Like Essential Media before it, Roy Morgan‘s first poll of the year shows no significant change from the last polls of 2008. The face-to-face survey has Labor’s two-party lead steady at 60-40 and their primary vote down one point to 51.5 per cent, while the Coalition’s is down half a point to 35 per cent. The Greens have recovered two points from the curious slump they suffered in the first poll after the government’s emissions trading scheme announcement, which brought them down from 10.5 per cent to 6 per cent. What’s more:
• South Australia’s first state by-election since 1994 will be held tomorrow in Frome. Read and comment about it here, and tune in to this site for live coverage of the count from about 6.30pm local time.
• It appears a contest is on to fill Petro Georgiou’s Liberal preselection vacancy in Kooyong, with reports emerging that merchant banker Josh Frydenburg is not the shoo-in many had assumed. Frydenburg pursued a membership recruitment drive before the last election in an unsuccessful bid to topple Georgiou, but sources quoted by Andrew Landeryou at VexNews say two-thirds of these memberships have lapsed. This leaves Frydenberg vulnerable to opposition from Institute of Public Affairs director John Roskam, previously an unsuccessful candidate for Senate preselection (and more recently mentioned as a successor to Peter Costello in Higgins), who stands poised to garner support from Georgiou and the locally powerful Ted Baillieu/David Davis faction. Also mentioned is John Pesutto, described by Melissa Fyfe of The Age as “an industrial relations lawyer who led a rewrite of the Victorian Liberal Party’s constitution last year”.
• Liberal Senator Judith Troeth has announced she will retire when her current term ends in mid-2011, adding a new dimension to the Victorian Senate preselection contest for the next election. The Nationals are likely to secure an extension of the agreement that will give them second place on a joint Coalition ticket, leaving the Liberals with the safe first position and the dangerous third. Michael Ronaldson is presumably likely to retain pole position from the 2004 election; Troeth’s departure enhances Nationals renegade Julian McGauran’s chances of taking number three.
• Marc Moncrief of The Age on the race to fill Evan Thornley’s vacancy in the Victorian upper house region of South Metropolitan:
Labor’s factions are also in a battle over how to fill the vacancy in the upper house created by Mr Thornley’s departure, with confusion over whether the Southern Metropolitan seat will be delivered to Labor’s right-wing Unity faction or to the Socialist Left. Unity faction powerbroker Michael Danby, the federal member for Melbourne Ports, is believed to have collected a number of names including Julia Mason, former candidate for the federal seat of Goldstein. However, one member of the Right faction said the Left was more likely to have a claim to the post, as Unity now holds all three of the top positions in Parliament – Premier, Deputy Premier and Treasurer. If the Left is given the nod, it will have to ensure the choice is a member who can keep the relatively conservative seat at the next election.
• Other ructions in the Victorian ALP: forces of the Right associated with Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy have formed an alliance with the Socialist Left, freezing out what The Australian’s Rick Wallace describes as “the portion of the Right aligned with state frontbenchers Tim Holding and Martin Pakula and the shop assistants’ union”. More commentary plus an intermittently interesting comments thread at VexNews.
• Large parts of the media remain convinced that Anna Bligh will shortly be calling a Queensland state election. Mark Bahnisch at Larvatus Prodeo/Crikey isn’t so sure, while fellow local Possum deems Lawrence Springborg to be no better equipped to pitch to Brisbane as leader of the Liberal National Party than he was as head of a fractious coalition.
• The silly season news cycle has been awash with talk of Barnaby Joyce seeking a berth in the lower house to assume leadership of the Nationals, at the urging of John Howard. Joyce himself has mentioned Labor’s 2007 gains of Leichhardt, Dawson and Flynn. More intriguing has been talk of a move south of the border to take on independent Tony Windsor in New England, which locals quoted by Matthew Clayfield of The Australian had no trouble recognising as a most courageous proposition. Possum notes that any such move might cost the Nationals Joyce’s Queensland Senate seat in the event that the Liberal National Party disintegrates following a state election defeat.
• Peter Tucker at Tasmanian Politics gets in early on this year’s Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election action. This year is the turn of Derwent, a Hobart seat held for Labor by Treasurer Michael Aird; Windermere, which extends from outer Launceston up the eastern bank of the Tamar River to the sea, and is held by independent Ivan Dean; and Devonport-based Mersey, held by independent Norma Jamieson. Jamieson’s retirement after one six-year term sets the scene for an unpredictable contest likely to attract a Melbourne Cup field. Aird and Dean are almost certain to be re-elected, potentially without opposition in Dean’s case.
• The indefatigable Ben Raue at The Tally Room has moved to his own domain.
[that has a charismatic man at the helm]
I really hope you are not referring to Kevin Rudd. The Ruddster is hardly over-endowed with charisma.
Judith I wonder about AE, NSW has had growth in the last 2 quarters yet AE say NSW are in recession?
[“ABS data released just over a month ago show that NSW has experienced growth both in June and September quarters and this does not indicate NSW is in recession,” Mr Campbell told Macquarie Radio.]
Vera when all is said and done AE is really just another think tank yelling to have it’s predictions heard over the other shouters, Talc didnt take long to get in on the act, when will he learn the government will do whatever it has to –as they’ve done so far, with or without his permission.
http://abc.com.au/news/stories/2009/01/19/2469012.htm
Dio, your right, in no way could Rudd be called charismatic, however he gives a sense of being a careful thinker before taking a major step and i’ll accept that safety net every time, Turnbull could at a very big stretch be called charismatic but he reminds me of a snake oil salesman.
Peter Brent once wrote an article which he discussed the theory of “charisma” and what is it that actually defines it, basically that it was a bit of a myth and that all in all it’s better just to try and steer clear of the word. Suffice to say even if Rudd lacks charisma he is likeable and there is something endearing about that combination of intellect and dagginess.
Judith Talcum hasn’t got a clue has he, he’s carping on about how bad it would be for the budget to go into deficit trying to make the most of AE’s report and the “budget buggered ” scare, but the silly bugger ignores the part where AE says (from SMH link in previous post)
[But the biggest budget risk was of “chicken-hearted policymaking” from the Federal Government, if important reforms on education, water and infrastructure were cancelled due to lack of funds, Mr Richardson said.]
where they are saying the need to spend is more important than budget deficits.
Inflation has fallen to a 3 & 1/2 year low and there is talk of a 3/4% cut in interest rates in Feb to bring rates to lowest level since 1965.
Now what party was it again that we were told inerest rates would always be lower under 🙂
The Reserve Bank of Australia has today released, “The Level and Distribution of Recent Mining Sector Revenue.” Is it a volume of doom and Gloom?
http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_jan09/Pdf/bu_0109_2.pdf
SOCRATES
#189
“Here is a rather more serious piece of bad news from someone more credible than Mr Turnbull – Access Economics now forecasts a recession this year.”
you igniored greek philospher ronactes forcasting many months ago here !…. a tech recesion , a deficit , unemploymetn 6-75 , interst rates 3% to 3.5% , lower inflation but instead rely on “AFTER th event” consevative tink tanks Always believed things ar worse than they appeer & GFC winds were here & not seen , but will soon appear nasty more by days & also did say US GFC worser than being miss reportd by finance experts , hav said thought it was a prime problam not a sub prime any more …but actually I hope I’ve been totally wrong here as no pleasures in seeing dooms hiting oz …I can only forgiv you for your sins of lacks of greek faiths , but thousonds wouldn’t
G’day VERA
#206
Don’t worry Vera , a “deficit” is just a $ figure flick of a pen on a piece of paper
…but its actualy Govt monies as you know spent on infra etc to help reverse growth declines & lower worser then otherwise unemployemnt and Rudd knows thats more important , than some figure man saying budget is a minus instead of a + …….anyways th + bit will come finaly with growth etc in futures , but we hav to look after people & business today , so Talcum just doesn’t reely understand that does he , or if he does he’s a hypocrate)
the average voter can identify with Rudd, he’s a family man who obviously adores his wife and kids and isnt too proud to show it publically, he treats his wife’s intellect as high as his own and makes her and the kids part of a family forum to discuss moves that affect them all, the confab sitting on the bed with a cuppa and the family says it all, before the Lodge even though they could afford that Sydney bayside mansion they lived in the very ordinary suburban house they’d lived in for years, not even an up market suburb, the cat and the dog are treated as important members of the family and came to the lodge with them, Therese is obviously her own person who dresses and acts as she always has–no front or sudden poshness there, no one would ever name her Hyacinth, the kids are unspoilt and encouraged to be independant and make their own way in life–no spoilt rich kid syndrome here, in fact unless you knew, you would never take them for a family of muti millionaires in their own right, Rudd’s kindness to others less well endowed is well documented, from giving bycles to the local charity to getting down and dirty himself in homeless centres, yup i think the average worker will take all of this instead of charisma.
Steve (from your link)
This doesn’t sound to gloomy to me
[Other things equal, reduced spending by the mining sector, on both investment and inputs to production, would be expected to flow through to slower activity in other sectors of the economy.
Nevertheless, given the earlier large run-ups in bulk commodity prices and the recent
depreciation of the exchange rate, mining sector receipts in Australian dollar terms are likely to remain at comparatively high levels by historical standards.]
Vera, and if the Brisbane Times took notice of the RBA instead of the doomsdayers at AE, we wouldn’t be fed this nonsense.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/01/19/1232213491968.html
Hello Ron
Talcum’s a dill for sure, I have confidence in kev and swannie to steer us through trouble waters.
Words of wisdom from the master.
[“You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you’re gone”.
-GWB. Washington, DC; May 5, 2006]
But you can have a pretty good guess. 😀
212 This was the Brisbane Times story I meant to link to.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/business/state-to-go-from-feast-to-famine/2009/01/19/1232213503327.html
So Steve if all this forecasted doom and gloom dosen’t happen that’ll make Swannie the worlds greastest treasurer won’t it? 😉
uhhh Vera i hate to seem ignorant but just what is the key to deciphering Ron’s postings? i cant make head nor tail of them and yet i think i might be missing something, i dearly love cryptic crosswords but this is an obvious failing of mine, perhaps if i have the key code i could do better.
Judith, Ron’s my favorite PB (love him), he grows on you and with time you will breeze through his posts no trouble at all
here’s a quick translation of 209 bit written to me
The deficit is just a number but it’s real money which will be spent by the Govt to increase growth and jobs which Rudd knows is more important than whether there is a surplus or deficit. The surplus will come in the future but we need to spend to look after people and businesses now. And Talcum is either stupid or a hypocrit.
Did i get that right Ron 🙂
Ron 209
If only I knew how to decipher your wise words Ron; with your cryptic phrasing you could be the Oracle of Delphi! (or is that the Ronacle of Crikey?)
Seriously I shared your views on the US and said the same over a year ago. However I did think Australia would hold up better on the back of Chinese domestic demand. Looks like I was wrong as China has gone down very fast. Anyway its clearly time for us to do some pump priming here now – to hell with the free-market-solves-everything nutters. I agree we need some government intervention to get things moving, and thankfully Swan and Rudd realise that. It will take about six-12 months though, so better get moving….
Also agree on the deficit; it is an issue for finance markets, but not so much the rest of us. Overall the Australian government has a low net debt (as Costello kept boasting) so now we can afford to spend and should do so.
Well translated Vera. You are the Oracle’s priestess 🙂
Judith, the position maketh the man. George Bush is a down to earth kind of fella who treats his dog like his youngest child. Now aside from the family man narrative, he doesn’t have JFK captivating charisma but gee whiz golly there is that certain something that makes him so likeable and we all grin cheesilly whe he makes a daggy joke on sunrise and listened that little bit eagerly when he joined Jim Maxwell and Kerry O’keefe at the cricket and that isn’t a measure of his character but his natural demeanour.
But who knows what charisma really is, Bob Hawke, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Junichiro Koizumi were all said to be charismatic, whilst nobody dared accuse Gordon Brown, Simon Crean or Vladmir Putin of something so shallow so perhaps it’s all about having tall white hair and Kevin could be mistaken as charismatic for having white hair but isn’t the real deal because it’s too flat. Give them a few more years and both Stephen Smith and Brendan Nelson might become very charismatic.
“so perhaps it’s all about having tall white hair ”
No njl – thats Statesmanship! Even Hillary has it. No wonder the powers that be far Barack upturning the old order.
Vera
“Did i get that right Ron”
perfectly , as you always do Vera…and also , for your day …this 🙂
.
actualy i missed mentionin another Trunbull alternitive , ‘his plan’ he’s up to thats not reel politcal clever I reckon he is gearing up for a typical 2010 liberal econamic philosophy attack against labor of no deficits to attack our Kevin on , because Lib or reely consevative philosophy doesn’t believe in deficits He’s gonna say in 2010 if he is still th chief , we and our wizzards Cossie & co didn’t hav deficits cause we were good econamic managers
Problam with there argument of no deficits is usualy its said/used with saying “oh we had lower interst rates as well”as thats th ‘rationalist’ thoery …. but turnbull won’t be able to say that cause he finished with high comparotive interst rates =to when Keating left actualy , VS Rudd’s interst rates which ar lower again (reely due to th GFC) So econamicly th Liberal finance attack is going to be a Liberal no deficts point scoring electon campaign , but without th lower interst cloths cause rudds got those lower inteest cloths now….so its gonna look theoretical nonsense….
Of course thats before turnbul is asked some reel world questons about actual effects of his plans on reel oz business and oz peoples of his proposal to hav no deficit …like malcolm , which Govt services ar you gonna cut to reduce th deficit…waffle waffle , will he then go That why Turnbull with little experiense makes politcal miscalls , wrong attack for th GFC times
Ron 222
Agree with you 100%. The other half of that low-deficits equation is that the Libs allowed the private sector to borrow very heavily, with a debt fuelled binge of company takeovers. No new business was created – just an asset price bubble and a lot of paper profits for Turnbulls former mates that we now realise were fiction. The reason why we have to prop up private banks with public cash guarantees now is that the private businesses have too much debt and nobody wants to loan to them.
“so perhaps it’s all about having tall white hair ”
Don King!
yes socrates you ar right about other 1/2 bit ….actualy there’s a nother 1/2 of a 1/2 as well maybe , and thats th ‘surplus’ was ‘spent’ on consumton which encoraged consumer highar cr card debt , whereas those bickes should hav been instead flowed to nation poroductive capacity intrastuctures blah , and worse that is still needed by oz Country , and we hav les money now To be fair , will consede about 25 bill was put in th kitty in future type funds…and will be genorous there & not tink Cossie didn’t know what to do with it …like coudn’t giv even more tax cuts & fuel over demand when capacitys were stretchd and higher inflaton efects although thats what he’s prev doned to econamy
Also you bit nails there with business debt and banks not wishing to borow Of course then one has reverse nasty thats devoloped that few too scared to say…we hav our 2nd bigest mining and exporter our come to Rio , now they hav over 40 bill in debt , want to sell quality comodity assets to get debt down as interst is gonna hurt earnings etc…but word wise finding troublwe finding buyers … and there’s a long lead timings bettween commodities demand drops and th Coles supermarket , and unemployomnt etc
You have to wonder how much time and money that Access Economics is paying its spin doctors to come up with the phrase the “budget is buggered”. You can just imagine AE saying to the spin doctors: “come on guys, we need a phrase that the Einsteins of the MSM can understand and use as a sound bite. It’s OK if it is meaningless”. Classic.
njl back at 170. No offence, but generally a load of rubbish.
[Oz the polling of the liberal party is not a reflection on the he who runs it at the moment. It reflects a new government, that is well organised, that has a charismatic man at the helm and that has just replaced a 12 year old government which was extremely stale. The Rudd government has been very careful and meticulous lest they upset the electorate and left the opposition with very little space to move.]
Ok the 2pp is a zero sum game, but we’re talking about Turnbull the politician. And certainly a leader’s own approval ratings are one of the ways of measuring his success in politics, and his are pathetic.
The rest of your post describes your hope in Turnbull but doesn’t show him to be a formidable politician. In fact, you concede that the Liberal Party is in a slump and there’s no reason for Australian’s to switch their vote back to them. In which case, Turnbull is currently failing as a politician.
Turnbull is still calling for tax cuts to be brought forward from July to now. I wonder when a “journalist” will ask him how much this will cost and is he prepared for the budget to go into defecit by the same amount.
I think the next “stimulus” the Govt. will introduce to be aimed at small business, this will help keep unemployment lower than anticipated plus it is good politics. Why not pinch yet another traditional Liberal demographic. 😉
njl
#220 actual quote :
“Judith, the position maketh the man. George Bush is a down to earth kind of fella who treats his dog like his youngest child. Now aside from the family man narrative, he doesn’t have JFK captivating charisma but gee whiz golly there is that certain SOMETHING that makes him so likeable…”
njl , you stated you and Bob WERE intelectuals So I desided using tyour post to try to reely understand th intelectual mind today in all its wondarment So our first bush quote was he was ‘down to earth’ yep got that one , youi ar right fools ar “down to earth” fools …where else wuld they be …in heaven for goodness sakes Next i reads quote “who treats his dog like his youngest child” yep very necesary national security qualificaton for th Leader of th Free World (and of course you do know how he treats his youngest child i guess , or did you ‘intelectualy’ guess there )
But clearly I’ll never be an intelectual cause you reely lost me with “but gee whiz golly there is that certain SOMETHING that makes him (George Bush) so likeable…” well njl , i’ve never thought of Bush as ‘likeable” because i cann’t find that ‘something’ you see in him l …..you know njl , as a non intelectual i just cann’t see Bush as ‘likeable” when he sanctoned toture , renditons , gittmo , abused judisial system , lied with intell to th US Senate to justify Iraq war killing 000’s etc etc …and so his “smiles” on TV to me ar not a likeable man at all
And finaly , i actualy was/am unrepentent critic of Obama cause he lacked some reel ‘core left policys’ & mostly still does , but I’m quite happy in futures to giv him th benefit of th doubt he’ll policy wise improve , as World needs some good results after Bush ….but conversly unlike with Obama , I wuld never ever ever giv George Bush ‘even less than slightly’ th benefit of th doubt …frankley he does not deserve it
The Marooned Howardista Treasury Officials that call themselves Access Economics have a report which is quickly unravelling.
Now the Queensland Treasurer has declared a growth of 3% – another state unlikely to follow AE’s planned path.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/business/no-recession-for-qld-fraser/2009/01/19/1232213519357.html
bluddy hell has anyone been to look at the Australian today, after all the doom and gloom all one has to decide whether to top oneself with tablets or a noose, according to them theres definately no light at the end of the tunnell, sigh i’m sooo glad i cancelled the print copy of it, i’d be spitting chips if i’d paid for that news.
Vera, i’ve tried–boy have i tried and i just cant decipher Ron’s blogs, i’m just going to have to try and get the gist of it from the following replies.
AE has just been on the 10 news and now they’re definately saying the budget is buggered, of course Talc followed with his two bits worth, he maintains tax cuts will do it instead of other stimulus, cant see how tax cuts will make the top end of town spend any more than what they already do on their caviar.
Essential is out – primaries running 50/35 for a TPP of 59/41.
Fins and Steve
I think we should be careful who we critise here. Access economics did NOT say “the budget was buggered” (that was Murdoch press) and did not criticise the current govenrment. Access have done work which was not always flattering to the previous government. They were started by treasury officials that worked under Hawke and Keating. When I think of Howardista economists, other names come to mind.
Access Economics says that South Australia will do better than other states. So NSW and Qld premiers or treasurers have said they will not be in recession. So I guess SA will not be either.
That really only leaves Vic and WA (sorry Tassie, ACT, NT but you don’t really count).
It would be ironic if WA was the only state that went into recession. 🙂
[It would be ironic if WA was the only state that went into recession. ]
Well with Brendan’s Rorts For The Regions pork-barrelling, that may well be the case.
I love how whenever WA is mentioned Frank Calabrese pops up out of nowhere to give his local opinion.
Socrates, i just watched the 10 news and the AE guy was on and he definately said the budget was buggared, he went further to say nothing the government did would help.
Yes
I thought all the Calabrese clan were at the Yoogali Club in Griffith NSW. 😉
But it is good to have an “expert” view on WA. 🙂
[That really only leaves Vic and WA (sorry Tassie, ACT, NT but you don’t really count).]
[A new report has predicted Tasmania will have the nation’s fastest growing economy over the next five years.
The Access Economics report suggests the state is well placed to withstand the effects of the global financial crisis.
It says Tasmania’s economy will continue to grow while other states experience a slowdown.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/19/2468778.htm
Thanks RU – happy not to count. 🙂
[Growth in the State’s economy is forecast to slow to 1.5% in 2009-10 due to a decline in business investment, fairly weak consumption growth, flat dwelling construction and modest growth in net exports. This is significantly weaker than the 6.25% growth forecast in the PFPS, due mainly to weaker investment and net exports.]
So says the WA half yearly statement, so they should just stay clear of recession too , one would suspect.
Chris Richards is definitely no Liberal mouthpiece and should not be portrayed as such. The report itself congratulates the steps the government has taken to stimulate the economy. Its prediction that the country will slip into recession is based on slowing demand from around the world, not policy errors or other domestic factors.
From that one can easily see the flaw in allowing ourselves to become addicted and dependent on digging stuff out of the ground and selling it at exorbitant precises. And we all know who to blame for that…
Anyone suggesting that revisionist history written about JWH will be more flattering is kidding themselves. Time will tell (and is telling) just how completely he buggered up the entire country. Hundreds of billions of dollars wasted. The biggest boom in this nation’s history and possibly the biggest we’ll ever have and we nothing to show for it except public services and infrastructure in decline. I don’t think we can ever forgive that.
Hey, at least the NSW economy is based on THINKING and “intellectual captial”. Not digging holes (WA and QLD) or lumberjacks (Tas).
Essential Media is broken.
28% of Australians think Howard is the best PM. 20% for Rudd. Now I’m not upset that Howard beat Rudd, not that I think Howard deserves number one, but how can Rudd possibly be the best PM after a year?
Also, 60% of Australians think they’ll be better off or the same in 12 months. The respondents to this poll were clearly all on drugs.
[Also, 60% of Australians think they’ll be better off or the same in 12 months. The respondents to this poll were clearly all on drugs. ]
Low interest rates and petrol prices Oz.
By the way what are all those bulk transport ships doing of Newcastle?
Oz
” just how completely he buggered up the entire country. Hundreds of billions of dollars wasted.”
What I would like to know is who was the beneficiaries of Howards largesse.
That alone would explain the analogy of “the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer” which best describes his reign
[Also, 60% of Australians think they’ll be better off or the same in 12 months. The respondents to this poll were clearly all on drugs.]
You think more than 40% of people will be unemployed within 12 months? As rua said, interest rates still going down, petrol prices and others are down significantly, and likely to stay that way for a while. Why wouldn’t they think they’ll be better off if unemployment is only forecast to rise by a few percent or so?
Gee Ron you play the part of the simpleton so damn well at times I almost believe you are missing the point by the distance that you do. Only the first sentence of the comment was about the greater known Bush, the rest was about Kevin, I’m pretty sure Bush never made a daggy joke on sunrise or chatted a way with Jim and the Skull at the SCG. Point was that being down to earth, able to relate with the common man like Judith said Kevin could doesn’t really mean squatt considering Bush can and he is about as popular as Dr Nelson. So now that we’ve got out of the road I’m not some xenophobic, homophobic, gun loving, war fighting, laizzes faire fascist you can refrain from giving me anti Bush rhetoric if your intention was to turn me against the old duffer because the only thing that scares me more tha the idea of another four years of Bush is four years of Sarah Palin.
As for Oz, fear not I am not one to be offended by the naivety of the ordinary person. Opposition leader approval ratings Oz are the most meaningless, wastefull question that anyone will ever ask. Want to hazard a guess as to which liberal leaders clocked the highest approval ratings of all time? Lord Downer and Dr John. You wanna know whose peak approval ratings were the lowest amongst liberal party leaders? Brendan, Andrew Peacock and then none other than John Howard. Meanwhile he who had the highest approval rating of any opposition leader ever prior to Kevin must have gotten it because he wanted to ease the squeeze.
The rest of my post describes how Turnbull is making the most of a terrible situation and trying to work the unworkable. Elections are mostly about timing, I doubt any government in post war history if you don’t count Fraser has actually done anything to particularly force a change of government. They have been reasonably intelligent men staying out of trouble whilst the incumbent spends the last of their political capital, drovers dog elections to borrow a metaphor from our greatest foreign minister. If Kevin Rudd had taken over the leadership from Paul Keating in 1996 he would have had a horrid 1997, suffered terrible opinion polls and be very much regarded as hapless in the same way Dr Nelson was, although not quite to the same extent.
Essential isnt broken Oz – you making the mistake of thinking that everyone in the country is a politics junky when they aren’t.
So 1/3rd of the 25-34s voted for Rudd (because the choice for most of them was between Howard, Rudd and Keating since that’s all they’ve known), and by picking up a few points here and there in the other demographics it’s pretty obvious how Rudd got to 20%.
Every poll, poll after poll, survey after survey from every pollster that has asked shows that a majority of Australians arent buying economic armegeddon.
ruawake, naaaah its the Perre’s and the Carbones that overrun Griffith, many years ago i went there with one of my Italian mates and we stayed for about a week, we were treated like royalty, i nearly had a fit afterwards when i was told we stayed with the local godfather, i got an addiction there to hadmade italian bread rolls baked in an outside brick oven and then soaked in homemade olive oil, squashed fresh picked tomatos and salt, it’s food of the gods believe me.
Given everyone with a mortgage has had about $750 a month reduction to their mortgage repayments, given that petrol has dropped around $30-40 a fill since mid year, given there were tax cuts in place after July 1 and given that Rudd handed out $10.5 billion to all and sundry might be the reasons Poss. The average family has had a major boost to their income which has made life a little easier for us all.
It seems the recession is something happening somewhere else atm.
Perhaps we here in Australia are living in a bubble. When it goes “pop” the “spaghetti will really hit the fan”.