Welcome back. While we were away:
• Newspoll published state results for every mainland state except Western Australia, where an election will be held on March 9, the result for which can presumably be expected shortly. There was also Newspoll’s quarterly geographical and demographic aggregate for federal voting intention. Essential Research provided state voting intention results for the three largest states, exclusive to the Poll Bludger. Posts on each of these releases can be found below this one.
• Newspoll also published results from its mid-December poll finding improving confidence for standard of living, with 13% expecting an improvement over the next six months (up one), 58% expecting it to stay the same (up eight) and 27% expecting it to worsen (down nine). GhostWhoVotes also provided Newspoll findings from a mid-year survey into appreciation of the ABC, which was found to be immensely and deservedly greater than anything the organisation’s critics at News Limited could ever dream of.
• A generally commendable discussion paper on electoral reform by the Queensland government caught the attention of the media and the federal government by floating, among many other things, the possibility that compulsory voting might be abolished. In this it was no different from the green paper composed for the Rudd government in 2009 by then Special Minister of State John Faulkner, but such has been the Newman government’s penchant for radicalism that its thought bubbles are being treated with greater than usual seriousness.
[It seems that Harmer did not file any appeal stuff today, time has run out for the Federal Court.]
So it was all bluff?
[448
ruawake
Posted Monday, January 7, 2013 at 7:12 pm | PERMALINK
It seems that Harmer did not file any appeal stuff today, time has run out for the Federal Court.
]
I thought they had till,17th Jan?
Rummel You take care, full house here for next few days, so not much posting but just take care OK
Scientists on ABC news sayng its better for children to play video games than watch tv.
Science confirming common sense.
Fiona
[Rummel,
Just remember, if you’re driving through a river or other water …]
Driving into a river or dam is a good option tomorrow and I do have very good experience in that area 🙂
@margokingston1: BREAKING NEWS: Sources say the Slipper charges involve 3 lots of cab travel in 2010 and in total involve less than $1000.00. #auspol
[I thought they had till,17th Jan?]
Federal Court rules state 21 days. Not working days, not holidays excepted, 21 days. Time is up.
[But I’m always comforted when anti-Semitism and illiteracy come as a package, as here. Ignorance rarely travels alone.]
I’m always confronted when valid criticism of Israel is always called out as anti-semitism.
It’s a well worn strategy used to shut down legitimate debate.
ruawake @ 457
Well spotted and calculated.
So now Slipper has to get his costs I presume. That will be extremely interesting and put Ashby under a lot of pressure.
[It’s a well worn strategy used to shut down legitimate debate.]
I love legitimate debate. I’ve said several times I’m happy to debate this subject all day. All I got in response was abuse.
Dee @ 458
Well said.
Shellbell – isn’t Slipper just appearing on a summons in Feb? or have charges already been laid. I’ve been retired too long and can’t remember how long the matter will take to be heard after that – enlighten the old brain, please?
Isn’t the relevant point that the offence with which Slipper is charged carries a penalty of up to 5 years jail? Regardless of the ACTUAL sentence he gets, I think that means he is disqualified from office in terms of the Constitution.
Or have I got it wrong?
Also, what is the result if he is found guilty but a conviction is not recorded?
Isn’t there some kind of convention in the Fed court that a period over xmas / new year doesn’t count for the 21 days to ask for an appeal??
ajm@463
That is my understanding and I asked the same question earlier.
Where are all the lawyers when you need one? 😀
Happy New Year to all
Thanks to those who asked about my safety in Tassie. We were very lucky and changed our departure from Hobart to Launceston purely by chance, otherwise we would have been right in the middle of it. We certainly drove through areas that were devastated a few days later, like Bicheno and Eaglehawk Neck.
I commented repeatedly to people that bush fires looked to be a big threat given how dry it was and with so many houses in the scrub. They told me it only happened about every 30 years and to stop worrying. I think a lot of homes will be lost as they just didn’t think it was very likely. It will be interesting to see if they rebuild the same as before.
ajm
If, and its a huge if, Slipper is convicted. He will have to stand down after all appeals are exhausted. (about a decade).
[We were very lucky and changed our departure from Hobart to Launceston purely by chance, otherwise we would have been right in the middle of it.]
diog, you meanz my killer wombat squad missed you?
[In sweeping changes announced by Commissioner Ian Stewart this morning, up to 110 of the state’s 400 commissioned officers and a further 212 staff members will be cut.]
Russ Hinze would be proud of ya Campbell. 😛
[(ii) is attainted of treason, or has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer; or]
So will be interesting to see if Slipper is convicted and sentenced and gets a fine or good behaviour bond or suchlike if this section applies.
Has anyone ever had to argue a situation before where the max sentence is more than a year but, the actual sentence is less, and a further sanction is applied (disqualification from your job) that is based on the max sentence??
Oh i know, we’ll just wait for on opinion from Brandis, that will clear it up. 🙂
On Slipper, even if he is found guilty, he will almost certainly get a suspended sentence and no conviction recorded the same as Mary Jo Fisher. And it will take ages.
It pretty ho-hum except the politics looks a bit average.
I should also mention Hilary Clinton. She has had a small subdural haematoma detected. They often resolve spontaneously if they are small and asymptomatic. It should no affect her fitness to run in 2016.
[On Slipper, even if he is found guilty, he will almost certainly get a suspended sentence and no conviction recorded the same as Mary Jo Fisher. ]
Now that would be juicy. 🙂
This Parliament expires on 27 September. So if a vacancy in Fisher occurred later than about May, Madame Speaker would be well within precedent in not calling a by-election, but leaving the seat vacant until the dissolution.
Wasn’t Mary-Jo Fisher (Lib Senator) found guilty of shoplifting, but not convicted, alllowing her to remain in Parliament?
If my recollection is correct, Slipper would have to be convicted, not just found guilty, to be ineligible to sit in Parliament.
what a fizzer – nothing to do with matters by Mr Slipper’s former staffer James Ashby http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/peter-slipper-to-face-charges/story-fn3dxiwe-1226549061503 … – next!
[46 Penalty for sitting when disqualified
Until the Parliament otherwise provides, any person declared by this Constitution to be incapable of sitting as a senator or as a member of the House of Representatives shall, for every day on which he so sits, be liable to pay the sum of one hundred pounds to any person who sues for it in any court of competent jurisdiction.]
This could be interesting.
Finns
Your options were limited in Tassie. They don’t have any big animals although I did pat a devil.
Rua, see this
https://twitter.com/i/connect
I have a print of this behind glass hanging just near the TV. Just as a reminder. Ladsat 26 January 2003:
http://www.ga.gov.au/servlet/BigObjFileManager?bigobjid=GA18152
Diogenes
[
Finns
Your options were limited in Tassie. They don’t have any big animals although I did pat a devil.]
I had a squad of NZ Fur Seals patrolling the waters down south. They were very disappointed 🙂
PMJG on 7:30
BH
He has been charged on summons which is in contrast to being charged and remanded on bail or in custody.
Just like those
Psephos
Is it the Speaker who decides if there should be a by election? What if parlt votes to recommend a by election?
Diog, i did call off my Tassie Devil Squad, else you would be still there 😡
BH
He has been charged on summons which is in contrast to being charged and remanded on bail or in custody.
Just like those green peace activists who whipper snippered the Csiro crop. I don’t think they have been sentenced yet after 18 months even though they wear their guilt on their sleeves.
poroti
We’re thinking of NZ for 2014. Queenstown or something like that in the winter. I’ve never been to the snow for more than a few hours.
Federal court rule.
[ (5) If the time fixed includes a day in the period starting on 24 December in a year and ending on 14 January in the next year, the day is not to be counted.]
[It is alleged he used the cars beyond the boundary of the ACT – breaching a little-known rule concerning MPs’ travel.]
So how the feck do the AFP expect to prove he did it dishonestly, knowing it was a dishonest act?
The annoying thing about the Slipper charges is that it will allow the MSM and the opposition to continue to ignore the Ashby ruling; see, we told youse he was bad.
Given he was a member of Abbott’s party and preselected at the time of the alleged offences, he is very much Abbott’s problem. Right?
@JuliaGillard: To help victims of the Tasmanian bushfires, please consider donating to the Red Cross: http://t.co/YRycBGud TeamJG
Obama’s fiscal cliff bill.
Oh to be rich.
How many Americans? The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington put the total at 77.1 percent of all wage earners. In fact, “More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said,” according to a Bloomberg News article. Hilariously, the tax burden will rise more for someone making $30,000 a year (1.7 percent) than it does for someone earning $500,000 annually (1.3 percent).
http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/6/obama-supporters-shocked-angry-new-tax-increases/?page=1
Missed this one BK?
.
I wonder if any other MP’s have taken hire cars beyond the boundaries of the ACT, perhaps inadvertently.
Someone should be looking into this.
shellbell@487
So where is the 21 days specified?
So far as I know, the Speaker advises the GG of the vacancy, and the GG isues the writ. I don’t think anyone else gets a say. In practise of course the Speaker consults with the government. The last time this happened was when Phil Cleary’s by-election win in Wills was invalidated in November 1992. The seat remained vacant until the election in March 1993.
For your pleasure, The Ballets Russes, a short furphy
http://furphycrat.com/
Hat Tip to AFP for finding the $900 ACT Boundary Breach on Slipper but couldnt find anything with the AWB $290M bribe to Saddam Hussein
haines
Obviously I missed it. The whole problem started with the Bush tax cuts and exemptions which were temporary.
He was bloody hopeless.
When Abbott does his trips to Queanbeyan business members of the Libs, do any of his staffers take hire cars?
[Given he was a member of Abbott’s party and preselected at the time of the alleged offences, he is very much Abbott’s problem. Right?]
*Sighs wearily* Wrong. Once he ratted, he was Labor’s problem. This is a mirror image of the Colston case. Colston rorted his travel for years as a Labor Senator. As soon as he ratted, Labor revealed all it had known about him but had (shamefully) concealed. The odium fell on Howard, who had procured Colston’s defection by offering to make him Deputy President. Here it is Labor that has procured the defection of a member, hence the odium falls on Labor.
Bemused
The appeal time is probably 14 days.
[ (a) within 14 days after the date on which the judgment was pronounced or the order was made; or]
However because the judgment was delivered on 12 December the 14 day period slips into the 24 December – 14 January window of nothingness, hence why 17 January is mentioned as the final date.