Essential Research displays its trademark stability this week by failing to record the big shift evident from the other pollsters, with two-party preferred steady at 52-48 and Labor up only one point on the primary vote to 40%, with the Coalition steady on 40%, the Greens down one to 8% and Palmer United steady on 5%. The results on the budget are also somewhat less spectacular than those seen elsewhere, with 30% approval and 52% disapproval, and 40% deeming it good for the economy overall against 32% for bad – quite a bit different from the 39% and 48% registered by Newspoll. The budget was deemed bad for working people by 59% and good by 14%; bad for those on low incomes by 66% and good by 11%; bad for families by 62% and good by 11%; bad for older Australians by 66% and good by 10%; bad for younger Australians by 55% and good by 16%; but good for people who well off by 45% and bad by 16%.
Response was also sought in relation to particular budget measures, of which the least popular was the raise in the pension age (61% opposition, 17% support), followed by deregulation of university fees (58% opposition, 17% support). Opinion was evenly balanced on making Newstart recipients wait six months (41% opposition, 39% support), while there was a net positive response to making graduates pay HELP loans more quickly (53% support, 23% opposition). Cuts to foreign aid had 64% supportive and 13% opposed, while those to the ABC had 27% supportive and 41% opposed. Fifty-six per cent believed there was a “budget emergency” against 32% who did not, but only 24% believed the budget addressed it, against 56% who did not.
The other relative latecomer to the budget poll party was yesterday’s fortnightly Morgan face-to-face plus SMS result, which was more in line with other polls in having Labor up 1.5% to 38.5%, the Coalition down 2.5% to 35%, the Greens steady on 12%, and Palmer up a point to 6.5%. Whereas Morgan polls usually combine two weekends of polling, this one was entirely from Saturday and Saturday, so all the responses are post-budget and the sample is somewhat smaller than usual. On two-party preferred, Labor’s lead was up from 53.5-46.5 to 56.5-43.5 on 2013 election preferences, and 55-45 to 57.5-42.5 on respondent-allocated preferences.
Dutton is another that needs a good reshuffling to the back bench.
Now the global business and finance community learns about the winker via Bloomberg
[Abbott Winks Over Sex-Chat Pensioner Amid Budget Backlash]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-21/abbott-winks-over-sex-chat-line-pensioner-amid-budget-backlash.html
This has to create negative ramifications for Australia if the PM is regarded as a buffoon. Has any previous PM ever looked so stupid?
bemused
A surprising number of people with backgrounds like Jimmyhaz are amongst the revolutionaries. They see from the inside what a load of crap it is.
Meanwhile in a parallel universe, the RC into institutionalised child abuse is uncovering more shocking evidence. This time this particular instance is in my lifetime, and in my ADULT lifetime, so it feels closer somehow.
[The man, identified only as YK to protect the students’ privacy, said he tried to monitor the teacher after receiving complaints from his colleagues about inappropriate behaviour but did not remove him from the classroom because he did not believe he had the evidence to do so.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard that the teacher, identified as YJ, was convicted of molesting five students between 1999 and 2008.
YK, who ran the primary division of the school from 2000 to 2009, said that when he received a four-page letter from a female teacher in 2001 detailing concerns about YJ, he did not consider it “formal” enough to act on.]
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/23705373/abuse-inaction-error-of-judgement/
Sure, we all stuff up. But you’re the principal of an educational facility and your stuff ups can lead to irreparable harm being caused to children and young people.
I would’ve thought that certainly by the 2000s any allegation of inappropriate behaviour made against a teacher would’ve resulted in the school either standing aside or moving the teacher to alternative duties while it investigated the complaint.
That these procedural failures and gaps are being identified by the RC is a good thing. Hopefully the full spectrum of evidence presented will lead to some substantive policy and legislative and (possibly) compensatory measures – esp in WA where the RC has already revealed the WA govt didn’t budget enough for its compensation program for survivors of abuse in state care.
Well said Confessios
Scholarship as reported by fairfax
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-friend-linked-to-60000-scholarship-for-frances-abbott-at-private-college-20140521-38olh.html
Regarding the stories of Ms Abbott receiving a scholarship. While the family of politicians should be kept out of public discussion as much as possible, it should be pointed out that Govt funding has been extended to non-university providers in this budget. In other words, is this college about to receive Government funding as a direct result of changes to the budget? Should we consider these donations to the Liberal party, and the offers of scholarships to their families, merely good business sense?
Liyana 524
I have had no time today to read anything but the earliest of posts.
In regard to this particular part of your post.
‘Until I find out what’s happening to those concessions my wallet is closed’. Quite. In regard to pensioners, especially.
And definitely. I shut down any thought of spending apart from immediate necessities.
I could, and do ‘want’ some stuff, but I withdraw my own ‘consumerism’ in protest.
Dutton even more dreadful than Hockey in selling the Budget. Just refused to answer every question.
Thinking about past PMs, the only one who was widely regarded as a laughing stock was Billy McMahon. He wasn’t a buffoon and he didn’t lack dignity. However, he was an example of the Peter Principle – regarded as a good Treasurer but promoted one level too high at a time when the winds of change were blowing.
Abbott on he other hand was a crap health minister and now a crap PM. In a few years he’ll be writing cranky opinion pieces for The Australian but in the meantime he’ll wreak havoc in the top job, a wrecker and a national and international embarrassment.
Steve777:
I admit I’m not feeling ABbott’s fire brigade analogy for the budget. To me it’s like the fire brigade arriving after my home has burnt down and all my worldly belongings gone.
The do nothing approach to complaints of abuse followed the earlier approach which was to investigate and then discredit the complainants.
Seems Abbott lied again today, or he in incompetent and has no idea what he is doing.
[Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s claim only students who begin university in 2016 will be affected by a deregulation of course fees has been contradicted by university vice-chancellors and the federal Education Department.
Fairfax Media revealed on Wednesday university leaders fear up to 160,000 school leavers could be forced to select courses without knowing whether they will pay tens of thousands of dollars in extra fees.
University of Western Sydney vice-chancellor Barney Glover asked for the postponement of fee deregulation during talks with the office of Education Minister Christopher Pyne last week.
Peak body Universities Australia is also calling for a delay, saying the government has not allowed enough time to implement the changes.
Mr Abbott told ABC Radio on Wednesday morning: “If you start a course under one system you will finish it under one system.
“If you start next year your conditions of study won’t change. It’s only for those who start when these changes kick in in 2016 who will have the different conditions applying to them.”
This claim is at odds with the federal government’s website explaining the changes to current and future students.]
Confessions
Agreed, an appalling case in that time period. At what point does the failure of the principal oblige their removal from their job? They are not novices, and are paid more to reflect their supposed responsibility. Blaming policy gaps is dodging that. A principal should be a competent adult able to make their own decisions. If not, how will they teach the students to become so?
Do you need a policy on what to do when a crime is reported to you? Why don’t you call the police?
Thanks guytaur. That stuff really gets to me.
Nathan
As per article i just linked
[NSW Election Funding Authority records show Mr Taylor donated more than $12,000 to the NSW Liberal Party between 2007 and 2010, and spent an additional $9000 at tribute dinners for former Liberal leaders John Howard and Brendan Nelson.
Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said the award of the scholarship raised ‘‘serious questions about ethics and conflicts of interest’’.
“Les Taylor, chairman of the Whitehouse Institute of Design, which provided the Prime Minister’s daughter with a fee-free education, has donated more than $12,000 to the NSW Division of the Liberal Party,” Senator Rhiannon said.
“These donations were flowing into the Liberal Party at the same time it was developing policy to publicly fund private higher education providers such as the Whitehouse Institute of Design.
“Mr Abbott should now reveal if he was lobbied by the chairman of the Whitehouse Institute of Design, Mr Les Taylor, to open up federal government funding to private higher education providers.’’]
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-friend-linked-to-60000-scholarship-for-frances-abbott-at-private-college-20140521-38olh.html#ixzz32LROKCs5
@NathanA/1157
At the expense of the Universities to set the fees.
The School, the person in question also donated to the NSW Liberal Party (where ICAC is questioning them).
“Les Taylor is a prominent and respected barrister, and also has a long history of donating to the NSW Liberal Party. A document supplied to New Matilda by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon this evening reveals donations of at least $12,500 to the NSW Liberal Party by Mr Taylor, from 2007 to 2010.”
1157
NathanA
Highly pertinent questions…
[guytaur
Posted Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 8:10 pm | PERMALINK
@MaxChalmers90: BREAKING: documents obtained by @newmatilda cast doubts on claims Frances Abbott received scholarship on merit http://t.co/uCDiRsMajS%5D
Newmatilda has information not in MSM reports.
This is the story for tomorrow.
By then “wink-gate” will be old news.
In Tony Abbott’s world the role of the fire brigade is to burn down houses, the role of hospitals is to make people sick, and the role of education is to make people ignorant.
The story about the daughter’s design school scholarship is quite extraordinary.
We already knew, because he had told us, that -unlike most of his Liberal colleagues – Abbott isn’t exactly rolling in money. For over 20 years, he has mostly been the sole breadwinner and he has supported his family on a salary: quite a good salary (especially now), but he wouldn’t have had much left to spare each fortnight. I doubt he has too many investments or negatively-geared properties or the like.
So we can see that the free tuition for his daughter would no doubt have been very welcome. Some politicians (including some past PMs) would be pretty wary about accepting something like this, others wouldn’t. It’s always potentially risky, but some get away with it. Abbott might not have done so.
We are told it was a “scholarship”. Such things generally tend to be awarded on a competitive basis. Was this one? We are told there was a previous one. How was this awarded?
Someone has fed this story to the press to coincide with the new student fees policy. Their intent was clearly to cause maximum damage. Who was that, I wonder.
I’m not passing judgement on anybody just yet, but it’s interesting stuff.
[1159
Diogenes
Dutton even more dreadful than Hockey in selling the Budget. Just refused to answer every question.]
Dutton is a former policeman. He will have learned along the way that a suspect has the right to remain silent. As the Minister accused of wrecking Medicare, he is shrewdly refusing to incriminate himself…It must be Labor’s fault.
sohar@1170
Fahrenheit 451: The temperature at which budget papers burn.
Liyana
You will pretty well find in this document what concessions are to be SOON withdrawn.
http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/npa/skills/concessions_pensioners/national_partnership_2013.pdf
Bloomberg on the link between the 1959 Grange and massive asset privatisation in NSW:
[Australia Wine Scandal Sets Up State Power Sale
A bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange wine has opened the door to Asia’s biggest ever sale of power assets.
After failing to disclose a gift of the $2,800 vintage, New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell quit last month. His successor Mike Baird, a former banker at Deutsche Bank AG, says Australia’s most populous state needs to shore up infrastructure by investing in roads, railways and bridges. He may sell a state-owned electricity distribution network valued at $33 billion to help pay for them, an amount that would be triple the size of any single sale of electricity or gas assets in Asia, data compiled by Bloomberg show.]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-20/australia-wine-scandal-sets-up-state-power-sale-real-m-a.html
Pass Judgement!
In Tony Abbott’s world I suspect firemen perform the sort of role they do in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Sadly the literary reference will be lost on Tony. He is too busy burning books. There will soon be no funds to teach students their contents.
Socrates:
I know, it defies belief. The last of the abuses occurred as recently as 2008. 2008!
Those kids are now teenagers and most likely struggling to deal with what happened to them through no fault of their own other than they happened to be assigned to the wrong classroom.
Someone needs to pay for that. Those kids can’t go through life knowing that some creep got away with what they did.
I don’t know why people are mainly concerned about the Whitehouse Institute guy giving money to the Liberal party, dodgy as that may be.
I think the more serious matter is that he provided a considerable benefit to the Prime Minister’s family, possibly to influence the receipt of funds by the Institute from the Federal Government if the LNP were to com to power.
sohar
[
In Tony Abbott’s world the role of the fire brigade is to burn down houses,]
Tones is inspired by the novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’
[Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury published in 1953.
Guy Montag is a “fireman” hired to burn the possessions of those who read outlawed books]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451
Thanks Victoria and Zoidlord!
Socrates
Beat me by “That much!” 🙂
I really think Rummel needs to comment, at this point.
Oh, I think I may have seen something about reduction of funds to fireys, whilst we await Rummel’s further capitulation.
Not that I mind Rummel’s resort to commonsense and self interest as concerns his voting intention.
[He will have learned along the way that a suspect has the right to remain silent.]
Well that certainly explains his absence from the health policy sphere for much of the time he’s been the Liberal party’s health spokesperson.
Just as well Tony Abbott can’t read, because I wouldn’t want him reading Fahrenheit 451 – it might give him ideas.
Saw a student burning the Budget papers.
We seem to be getting a steady flow of “dirt” on Abbott which appears, given the nature of the matters, more likely to have come from his own side of politics rather than the Labor side.
Who is trying to undermine him? Is the fix in?
crikey whitey@1186
With winter approaching, seems they may have a use after all!
s
Yes, and cattlement protect national parks, foresters protect forests and whalers protect whales and those who dump spoil amidst coral reefs protect coral reefs.
It all makes sense.
“Saw a student burning the Budget papers” – they were probably mistaken for Mein Kampf.
[sohar@1170
In Tony Abbott’s world the role of the fire brigade is to burn down houses, the role of hospitals is to make people sick, and the role of education is to make people ignorant.
]
He is probably hoping that a bushfire would start right now so that he could escape to the comparative safety of his brigade for a while.
It’s so hot here.
I was contemplating planting more tomatoes.
Do not think that stuff that needs cold snaps is going to do it in SA.
Player One.
Poroti, Player One beat me too :). Bradbury was one of my favorite SciFi authors in high school.
But yes, calling Tony Abbott a fireman is as ironic as calling Scott Morrison a Minister for Immigration, or George Brandis an Attorney General or … Doh!
@Player One/1188
Plus Tony Abbott probably didn’t read the budget papers, no use to him either.
Confessions 1178
Agreed. I do not support witch-hunts, but for justice to be credible, it has to be applied to all where it is relevant.
Good evening all.
[Someone needs to pay for that. Those kids can’t go through life knowing that some creep got away with what they did.
]
Isn’t the offender in jail? How is that getting away with it?
Retweeted by Rob Oakeshott
Mary Kostakidis @MaryKostakidis 37m
Ridiculous to leave super tax concessions for the rich & trigger calls for increase in GST to include food #Budget2014 trampling on the poor
As per the matilda article
[The Institute declined to nominate any other occasion when the scholarship has been awarded, and did not address a lengthy list of questions submitted by New Matilda early this morning.
Whitehouse insiders have claimed the scholarship was kept secret, even from many senior staff.
Documents show that in December 2010, over a period of one month, at least four attempts were made to contact Ms Abbott by phone and arrange an interview with Leanne Whitehouse.]
If the scholarship was kept secret even from many senior staff, who leaked fhis to coincide wifh fhe uni student rallies?
It was a gruesome yet fantastic experience watching Abbott on commercial!! tv.
I had tuned in to watch some other thing on behalf of someone else.
Love it that every viewer would have witnessed Abbott double talking and winking and looking every inch the liar!