The latest Essential Research survey has Labor’s lead down from 58-42 to 57-43, remembering that this is a two-week rolling average which was half conducted before Malcolm Turnbull replaced Brendan Nelson. Also included (just from the last week’s sample) are various questions on leadership and one on industrial relations (45 per cent think the government moving “too slowly”).
It gets worse…
Just heard Shanahan’s vox report on The Australian’s web site. The first sentence says it all (and I quote, verbatim):
[Any Australian taxpayerswatching Kevin Rudd address the UN General Assembly, for 20 minutes, this week in New York, before he bolted for the airport, could be forgiven for wonder why the Prime Minister had come in the first place.]
Next, he goes on about how in March (when it was planned) the original trip had been planned to revolve around climate change. But economic events have overshadowed it, says Dennis, and Rudd’s time overseas has been dominated by meetings with financial gurus and regulators instead. Indeed Rudd’s speech to the UN centered on ways of solving the financial crisis and ensuring that it didn’t happen again. He conceded this switch even before his speech began.
Dennis continued,
[Mr. Rudd has been under pressure for his four days spent in New York, rather than being in the Parliament in Australia, dealing with domestic issues and his own legislative program. It’s perhaps no coincidence that immediately after the speech, Mr. Rudd left for the airport, which will get him back to Australia in time for the AFL Grand Final and a community cabinet meeting in Newcastle on Monday.]
So there you have it. He wasted taxpayers’ money on his trip because its original purpose was overtaken by events (no consideration given to whether he might have done some good anyway). And even then, he’s so sensitive to the stinging barbs of the taxpayer, led by heroic journalists like Dennis, that he had to bolt in an undignified manner for the airport so he can come back home and be seen at the footy finals, plus some pointless community cabinet meeting
Better to have not gone at all. He should have stayed at home to personally argue with those great statesmen, Fielding and Xenophon, about medicare tax thresholds, pensioner stunts, condensate excise and other “domestic issues” like ? World Financial Crisis be damned. Storm in a teacup. A Labor Prime Minister’s place is in Canberra so Dennis and his fellow political savants can go him for indulging in petty local politics and small bananas issues (like medicare tax thresholds, pensioner stunts, condensate excise), even as the world economy melts down. There might even be an extra free kick in it for them if they could work in an accusation of economic incompetence and panic for cancelling his trip.
If anyone thought Rudd’s meeting with Murdoch might have lessened the pressure from his national rag, they were mistaken.
The narrowing!!!!!!!!!!!
Why bother reading Shanners BS articles anyway BB? The only people who do are those who aren’t going to change their vote one way or the other no matter what he says.
These new numbers at the left of each post are kinda wierd
Surprise surprise Morgan’s usual accompanying comment is a negative for Rudd…
[Majority of electors prefer Mr Rudd as Prime Minister – however a concern must be:
More Australian electors “disapprove” of Rudd than Turnbull! ]
Yes I’m sure he’s shaking in his shoes at 57-43 2PP
Only 574 electors surveyed by Morgan – not much of a sample.
The real reason Turnbull didn’t want Rudd to go overseas is that he’s terrified of Gillard, and with good reason as we saw at QT this week.
Yep, I don’t like them either
[Only 574 electors surveyed by Morgan – not much of a sample]
4% MOE
Well there is nothign to stop people from confronting these journalists personally face to face in their offices or in the street and ask for explanations face to face. I suspect it will be the only way they will realise they cant abuse their position. Just make sure you take a camera crew to record for youtube.
Would love to hear a secret recording of what they discuss in their offices and what phone calls they take from the Liberal party.
I guess Labor is zooming in on around 55/45.
New thread.