This week’s lead to the Coalition in Nielsen, together with a particularly bad result for Labor from Essential, has given the Coalition a two-party lead in the weekly BludgerTrack poll aggregate for the first time this year, albeit by the barest of margins. This represents a considerable move on last week’s result, which equally reflects the fading effect of Labor’s 54-46 and 53-47 leads in Newspoll and ReachTEL three to four weeks ago. With the electoral terrain favouring the Coalition, a fairly comfortable majority is recorded on the seat projection, with four coming off the Labor gains from Queensland since last week, together with two each from New South Wales and Victoria and one each from Western Australia and Tasmania. A new set of leadership figures is provided by Nielsen, which maintains the slowly narrowing trajectory on preferred prime minister and slightly lifts both leaders on net satisfaction.
Frodo
You would have thought the Liberal Unicorn Squad might have kept that one in the back pocket for something really, really serious.
Sinodinos gone? Hockey with an Obeid smell about him? Abbott stained by his lack of judgement in elevating and then defending Sinodinos? Cormann grinning because he both Finance Minister and Hockey’s No 2?
In your view, BTW, what are we looking at in terms of the management of the AWH: Criminal negligence or just plain old style spivsters gorging on the taxpayer?
It is just as well that Sinodinos is (oops, ‘was’) leading the Abbott Government’s charge to get rid of the regulations on the finance industry spivs, is it not?
No wonder the Coalition does not want us to know about cruelty to animals.
It sounds like Schott should get the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
Boerwar
Lol!
Mike
I am sorry for the late reply but my niece called to discuss a problem she had.
I just watched the Tania speech and she hit the nail on the head.
Community links don’t matter it is money that calls the shots. She was both passionate and compassionate we need more politicians like her.
Boerwar
It also sounds that it was going after Schott that brought the spivs undone
The questions of Sinodinos are these:
(1) Did he see nothing?
(2) Was he there?
(3) When he was managing his 10 person AWH empire, did he even get up in the morning?
http://au.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=A111AU105&p=utube+sergeant+schulz+i+know+nothing
v
She deserves a medal.
[I don’t believe I was defending anyone ]
Well may you believe that.
Boerwar
Agreed.
BW
You left out one.
While there was AS so off his face on drugs (too many codrals perhaps) he had no idea what was happening?
[Kate McClymont @Kate_McClymont · 14m
Karam said another investor in AWH was Rod de Aboitiz who was “an intellectual star” at St Patrick’s. Other grads: Obeids & Watson SC #icac]
There you go. In my day it was famous for having men with beards playing in the U15 rugby sides.
David Calleja @davidjcalleja 2m
@randlight They implode like pimples on a face after a Cadbury’s binge. Use Clearisinodinos to remove all zits from the surface.
Love this tweet on the problems LNP is having at moment all over the country
[The massive donation from developer and former banker Kung Chin Yuan was paid into the then prime minister’s Griffith electorate branch bank account on September 3, allegedly without the knowledge of state Labor officials legally responsible for campaign contributions.]
I agree with Frodo’s conclusion: Kevin Rudd should be driven right out of politics. He must pay the ultimate price.
Oh, wait….
So Counsel assisting went to the same school.
[There you go. In my day {St. Pat’s} was famous for having men with beards playing in the U15 rugby sides.]
Ah yes, those men with beards…
In MY day there, we had precisely one genuine “wog”. Sure there were Italians a plenty, but no Asians and just the one Lebanese.
He had to shave at lunchtime when he was 12.
No wonder so many Middle Eastern types don’t bother, and just grow beards. It’s quicker.
We only had the Fergusons way back when. Laurie was in my class, and always came first in History. Martin was a couple of classes behind.
Both have gone on to illustrious careers, no doubt about that.
Other St. Pat’s boys are John Brown (of bonking over the office desk fame), Doug Sutherland (one time dodgy Lord Mayor of Sydney), Craig Emerson, Tony Burke, Tom Kenneally and – the black sheep of the Old Boys Union – former Liberal leader, John Brogden (whom I met once, and came to the conclusion he was a terrific bloke, if a class traitor).
Later on came the Obeids, the Di Giralamos and Watson SC, their nemesis.
The rot clearly set in when the last Christian Brother retired and the fees consequently went up.
An Christian Brothers ex-teacher of mine, whom I met for lunch recently, told me the Brothers were always uncomfortable teaching the sons of reasonable well-to-do middle class businessmen and tradespeople. They felt they should work with the poor, not the well-off (which is what they now do).
Once the spivs moved in, the place went to hell.
Lovely grounds, though. I still hanker for the simpler days of study and going for walks through the cicada-heavy gum trees peppered all though the property.
BB,
As we have seen from Obeid and Thomson simply leaving politics is not a get out of jail card.
Even Kevin Rudd is accountable to the laws of Australia whether he is in parliament or not.
….and the Gleesons (eg Justin SC, Solicitor General, the the Hague for OZ against East Timor).
I don’t missing being trampled all over at Hudson Park.
Bushfire, did you ever know a Brother Lipman?
Coming soon to a news service near you.
[Robot writes LA Times earthquake breaking news article
The Los Angeles Times was the first newspaper to publish a story about an earthquake on Monday – thanks to a robot writer.
Journalist and programmer Ken Schwencke created an algorithm that automatically generates a short article when an earthquake occurs.
Mr Schwencke told Slate magazine that it took around three minutes for the story to appear online.
“Robo-journalism” is increasingly being used in newsrooms worldwide.]
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26614051
And the great thing is you can program your robo-journalists for the exact level of right-wing bias you want.
[I don’t missing being trampled all over at Hudson Park.]
Ah, Hudson Park… the last time I was there I scored 30 not out and took 5 wickets.
No one was more surprised than I.
There was a guy who played for Riverview’s First-XV called “dobbins” (from memory) who was rumoured to be 20 years old.
As long as they kept winning footy games with him in the Firsts, they kept making him repeat.
This was in the early seventies. I heard the other day that Dobbins is still there.
[“Robo-journalism” is increasingly being used in newsrooms worldwide.]
It’s been here for decades. Just watch Insiders on any Sunday.
Point Prune Face in the right direction and she’s good for half an hour, off the cuff.
Stutchbury can always be relied upon to find a pearl among swine.
And Barrie scores consistently with his declarations that the Libs have won another day.
Expect him to tell us confidently on the next show that Arthur Sinodinos has Bill Shorten just where he wants him, ready for the knockout blow.
Robots, indeed. But a new flash-PROM would come in handy once in a while. Version 1.0000 of the “Liberals brilliant/Labor incompetent” software is getting a little tiresome.
“@political_alert: The Senate has rejected the carbon tax repeal bills #auspol”
“@political_alert: “Senate has rejected Tony Abbott’s do-nothing approach on global warming and voted to maintain the price on pollution”-@senatormilne #auspol”
the Senate just rejected the bulk of the Clean Energy repeal bills.
and it is smart politics by the Libs to get the Clean Energy Finance Corporation bill through the reps for a second time, and then rejected in the Senate, giving them the DD trigger.
they don’t have to use it of course, but it will be there for the crazy-brave Abbott to go back into crisis mode.
“@political_alert: The Senate has rejected the carbon tax repeal bills #auspol”
Good.
Now Bill Shorten and Mark Butler must get out there and hammer home to people why an ETS is superior to DA.
Isn’t Frantic Fran taking over as host on Insiders. She’s just as bad though. They should give it to Sarah Ferguson.
The Senate has rejected the carbon tax repeal bill.
Yipee!
Rex
Yes. Good. Not just for the rejection itself. Also because Labor is standing by a principle. Voters like that.
Anyone care to speculate on the results of a DD now?
Cud
[Anyone care to speculate on the results of a DD now?]
Libs 79, ALP 66, Others 5.
Senate?
Don’t get too excited!
Fat Clive has got Big Lazzo and the rest of the PUP Senators warming up on the sidelines.
When they get on the field, it’s good-bye to the Greens’ carbon tax and the mining tax.
By the way, they wanted to super tax gold mining stocks 😆 the Greens – they get NOTHING in the end, like usual.
R.I.P.
[Now Bill Shorten and Mark Butler must get out there and hammer home to people why an ETS is superior to DA.
]
Interesting point I was reading a major energy industry publication that was touting recent research that showed fugitive emissions from onshore gas recovery and distribution could be relatively easily and cheaply reduced.
Made me think how long it had been since I’d heard or read anyone talking about one of the key features of a carbon trading system / carbon price was to encourage exactly that kind of innovation. That is ideally innovation ‘encouraged’ by a cap and trade mechanism would reduce emissions rather than simply tax them.
Centre
You seem to be enjoying the prospect of the carbon tax repeal.
High price to pay just to snub the Greens.
WWP
You are right. The Coalition only saw price rises and screeched about costs. The intention was always to change behaviour and find innovative solutions to reduce carbon. I notice that the Smoking Lobby has been trying to say that price rises didn’t affect smoking behaviour. They’re all tarred (!) with the same brush.
The odds of Abbott going to a DD, on anything, is about the same as those which held for Rudd.
Tony loves power too much to not do other than huff and puff.
As his government started off without any kind of honeymoon, is sluggish at 50-50 with the Opposition currently in the polls, has already lost a high profile money man and with all the bad news and “tough” budget to come, it will be nothing but tears for all.
Tears of self-pity for the conservatives and some tears of anger for the rest of us.
It is just as well true buyer remorse has not set in for Abbott yet. Most don’t like him and don’t trust him and it will get worse.
On the bright side, the worse the Federals do, the more shakey every other State conservative regime becomes.
Tanya Plipersek on 24 talking Russia
Oops Plibersek.
Cud
ALP / Green / PUP / Indi majority.
Don’t get this reference. Sounds like a columnist going to thr toilet
@latikambourke: PM Abbott confident ‘brave’ Arthur Sinodinos will return to frontbench ‘soon’ http://t.co/a35YZ57k7s * *may include video of said “pissbolt
Well, fundamentally an enforced cap-and-trade system guarantees this (where a simple carbon tax doesn’t necessarily).
You only issue permits for the amount of emissions you are allowing (in the trajectory determined for the ultimate target) – companies don’t get a choice, they have to bid for the permits on offer, and there are only a certain number of permits …
But of course the existing carbon price is in the intro fixed price period, so there is no “cap” per se yet – that would come in in 2015/16.
And internationally tradeable permits do confuse the issue somewhat because the “cap” then assumes that overseas abatement is equivalent to domestic abatement – which it is provided there is integrity in the overseas accounting equivalent to the integrity of the local accounting – and that the countries issuing tradeable permits are actually capping their own emissions at equivalent levels – which is slightly harder to judge.
The most highly probable scenario (fair dinkum certainty) is that the carbon tax and the mining tax will be finished before the next election.
This should be the Labor policy thereafter:-
When sufficient pressure internationally mounts to act on climate change, Labor stands for joining with the rest of the world to participate in an Emissions Trading Scheme.
For now it’s over red rover, that fat lady has sung. Well done to the Greens!
Just feel the heat from the bonfire of red tape. Check out a sample of the mighty slashing from Brandis SC DH
[1. Part two, paragraphs 10 to 57, lists the clauses in 11 different pieces of legislation where from now on the law will “omit the word “e-mail”, and substitute “email”.
4. Schedule five lists 10 cases in which a reference to “legislative assembly for the Northern Territory” must now be substituted with “legislative assembly of the Northern Territory]
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/19/bad-comma-george-brandis-sweats-the-small-stuff
[High price to pay just to snub the Greens.]
You can hear Max’s voice – “and loving it” 😀
fredex@103
[ Here’s a bit of lateral thinking.
Let’s say Fairfax goes kaput.
It’s assets will be dirt cheap.
Our government [sic] could buy those assets and let the ABC provide a ‘fair and balanced’[ a fair dinkum version ,not like their present farce] print news service- after all they already have a core of journos, in rural regions, nationally and globally.
That would piss Murdoch off no end. ]
Are you kidding? He’d love it! He already gets a second outlet for his bile in the form of our National Rebroadcaster – and for free!
Mike
Centre is with the fairies at the bottom of the garden when it comes to the greens.
Todays QT should see Shorten hammering Abbott re Sinodinos and Butler hammering Abbott/Hunt re the costly and inefficient DA policy.
Rex
QT will be Sinodinos from Labor and Carbon tax from the government.
Guytaur
Let me give some advice to the full mooners:
Leadershit!
Christine Milne = Meg Lees 😉