Newspoll has come a day early – or six days late, depending on your perspective. Key findings of the survey, which was conducted over the past two days:
• Labor’s two-party lead has blown out to 58-42 from 54-46 at the last Newspoll three weeks ago (although Peter Brent‘s “rough calculation” had it at 55-45).
• Fifty-seven per cent believe the stimulus package will be good for the economy, and 48 per cent believe it will make them personally better off. Support is inversely proportional to age.
• Labor is up five points on the primary vote to 48 per cent, with the Coalition’s down three to 36 per cent.
• Kevin Rudd’s approval rating is steady on 63 per cent, and his disapproval up one to 26 per cent.
• Malcolm Turnbull’s approval rating is down one point to 44 per cent, and his disapproval is up seven to 38 per cent.
• Sixty-three per cent believe the government is doing a good job managing the economy, and only 33 per cent believe the Coalition would do better.
Other news:
• The Greens’ parliamentary leader in New South Wales, Lee Rhiannon, has quit her Legislative Council seat and declared her intention to run for the Senate (UPDATE: Not quite – she has “informed the party that when federal elections are called, I’ll resign to stand for Federal Parliament, if I win preselection”). Brian Robins of the Sydney Morning Herald says Rhiannon “appears to be positioning herself to replace the party’s federal leader”. She may have her work cut out: the only time the Greens have won a seat in the state was when Kerry Nettle got in on One Nation preferences in 2001. Generally the problem has been that Labor are too strong in the state for the Greens to get ahead of their third candidate. Two scenarios for success suggest themselves: one involves the Greens gaining at least 5 per cent on the Coalition on the primary vote, which would raise the possibility of a result of three Labor, two Liberal, one Greens; the other is a double dissolution.
• Linda Silmalis of the Daily Telegraph reports the Coalition has been “desperate to find a high-profile candidate to take on Maxine McKew in the Sydney seat of Bennelong”, which it hopes “will be enough for Labor to consider transferring McKew to a safer seat”. It doesn’t sound like they’re having much luck: among those to have knocked back the offer are Kerry Chikarovski, former Opposition Leader and member for the locally situated state seat of Lane Cove, and Andrew Tink, former Shadow Police Minister and recent departee from state politics.
UPDATE: Essential Research has Labor’s lead at 61-39, recording no change from last week. Nothing on the stimulus package (Essential Research advises there will be a “truckload” of such data next week), but includes the usual leadership questions showing Rudd holding up and Turnbull going backwards.
I’m sorry but I can’t understand a word Barnaby is saying. He keeps tripping over his words but apparently he will be holding the Government to account for the path to perdition and oblivion that we are about to undertake.
[Conroy being an idiot as usual. Just threatened with expulsion.]
A threat was all it was
Barney the Banana:
“Two bullet points to try and work out how we’re going to pay this money … ”
Banana exports
Circus performing
Barnaby dribbled complete rubbish.
Evans is up and sounds completely sane in comparison.
Gosh the coalition are insipid
Curious that Julie Bishop thinks there is no problem and hence no need for a stimulus package but Barnaby Joyce will be holding the government to account if it fails. How can it fail if there is no problem?
Hammers with free bags
Fisculus packages
Looks like the Greens chances of winning a senate seat in Victoria have gone because most Victorians who lost their homes, blame the greenies for opposing back burning. Expect a huge dip in the Green vote in Victoria in 2010.
I hasten to add an LOL to my comment above. I think we’d be more on the path to oblivion if the package wasn’t adopted. Still it’s nice to know that he is so devoted to his cause. Ha ha.
When was the last time someone was thrown out of the Senate? Not in my memory.
[Expect a huge dip in the Green vote in Victoria in 2010.]
Expect a huge dp in the Liberal vote on the grounds they support pro-recssion and pro-unemployment economic policies.
The Greens are now a more moderate economic party than the Liberals.
So, ALP mending fences with X and F in the senate. No fences to mend with the greens. Coalition seething in impotence. For gods sake just take the vote and do it!!
Still i suppose that some of the senators feel the need to stick it into the libs for their arrogance while they had a senate majority.
yes bree will be right in that
Seems appropriate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKvpONl3No
Bree, you’ve got to grow up. That kind of political opportunism at this time is, frankly, disgraceful.
[ Looks like the Greens chances of winning a senate seat in Victoria have gone because most Victorians who lost their homes, blame the greenies for opposing back burning. Expect a huge dip in the Green vote in Victoria in 2010. ]
As shown by the opinion poll you’re about to post, I trust? 🙂
Adam
The way some have spoken recently a breathalyser test would probably allow a few to be removed. Or a speech pathologist for Barnaby.
Bree waving the red rag in the faces of our friends from the Greens.
At least irt’s a change from her mob waving the white flag of total surrender.
Now we can look forward to another rivetting contribution from Julie Bishop when the bills go back to the Lower House.
[When was the last time someone was thrown out of the Senate? Not in my memory.]
Doesn’t excuse Conroy’s stupidity though Adam.
Why take such a risk at such a critical time.
To give them their due, Bree’s mob didn’t surrender. They just took a stupid position and were comprehensively overrun. Failure of command led to a total local defeat, and a serious erosion of their strategic position. Idiots.
Actually, you don’t have to grow up. It was silly of me to suggest this. When you start attending senior school (Ascham or Kincoppal or wherever), then you might consider reading a book or something …
I’m confused. The bills were moved without amendments.
Does that mean the Xenophon amendments will be made in the House?
Why weren’t they made in the Senate, then agreed to in the House?
Or will the Xenophon amendments be moved during the third reading?
NewsRadio says Xenophon and Fielding and the Greens are all voting with the Government.
[Doesn’t excuse Conroy’s stupidity though Adam.
Why take such a risk at such a critical time.]
Oh come on. Stop over playing it.
PASSED
Bree, you need to be careful believing things you hear from that senile loon Wilson Tuckey. I’m not here to defend the Greens (as I think I’ve made clear), but it’s not true that they’ve opposed backburning. Nor is it true that there has been no backburning in Victoria – there has been 400,000ha burnt over the past three years. The current fire catastrophe had nothing to do with that. What it DOES seem to have something to do with is the refusal of councils to allow householders to clear trees from around their homes. That will obviously have to change.
A few long lunches methinks!
This is not aimed at Bree, who I asume is impervious to facts that prove her world view false. However this right wing evasion-meme that the Victorian bushfires are due to greens and a lack of burning off has to be nipped in the bud.
I posted late last night an entry from Barry Brook’s excellent Brave New Climate blog that looks at the recent heatwave from a meteorlogical point of view. Quite simply the recent heatwave is unprecendented in Australian recorded history:
– for Adelaide the Jan / Feb 2009 heatwave was a 1 in 150,000 year event.
– the odds of all this happening from natural forcings alone are about 1 in 10 billion
– no other heatwave in Australian history has been as long, as intense or as widespread.
See
http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/02/10/heatwave-update-and-open-letter-to-the-pm/
No doubt the Royal Commission will find that many things could have been done to reduce risks of bushfires and should eb done in the future, from limiting construction in high risk areas to checking on known arsonists as the SA Police sensibly did. But the fact remains that the weather conditions made this bushfire possible, and were so extreme that it was far worse than usual. We might have had fires without climate change, but they wouldn’t have been this bad. That fact needs to be faced.
vote
30-28
phew
Profuse apologies to you Dario.
Looks like my opinion that Conroy was being a prat is not allowed according to your esteemed opinion.
It goes back to HOR now to get ammendments approved
I can’t wait, Joe hockey is the one who should be eating his hat after his gloating when the bill was voted down.
Just out of interest, Bree. Do the Young Liberals do any Quality Assurance analysis of their troll campaigns? Because, based on your success here, you clearly need to move to another department lol.
[Looks like my opinion that Conroy was being a prat is not allowed according to your esteemed opinion.]
How do you rank the Senate Pratts? How about:
1) Joyce
2) Conroy
3) Erica Betz
4) Louise Pratt
p.s. That’s the last time I ever directly or indirectly address you! (Don’t tell your boss. lol)
Inner Westie, William has decreed the T word is verbotten.
Whoops. It was a typo. I meant “trowel”. (As in “laying it on with a …”)
I am sure there are higher quality targets for people to express their indignation out on than my humble self.
Get over it.
[When was the last time someone was thrown out of the Senate? Not in my memory.]
I think the last time was Bob Brown expelled during a debate on the Timor Sea Treaty. He repeatedly accused the Howard government of economic and political blackmail against the East Timor government, and refused repeated requests by the President to withdraw the remarks.
ShowsOn
Joyce is a banjo strumming,moonshine guzzling,backwoods behemoth with the IQ of a irradiated amoeba.
To call him a pratt is an insult to pratts everywhere
That was in 2003
I thought we agreed that Conroy was a “factional dalek” (OZ’s expression).
[To call him a pratt is an insult to pratts everywhere]
I don’t understand why some Nats think he is their saviour.
The Senate is a much friendlier chamber than the House, which is more show biz, and less policy detail, does anyone think he would do any better in the House? What hits would he score in the House?
[Profuse apologies to you Dario.]
No problems
[Looks like my opinion that Conroy was being a prat is not allowed according to your esteemed opinion.]
No, he was being a prat all right, but as for the likelihodd of him being thrown out… that’s just crap
Show Biz is perfect for the Banana Clown!
[I thought we agreed that Conroy was a “factional dalek” (OZ’s expression).]
It was originally Robert Ray’s expression:
http://www.fabian.org.au/1077.asp
[What hits would he score in the House?]
he would add some competitiion to wilson for clown of the house.
Ah, Robert Ray …
(That was a good read by the way.)
As a symbol of their sincerity of purpose, their purity of heart, shouldn’t each financial member of the LNP be required to pledge to return his/her $900 to the Government coffers immediately upon receipt? Or contribute to a 20 year trust fund for future generations set up with one or more of the major banks?
[he would add some competitiion to wilson for clown of the house.]
But he refuses to take a shadow portfolio, so that means he would just be a back bencher. That’s a less powerful position than Leader of the Nats in the Senate.
He could be Shadow Minister without Portfolio. 😀
If Barnaby were to go to the Lower House the only one feeling threatened would be Wilson Tuckey.