The Seven Network tonight brings results from a ReachTEL poll showing Labor’s lead at 51-49, the narrowest it has been from ReachTEL since February. The only news on the primary vote at this stage is that Palmer United is down from 8.2% to 6.7%. The poll was conducted last night, so this would have caught any effect of Clive Palmer’s China-baiting performance on Q&A on Monday. The poll also has bad for Joe Hockey, who was rated out of touch by 59% of respondents compared with only 26% who disagreed, with even Coalition voters breaking 50-24 against him. The poll also finds a 38-38 tie on whether the economy is headed in the right or the wrong direction. A question on the government’s data retention moves finds 64% opposed and only 20% in support. An Essential poll a fortnight ago had it at 51% and 39%, the difference perhaps being down to the wording of the questions.
UPDATE: Full results here. On the primary vote, the Coalition is up from 40.5% to 41.2%, Labor is up from 37.1% to 37.3%, the Greens are down from 10.3% to 9.3% and Palmer United is down from 8.2% to 6.7%. Also featured are personal ratings on the leaders, and a finding that 65.9% think Clive Palmer has a negative impact on foreign relations, against 12.4% for positive impact.
UPDATE (Morgan): Very little change in the latest Roy Morgan result, which as usual combines two weekends of face-to-face plus SMS polling, this time attaining a sample of 2691. On the primary vote, the Coalition is steady on 37.5%, Labor is up half a point to 38.5%, the Greens are down half a point to 10.5% and Palmer United is down one to 4.5%, a possibly interesting result when taken together with ReachTEL and allowing for the fact that only half of the sample was polled after last week’s Q&A. On two-party preferred, Labor’s lead on respondent-allocated preferences is down fractionally from 56-44 to 55.5-44.5, while the measure which allocates preferences as per the previous election result is steady at 54-46.
In a big week all round for polling, stay tuned for Newspoll tonight, Essential Research tomorrow and, I’m guessing, a state New South Wales result from Newspoll reasonably soon.
Re Budget metaphors – I still like the one I mentioned in PB shortly after the Budget was dumped on an unsuspecting nation – the 80 foot, 80 ton dead whale that washed up on the beach next to a small town in Canadia: http://m.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27210992
Puff
Thanks.
David Marr was wrong on the Drum tonight. He said the lesson of Hewson’s Fightback was to not release your policies too early.
He is wrong because the public rejected unfairness. If the reforms had been fair the early release would have made Hewson unassailable.
Just like now early or late if its a turd the public will reject it.
Did the Oz media almost entirely miss the fact that the Pan-Pac open water swimming event was cancelled on the Gold Coast because the venue and the backup venue had pollution levels that could endanger athletes?
The event will be held in Hawaii instead. How embarrassing (if people knew about it).
guytaur
It wasn’t only that. Hewson was confused over explaining the detail. Now who else do we know who can’t get their story straight on the policies – far worse than Hewson.
Looks like a supporter for Mathias, or perhaps one of the many dodgy twitter accounts:
Retweeted by Mathias Cormann
jill #winkersunite @SenateSabotaged 2h
@MathiasCormann It is confusing for Bill. He thinks they delivered a surplus. Hard to see a problem after that. LOL
Typical of comments on #winkersunite
jill #winkersunite@SenateSabotaged ·
Axing TOXIC Co2 TAX
& Stopping DEAD BABIES being scooped from the Ocean
Still MORE than Labor did in 6 yrs #pmagenda #Enoughforme #Auspol
I think #winkersunite is misspelt. There should be an “a” in there, and I don’t mean #winkersunate
Qanda tonight
Gareth Evans – Former Australian Foreign Minister
Paul Kelly – Editor-at-large The Australian
Elizabeth Pisani – Author and Indonesia commentator
Tasneem Chopra – Chair, Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights
Ali Alizadeh – Iranian-Australian author and academic
guytaur
[He is wrong because the public rejected unfairness]
Another lesson of Fightback was not to let Tony Abbott help write your policy.
lizzie
My condolences on your loss last month. I would have written at the time but was myself reeling from a colleague’s death.
Reading “The Age” obituary Ken sounds like a remarkable guy and a real scientific “polymath”. His Honorary M.Sc. was clearly well-deserved.
I recall you writing about what a character he was – I wonder if he ever caught up with ‘Olsen’s Standard Book of British Birds’ in Monty Python (originally in the 1948 Show)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62uutgNN4c
Oh and not to let Tony ““You can tell the rental houses in a street” Abbott do any speech writing either.
Steve777
[the 80 foot, 80 ton dead whale that washed up on the beach]
This is the only cure for beached whales and bad budgets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vmnq5dBF7Y
Lizzie, check out the arts section Arts and Society section of the online Age. Under the heading ‘Passionate naturalist dedicated to sharing his knowledge’.
lizzie@1100
My iPad version is a complete facsimile of the dead tree version. I can email it to you but it only sends the text and not the photo.
Got to go now – let me know later if you want it.
Pee Bee
Thank you so much. I naturally just looked under obits.
bemused 1114
Perhaps you can do a screen capture and send it to lizzie.
Power button + home button does the trick.
Rocket
Thank you. It’s been a heavy few weeks. His memorial is on Friday so I’ve been a bit busy organizing it. So many kind condolences received.
If you want your states credit rating downgraded vote Liberal.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/25/western-australia-credit-rating-downgraded-moodys
#ABC Brisbane
Abbott admitted this morning that Wayne Swan’s GFC stimulus package was NECESSARY.
He opposed it totally in Opposition.
Talk about mixed messages….all Coalition messages been through the blender
AA
[He opposed it totally in Opposition.]
So much so he could do it in his sleep 😉
$10 million to Manly Rugby Club, $5 million to the Broncos.
Because we have a budget emergency
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-22/james-cameron-says-mh370-will-never-be-found/5688906
AussieAchmed
[$10 million to Manly Rugby Club, $5 million to the Broncos.
Because we have a budget emergency]
CanJoh’s effort during his budget emergency 🙂
[Qld govt funds goat races
The funding comes after the Queensland government’s commission of audit into the state’s finances last month revealed the state’s debt was heading for $100 billion by 2018/19 unless savings were made.
The Premier’s Literary Awards became the government’s first financial victim, saving the state $245,000 after they were cut]
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/qld-govt-funds-goat-races/story-fnejo58q-1226421866025?nk=c4e57a002325d9718f6dc062dc58f0f7
The funding comes after the Queensland government’s commission of audit into the state’s finances last month revealed the state’s debt was heading for $100 billion by 2018/19 unless savings were made.
The Premier’s Literary Awards became the government’s first financial victim, saving the state $245,000 after they were cut
Is Tony Abbott match fixing with donating to sport clubs?
What have you got against goats?
Obviously the goats or Premier couldn’t read so the Premier’s Literacy Awards were null and void.
A failed investment company part-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp received a second taxpayer-funded grant for an environmental project that it never completed, the Federal Environment Department says.
The department has confirmed it intends to use “legal mechanisms” or other means to recover the $134,904 payment made in 2012 to RM Williams Agricultural Holdings, which collapsed last year owing tens of millions to investors.
The payment came shortly after the company was given $9.1 million in taxpayers’ money to buy a cattle station that was supposed to become the world’s largest carbon farm and make News Corp carbon neutral.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/failed-news-corp-carbon-venture-extracted-a-second-government-grant-20140810-zy0cs.html#ixzz3BOiQVt3d
When the government puts the $9b of super tax concessions – overwhelmingly benefiting high income earners – on the table we might start listening to the ‘budget emergency’ guff. Until then it’s just their choices to shift resources from the poor to the rich.
Wow a Labor government gave MurdochInc a grant and a Coalition government is taking action to recover it. Priceless.
Super tax concessions cost about $30 billion per annum, rapidly escalating. We are close to or have already reached the point where it would be cheaoer to simply pay everyone over 65 the aged pension. Simply applying income tax to the income component of super pensions (but not the return of capital) would be a huge saving. That is what we did prior to 2007.
We could also wind back other Howard-era changes including the private health insurance rebate, the CGT discount and the Howard model for funding private schools before we need to even think of hitting low income earners.
Stop the goats!
Shock findings! (Well…except for anyone who’s ever attended a demonstration…)
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/22/researchers_police_likely_provoke_protestors_%E2%80%94_not_the_other_way_around/
If, following Minister Joyce, we are engaged tonight in a search for an appropriate disease as a metaphor for the budget, could I nominate the one mentioned by the late Lowell Thomas in a broadcast: “a fartal hate attack”.
Hmmmm no smug tweet from PvO yet?
Wow a Labor government gave MurdochInc a grant and a Coalition government is taking action to recover it. Priceless.
I wonder if Murdoch saw that coming during his campaign to be President of Australia
PeeBee@1113
I couldn’t even find an ‘Arts and Society’ section.
Aussiea why don’t you go and bore people with your rants at your local mens shed ?
Bemused, press the menu button in the online Age. It is the 8th option down in the first column.
@EDJ/1137
He’s more amusing than you are 🙂
Kelly is so partisan he can even convince himself.
To see someone as highly intelligent as Gareth Evans sucking up to Lord Rear Ender himself (Paul Kelly)…
is sickening!!!
PeeBee@1138
Menu button? Not seeing it.
Retweeted by Kevin Bonham
Stephen Murray @smurray38 8m
Tomorrow’s #newspoll 2PP: ALP 51 Coalition 49 Primary ALP 34 (0) L/NP 40 (0) Grns 11 (-2) Others (incl PUP) 15 (+2) #qanda #auspol
Centre
I was thinking the same. Grotesque.
mike
Gareth should grow a spine, it’s 2014. Murdoch media is dying.
Kelly should stick his book up his arse!
51-49? Meh… it’ll do. Let’s see how they’re doing after the sitting fortnight 🙂
Centre
By the look on his face it’s already there.
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll 2 Party Preferred: L/NP 49 (+1) ALP 51 (-1) #auspol
GhostWhoVotes @GhostWhoVotes 1m
#Newspoll Primary Votes: L/NP 40 (0) ALP 34 (0) GRN 11 (-2) #auspol