The latest Essential Research poll finds the parties locked in their post-carbon tax stasis, with the Coalition steady on 47 per cent, Labor steady on 35 per cent, the Greens up one to 10 per cent and two-party preferred steady on 54-46. The survey also includes the monthly approval rating, and finds both recovering from poor showings last time: Julia Gillard up four on approval to 41 per cent and down two on disapproval to 48 per cent, Tony Abbott up six on approval to 42 per cent and down four on disapproval 44 per cent (a trend replicated elsewhere), and Gillard’s preferred prime minister rating has narrowed fractionlly from 42-33 to 43-35. Further questions on the budget find 45 per cent believe the economy to be headed in the right direction – down six on post-2010 budget – and wrong direction up four to 29 per cent. Respondents were also asked about world terrorism and the death of Osama bin Laden, and a further question about our involvement in Afghanistan found opposition continuing to harden: those favouring an increase in troop numbers have dropped from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, those favouring withdrawal are up from 47 per cent to 56 per cent, while support for the existing commitment is steady on 30 per cent.
Costello used to rant and rave about his fantastic econimic management that Australia sustained growth during the Asian crisis!
What about Australia not falling into the much anticipated and expected recession during the GFC?
HYPOCRITES!
confessions
I should add. I have heard his name being bandied about in the media recently.
Thanks MTBW.
markjs
You are welcome!
mtbw
Thanks for the clarification.
Abbott wants an erection so he can make an honest women, oops PM out of Julia!
Well I suggest he takes packets and packets of “how to cost your policies” viagra, because he is so impotent he couldn’t get a pulse beat out of his brain!
Murphy is a celebrity lawyer.
http://www.murphyslawyers.com/christopher-murphy
Centre
That is an imagery I can do without!!
[For you Gary,
SpaceKidette Space Kidette
@TonyAbbottMHR making money from legititmate trade with China is bad? You suggest leaving the billions of dollars for someone else? Moron!]
Thankyou SK. Well said.
sorry victoria, perfectly understandable 😎
toolman is ex seminary
surely he believes in god?
Centre
Abbottabad really creeps me out!
[Abbott is saying if Labor achieves a surplus it will be due to China. I’m yet to work out why that is bad.]
back when i was a kid, the term “made in china” was a pejorative term used to denote something of shoddy construction, cheap and worthless material etc (as distinct from made in England or some other first world place)
so I figure TA is drawing this allusion to the quality of the budget settings
I didn’t listen to AM, but the transcript of the interview with Tone is interesting. He is so defensive and on the back foot basically throughout the whole interview. And there are pockets of juvenile responses that could’ve been written by the Young Libs:
[SABRA LANE: You challenged the Prime Minister last night to call an election once she decides the final details of her carbon tax.
TONY ABBOTT: Well once Bob Brown tells her what the final details ought to be.]
And bordering on the violent hostility we saw during the indies decision-making 4Corners when he rounded on that ABC journo:
[SABRA LANE: So you deny that you’re weakening these laws?
TONY ABBOTT: Of course I’m not. Self-evident, I mean, I mean self-evidently I’m not. And you’re not accusing me are you?
SABRA LANE: I’ve said it was the government.
TONY ABBOTT: Okay, alright.]
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3215758.htm
When he gets placed under a modicum of pressure he is reduced to nothing more than a gibbering thug. Imagine the effort that goes in every day to maintaining him at the minimal degrees of respectability we see. It must be a herculean effort.
sprocket
Spot on!
Gusface,
[toolman is ex seminary
surely he believes in god?]
Oh, THAT God! I thought maybe it was the pseudo one called Abbott.
victoria, to use a line that used to be said in the Comedy Company – Abbott is a very unattractive man!
Ben Fordam is perhaps the least anti-Labor person on 2GB these days, although he often professes to being a good mate of Abbott.
sproket_ @ 5713
I think you draw too long a bow there. It is a lot simpler.
He is trying to say that any surplus will be because of income from China’s mineral imports and the govt can claim no credit. Kind of a preemptive thing for when a surplus is achieved.
confessions
If Abbott was put under the same amount of pressure as the PM, he would have crumbled into a foetal position a very long time ago.
confessions
Just read that interview and I must admire Sabra Lane. No-one could accuse her of letting Abbott off. I apologise to her about what I said last year when I thought she was weak.
bemused
Sprocket is right. Products coming from China, still get the title of cheap and nasty
bemused
You are also correct 🙂
Btw has anyone heard from Dee lately?
+150K, two children in high school (private – don’t ask) checking in here. Rusted-on ALP voter, so rusted on in fact that I voted Labor at the last NSW election. Plenty of disposable income, we pretty much do as we please.
My only 2 tax minimisation schemes are a novated car lease, and giving money to charity rather than the government. The only government “handout” we get is 20% of our medical expenses over $1500.
I grew up in Balga in the ’60s and 70’s, I know what child endowment used to mean to my family – food and clothes. These days, the same payments (although re-labelled) mean the same thing to the people struggling, but oh so much more as we go up the income scale.
For those on median to average incomes, it provides a little bit of disposable income. For those on around $100K or more it’s spending money. If I were to get it, it could only be described as criminal.
The people who are on very good incomes complaining about losing a few dollars (because that’s what it is as you approach the cutoff) in supposed “welfare” absolutely disgust me. Anyone who takes their side disgusts me. Anyone who takes their side and then suggests they want to lead the country is likely to have a serious yet undiagnosed mental illness, yet they still disgust me.
Does that make me a bad person?
lizzie @ 5721
That is the second time I’ve heard Sabra Lane put on the boxing gloves with Abbott. Being the craving coward he is, I think Abbott will don his lycra suit and ride away to avoid her. Abbott tried being the bully boy during the AM interview but Sabra didn’t flinch and persisted even when he raised his voice to drown her out.
The next question to ask Tone is if he would aim to get the budget back into surplus without China. Also does that mean if he was PM would he be seeking to have China play a diminished financial role in Australia’s economic development.
autocrat
It makes you sensible person 🙂
Gary
A good question to be asked of Abbott.
Tony Burke presently on Sky launching his population policy
victoria @ 5728
It also marks autocrat as someone who sees that life will be better for all when the benefits are spread more equitably.
autocrat, I’m in the same “boat” 😉 as you – with the exception that I only have one child to worry about. And as you say, if my family were to be given a hand-out from government, I couldn’t live with myself.
Did anyone else hear Paul Keating mention Abbott-a-bad the other day? He wasn’t talking about Pakistan 😀
autocrat @5725
[Does that make me a bad person?]
Certainly not! It makes you to be a responsible, caring Australian who was not sullied by 11 years of the Howard regime, the remnants of which are doing their best to get hold of the reins again.
Chris Murphy grew up in a working class family in Punchbowl if I remember correctly and was one of six or seven kids. His sister and her family were members of the ALP in my area and another of his nieces was an Councillor on Leichhardt Council
Gary, there are many sensible questions that can be put to Abbott that could make him look like a complete fool.
If any journalist wants an opportunity to enhance their career, they should go for it, if they are capable!
bemused
Precisely. My philosophy has always been that if everyone has a fair go, my own life is better for it. There is nothing more distressing than seeing people struggle.
My parents always had the view that if our family friends and neighbors are well and having their needs met, our own lives are enriched. Basically a win win.
lizzie @ 5733
I didn’t hear that but have another story.
When the news of bin Laden’s death was coming through on the television, I saw the caption at the bottom of the screen and couldn’t believe the ‘Abbotabad’ and nearly fell off my chair. I thought it must have been some naughty person at the ABC doing a bit of hacking to create mischief and dived for my iPhone to take a photo so I could prove it really happened later.
It was only when I saw the comments on PB that I realised it was genuine 😆
But I still can’t stop grinning every time I hear or read it.
[victoria
Posted Friday, May 13, 2011 at 1:49 pm | Permalink
bg
Are suggesting that Abbott got the rhetoric wrong because it did not suit the occasion, and therefore he failed?]
In the full sense of rhetoric; yes.
If he wins the argument with just the flowery stuff, it shows you where we are on the rhetorical continuum in history.
I just got phone to workmate who has $170k family income 4 kids in private school and nice house in Sans Souci. I asked him if he will miss the govt handouts he replied probably not but thinks there getting a teenage rebate which will probably balance that out. He did stress that he doesn’t need the money but will take it if it’s offered.
I asked him how he felt about recieving welfare and he honestly never thought of it as welfare at all just thought of it as a tax cuts for families with children. This attitude is probably pretty common I suspect so we shouldn’t be down on people that recieve the benefit just the grubs who are milking it for political gain.
[He did stress that he doesn’t need the money but will take it if it’s offered.]
I hope he gives it to charity.
@ MTBW
Murphy is a lefty and always has been.
[chrismurphys chris murphy
by Paul_MJ
builder,driver,lawyer,butcher,baker,dentist,caretaker,labourer x of LIB&LABOR at coffee all say Budget ‘Pretty good’ .Can’t Tony Abbott?]
In Tasmanian news, David Bartlett has announced he will be resigning from the Tas parliament effective from today, rather than July as he was initially planning.
@ george
His wife will spend it on shoes
[This attitude is probably pretty common I suspect so we shouldn’t be down on people that recieve the benefit just the grubs who are milking it for political gain.]
Being commonly held doesn’t make it right. Without making any personal judgement abuot someone I don’t know, the fact that he doesn’t need the money but is prepared to take it anyway is an attitude that revolts me. Not as much as the people who earn 100 times what I do but pay no tax, but still somewhat sickening.
A piece on New Matilda about The Australian’s and News Ltd’s behaviour that might be of interest:
http://newmatilda.com/2011/05/13/bully-boy-tactics-oz
ABC34 “crossing over” to Morrison, having him drone on and on and on and on about a handful of boat people. Feck this guy is a scuzz-ball of the highest order
ABC34=ABC24
bg
I am trying very hard to be optimistic. I do not want Abbott to become PM ever. If We have to get a coalition govt, I will settle for Talculm. Beggars can’t be choosers!
[His wife will spend it on shoes]
🙁 🙁 🙁