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”.
I’m always amused by people who wander up to me during election campaigns and ask me – quite seriously – why I haven’t changed my name to “Sue” or something.
Become a candidate and instantly the normal rules of polite behaviour don’t seem to apply – and the strange thing is, people seem totally oblivious to the fact they’re not treating you the way they normally would.
I was once chatting to two very nice old gentlemen in one of the ‘back of bush’ towns. One of them said very seriously that if I went to Canberra I’d have to be careful because of the amount of wife swapping that went on there.
I pointed out that, as a wife, I wasn’t going to get swapped.
“Oh, you might be a lesbian, though,” was the response.
Poroti,
Are you taking my great great great great grand-uncle’s delightful pome in vain?
zoomster,
It would be worth campaigning again just for the commentary. I am sure there is a book in it somewhere! 😉
[Did you follow my tips last sat.and clean up]
No I didn’t bet joe that day unfortunately, but I saw your tips and they were good.
No 5 in the first tomorrow, A time for Julia., Canali in the 6th, Glencadam Gold for the Cup and Diamond lady as a roughie in the last
fiona
[
Poroti,
Are you taking my great great great great grand-uncle’s delightful pome in vain]
Opps ,the “To an Abbott” poem was actually written by the famous jewish Aberdeen bard Rabbi Burns 🙂 There will be a great horde of scots sending envy rays in your direction. What a rellie ! 🙂
Zoomie
You could always change your name to Panopoulos, that would confuse the buggers. 😆
Zoomster,
I’m not sure, but in a strange way that comment could almost be seen as a compliment – albeit back-handed!
By the way, a moment ago something weird happened: my PB page tried to turn into the AFR … dah di dah dah dah di dah dah … and today when I summoned the lift to take me to my final class of the year I was the only person in it – and this at class changeover time when usually you can only get into the lift if you have a prior booking.
poroti,
Robbie Burns and I have the same birthday, January 25th! Maybe THAT’s why I am good at poetry? Then again, I am probably not good at poetry. Just morphing it a little. 🙂
[Destroy the Context @SpaceKidette
Anthony has obviously attended, and passed with honours, the Alan Jones Master Class for Apologising. #clueless ]
So more than 12 hours after Australia wins a seat on the security council Greg Sheridan, THE foreign editor for the OO, has written………….diddly squat about it. Why is it so ?
UN security council seat… As beneficial as an Oprah tour.
C@tmomma,
Well, moi’s birthday is 14 July, which is undoubtedly why moi is so good at decapitation 😆
rummel,
[ Katrina Hart, a clinical support officer at Prince of Wales and HSU Randwick Campus sub-branch president, called Mr Thomson’s bluff and said: “Craig Thomson, you are a liar, you paid for prostitutes with my money and the money of every other HSU member. You (took) $100,000 from us. I dare you to sue me.” ]
[ A hospital porter, who wished to be identified as Andrew, has worked at Prince of Wales for 16 years and said “people here feel burnt” by Mr Thomson’s actions, which have been detailed in Fair Work Australia’s 193-page statement of claim filed in the Federal Court on Monday.
“Seriously, everyone here at the hospital has just given up on believing this man. It’s all crap,” Andrew said of Mr Thomson’s claims that he was innocent of all charges. ]
Errrr! Rumms!
It might be worth your while and that of the people you have quoted here to wait until whatever proceedings “DO” take place and are finalised before you Put the noose around this fellow’s neck and pull the lever.
If there are no findings against him, you and your fellow travelers will have had the satisfaction of doing irreparable damage to the reputations of his wife, children, siblings, mother, father, mother-in law, father-in law and numerous other close relatives and friends of all.
You have been quite a worry to me here lately. Maybe you think it gives you some sort of status to continually bait the Labor supporters here, but you are dead wrong.
You were privileged in my opinion to gain a considerable degree of respect from the left leaning supporters here, many of them worthy of claiming to be worthwhile of handing out respect to others.
This was amply demonstrated with the amount of support that you received in your run in support of your team and mate. You got stuff all from Lib supporters here but we didn’t support you because we are stupid,. We supported you because we thought you were worthwhile of that support.
In many cases, that financial support was quite costly to many of us who have limited resources at the best of times.
It saddens me to think that you gained a great deal of respect from people here that do matter and you seem determined to throw it down the drain like it was of no consequence.
I’ve been wishing to pull you up on your recent deviations from decency often in recent times but didn’t know how to do it and still; maintain your good standing with your fellows here on PB.
Really, I think it’s up to you. Either be a valued contributor on the site, or be an rsssole like so many Lib supporters that we see throughout the internet.
Sorry, but that’s the way I see it.
SK
One of the local lawyers wrote a book about his life here. My favorite story from it…
He stopped at a lookout to stretch his legs. Walking back towards the car, he saw a brown snake beside the road and casually lobbed a rock in its direction.
Five seconds later he found himself on the bonnet of his car, with the snake in hot pursuit. He turned around to find it was climbing on the bonnet and lunging at him.
He had to climb on the roof of the car and wait for it to calm down…
ru
the election after Sophie’s marriage, there were rumours that someone was going to change their name by deed poll to Sophie Panapolous and run as a candidate.
Unfortunately, that’s all they were…
fiona
well, the conversation began with “Are you the best the Labor party can come up with?”
But it was all quite innocent. They just had no idea.
N2T,
[As beneficial as an Oprah tour.]
I detect the voice of sadder but wiser experience. Would you care to share? PB has a wondrous team of counsellors, would can be guaranteed to resolve all those nagging inner issues and ensure that you return to the righteous path of earning megabucks, and hence confirming your status as one of the spiritually elect.
As a camel.
Zoomster,
[They just had no idea.]
How quickly did they learn the error of their ways?
zoomster,
Ha! Glad it wasn’t me! I’m sure I would have made Usain Bolt look like a tortoise!
zoomster
[Five seconds later he found himself on the bonnet of his car, with the snake in hot pursuit. He turned around to find it was climbing on the bonnet and lunging at him.
He had to climb on the roof of the car and wait for it to calm down…]
Was it a Gwardar ( Western Brown) ? I tried to catch one of those and rather than the usual snake run away I had to set the world standing start 40 meter jumping backwards record. They have “tude in spades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudonaja_nuchalis
Boerwar@4191
What to cheerypick indeed! The best denial parody site out there is http://denialdepot.blogspot.com.au/
It is very funny yet demonstrates Poe’s Law that accurate parody can be bloody hard to differentiate from pure crazy. I haven’t looked at Watt or Nova because I’m having a pleasant evening but I’m sure it’s exactly the same, just seriously crazy.
Currently I’m enjoying the sights of Cessnock. Has me in a bit of a mood.
fiona,
And you speak French! 😀
Evening everyone.
This is terrible news:
[Three people died and a child was seriously injured in a crash on the Capricornia Highway in central Queensland.
A car with a family of four inside collided with a semi-trailer west of Emerald around 2pm (AEST).
Emergency services said the parents died at the scene and a child was pronounced dead later in the evening.
Another child was flown to a Brisbane hospital in a serious condition.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-19/three-killed2c-children-wounded-in-highway-crash/4323752
A child has lost his/her family all at once. 🙁
I thought the Oprah tour was quite beneficial?
scorpio@4363,
As one who has benefited from your wise counsel, I hope rummel takes note of your sage advice tonight. I get the feeling that inside rummel is a decent human being, but that he can’t get away from the influences of his peer group.
New2This
[Currently I’m enjoying the sights of Cessnock. Has me in a bit of a mood]
You mean there are plural of “sight” in Cessnock ? Sacre Beaujolais !!
fiona
I was carted along to church at least once every Sunday for the bulk of my formative years.
If nothing else, that’s good training for smiling politely as dear old codgers rabbit on talking rubbish…
@zoomster/4374
Don’t Feed the Trolls
zoomster
[I thought the Oprah tour was quite beneficial?]
I was in Sydney during the time she was there. Fcuk me was there a heap of activity because of it.CBD businesses must have made a packet out of it. The queue for tickets stretched around the Opera House.
poroti
Not in this neck of the woods…very definitely Eastern!
I was walking up our laneway one summer a few years ago and suddenly jumped backwards (I swear I hadn’t heard or seen anything; total reflex).
A brown snake whipped across the path, just where I would have been.
Never seen anything move so fast (it, not me). They are just amazing animals.
New2This
What was the name again of that company you lost your job from? As well as 400 others due to the carbon tax?
[I was carted along to church at least once every Sunday for the bulk of my formative years.
If nothing else, that’s good training for smiling politely as dear old codgers rabbit on talking rubbish…]
zoomster:
I’ll pay that comment!
🙂
Grow up joe…
C@tmomma,
[ I hope rummel takes note of your sage advice tonight. I get the feeling that inside rummel is a decent human being, ]
I hope so too as having had personal contact with him and his lovely wife, I have found it extremely hard to sit back and see him come out with so much low grade baiting and nonsense more suited to some of the pea brains from Bolters and Pies blogs.
He is better than that as those who have met him would attest.
Zoomster,
[I was carted along to church at least once every Sunday for the bulk of my formative years.
If nothing else, that’s good training for smiling politely as dear old codgers rabbit on talking rubbish…]
As I grew up in an agnostic/atheist household – even though I went to an Anglican school – I didn’t have the benefit of that training.
Maybe that’s why I have never considered politics as an option…
C@tmomma
rummel has a senior role in a vital and respected profession.
But he is just a sneering smartarse who flip flops from calling the libs turds to them being his heroes.
I don’t regret donating to the excellent cause he was involved in, but I do regret the donation was ever associated with him.
poroti,
[ The queue for tickets stretched around the Opera House. ]
You meant the “Oprah” House, of course! 😉
from afr… so far so good
http://afr.com/p/national/china_to_test_gillard_on_security_F0M4ZS78UfSPLsmM2XDhBK
New2This
Just tell me the name and I will grow up. Or Admit You were speaking shit to make a political point.
poroti @ 4348 quoting Robbie Burns
Burns’ poem To a Mouse is wonderful, especially for the last verse. In a few lines he voices the bewilderment of many at Teflon Tony, reminds us of Tony’s history and then expresses our common thought.
On a serious note.
[Worldwide, an estimated 169·3 million years of healthy life were lost because of cancer in 2008. ]
See latest Lancet Oncology.
What a waste. 🙁
Joe6pack,
Don’t let him off the hook.
He’s certainly not new to this. More of an artful dodger, I would say! 😉
I commented on another site today that I remember seeing Alexander Downer speak of UN politics a few weeks back. When contrasting the stuff he said with the stuff said by current Coalition frontbenchers, it’s clear the Right side of politics is in quite a sad state.
Yep, compared to these bozos, Downer is quite moderate and rational! 😛
[ lyne lady
Posted Friday, October 19, 2012 at 9:17 pm | Permalink
from afr… so far so good
http://afr.com/p/national/china_to_test_gillard_on_security_F0M4ZS78UfSPLsmM2XDhBK ]
The chinese are dreaming. Just dreaming. They can *expect* whatever they want. Australia will make its own mind up.
[ Chinese officials have signalled Beijing expects Australia to take a less pro-American approach to diplomacy on the United Nations Security Council, a sign the Gillard’s Government successful campaign for the seat may force it to side against Australia’s major trading partner in international disputes.]
zoomster
[A brown snake whipped across the path, just where I would have been.
Never seen anything move so fast (it, not me). They are just amazing animals.]
Yep the browns are like greased lightning. Yours are more venomous than ours. In fact the Easterns are are the second most venomous land snake in the world. For speed though you should see the Whip Snake up Darwin way. I think it is second only to the Mamba. Fortunately it is not aggressive and not highly venomous.Beautiful velvet skin though.
In business, I was always taught two rules:
Rule #1 The customer is always right.
Rule #2 If the customer is wrong, refer to Rule #1
The point is, that without customers you ain’t got a business. And bad customer service means they tell their friends, who tell theirs, who these days blog and tweet…
Simple? Not for journalists it seems
http://limitednews.com.au/2012/10/a-note-on-journasplaining/
Thank the goddesses that the brown snakes prefer flight to fight, otherwise I would never leave the house! 🙁
scorpio
[poroti,
The queue for tickets stretched around the Opera House.
You meant the “Oprah” House, of course! 😉 ]
😆
scorpio
We both know his name should be full of shit
[Worldwide, an estimated 169·3 million years of healthy life were lost because of cancer in 2008.]
Six months ago I lost an uncle to cancer – aged 56. My other uncle has just been diagnosed with lung cancer – aged 70 something. And one of my friends has just lost his brother to cancer yesterday – aged 49.