The third poll of our current cycle is better for the Coalition than the other two, recording Labor’s lead narrowing from 52-48 to 51-49 from primary votes of 40% for the Coalition, 34% for Labor and 14% for the Greens. There are also remarkably poor personal ratings for Bill Shorten, who is on 28% approval (down four on the last poll and seven on the one before) and 54% disapproval (up four on the last poll eight on the one before). Tony Abbott has also gone backwards, down four on approval to 34% and up three on disapproval to 56%. Preferred prime minister is little changed, Abbott’s 41-38 lead comparing with 41-37 last time. Hat tip: James J. This will be final Newspoll for The Australian before the brand name transfers to the new management of Galaxy.
UPDATE (Essential Research): The weekly reading from Essential Research is once again steady at 52-48, although the Coalition is up a point on the primary vote at Labor’s expense, respectively putting them at 42% and 39%, with the Greens are up one to 10%. The poll also features the semi-regular result on trust in various institutions, with across-the-board improvement of between 2% and 8% since January, the biggest movers being state parliaments, the High Court, the Reserve Bank, environmental groups and local government. Police forces, the High Court, the ABC and the Reserve Bank continue to rate highest, and political parties lowest. Doctors rate as the most trusted profession, at 81% for a lot of or some trust, and real estate agents and politicians lowest, at 12% and 11%.
The poll also includes questions on housing affordability, as did the the weekend’s Ipsos poll. The latter was of perhaps more interest in that it provided a separate result for Sydney, where 80% of respondents rated it unaffordable for first home buyers compared with 57% nationally. The Essential poll had the latter figure at 60%, and found 75% saying it had become less affordable over the past few years compared with only 11% for more affordable.
[ China ‘deserves more credit’ for renewable energy effort
…Maria van der Hoeven says most people think that China is frantically building coal-fired power stations.
The reality, she says, is that China is spending as much as the US and Europe put together on clean power.
She says its coal-fired power stations are state of the art – and should be copied in other developing countries.
“They are now the largest wind power market in the world. They have increased their power generation from renewables from really nothing 10 years ago – and now it’s 25%. These are very important signals that China is moving into the right direction.” ]
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33143176
Fessy
The bit you highlight appears to be the normal protocols used by police
lizzie:
I said yesterday I think Labor should drop the matter today and get back to things like housing affordability.
See Ruddock is going with the old “means justifies the end” rhetoric. Ignoring the illegality under Australian Law of paying people smugglers
There is a huge difference between recruiting informants (as police do) and paying smugglers to take asylum seekers on another dangerous journey.
Morning all
Thanks BK for today’s offerings. i didnt watch Qanda, but by all reports BBishop was true to form.
What a nasty bunch of spivs we have running the joint
lizzie
Agreed. There was no secret that Labor were attempting to disrupt smuggling operations. Very different to getting on a boat in the ocean and paying them to turn back. What is happening to this country if people cannot see how disgraceful this conduct is.
fess
I am not sure that focussing on housing affordability would be beneficial to Labor
On twitter. Sums up BBishop me thinks
[Barkus 1863
10h10 hours ago
Barkus 1863 @martinbarker70
Bronwyn Bishop having a crack at Triggs for not being impartial….. lets just let those sentiments hang there for a little while..
#qanda]
The lib cheersquad know there is a rat (or rats) in their midst, who want to bring down Abbott. No wonder they are so anxious right about now. 😀
victoria
Labor needs to get on the front foot on this. Quickly.
OH F#CKING SNAP!
“Asylum boat turnbacks: Australia paid people smugglers under former Labor government”
Take that one to the bank
lizzie
Agreed. Athough it was made clear during Gillard’s tenure at least, of the type of operations that were going on to disrupt smuggling operations. It is hardly bad to have been doing this
TBA
Do you have comprehension skills. LABOR NEVER PAID PEOPLE SMUGGLERS TO TURN BACK BOATS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN WITH ASYLUM SEEKERS ON BOARD
TAKE THAT TO,THE BANK
So Labor bribed people smugglers and STILL couldn’t stop the boats.
Absolutely Hilarious.
No wonder we had 50,000 Boat Arrivals under Labor they gave a cash splash incentive to come
TBA
See the coalition could only stop the boats by paying people smugglers whilst on the high seas
Not so much as stopping the boats as turning them around and aiding in piracy and potential manslaughter. How proud you must be
Abbott, Hockey, Dutton, Pyne, Morrison, JBishop, BBishop and Co have got to be the worst ministers ever to represent Australia. SHAME SHAME SHAME
Like I said before, the govt has not stopped the boats. They’ve simply chartered them.
[Andrew Zammit @Andrew_Zammit 52m52 minutes ago
No, huge dif between recruiting informants and paying smugglers to take asylum seekers on another dangerous journey: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/asylum-boat-turnbacks-australia-paid-people-smugglers-under-former-labor-government-20150615-ghotbt.html …
Andrew Zammit @Andrew_Zammit 35m35 minutes ago
It’s like the difference between paying a gangster for intel to weaken his organisation, and paying one to carry out a crime for you.
Andrew Zammit @Andrew_Zammit 34m34 minutes ago
So let’s please not conflate recruiting informants with the current allegations that Abbott gov paid smugglers to take boats back to Indo.]
This is Bill Shortens Godwin Gretch moment…. he has to go.
Sorry Bill, you had your 5 minutes in the sun now it’s time to let someone else have a tilt at the leadership.
TrueBLueAussie
You can’t bribe anyone if there is no-one there. It is clear the Liberals have not stopped the boats.
What a sad bunch of failures.
Trying to destroy the rule of law by giving ministers the power to remove citizenship; for no better reason than to create wedge.
What a sad mad bunch of failures.
Shouldn’t the issue be that the LNP took the ‘high’ road by declaring it would never deal with people smugglers and that people smugglers themselves financed terrorism? You can’t have it both ways.
fess
Journos like Paul Barry have accepted the ‘Labor paid smugglers’ story. Mumbles says it’s already too late to correct the story.
I have a gut feeling that now that the monsoon season is over, we may see a rapid rise in the number of boats. Indonesia has no incentive to stop them at all, given the poor relations with Australia.
After all as a still developing nation Indonesia should not be expected to absorb Sri Lankans, with whom they have no cultural or religious ties.
[
TrueBlueAussie
Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 8:51 am | Permalink
This is Bill Shortens Godwin Gretch moment…. he has to go.
Sorry Bill, you had your 5 minutes in the sun now it’s time to let someone else have a tilt at the leadership.
]
As the attempted defence is “Labor did it”; I’d say Bill got it absolutly right. Played the security card, Liberals wedge themselves. Trying to create Labor leadership instability; is that the only card left?
What a sad, mad, desperate bunch of failures.
[“I have a gut feeling that now that the monsoon season is over, we may see a rapid rise in the number of boats. Indonesia has no incentive to stop them at all, given the poor relations with Australia.”]
Ahhh that 2 Year Long Monsoon season…. which started right after the Coalition gained power right up till today.
The Coalition has stopped the boats. You may not like this fact, but it’s a fact no less.
Because Abbott’s cabinet leaks like a sieve, we now know they dont give a crap about national security – its ONLY about wedging labor.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/leaked-briefing-paper-shows-divisions-in-tony-abbott-cabinet-over-cancelling-citizenship-20150615-ghokwi.html
Plus they’re a bunch of tintpot authoritarians with no belief in constitutional democracy.
[ TrueBlueAussie
Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 8:59 am | Permalink
…
The Coalition has stopped the boats. You may not like this fact, but it’s a fact no less.
]
No boats; no boats to bribe. Obviously an “on water operational fact”; or using the vernacular “bullshit”.
What is NOT being said about the people smuggling story is just how close AUSTRALIAN government authorities came to manslaughter/murder of small children.
Regardless of any payment, what seems to have happened is that people were taken from one boat, kept on board a naval vessel for some days and them placed in two other vessels.
The two other vessels then ran aground and while the adult males swam to shore, women and children had to stay on the boat until rescued by villagers.
If there had been bad weather and these children had drowned I shudder to think of the consequences.
Looks like I spoke way too soon at 146 when I suggested that Fairfax had done some investigative journalism. Not only has Fairfax NOT done any investigation into the allegations that bribes were paid to people smugglers IN THE PROCESS of people smuggling, they’ve gone in the complete opposite direction, provided almost no context with that article (particularly with that headline) and have provided the Government with ample coverage with which to justify their own despicable behaviour. The conflation of recruiting informants as Labor did, and the payment to people smugglers to forcibly traffick refugees back to Indonesia, is about as irresponsible and unethical as you can get and still call yourself a journalistic organisation. I’m not sure there’s any point in Labor continuing this line of questioning, however justified it would be. And people wonder why Labor doesn’t pursue these lines of questioning any more! The media just goes “Yeah? well you suck too!” never mind that this sort of gotcha journalism was NEVER directed at Abbott in opposition. I despair for this country when we have such a morally and intellectually bankrupt media. For fuck sake, it’s heartbreaking to see this country treated like this.
Labor has never had a policy of turning back boats ..EVER.
Labor has never paid people smugglers to take Asylum Seekers to Indonesia ..EVER.
These are incontrovertible FACTS..
JD
Our media is beyond pathetic. Fairfax did say that Labor never paid to turn back boats but only as by the by. This country is an embarrassment
I suggest that people completely and utterly ignore TrueBlueAussie. He has shown no ability or interest in listening to the views of others. He is merely interested in parading his ignorance and spouting his lies and right-wing propaganda.
markjs,
But Labor has paid people smugglers not to send boats to Australia and 50,000 Illegals came.
Boy they must have seen Labor coming. Did the smugglers sell Labor and the Greens a Bridge as well by any chance?
If both parties paid smugglers then there is a stark difference between Labor and the Coalition and that is the Coalition actually stopped the boats. Labor just paid smugglers.
This contains words of Denis Atkins on Bronnie in 2014. I swear she’s got worse since.
[ #Speaker, #kero_bronnie Worst Ever via @Zanukah pic.twitter.com/PUHzioZIkU #QandA http://wp.me/p2WW3S-Gg #auspol]
Dtt
Tony Burke. And Richard Marle censure motion referred to the notion of our govt paying smugglers to do a return journey in the unsafe boats
This Labor did it too line was already foreshadowed by Toolman on ABC news last night, with the Labor response being the same we don’t comment routine as the govt.
Labor Must get on the front foot about this now.
If they remember how.
If the govt get away with this it’s game over for the foreseeable future.
[
TrueBlueAussie
Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 9:11 am | Permalink
..
If both parties paid smugglers then there is a stark difference between Labor and the Coalition and that is the Coalition actually stopped the boats.
]
No boats no boats to bribe; obviously an “on water operational fact”; or using the vernacular “bullshit”.
JimmyD
Trouble is, he continues to spout his triumphal lies even when no one responds.
[
Labor has never had a policy of turning back boats ..EVER.
]
Well, not quite a policy, but Rudd did promise on the eve of the 2007 election that he’d turn back boats. As far as I’m aware they never carried through on that threat and indeed, went the other way once in office.
[“Tony Burke. And Richard Marle censure motion referred to the notion of our govt paying smugglers to do a return journey in the unsafe boats”]
You mean rather than what Labor did which was to pay people smugglers to send boats anyway?
Seriously Labor can’t win this argument no matter how it’s spun.
They aid people smugglers and we got 50,000 Illegal arrivals.
Even a whirlpool washing machine doesn’t have enough spin to get past those facts.
Hmm, “promise” is probably too strong a word. More like threatened to turn back boats.
If avery one consistently ignored the gormless troll he’d piss off eventually. He just does it for the attention and probably gets off on antagonising ‘lefties’, poor deluded fool that he is.
JimmyDoyle
It does amaze that some seem to get pleasure from acting as if they have the intellect of a rock.
poroti
But from what I’ve read, rocks do have a sense of history. 😉
adraian
The message to those not paying attention “Liberals will do anything to stop the boats and so did labor”. Pretty much destoys the Liberal wedge I would have thought.
[182
victoria
Our media is beyond pathetic. Fairfax did say that Labor never paid to turn back boats but only as by the by. This country is an embarrassment]
Yeah, of course they slipped that SINGLE SOLITARY sentence in to “provide context”. No doubt their mostly dead conscience picked at them enough that they felt they had to put SOMETHING in there to show, I don’t know, ethics, balance, reason.
But they soon reverted to type with that big bold headline and paragraph after paragraph of insinuations, suggesting that Labor was just as bad as the Coalition, so Labor had better go die in a ditch as far as Fairfax is concerned.
If Fairfax even raises so much as a peep complaining about why Labor doesn’t challenge the Government on border, refugee and immigration issues, they’ll implicate themselves as completely despicable hypocrites, and every member of the Labor front bench will be completely justified in pointing DIRECTLY back to this miserable article.
Perhaps the government’s anything goes attitude to AS and payments to people smugglers can just as readily be applied to stopping those who traffic drugs?
I gather that the price of coke on the streets in Oz from Mexico or wherever, is double that in the US.
The strongest point the red necks are using is that $50K spent on paying off people smugglers saves millions when it comes to actually assessing said AS.
How many multi-millions would be saved if Abbott turned his attention to the drug dealers doing the importing?
The sad part about it all is that the rusted-ons actually don’t care and don’t want to know – as long as the boats don’t come in.
What a smug, selfish, uncaring and self-satisfied lot many of our fellow citizens appear to be.
Same attitude, I guess, as Germans who saw nothing and said nothing when people just disappeared on train trips to the east.
The big risk for Abbott is that if some boats actually do get through his whole policy will be in absolute tatters.
He has sold his backside on this one.
The irony is that he is actually trying to take the high moral ground as well as the politics.
[Plus they’re a bunch of tinpot authoritarians with no belief in constitutional democracy.]
In their view democracy is just a means to an end, which end is dispensing with democracy the moment they can get away with it.
You can see why they love the end justifies the means argument. Accept that in principle, which is what they are trying to get the voters to do, and it is all over for democracy, rule of law, and any notions of fairness and basic human decency.
TBA
If you have any brains at all try engaging like a rational person not a 12 year old troll.
A combination of factors has led to the reduction in “boat people”. They are:
1. New visa rules in Indonesia which helped reduce the flow from Iran and Iraq- This started in mid 2013. Labor can take most of the credit for negotiating this, although maybe it was Indonesia itself which decided to act.
2. Manus Island horror detention centre. Yep this has really scared off many “economic” migrants especially middle class Iranians. The Labor government restarted the idea, but the horror stories and deaths under the Abbott regime certainly have helped.
3. Turnback boats policy – Yes this has worked to an extent. I will concede that it has proved effective in the short term
4. Economic downturn in Australia, reducing the pull factor. This was quite big factor in 2009, when Australia was doing better than the rest of the world
5. Co-operation from Indonesia. This should not be underestimated
6. Ending of the civil war in SriLanka and a reduction in atrocities against Tamils.
All of these factors have helped to reduce the number of boats, especially in the May-August period 2014.
So what about 2015?
1. The no of refugees world wide has leaped up, so Iraqis will be fleeing anywhere they can, form the evil ISIS/Daesh. They have very little choice about where to go, since Syria is also threatened by ISIS, Suadi Arabia funds Isis, Iran may welcome/support Shiites fleeing, but possibly not the Sunnis who waged brutal war against them for many years. There are not too many safe stopping spots along the way. Any Iraqi who can get out of Iraq may well head for peaceful Sunni natins such as Malaysia or Indonesia
2. Thailand seems to have become very unwelcoming and is following Australian policy of turning Rohinga away.
3. Poor relations with Indonesia means that there is not much incentive for Indonesia to co-operate with Australia, so turning a blind eye to boat exits will probably go back to 2012 levels.