This week’s Essential Research survey has Labor down a point on the primary vote to 36%, but is otherwise unchanged on last week: the Coalition on 47%, the Greens on 9% and the Coalition leading 53-47 on two-party preferred. With very good timing, it also offers us Essential’s monthly personal ratings, which unlike the voting intention figures are derived entirely from the most recent period of surveying from Wednesday to Sunday. These figures are also of particular interest in the current environment in that they involve a four (strong approval, approval, disapproval, strong disapproval) rather than two point scale. This finds Julia Gillard gaining two points on strong approval since last month to 9%, her best result since February 2011, while also gaining four points on the milder approval measure to 32%. Her combined approval rating of 41% is her highest since May 2011. Her combined disapproval rating is down three points to 51%, also her best since last May, with strong disapproval steady at 27% and the milder disapproval rating down three to 24%. Opinion of Tony Abbott would appear to have polarised even further: he is up three on strong approval to 9% – his best result since December 2010 – but also up two on strong disapproval to a new high of 31%. His overall approval is up five to 37%, and disapproval down one to 54%. Gillard has opened up a seven-point lead as preferred prime minister of 43-36, its highest since February.
The survey also gauges attitudes to the presidential election, finding Barack Obama favoured by 63% to just 9% for Mitt Romney, with Obama leading 53-18 even among Coalition voters. Respondents were found to have an overwhelmingly more favourable view of their own country than the United States with respect to access to health care and jobs, standard of living for ordinary people, and other such. The US obviously rated higher on “international influence”, but even here 17% felt able to conclude Australia’s was “better”. Respondents were also asked about climate change, with much the same result as when the question was last asked a year ago: 48% believe climate change is occurring as a result of human activity, with 39% plumping for “we are witnessing a normal fluctuation in the earth’s climate”.
TLBD
[Karzai said: “Welcome, Prime Minister” but he was looking over his right shoulder at the cameras.]
If he were really smart he would be looking behind his back.
They are coming for him. I wonder whether he will get right the timing of his flight to life-long luxury on plundered loot.
[bemused
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 6:51 pm | PERMALINK
Puff, the Magic Dragon.@175
Is GP about? Oh, Monday. The kitchen is probably closed.
On orders of the Health Inspectors?]
Could be as hear a bit of vermin has been sighted around the restaurant on some occasions
poroti,
Karzai, the US implant. When he gets done in the next election he better have that plane ready.
Boerwar
[Lahore is in Pakistan.]
With his generally antique views, Abbott probably keeps pre-1947 maps
Laocoon@204
Bit hard to tell but didn’t he say “The whore is in Afghanistan”?
[poroti
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 6:58 pm | PERMALINK
mari
Some Scots crazy for you.As someone commented about this video “I WANT THIS VIDEO TO BE THE FIRST THING ALIENS WITNESS WHEN ARRIVING UPON OUR PLANET”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rzkCkFIus
Scared me when first started, think perhaps Mr Vader may invest in a longer kilt with those knees. Typical Scottish day? But what balance Mr Vader has and lung power!!!
This little black duck
[
With his generally antique views, Abbott probably keeps pre-1947 maps
Bit hard to tell but didn’t he say “The whore is in Afghanistan”?]
As Oppositionsfuhrer Abbott is such a devout chap he may be banging on about “The Whore of Babylon”
It’s in the ACT but there is no mistaking the MO:
[The Canberra Liberals should do “the honourable thing” and pull their rates attack advertisements from the election campaign, says Chief Minister Katy Gallagher.
But leader Zed Seselja has said the Liberals will persist with their “triple rates” election attacks despite the author of a key piece of economic modeling in the campaign saying that his work was being misrepresented.]
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/libs-should-pull-rates-attack-gallagher-20121015-27m4q.html#ixzz29LyrdiLv
My photoessay: Julie Bishop, This Is Your Life – http://twitpic.com/b4c5za/full – Your boss insulted u by saying Peta Credlin is the defacto Dep LOTO
Abbott arrives in Simla
[The Viceroy. I D-E-M-A-N-D to see the Viceroy]
mari
[But what balance Mr Vader has and lung power!!!]
Aye but any alien considering invasion would at such a sight flee 🙂
Finns,
Will you be doing a doco on the rise and “where did my career go?” of the loyal deputy?
[134
guytaur
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 6:01 pm | PERMALINK
“@JohnFBruce: Lateline tonight: Shinkai Karokhail, a member of Afghanistan’s national parliament.And Eric Abetz on Craig Thomson. Lateline at 10:35”
“@guytaur: @JohnFBruce @Lateline Where is the Green and Labor comment on Thomson for balance?”]
First question to Bill Shorten would be does he stand by the head of FWA against Thomson’s assertion that FWA have been pressured to initiate complaint. Yes he muSt answer. Does he consider it appropriate that a member of parliament make such an assertion? No he must answer. In light of your answers, is Mr Thomson fit to remain in parliament?
Thanks Craig.
george’s latest.
http://tinyurl.com/8zzfpq7
Ducky, what do you have in mind?
For those who missed this from shellbell http://tonyandponies.tumblr.com/
Finns
Bishop junior is a subtle one
Same earrings in all 3: Tones better watch out if the “killing-fields-earrings” come out 👿
OMG, i miss Margie and the Kids
L, that is very observant of you
The Finnigans@215
I thought I might watch Leigh getting handbagged, followed by Lance Armstrong getting bagged, followed by Mr Holmes bagging the OM, followed by Bill and Pamela putting Sophie in a chaff bag.
ducky
🙂
[poroti
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 7:19 pm | PERMALINK
mari
But what balance Mr Vader has and lung power!!!
Aye but any alien considering invasion would at such a sight flee ]
Plus any passing Aussie?
A Bludger has just pointed out to me (Laocoon) that Mesma is wearing her deadly “killing-fields-earrings” – http://twitpic.com/b4c5za/full
A volatile day’s trading in shares of FXJ, but down again, to a new all time low again, of $0.385
(I suspect it has got to be due for some sort of at least short term bounce soon…)
This little black duck
[Finns,
Will you be doing a doco on the rise and “where did my career go?” of the loyal deputy?]
Eventually but till then they put a song out.
[She’s a good girl but everyone said she was a goddess
……….
She’s a good girl but no one is giving you the reason
They’ve got a machine making you someone for everyone
But you wouldn’t notice
You’d better just come down, come down]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPO0EBJFiUs
The Margieblitz, the deployment of CCTVs in Ms Meagher’s neighbourhood, sinking the Slipper into the sexist Mr Slipper, and serial deployment of Ms Bishop have been elements in a concerted strategy that appears to have yielded Mr Abbott a 5% climb in satisfaction ratings as measured by Essential.
See? This shit works.
Laocoon
The proverbial dead cat bounce.
Does Mesma wear the same pearls everyday? Of just to assassinations?
Finns
To the naked eye, they look like particularly fine pearls
We know better of course; they are actually prisms to magnify the death stare 👿
Finns,
Loyal Deputy will be having a hard time till the next election.
– Wheat Board
– Keeping the Lib wolves from #sensitivetony
– Choosing whom to be loyal to next
– Choosing a career come November 2013.
mari
[Plus any passing Aussie?]
Anyone with nae Scots heritage 🙂
It seems they are in nearly every picture of Ms Bishop.
Finns
Looking at those three LOTOs, my first thought was “Who could you trust?”
Oohmann shows the I’m-So-Righteous SHY to push his anti-government line.
Now for some edited footage of Leigh v Nicola.
[poroti
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 7:35 pm | PERMALINK
mari
Plus any passing Aussie?
Anyone with nae Scots heritage]
Aye, especially with ancestry south of the border?
Nicola is in cams with a target over her heart.
Just watching Tony Robinson’s Time Walks. Going through Carlton and Melbourne. Last topic a dodgey politician called Costello. Who just happens to be the hammock dweller’s great grand dad. Toryism must be genetic.
Destroy The Joint @JointDestroyer
Tweeps, advertising will start up again on the Alan Jones breakfast program on 2GB873 tomorrow. Please share your thoughts on this
I asked who are they?
Destroy The Joint @JointDestroyer
Tweeps, advertising will start up again on the Alan Jones breakfast program on 2GB873 tomorrow. Please share your thoughts on this
I asked who are they?
That is the first time I have double posted , how did I do that, must be the importance of the comment?
Nicola handbags Leigh, who is not amused.
Why hasn’t this been mentioned on the ABC tonight?
[Murdoch calls hacking victims ‘scumbag celebrities’]
I here repost my summary of the financial impact of the Greens policies on asylum seekers.
[Summary: This set of policies is almost impossible to cost for the simple reason that the Greens express no intention to limit numbers. They also intend to create an almost endless number of a new category of refugee: environmental refugees. There are already tens of millions of potential environmental refugees so this makes costings doubly difficult. There are substantial savings of around $2.5 billion to be made from scrapping offshore processing but these would be more than offset by the additional number of refugees settled in Australia. I have assumed a figure of 100,000 a year but it could easily be a lot more than that.
The costs are, therefore, essentially uncapped. Nor will the Greens change the policies to cap numbers because to do so they would have to indicate how they would deter asylum seekers. They have made it quite clear that deterrence is ‘unkind’ and that they will not be a party to what they call ‘punishing’ asylum seekers. In the absence of deterrence there is no effective way of capping the numbers and therefore of expenditures. I assume that some of the policies are out of date because of recent changes to the legislation. There is a substantial offset in terms of reduction of current costs of offshore processing of around $2.5 billion.
Additional expenditure over forward estimates after offsets are taken into account: $3.04 billion. Additional revenue identified: zero.]
Ms Hanson-Young today threw around some pejoratives in relation to asylum seekers. Unfortunately, she has zero, zip, de nada, credibility on the issues because she does not have to hand a costed and funded alternative set of policies.
Ms Hanson-Young ought to get out of her sandpit and join the adult policy discussion.
Tom Hawkins@243
Look, over there ➡ a unicorn!
I showed OH the flying scotsma. She said that he was no kin and was, in fact, almost certainly an agent provacateur Sassanach in drag.
Some sad news for all cricket lovers.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/7818860/Cricket-great-Martin-Crowe-diagnosed-with-cancer
Why does Leigh Sales always sound like someone who’s complaining that her bus was late?
Boerwar,
With eyebrows like that she should join the party of Ming.
OH says hawkish eyebrows on women is all the rage. I did O tempora o mores!
[Tom Hawkins
Posted Monday, October 15, 2012 at 7:46 pm | PERMALINK
Why hasn’t this been mentioned on the ABC tonight?
Murdoch calls hacking victims ‘scumbag celebrities’]
Now Ton you are smarter than that