A summary of yesterday’s events that didn’t get posted overnight due to internet trouble.
• The election debate will be held from 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Sunday, an hour earlier and half an hour shorter than normal. The reason on both counts is to avoid a conflict with the final of MasterChef on Channel Ten. David Speers of SkyNews will moderate, and the leaders will face a panel consisting of Malcolm Farr from the Daily Telegraph, Chris Uhlmann of ABC News 24 and Laura Tingle of the Australian Financial Review.
• Christian Kerr in The Australian reports the Liberal campaign headquarters that will belatedly commence operation today is believed to be at 90 Collins Street, Melbourne, but “sources said the location was even being hidden from campaign workers who are expected to begin work there today”.
• Julia Gillard spent yesterday in the western Sydney and hinterland seats of Macquarie and Greenway. Matthew Franklin and Sarah Elks of The Australian note this is of a piece with an apparent campaign strategy to favour set-piece photo opportunities over less easily manageable appearance in public places. Tony Abbott on the other hand remained in Melbourne – less than a target-rich environment as far as marginal seats are concerned – which included a public appearance in marginal Labor Deakin. David Crowe of the Australian Financial Review made the following observation yesterday:
In a pre-emptive strike against Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Coalition has begun a below-the-radar campaign in regional Queensland to woo voters in key areas that could decide the federal election … Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey launched the effort late last week – a move that focused on local media and local campaigns rather than participation in the blanket national media coverage of the election, when it was called on Saturday. The strategy ensured the Coalittion had senior figures campaigning in cities such as Townsville and the highly marginal seat of Herbert before Ms Gillard headed to the area yesterday (Monday) morning. Beginning last Wednesday, Mr Hockey travleled from Gladstone to Mackay, Townsville, Innisfail and Cairns over five days to campaign for Coalition candidates”.
For all your campaign movement needs (not just the leaders), note Crikey’s excellent Election Tracker feature.
• Adrian Schonfelder, Labor’s candidate for the Melbourne hinterland seat of Flinders (held for the Liberals by Greg Hunt), has apologised for suggesting Tony Abbott’s conservative social positions were “influencing people to take their own lives”.
• Simon Canning of The Australian notes Labor is “expected to keep its hands clean in the election marketing war by allowing the union movement to carry the can and send out ads attacking Liberal leader Tony Abbott and the threat of a Coalition government”. The Australian Workers Union’s Addams Family ad is cited as a case in point.
• Tony Koch and Sean Parnell of The Australian consider the impact of the government’s restitution of programs to engage indigenous people with the electoral process, which had been cut by the Rudd government. The main marginal seats with high indigenous populations are Leichhardt in far north Queensland and the Darwin-based seat of Solomon.
• The Liberal National Party has come up with an odd arrangement whereby its newly preselected candidate for Kevin Rudd’s seat of Griffith, Rebecca Docherty – herself a substitute for dumped former Liberal Democratic Party figure John Humphreys – will make way for an unspecified “high-profile” candidate should Rudd have a late change of heart about remaining in politics.
• Discussing Newspoll and Galaxy results in the Financial Review, Andrew Catsaras calculates the “market share of swinging voters” – 17 per cent of the total – at 29 per cent for Labor, 35 per cent for the Coalition and 31 per cent for the Greens. I presume he’s done this by comparing the totals to some measure of the parties’ bedrock levels of support. If we’re lucky he might enlighten us in comments.
• The Daily Telegraph has published details of a poll on climate change conducted for lobbyist firm Parker and Partners by “online polling company Pureprofile”, showing 82 per cent of respondents favouring “strong or moderate action immediately”.
[I unfortunately did watch it for 20 minutes a few weeks ago, just to see if it had any appeal – you know for nostalgic reasons.
My assessment? It was 20 minutes of my life I will never get back.]
I too fell into that trap. My theory was, being 2010 where shows like Family Guy (or even 2 and a Half Men) are more representative of mainstream humour, they may have upgraded their schtick to something a bit more contemporary. Alas it was the same silly comedy routines which I originally got tired of around the point that I reached puberty. Like you, that was an excruciatingly long 20 or so minutes I’ll never get back.
Sorry Laocoon @ 33 – didn’t see your post before I wrote mine (re fruit!)
ruawake. The principal at the school where Rudd attended today, was an excellent spokesman for the benefits of the BER. I doubt a minister could have done a better job than that gentleman.
[BernardKeane if Rudd spoke to voters like he spoke to those kids he might still be PM
7 minutes ago via TweetDeck
Reply Retweet ]
TSOP what do you think of “Big Bang Theory” (I mean the show)
confessions. I think this is the link to that interview re Julia and ‘tired’. The bloke was Peter Wilkinson.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201007/r604750_3957512.asx
[re Hey Hey – Funny how a show might seem funny to you as a 15 year old, but is abhorrent and banal when you reach 42?!]
Too true,
I would only watch Phoney on HHIS if he judged in blackface.
Why wont Abbott go on to John Feine’s show? He went on MTR which rates about 1.3% he went on 3AW, but was to cowardly to go on to the ABC?
Whats wrong Tone? Dont like asking questions from presenters who dont pander to you?
Gutless.
[ Psephos
….
Who is denigrating him? Give us a quote please.]
You, to start with; using preferred prime minster instead of two party preferred to try and justify the actions undertaken, talking about secret internal polling, when the facts are plain. People where getting over the deck cleaning and the swing was from the greens back to Labor.
Ok the right faction of the Labor party has attempted to regain control (installing a person that is from the left and owes them nothing underlines just where they really are), that is politics, but to denigrate Rudd to try and justify their actions in my view is unacceptable. Rudd is no Latham.
victoria, maybe rudd she give him a tap on the shoulder in case a UN job pops up during the next term.
He was bragging just a week ago that he was fully prepared for an election. “Bring it on” etc. etc. In fact I think some Libs were demanding Labor go early, claiming the reason for the delay was that Labor was scared sh-tless of defeat.
So now he tells us he was taken by surprise?
More Phoney Tony, but of course none of this gets a run, so it officially doesn’t exist outside the PB Sheltered Workshop.
BB, the same thing happened about the debate he challenged Rudd to. Rudd called his bluff and spanked him. what an idiot.
Yes, brilliantly articulated, and to the point, The Big Ship.
Joffaboy. Abbott only goes into safe territory. He has made the mistake of going on Neil Mitchell’s show on 3aw and getting cooked. I doubt he will go back again.
triton @147 said..
[Why take the chance? Also, the more you win by, the better the position you are in, both for governing and for your chances at the following election.]
Well, while I generally agree with you that more seats is better, it remains to be seen if the new PM is as deeply reformist as Rudd and not just populist. After all, its the policies that take more than an election cycle to implement (the NBN, more university places, more doctors, more public housing – heck even the ETS or its successor) that bring about real changes in wealth, productivity and dare I say it, happiness. And I’d like to think that governments that do have vision and do pursue policies that take 5 years or more to pay off, do get rewarded with longer overall terms (albeit I have to wonder about the attention span of some humans).
Rudd did a lot of stuff which wasn’t populist, which didn’t even get noticed, that will pay off many years down the track. My fear is that in going for the maximum seats the caucus might have lost sight of the long term and I would really love to see Julia do something, er, visionary..
[private schools more affordable is a better political ]
i have to disagree this time go to a web site of a private school and just look at their web sites no one in the western suburbs or the northern suburbs of cities could afford the fees PSE please. Some fees are up to 40 and 50 ths a year.
Now a little religious school like the one he was at yes and a small suburban catholic school and if you are very poor you can often go there for a reduced rate any way, also there are scholarships and help with uniform from mums who donate etc .
No Pse you are on the wrong track with this one if tone thinks that the amount of fees that these schools operate is a vote changer with a little bit of money he had better think again, These people have more important things on their minds like health
how they are going to keep their jobs pay for their christmas presents for the children which i have noticed the sales have all started there and so would the lay bys,.
Do you know and understand the small fees that are at catholic school compared to Non religious Private school proably not.
1/10th i would suggest or less There are the exceptions of course for some wealthy posh catholics i suppose but a large amount of these schools have a large amount of non catholics also we take all comers these days have done for years and years.
[TSOP what do you think of “Big Bang Theory” (I mean the show)]
I love it. Probably because the technobabble they use is genuine scientific terminology, not just made up sciencey sounding phrases and words. Sheldon is also a great breakout character.
[Those idiots at Sky News…. They keep following Kevin around and saying he is a distraction. But they just had Kevin on for 7 minutes talking to school kids about how awesome the new school hall is.]
Ypu’re not kidding.
The keep harping that Rudd will be a distraction because he is campaigning and that will interfere with Julia’s schedule.
What are all the other candidates doing then?
SKY continually see themselves as making news. They’re twits! I emailed them and had a go — not that they’d pay any attention.
TSOP Naturally, Sheldon is the most entertaining character on that show. It is very clever.
The Big Ship @ 143
The ABC was destroyed under the hand Of Alston. All of what you say here is exactly how I’ve seen it. I assume that is how any thinking person would see it now. The only ABC station I listen to now (since the Alston holocaust) is the Classic station. When the news comes on, I switch it off. Their news service is little more than noise pollution. Very sad.
my say. fees at catholic secondary schools in Melbourne average 6,000.00 Private school fees usually range between 20,000 to 30,000.00. There is a big price difference.
Abbott is doing his campaign stunts in COALITION SEATS – a sign that they are really trying to keep what they already have, while Liberal HQ desperately hopes that the boat people stuff might get them a few more regional seats.
Andrew Lamming is one of the more odious Liberal MPs – it’d be a treat if he lost Bowman.
90 Collins St. is interesting because Michael Ronaldson re located his electoral office there very recently.
Where did Abbott get mobbed by the adoring students?
“Big Bang Theory” – Very funny show, both lead actors are terrific, the guy who plays Sheldon, and the guy who plays Leonard. 😉
If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.
[Where did Abbott get mobbed by the adoring students?]
A little Lutheran school. Pity they are too young to know what a jesuit is.
having never seen sky do they only do news all day
that must be boring
TTH. You must be delighted then?
Did the MSM really think that Rudd wouldn’t be campaigning hard in his electorate?
At least Sky are getting some competition from tomorrow night, although “Their ABC” will of course be pandering to the same audience – Liberal voters.
[Who is denigrating him? Give us a quote please.
You, to start with; using preferred prime minster instead of two party preferred to try and justify the actions undertaken, talking about secret internal polling, when the facts are plain. People where getting over the deck cleaning and the swing was from the greens back to Labor.
Ok the right faction of the Labor party has attempted to regain control (installing a person that is from the left and owes them nothing underlines just where they really are), that is politics, but to denigrate Rudd to try and justify their actions in my view is unacceptable. Rudd is no Latham.]
I’m not a politician, so I don’t count. No Labor politician has said anything bad about Rudd at all. As for my comments, all I have done here is try to explain why the events of 24 June happened. People were demanding an explanation, so I offered one. As I’ve said several times, Rudd was deposed because of two factors: the very bad internal polling (which you can refuse to believe in if you like), and his very bad relations with the great majority of the ministry and Caucus, caused by the way he and his staff chose to run the government. That’s not denigration, it’s just a statement of fact, which many others besides me have made. Neither factor on its own would have been enough – together they were fatal. I and others, including Possum, have explained several times why the public headline polls were soft and misleading. Labor was headed for defeat – now it’s not. Mission accomplished. As for it being a Right faction plot, is Kim Carr a member of the right? No. The Victorian Left were foundation members of the move against Rudd, which installed a member of the Victorian Left as PM.
[If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.]
Truthy, your delusions are looking seriously like they need treatment.
[Where did Abbott get mobbed by the adoring students?]
Some primary school he was at I think. In other words they were just children who probably recognised him from the tv…
[If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.]
Truthy certainly inhabits a parallel universe, where Abbott is PM, and those evil boat people never get to Australia. 😆
Not only is the BER a whole lot more than school halls (there are new class rooms to replace longstanding demountable structures, science labs, libraries etc), the BER is more than just schools
I know of two TAFE colleges in the Sydney metro area where the IT teaching section have proudly started started this semester with upgraded computer/IT facilities – so their students now have 21st century teaching facilities – yet another longstanding legacy of the BER.
BTW, John Alexander was handing out leaflets at Meadowbank Train station this morning. Wonder what Maxine is up to?
jenauthor and TSOP. It would be interesting to know which electorate that school was in. Was it a safe Liberal seat?
[Note that the Lutheran school where Abbott appeared this morning was in Bowman, not in a Labor seat. So even in Brisbane they feel they’re on the defensive.]
I saw a clip of this (with no sound) this morning, and looking at Andrew Laming in the background, his haircut (its OK for Gillard, so it is also good for the geese) reminded me of some only-vaguely-dateable-1935-1955 middle-aged-white-man…just continued the theme of the Sid James performance yesterday on Paris Hilton, out of touch men
[Very happy smiling Kev spruiking the benefits of the BER this arvo.]
Glad to see he’s back from his job interview at the U.N
Laocoon. Thanks.
BH: thanks for that.
The part in question occurs around the 3:15 mark. It was good to see the female host smack him down a bit by pointing out that Gillard is an accomplished campaigner who has not shown signs of tiredness in the past. But what a sexist remark to make. Women take longer to get ready in the morning, therefore there’s some question over her ability to last out the campaign.
Aside from the fact I doubt he knows how long either Gillard or Abbott take to dress each day, nothing said about Abbott, who gets up at ridiculous hours to ride his bike and run and what impact this might have on his campaign endurance. And instead of focusing on the policies of either party, this is the rubbish commentary the national broadcaster dredges up. Unbelievable.
Victoria, it was Andrew Laming’s seat, which is only a a low % to Lib. It could easily be tipped.
[If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.]
Spoken like a true believer.
Victoria, Pspehos said it was in Bowman.
Bowman is only a 0.005% margin on Antony Green’s calculator, so pretty prospective for Labor
Yes, thanks all for the info. I did not hear where the school was, when it was being reported.
Laming has a string of degrees and a great sounding CV.
But he is a nong. No doubt about it.
[If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.]
After the first couple of days of his campaign anything would have looked a success. Come 21 August Abbott will be dead, buried and cremated.
[ TheTruthHurts
Posted Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 1:55 pm | Permalink
If Abbott keeps going as successfully as he has so far, by election week he will be miles ahead of Labor.]
TTH Your going to be one sad puppy come election night. This is the Liberals biggest problem at the moment an absolute refusal to accept reality. Abbott is not prime minister material .full stop.
[Glad to see he’s back from his job interview at the U.N]
Not the UN! Rudd’s a part of the big conspiracy! I hope no mysterious black helicopters have been flying around your house lately!
I reckon there was never any doubt that Rudd would not win the election. The feeling I get, based on want has come to light since Rudd was rolled, is that the Labour members were concerned that Rudd would be more emboldened by his win – and centralise power even more than he already had done. And I guess that would unacceptable to the caucus and wider Labour Party.
[fees at catholic secondary schools in Melbourne average 6,000.00 Private school fees usually range between 20,000 to 30,000.00. There is a big price difference.]
yes same here and even less, thats my point most people budget for the small catholic schools and they are not really the type of people who would think abbott was giving them a big hand they worry more about the everday issues.
And we won’t forget that he rorted his postal allowance in 2007.