Morgan has released two sets of federal poll results: a mid-week phone poll of 765 respondents, and a face-to-face poll of 897 respondents conducted last weekened. Morgan has gone against normal practice by using “preferences distributed by how electors say they will vote” for the headline two-party measure for the phone poll, which puts Labor’s lead at 64-36. The more reliable “preferences distributed by how electors voted at the 2007 election” has it at 62.5-37.5, down from 63.5-36.5 last week. The face-to-face poll has it at 62-38, the same as the previous such poll conducted a fortnight ago.
Other news:
• The main starters are in place for the Gippsland by-election. The Nationals have nominated Darren Chester, staffer to state party leader Peter Ryan; Labor has nominated Wellington Shire mayor Darren McCubbin; and the Liberal candidate is Central Gippsland Health Service bureaucrat Rohan Fitzgerald. Gerard McManus of the Herald Sun reports Labor internal polling has them on 36 per cent to the Nationals’ 32 per cent and the Liberals’ 19 per cent, which after preferences would mean a comfortable win for the Nationals.
• On Monday, The West Australian published a Westpoll survey of 406 voters concerning federal voting intention in Western Australia, which had Labor leading 62-38 – a 16 per cent turn-around from the federal election. A question on preferred Liberal leader had Peter Costello on 19 per cent, Malcolm Turnbull on 18 per cent, local hero Julie Bishop on 17 per cent, Brendan Nelson on 12 per cent and Joe Hockey on 11 per cent. The survey also gauged support on a republic, finding 51 per cent support against 33 per cent outright opposition, with 70 per cent supporting a referendum on the matter to coincide with the next election (leaving aside the small matter of the model being proposed).
• Norm Kelly, member of the Australian National University’s Democratic Audit and former Western Australian Democrats state MP, peruses the government’s recently announced package of electoral reforms and finds fault with the move to tie public campaign funding to verified expenditure (clearly introduced to prevent a repeat of Pauline Hanson’s $200,000-plus windfalls from her recent Senate campaigns), which he says will disadvantage minor parties in its proposed form.
• Radio National’s The National Interest program had an interesting item recently on campaign funding laws in New York City and Canada. The practice of the former makes it very hard to understand why donations for last year’s federal election won’t be disclosed until February next year (to the extent that they still need to be disclosed at all, following the Howard government’s disgraceful 2006 “reforms”).
• The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is inviting submissions for its inquiry into the 2007 federal election, which will be received until Friday, May 16.
• I have just had to cough up $400 for annual site hosting, so now would be a good time for those who like to make the occasional donation.
UPDATE: Victorian Greens upper house MP Greg Barber drops by in comments to plug a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s donation disclosure laws. Reader ShowsOn tells us he has been Newspoll-ed, and that we can expect Tuesday’s poll to feature responses on who would make the best Liberal leader out of Brendan Nelson, Julie Bishop, Peter Costello and Malcolm Turnbull; who would make the best leadership team out of Nelson/Bishop, Costello/Turnbull and Turnbull/Andrew Robb; and who out of Turnbull and Wayne Swan would be best at handling the economy.
Am I supposed to believe that Malcolm Turnbull didn’t deliberately collaborate with Howard to present the least liked referendum option in return for Liberal reselection in 2003?
http://www.newspoll.com.au/image_uploads/cgi-lib.1278.1.1101republic.pdf
Sinowestie @129 –
The Queen even though she is technically our head of state has no involvement , inclination, interest or power to meddle in our countries affairs. She is essentially symbolic.
Not so sure about that. She is our Head of State, and Australia, according to our constitution belongs to the Crown, ie. her. To quote:
[The states] “have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”
Furthermore, the Constitution sets out the oath of allegiance sworn by all ADF personnel (and others) thus:
1) I, XXX, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Her Heirs and successors according to law.
2) The name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the time being is to be substituted from time to time.
So what will the ADF do if HRH phones the Chief Defence Force and orders him to blow up Parliament House while both house are in session?
True, ATM, that is very much a hypothetical question, but who knows where the future will lead Australia and GB. We could well end up on opposite sides of a conflict. Indeed, we might have in WW2 if the reputedly Nazi sympathizing Edward VIII hadn’t abdicated in 1936. The monarchists owe a huge debt to the republican born and bred Wallis Simpson!
Why does our head of state have to be called a president? Why not another name? Maybe Federal-Governor, Constitutional-Administrator, Commonwealth-General or any other benign title that someone can think of. I think the word president carries a title that polarises people. People think of a president and they think of a figure with political influence to rival the PM. That is a major stumbling block to a constitutional change.
Of course many people also want a greater say in the appointment of a GG, or president, or whatever. The current method of appointment by the PM ensures a degree of disconnect between the head of state and the people, regardless of the merit of the appointment. Some sort of electoral involvement would ensure greater knowledge about the appointee and more relevence in the position for the population at large. This was one of the problems with the model proposed in the 1999 Referendum and was used as a wedge by those proposing the NO vote that included both monarchists and republicans.
So, in my opinion, we need a head of state not called the president, whose appointment is partly or completely determined by the people, but whose role will not cause a political vacuum to undermine the PM or the parliament.
No wonder the process of constitutional change is difficult. A minimilist model would be unlikely to succeed if the above assumptions are correct.
What’s the KPI disgrace?
If we wait for the ‘right’ time, we’ll never get to be a republic – there’ll always be bigger, more important issues to deal with.
What are we meant to wait for, exactly? A constitutional crisis to come along? Wouldn’t that be leaving it all a bit late?
Glen at 143.
‘I’d have been far more happy to see Rudd give the money used to pay for this ridiculous waste of time to charity or the poor, instead of to ingratiate a bunch of chest beating, ego driven, die hard left wing elitists’!
• I have just had to cough up $400 for annual site hosting, so now would be a good time for those who like to make the occasional donation.
Could not resist.
She suggested a series of “Kevin Performance Indicators”. Disgrace was maybe a little hard. “Extremely foolish” is perhaps better. It was about rating people on how “Kevin” they are.
I note this morning Bolt described the summit as an absolute disgrace. How dare we listen to a group of Australians give their views. That’s not what democracy is all about. It’s about voting once every 3 or 4 years then forgetting about politics.
Gary Bruce, for your own peace of mind stop reading Andrew Bolt. I did a year ago and I feel much better for it.
Thanks B. S. It does sound strange and a little indulgent. I think she must have been carried away by the occasion. I’m still not sure what she meant though. I will say that the way the Libs still drool over Howard and his legacy is just as vomit inducing. Did anyone see Brandis being interviewed on Sky? Sickening.
Actually Winston I saw him on “Insiders”. I like that show. Bolt, like Glen, is over the top at the moment. A true indication of how successful Rudd is at the moment. They just hate it.
Detail of pdf@151 The Australian/Newspoll History Lesson
Preferences for a republic if Australia decided to become a republic
PRESIDENT DIRECTLY ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE 79%
PRESIDENT APPOINTED BY PARLIAMENT 18%
UNCOMMITTED 3%
And that’s why “directly elected” wasn’t on the ballot.
I used to read Bolt at times and even contribute to his blog. I gave both the flick mid last year.
Sceptic @ 153
how about:
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of Australia…
glen the absolute disgrace is not the summit, it’s your reaction to it
Davo #164
From October the incumbent would need to be called Lady Protector of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Mind you it sounds a little more polished that the “Top Dog” or the “Big Cheese”.
Top Banana
and as for my comments on Bolt, your overraction Glen shows how rattled you are by Rudd
I agree that Glen’s comments are an over-reaction.
However surely even the strongest Labor supporter would have to admit that this affair had a fair bit of self-indulgence about it?
Glen: what a lot of sour grapes! Mate, I’d get used to being in the wilderness, your lot are stuck in quicksand and going backwards under the leadership of Nelson.
God Almighty read this rubbish…
http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/janetalbrechtsen/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_2020_summit_symbolism_or_substance/
she is one wrinkly, nasty, conservative bitch!
davo,
Don’t you think (at least according to what we have read so far) that there is a lot in what she says?
I’m pretty disappointed in the summit – I think a lot of it was self-indulgent twaddle, according to what has been reported (although I am open to the idea that the media just focussed on the shallow bits).
To Glen @143 and Crikey Whitey @ 156
I agree with you that what has been the 2020 talkfest has been a ridiculous sham.
The participants will all feel the cosey glow of being the brightest of the brightest, networking for 2 days. Hey, great to be a participant, thanks kevin.
So what happens now?
What structures were established to ensure this all meant something. It feels to me like a second rate repeat of the Republican get together Howard organised.
At least then we all went through the charade of a referendum!
Am I seeing another sham where the media are responding with enthusiasm because the participants are in the glow?
Kevin Rudd appears to me to be a true diplomat, lots of talk no real action.
That aside did we all notice Julia Gillard acquiesce to her department and follow the merit pay issue for teachers with the states?
Interesting how the States now believe it is now worth investigating!
I said good riddance to Howard but the ALP lot were never going to be much better, till now I think they are worse because they have done nothing!
Davo at 171. In keeping with the ‘not click’ protocol, should it be she or another, a brief summation woud be welcome.
Thank you.
PS. I am in the business of developing wrinkles. Unsurprisingly, I am not happy that you would describe any person/female in the terms you have employed. Much as I do not share JA’s views.
Describe, if you would, Dennis Shanahan. Similarly.
Ah Andrew how typical, when you cannot get your head around the fact the 20/20 Summit was for all intent and purposes an ALP controlled Junket of left wing, ego centric, chest thumping elitists who like Rudd loves to get the attention of celebrities. The fact that this waste of money had at one point Hugh Jackman going around with a mic and singing songs with people just shows how much of a farce this thing really was.
chilli_sauce if you want a President who is elected by the people you support a US model, which i for one don’t. If we had to have a Head of State other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II then i would have them chosen by Parliament as this means they’ll have no real power and won’t take their position to their head! After all the President could just refuse to give assent to legislation and if party politics comes into it then a President could just block legislation (veto) and good luck getting 3/4s of Parliament backing it with a strong 2 party system in place!
Also what will happen to the States??? Will the Premier be called a Governor, what will State Governors be Called?? Who’ll give assent to legislation in the States??
Plus we’ll have to change the name of our defence forces….No longer RAAF but AAF and no longer RAN but AN…that is a disgrace IMHO.
The only people who really care about having a Republic are left wing elitists who can’t stand having a British Monarch as our Head of State and overlook the fact that we’ve had 1 ‘constitutional crisis’ in over 100 years of Federation and not one civil war, yet they say we need to completely overhaul our System of Governance just so they can sleep better at night.
And Maxine McKew has just shown was a Rudd mouthpiece she is, KPI i mean seriously she’s over rated as an MP the only thing she could hang her hat on would be unseated a PM and the PM did most of the work for her in that regard! Those comments will come back to haunt her, as they could backfire in later years and also because she displayed with those comments how blatantly left wing the Summit/Junket was!
You say ohhh the UK could tell our ADF to kill all our Parliamentarians…how stupid…we’ll what about the safety of having an independent arbiter who could if need be dismiss a despot or dictator from taking power in Australia????
Gary for your information Rudd isn’t successful he’s achieved nothing out of this Junket except some snap shots of him and Cate Blanchett! It’s just another of the several hundred reviews he is making because he can’t come up with any ideas of his own! God he even stole ideas from Tony Blair and a State Labor Government…how’s that being a success he was a copy cat as opposition leader and he’s a copy cat as PM!
[173 colin Says April 21st, 2008 at 12:38 am
To Glen @143 and Crikey Whitey @ 156
I agree with you that what has been the 2020 talkfest has been a ridiculous sham.]
Not me, Colin!! Strongest of protests!!!
I await your retraction.
Crikey Whitey.
Crickey you’ve just been suckered in by Rudd and his PR team, this Summit was a Junket and you know it!
Dennis Shanannanananannanhan is Truly Mummified compared to most conservative reporters….
Janet Albrechtsen sums up the 20/20 Junket in three sentences….
“What a surprise. The headline big new ideas for the new century are all from the Young Labor wish list from the last century.”
“…when summits are stacked with like-minded people in order to achieve the appearance of public acclaim for contentious ideas, the air has a distinctly stale odour.”
http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/janetalbrechtsen/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_2020_summit_symbolism_or_substance/
Glen,
Why couldn’t the RAAF stand for “Republic of Australia Air Force”. Same for the RAN. “Republic of Australia Navy”, etc.
I see. I was suckered. Colin is Glen. Don’t worry about the retraction.
Sorry, on the other hand, will do.
Thank you.
Hello Scorpio, as you are there. I am conscious of the 28th as earlier talked of. Same as?
Yeah, Glen. I bet if a poll was taken of the 1000 people at the summit and they were asked how many have been or are Members of Young Labor, if there was any more than half a dozen it would be amazing.
Tim Fisher and Co., Young Labor. Yeah, I like that. lol
Sorry to say, Glen, but sour grapes are indeed bitter. I think your problem is you are worried that an even bigger gulf will open up between Rudd Labor and Nelson Liberals now that Rudd has shown that he is not content to just rest on his laurels but is prepared to be imaginative and adventurous during his tenure.
What a breath of fresh air which has been brought in to the Australian Political System.
Glen@175
“I would have them chosen by Parliament ”
So now you’re our benevolent dictator?
In 1998 Howard was our “benevolent” dictator appointing half the Constitutional Convention and allowing the other half to be elected; knowing full well enough ACMs would be elected from the community to guarantee no popular Republican model would find it’s way on the ballot.
CC Hansard
http://www.aph.gov.au/Hansard/conv/con1302.pdf
Hi, Crikey.
Yeah, still on. Qld Health will be paying to fly me to Brisbane and back just to see a Specialist.
I should be having a MRI and some other tests done there, but cannot understand why they cannot be done here and be sent to the Specialist by the internet.
Hope Rudd is successful with his proposal for a major upgrade of the country’s Broadband system.
Also hope nothing serious is found and it can be easily fixed. It will be almost 2 years to the day that I have suffered from this now. There is still a lot of work to do in upgrading Australia’s Health System.
I will never forgive Howard for becoming captive to the AMA & Specialist Colleges in not allowing enough GP’s & Specialists to be trained to cover for a fast growing & aging population. No one else should forgive him either.
Aren’t you forgetting one thing Scorpio?
It was a hand-picked conference of 1002 delegates which had 10 Labor government ministerial chairmen! It was only natural that they’d come up with the future ALP’s agenda!
Wow 1 person out of 1002 people yeah that’s representative!
Rudd will end up like Keating a dead duck if he continues with this elitist agenda when he promised to fix grocery and petrol prices!
Why should i care about the polls right now and the gap between ALP and Coalition especially when Rudd hasn’t made a tough decision in Government yet and when we’re coming off a bad defeat? Personally i don’t!
Rudd has rested on his laurels he’s done nothing so far and he a politician like Howard and Keating before him using this bogus war on binge drinking after his wife got into trouble over still owning businesses! Something again he stole from Blair who did the same thing when his wife got into trouble with business dealings!
It’s nice to see Rudd’s PR team has done its job on you Scoprio…
Hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as Rudd Labor…its Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd, Rudd!
A personality cult as bad as Rudd is forming is sad and it will eventually hurt the ALP beyond repair…
Rudd is still a copy cat Scorpio he’s soo full of fresh air he stole a British Labor policy!
One of the saving graces of the present system of appointing governors and governors general is the ease with which they can be removed. Think of Hollingsworth and Butler. Here one minute, gone the next. No crisis of anguish. No explanations or contests: just painlessly relieved of their rubber stamps. A good system, I think…
You’re foaming at the mouth, Glen. Your mob are seriously out of their depth. Rudd just looks better and better.
Sorry Glen, but I am captive to nobody or no ideology. I am of above average intelligence and can think for myself quite well, thank you.
In fact, in my youth, I was a member of the YACP (now Young Nats), but have always voted Labor since 1972, because that Party confirms to my social aspirations.
Check this out. It covers both the Queen/Republic and just what people out in the wider community think of Kevin Rudd, PM and his 2020 summit.
[But while the idea of a republic wasn’t given the most enthusiastic reception at the Ipswich Bowls Club, the idea of a summit of our best and brightest nutting out the big problems of our time and setting a direction for the future was well-received.
While Mr Knight may have issues with a republic, he’s got very few with Kevin Rudd.
“I like him a lot more than the bloke who was in there beforehand,” he said. ]
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23571391-2702,00.html
No i am the only person not caught up in this stupid Rudd personality cult.
I am the only voice of decent as you all can’t see past Rudd’s PR machine!
Rudd is full of hot air!
You know, Scorpio, the negative Glen types annoy me so much.
In the journey within the Melrose ambit, I did hear certain of the 2020 proceedings. As I regarded our beautiful country, devastated in so many ways.
I sighed with relief that the burden of the backward Howard years is behind us, and reflected upon the dead hand of that decade.
And felt so relieved that we have embarked upon a new journey, a kind of hope. Hope for the future.
Not that I am not concerned, because who knows what or even how we can solve our huge water and other problems, but at least we can, belatedly, begin.
It kind of broke my heart to go to Melrose. To again see the devastation wrought upon the aboriginal people, the ruination, really, of the country. The local Nurkuna, so beautiful, so destroyed. So determined despite this ghastly havoc.
If any kind of vision, which is actually love and recognition, could help to change this past, I am all for it.
And that goes for any kind of 2020. And all it may mean.
Personality cult, Glen? You are obviously still experiencing grief at the loss of John Howard. This is natural. You obviously revered him and personally identified with him. It is normal too feel angry too, and to want to lash out at the world. These feelings will abate in time. It might help if you put a photo of the one you are missing in a prominent place in your house, or plant a tree in memory of him.The sense of loss is an important experience for you, Glen, and you should be gentle with yourself and those around you. You should not blame yourself or others for these feelings, but seek to grow as an individual by learning what loss is….please feel free to respond any time…
Okey doke, Ten Four, Scorpio at 185.
Fingers crossed. Could of course, come to Flinders!!!.
Hardly i am only experiencing grief at the fact Rudd’s personality cult has completely overridden your once sharp political nous!
191 CW,
Sorry but I have yet to see the evidence that this summit was a good thing. Nearly all the main topics (as reported by the press) were well-known, long-held Labor aspirations. Fine, but we hardly need an elaborate summit for them to just get on with it, do we?
If that makes me negative, so be it. I’m just calling it as I see it. Don’t see why you should be annoyed at that. Disagreement is what makes democracy vibrant.
Glen, I bear you no malice just because you are a true-blue supporter of your strand of politics. However, you should be prepared to realise that Kevin Rudd is a more than capable political operator with a very talented front bench.
It is more than possible that he will continue to have a favorable relationship with the Australian electorate for some considerable time.
While ever Rudd & his team are dining at the table with fine food and silverware, the other mob will be left scrambling for scraps and crumbs on the floor.
I hope that you are able to overcome this feeling of denial and resentment at the loss of your side to the reins of Government. They deserved to lose and Labor deserve to be given a chance to show what they can do.
Already, after only 4 months, people are feeling more optimistic about the future and are more than willing to see just what Rudd can do. There is no doubt that he has strong feelings about which way he would like to see the country progress and prosper.
I, and many of my fellow country men & women, hope he is successful in his endevours.
Oh Glen, denial is very common too. You could try meditating, it might help quell your regrets….
Well in that case Rudd’s hot air is sure getting a rise out of you!
Crikey, “Could of course, come to Flinders!!!.”
Yeah, I should have checked that out when I was down there last Christmas.
It may have saved a lot of grief and suffering.
Folks,
I just can’t believe that so many of you think 2020 was a triumph.
Glen has exaggerated 2020’s ills, but even so, this weekend was a low point in my view. Not necessarily a bad idea, but very disappointing in the execution.