held the title of Opposition Leader after the party emerged from the 2021 election landslide with more seats than the Liberals, before stepping aside in January 2023 and announcing she would not contest the next election. She became a figure of controversy within the party when she called for Barnaby Joyce to resign in 2018 over sexual harassment allegations.
• Paul Sakkal of the Sydney Morning Herald reports “teal sources not permitted to speak on the record” say Nicolette Boele, who was gearing up for a second run as an independent in Bradfield, remains keen despite expectations Kylea Tink will seek to move there with the mooted abolition of her seat of North Sydney. Boele came within 4.2% of unseating Liberal member Paul Fletcher in 2022. Reports last week suggested former state Treasurer Matt Kean, who announced his impending departure from state parliament on Tuesday, might challenge Fletcher for Liberal preselection, but Sakkal reports party sources saying he will only seek the seat if Fletcher retires. Alexandra Smith of the Sydney Morning Herald reports any path to preselection for Kean in Bradfield would be complicated by the fact that the redistribution leaves his “Liberal branch enemies” within the redrawn seat.
• Aaron Patrick of the Financial Review reports Hunters Hill mayor Zac Miles has been lobbying for the NSW Liberal Party to reopen the preselection process for Bennelong, after the proposed new boundaries made it more favourable to the party by adding territory from abolished North Sydney. Such a move would come at the expense of Scott Yung, a tutoring business owner who came with 1.8% of deposing Chris Minns from his seat of Kogarah at the state election in 2019, who was preselected unopposed last October. A source is also quoted saying Gisele Kapterian, who had been preselected for North Sydney, also canvassed for support for Bennelong, but has decided not to proceed.
• Annika Smethurst of The Age reports on resistance in local Labor branches to a Socialist Left faction fait accompli that appears set to deliver preselection for the outer northern Melbourne seat of Calwell, which will be vacated with the retirement of Maria Vamvakinou, to Basem Abdo, a communications specialist born in Kuwait of Palestinian parents. Sensitivities are heightened by the fact that members only had preselection rights restored to them a year ago after a three-year takeover of the state branch by the national executive following branck-stacking scandals, with some reportedly threatening to back a “Dai Le-style campaign”.
• Blake Antrobus of news.com.au reports Queensland Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick has failed in his court bid against his preselection defeat last year, the court having ruled that the Liberal National Party was within its rights to set a 60-day time frame for lodging an appeal which Rennick failed to meet.
Thanks for the rant SP, alot of good points
Some polling apparently in the Daily Rupert today – grateful of anyone with a sub could post here.
Chris Minns refers to it when answering a question…
So I did read the article this morning in the Telegraph, and it did report that Scone, Gloucester and the Hunter, 66% of residents didn’t want it in New South Wales, let alone in their local community.
So that’s seemingly the initial information seems to indicate that there’s overwhelming opposition within that community. Now I don’t regard that as nimbyism.
I mean, there’s a big difference between a block of flats and a nuclear reactor in your backyard. And I think that that’s got to be taken into consideration.
Ultimately, you’re asking these communities to shoulder a nuclear reactor in their community for decades, decades into the future and no community consultation was undertaken by the Federal Opposition. It was just announced, not sites for potential exploration, just we are building a nuclear reactor in your community. You don’t get a say. I can imagine the communities in both Lithgow and the Hunter region will be furious about it. And I think that that’s borne out by the recent polling from the telegraph this morning.
Pageboi @ 11.50
Agree – the energy retailers offer no real competition as they are all sourcing from the same source.
And then us mugs, er consumers, get to pay for their marketing and management for no real return in value.
These guys exist for purely neoliberal / small government reasons.
Poles and wires are a natural monopoly that should never have been privatised. Now imagine a Govt run electricity buyer that is purchasing from multiple energy generators (including state owned and household solar) and then onselling to consumers. Nice.
Lordbain says:
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 11:48 am
I dont think the right wing tabloids will have to work too hard to start flinging mud…
_______
And Lordbain the first to start flinging it…
SolarPunk says:
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Pageboi @ 11.50
Agree – the energy retailers offer no real competition as they are all sourcing from the same source.
And then us mugs, er consumers, get to pay for their marketing and management for no real return in value.
These guys exist for purely neoliberal / small government reasons.
Poles and wires are a natural monopoly that should never have been privatised. Now imagine a Govt run electricity buyer that is purchasing from multiple energy generators (including state owned and household solar) and then onselling to consumers. Nice.
_________
I like it as well. Natural monopolies should be publicly owned.
Ah yes Griff, thanks for reminding me that the Australia’s media masthead is indeed the pollbludger forums 🙂
Solar Punk @ 11.53am,
Well said.
The difficult politics from this is for the Liberal party.
It will convince more voters on the North Shore to decamp to the Teals. The ones who have some idea of reality. Fletcher’s guts must be churning
Great post Solar Punk, thanks. Nice to see a reasoned and valuable contribution.
sprocket_ says:
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 11:58 am
Same polling as the SunHerald discussed up the page. Summary: people wiling to entertain nuclear in future (cold fusion anyone?) but they don’t want reactors nearby and they are less likely to vote Dutton.
If the Tories are going to have a Cabinet Office inquiry into this scandal, they better put their foot down.
[‘Rishi Sunak is under mounting pressure to intervene in the Tory general election betting scandal, with senior figures calling on him to act.
The prime minister has been urged to suspend all those under investigation from the party immediately and hold a Cabinet Office inquiry into the scandal.
…
Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden wrote to the Gambling Commission asking the watchdog to release the names of all those being investigated.
As the deepening crisis threatened to derail the Tory election campaign for yet another week:
Sources close to Oliver Dowden confirmed that the deputy PM had not bet on the election, adding pressure on other senior figures to rule themselves out.
James Cleverly did not deny that a cabinet minister was implicated, saying only “not to my knowledge”. Michael Gove likened the situation to Partygate, with voters seeing it as “one rule for them and another for us”.
Labour’s Bridget Phillipson said there was “genuine disgust” among voters over the allegations. The number of Tories being investigated by the watchdog rose to four – two candidates and two officials.’]
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-general-election-betting-gambling-b2567393.html
Matt Kean. The Matt Kean who voted for some of the worst land clearing laws in this country. That Matt Kean?
But dont you see Aqua; their on Labors side now, so none of that counts/it was all because of the LNP and he fought against it/insert your own rationalisation here.
Would loooooove to see fjs reaction
Can The Keanster provide Labor cover to do a backflip on Nuclear?
I would say Yes, and as a former Liberal Treasurer, he’ll have the cred to justify giftng the golden goose to a gang of Labor Mates.
You are a rope-a-dope mug if you buy into ideological cant that electricity retailing is a ‘neoliberal’ rip off.
We constantly check the best offers on the market. We check how we can ‘work’ the packages to best financial advantage.
Money for jam.
I see that the indistinguishable usuals from the left reactionary and right reactionary crowds are queuing up to get stuck into Matt Kean.
Here’s the thing. He will push climate action as hard as he can and he will be excellent at that.
Just reading through the guardian comments.
Did a so called journalist really ask about plugging the nucular subs into the grid while in Port as additional supply?
https://michaelwest.com.au/raining-concerns-local-publishers-face-deluge-of-defamation-threats/
Hmmm, platforms, publishers, editors, authors …
May be in a world of digital ids, verified accounts, alias and the like will need to go …, who knows it might even help with online civility?
Having had a quick look at the make-up of past and present members of the CCA, the appointment of Matt Kean as Chairman appears to be more positive than anything else.
The hullabaloo has begun regarding this appointment but will soon abate.
In the text exchange, Mr Kean asks what Ms Petinos is doing and he says he is “temped to drive down and see you”.
“Miss me, huh,” she asks.
“Yup, really need to f— you,” he responds.
_____________________
Seems like a good fit.
Adam Bandt better do something soon – being marginalised by Labor’s sensible action on climate change.
And the Teals are lining up to eat the Greens lunch
When u think Matt Kean, think Malcolm Turnbull, same demographic etc. Same Q&A approach.
The strategy from the Libs is clearly not to go after the teal seats – its to go after the regional and outer urban seats.
Does appointing Kean help or hinder Labor in defending those seats?
Secondly ego driven Liberals like Turnbull and Kean do you think they toe the line? Only a matter of time till there is “principled” commentary on how Labor is doing.
Thirdly who is the author of this masterstroke? Bowen – the same Bowen who was the mastermind of franking credits, capital gains tax etc in 2019.
I think you’ll find rather than anger from the Libs it will be laughter.
And true to form, Adam Bandt is back to pointless stunts in the Reps chamber…
To square that circle on the Greens motion to suspend standing orders to debate divestiture powers for the major supermarkets – the government is not supporting it (not surprising, given the Greens were criticising government policy) and therefore the motion will be lost.
The only positive to arrive from Dutton, Littleproud and O’Brien’s nuclear announcement is that none of them should be put in charge of anything.
Ah yes, Labors “sensible” action on climate change… by opening more gas fields (against the advice of the scientific community) and appointing Matt “koala killer” Kean… truly Labor continues to astound me in their political acumen
Oh sorry, forgot the 4 coal mines Labor has approved
I see the SmearStralian is squealing like a jilted pig over Matt Kean…
And Plutonium Pete’s policy is to abolish the CCA
Matt Kean named climate change tsar
The former NSW energy minister signals he won’t look at nuclear as part of the country’s energy mix as the PM appoints him chair of the Climate Change Authority.
1 HOUR AGO By SARAH ISON
Kean posting ‘damages’ climate body: Littleproud
JOE KELLY
Green Kean’s appointment is frankly astounding
Matt Kean’s appointment as Climate Change Authority chair without any due diligence diminishes the role — to say nothing of his lack of qualifications.
1 HOUR AGO By GEOFF CHAMBERS
LB
Can’t you see the risk of the Greens being marginalised by a purist dogma in a polarising environment?
sprocket, if i go to the doctors, and the doctors say “you will have a heart attack unless you immediately stop eating crap”… guess what the sensible thing to do is.
No1 accuses the doctor of being a “purist” or engaging in “dogma”
Likewise, why are you accusing the worlds experts on climate science of being dogmatic purists?
Boer,
How is privatization of the electricity transmission and retail sectors anything other than pure neoliberalism? It’s basically the definition of it!
How much time and effort do you waste checking the offers and gaming the system, for what, a few bucks here and there? How much money and time is wasted on otherwise useless advertising for these companies, or on devising new ‘plans’ whose main purpose is just to confuse consumers and obfuscate the real costs of the product?
Electricity retailers are just ticket clippers, making their money via risk hedging and so called ‘loyalty taxes’ from people too lazy or otherwise unable to shop around. It’s a crap system that only benefits the spivs
No surprise a right winger like yourself would be defending it
Lordbain, C@tmomma and Lynchpin,
Thanks for the good vibes!!
It’s almost like we are having a “mature debate” (TM).
Adrian Beaumont post on the Britain, the US, etc:
https://www.pollbludger.net/2024/06/24/uk-general-election-minus-ten-days/
LB
What if the doctor says you have to go home, stay there, quit your job, and only listen to my orders.
It might save you, just like the Greens prescription
sprocket, do you or do you not agree that Labors actions are going against the advice of the scientific community
Dee
“We are so glad we went solar.
We’ve had no bills & atm we are $849 in credit.”
Glad to hear it. Our last bill (here in SSA) was $800 credit too – with no gas bill either.
I think Labor offering rebates to households to get home solar PV and battery packages is a great policy. It helps stabilise the grid, helps meet climate targets, and reduces costs for working class households.
As the Shovel says:
“If you like the NBN triumph you’ll love our (Dutton’s brainfart) nuclear energy program”
Never mind the quality, feel the gossamer thin depth. Appeals to Badthunkers, Steam Dildos and other stupid people.
Perhaps Labor should have suggested to Wilkie that he became the head of the CCA, thereby giving Labor a better chance of securing Clark, a seat they will probably need in 2025
Does Labor have a rebuttal of NP, or just memes and stunts?
Badthinker @ #737 Monday, June 24th, 2024 – 1:19 pm
Here’s one
Griff (from earlier)
And let’s compare with the Teals
Allegra Spender
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/nuclear-power-keeps-getting-more-expensive-allegra-spender/video/d21077683dd10f524aae3e11c0e89343
Zoe Daniels
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/zoe-daniel-and-keith-wolahan-climate-emissions-reduction-target/103966926
Zali Steggall
https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/national/there-is-no-actual-proposal-coalitions-nuclear-power-policy-slammed/video/f5bc9f5e4b0efc81294554230d17608c
I cannot be bothered looking for the others. Safe to say, the Teals can prosecute the policy on its own (lack of) merits. A clear difference to The Greens.
———————————————————
Looking at this selfishly from the POV of progressive politics, and forgetting the Greens for a minute, the LNP nuclear power policy does two good things for Labor.
First it greatly improves the odds of re-electing the Teals, making it very hard for the LNP to even sneak into minority government, and they can forget a majority. I expect most Teals will oppose the LNP nuclear thought bubble.
Second, it gives a defining wedge issue that will make the Teals more likely to side with Labor/Greens in any such minority government than the LNP.
So the more I think about it the less I believe this policy can make Dutton PM, unless Labor completely goes to sleep fighting against it.
I think it’s a very long bow to suggest that the Kean appointment is a precursor to a nuclear backflip from Labor. If that were likely, they’d have appointed Ziggy Switkowski.
The notorious Adelaide Hills Bicycle Bandit who terrorised 11 banks during his crime spree has received one of the longest sentences in SA history – but a judge has acknowledged the “air of artificiality” about his penalty, given he’s about to die.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled Kym Allen Parsons’ crimes warranted no less than 85 years jail, reduced to 63 years and nine months for his decades-late guilty pleas. Justice Sandi McDonald noted state law did not allow for the imposition of crushing penalties, so she reduced Parsons’ sentence to 35 years.
She imposed a non-parole period of 28 years, saying she was required to do so despite the “air of artificiality” surrounding his case. Parsons, who is in the Adelaide Remand Centre, is expected to travel to the Flinders Medical Centre following his sentence to access his voluntary assisted dying kit.
There is not much to rebut. A 180 degree turn on energy policy with a laughable timeline and crappy digital image. Zero actually costings using a technology (SMR) that is not yet in commercial use anywhere in the West. It is not a policy as much as a list to Santa Claus.
PJK wins a debate on intellect and communication.
Modern Labor resorts to stunts like appointing Kean.
‘PageBoi says:
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 12:55 pm
Boer,
How is privatization of the electricity transmission and retail sectors anything other than pure neoliberalism? It’s basically the definition of it!
How much time and effort do you waste checking the offers and gaming the system, for what, a few bucks here and there?…’
————————
You have swallowed your own ideological propaganda.
As for ‘wasting time’ getting the best deal in an active market, again, you have swallowed your own ideological propaganda.
As for a ‘few bucks’? The energy we use in this house is as cheap as chips.
Anyway, I do hope you keep paying through the nose for your personal energy use just to prove that you are ‘right’. LOL.
I assume that Kean has done the proper thing and resigned from the NSW Liberal party ?
Re: renewables investment…
There is not shortage of private sector investors big and small wanting to get in, so there is no need to do a lot of direct building other than releasing sites and the usual regulatory approvals.
Instead, the government is focused where there has been genuine market failure (and past mess-ups by government) – working to bring up stream renewables manufacturing jobs so that there are more Australian “winners” to renewables, and not just China mega factories.
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/whats-in-the-2024-25-federal-budget-for-climate/
Dutton’s nuclear policy does not exist. There is nothing to discuss. There is nothing to debate.
100% bullshit. Not even the ‘sites’ are a certainty.
Was it a unicorn to distract people from actually looking at their paychecks from 1 July?
Matt Kean the walking meme. You can’t make this stuff up;!
Labor is going to have to do something positive to close the gap between achieving 42/30 and 43/30.
Dutton and Bandt with their attempts to create investment delays and investment uncertainty are not helping.
BW, your the last person to accuse others of swallowing ideological propaganda.
But hey, keep ignoring the facts buddy 🙂