Essential Research now has two weeks of polling to rub a fortnightly rolling average together, and the addition of this week’s sample to last week’s result causes two-party preferred to tick a point in the Coalition’s favour, from 54-46 to 53-47. The Coalition is up two points on the primary vote to 40%, with Labor, Greens and Palmer United respectively steady on 40%, 10% and 2%. Further questions find skepticism about Australian involvement in Iraq, the ABC and the High Court rated most trusted out of a specified list of “institutions and organisations” (though it doesn’t include police and defence forces, which might have rated higher), and the medical profession trusted in use of personal information but social media sites not so much. Also featured are interesting questions on internet and social media use, and a less interesting one on sports events.
[Premier Daniel Andrews could use special legislation to avoid paying more than $1 billion in compensation to the East West Link consortium.
The state government may have to make the payments to the East West Connect consortium, as flagged by then treasurer Michael O’Brien before the election last year.]
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/daniel-andrews-wont-rule-out-using-parliament-to-block-east-west-link-compensation-20150120-12u187.html
[Looks like hundreds of organisations are going to shut their doors and the effect will soon be felt.]
It is happening here and the immediate effects, ie people losing their jobs and those relying on those services no longer being delivered are going without, are already being felt.
K17 @ 45
If those people then know someone with FTTP and someone with FTTN, they may also realise what a croc FTTN is. In 18 months time, there will be a few electorates that go to Labor on the promise that they will give them FTTP, rather than fraudband.
Dutton concentrating on Labor messes and refusing to answer. Leigh pressing him. Mashed potato wins the day. No answers.
According to PVO and his guests on Sky, the reckon LNP will win Qld and newman likely to retain his seat. Although he will still be dumped as leader after election
by imacca on Jan 20, 2015 at 7:37 pm
I hope the iron doesn’t break.
Do we still make irons in Oz?
If not with the falling dollar a new iron’s going cost more.
victoria @ 51
This could be very interesting. There is no right to just compensation against a State; only the Commonwealth. It is arguable, at the very least at the political level, that the contractors knew exactly what the risks were in rushing to sign the contracts in the last days of the Napthine government. They will play the ‘sovereign risk’ card, but there will be very little sympathy for them in the general public.
[According to PVO and his guests on Sky, the reckon LNP will win Qld and newman likely to retain his seat. Although he will still be dumped as leader after election]
Kind of the outcome I expect but if it is what PvO is predicting a few dollars on Labor to win might be worth it.
victoria:
Why do they think Newman will be dumped as leader if he is re-elected in Ashgrove?
I would have thought that those involved in the contract for the East-West link are entitled to compensation fir their expenditure related to the bids but not a cent more. Certainly they haven’t spent $1.2 billion. Maybe a few tens of millions. Let them lodge itemised claims.
If the contracts require hundreds of millions in compensation (I assume the $1.2 billion is an ambit claim) Andrews should ask ‘What sort of idiot would sign a contract with provisions for over a billion in compensation?’ and immediately launch an investigation.
TPOF
Will be interesting to see how things play out re east west
Premier Daniel Andrews cannot pay the builders a cent. He promised that before the election remember. Surely not a lie and and a backdown so early in his term.
Ironing will always be cheaper under a coalition Government.
confessions
Dont think this was elaborated on, but admittedly i switched channels straight after. PVO’s tweets are more interesting than his on air persona where he plays liberal hack really well
Steve777
Maybe Andrews can have a Royal Commision into the shenanigans of preparing & signing a contract with excessive compensation clauses, they can call Jo & Tony to please explain as the Feds would have been a party to all negotiations as they funded the fiasco .
Doubt the contract would be lawful as due notice was given by opposition that it would be cancelled, therefore participants knew of risk thereby diminishing contract value to zero.
Unless contract was drafted for the purpose of creating a compensation claim… would that be fraud?
As you were for the polls, then.
Dutton seems to be a lot more comfortably dissembling about “border security” than he ever was about health. Maybe he really did just dislike the portfolio.
Goodness. Here’s something you don’t see every day . Labor leader in Quinceland is on Sky News Alan Jones show and it is a love in.
t-d
Mr Plod.
[Premier Daniel Andrews cannot pay the builders a cent. He promised that before the election remember. Surely not a lie and and a backdown so early in his term.]
Actually he had modified that before the election to possibly having to pay something for work already done.
[@joshgnosis: Watching noted Queensland progressive Alan Jones interviewing @AnnastaciaMP on Sky News. He is agreeing with her on most things. Astounding.]
Alan Jones might be blowing his Knighthood here. Always a certain ring to:
Sir Alan of Public Convenience
taylormade
[Premier Daniel Andrews cannot pay the builders a cent. He promised that before the election remember. ]
I cannot find a single reference to this which is more than about 24 hours old.
When Tony said tonight he was putting Uni reform front & centre of the governments agenda this parilimentry term, he should have read the Gurdian beforehand
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jan/20/ricky-muir-unlikely-to-support-flagship-higher-education-changes
Maybe the next Abbott backflip will be the end of him
sceptic@72
I heard today one of the universities has now broken ranks. Do you know about that? I didn’t get the details.
Alan Jones is basically looking after a good friend but it wouldn’t be prudent for me to give any further details.
zoomster @ 71 (and taylormade)
Just because you make a promise in an election campaign does not mean you can keep it if it is against the law. Equally, there would need to be evidence of fraud for a court to set aside the provisions of the contract.
However, as I noted before, the Victorian Parliament can pass a law that overrides the legal right to the compensation specified in the contract.
I think that Andrews is trying to put pressure on the contractor to get a dea to diverting it into work that is the equivalent of the compensation. It is not in the interests of either party to risk a court action and Andrews will not want to tie up Parliament in overriding a contract, even if he can get it through the upper house – which is never a certainty when you do not have a majority.
In summary, trying to override the contract is an administrative nightmare that Andrews can do without if he can do away with the East West link as well. However, if he cannot, he holds the whip hand in terms of publishing information about the circumstances in which the contract was let. It will not be pretty for the coalition or for the contractors, I suspect.
victoria:
Yes, PvO is being very forthright about Abbott and the govt on twitter of late.
Tony is now talking up Uni reform, saying that he was putting it front & centre of the government’s agenda this parilimentry term. Funny, it wasn’t during last year’s election campaign.
Steve777@77
They did not even have a higher education policy before the last election. Pyne was quite particular about that. The funny thing is that they think if they can go on about deregulating fees they think they can mask the fact that they are trying to take 20% of funding away from the tertiary sector.
Should be interesting.
By the way, it occurred to me that one benefit of dumping Abbott will be that they can dump the PPL policy with it. It would have to be the most unloved policy in the party and the opportunity to see it off may do for Abbott what the ETS did for Turnbull – the last nail in the coffin of the leader.
[Tom
Posted Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 8:20 pm | PERMALINK
Ironing will always be cheaper under a coalition Government.]
Not only cheaper, under the Coalition government temperatures will rise so much that women won’t need to use electricity to heat the iron.
Palaszczuk should really try not to cosy up too much to Alan Jones.
That man is toxic.
Steve777
I guess the Libs brains trust have figured that they’ll just alternate between shafting the sick, the unemployed and uni students, hoping that by the time they start the cycle again people have forgotten why they hated it so much the first time.
David
Alan Jones is just using Annastacia Palaszczuk to kick Newman in the balls.
It’s that simple!
sceptic
Luckily someone has put together a compilation tape of our PM’s 2014 back flips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP9afynYqB8
sceptic
Luckily someone has put together a compilation tape of our PM’s 2014 back flips.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP9afynYqB8
[Raaraa
Posted Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 9:09 pm | PERMALINK
Palaszczuk should really try not to cosy up too much to Alan Jones.
That man is toxic.]
Jones will probably lose interest in Queensland after the election. He has plenty of other people to attack on his redneck radio show.
I thought 2015 was going to be the year families were front and centre!
I thought 2015 was going to be the year the government de-barnacled.
The barnacles aren’t being removed, just rearranged.
Interesting article.
Davos summit must champion the middle class
[Sustained increases in wages and living standards for working families of the world’s industrial countries hold the key to economic growth.]
Steve777:
Way I see it they’re adding barnacles, not removing them!
Abbott’s barnacle removal program hasn’t been going too well of late.
Time to call in BARNACLE BUSTERS!
http://www.barnaclebusters.com
As an aside, googling “barnacle” or “barnacle removal” produces an interesting collection of references to actual barnacles and stories about Abbott. Who could have predicted that he would become famous in the world of barnacles?
bemused – University of Technology Sydney VC Attila Brungs asked for the Coalition to delay any changes to 2017 as it is now too late for the university to implement changes for the 2016 intake.
He was backed up by Macquarie University, although only through a spokesman.
I’m no boatie but i seem to recall that the way to deal with barnacles and other marine growths is to treat then with products called anti-foul.
and many of the old anti-foul products are banned because they are toxic.
Bit like the Tories really, foul and toxic
[Alan Jones is basically looking after a good friend but it wouldn’t be prudent for me to give any further details.]
Weren’t you one hard on Labor for playing the person last election? Seems a little inconsistent with vague ‘looking after a friend’ accusations.
teh_drewski@92
The first sign of them crumbling.
John Quiggin has written on it and says it is not so much the Universities as the Vice Chancellors who want deregulation.
rossmcg:
Or you can just throw out the barnacled boat and get yourself a whole new one.
Confessions
Indeed, but we are stuck with this boat for a little while yet.
bemused
Yes, my impression is that it’s more the leaders of the universities seeing what the heads of comparable overseas institutions get paid and wanting a slice of that pie which is driving their acquiescence to the Coalition’s deregulation plans, rather than any particular interest in boosting education outcomes.
teh_drewski@98
Have a look at John Quiggin’s blog and search on things like Go8 and Vice-Chancellors and you will locate a few posts he has made on the topic. Well worth reading.
Peter Dutton while certainly no Scott Morrison has filled the role of Immigration Minister nicely and has dealt with the handful of trouble makers at the Manus detention centre with a firm but steady hand.
PNG is a refugee signatory so the detainees will have to accept it is their new home.