BludgerTrack this week splits the difference between two very different poll results – a dire one for the government from Ipsos, and a much better one from Essential Research – to record next to no change on two-party preferred, with Labor maintaining but not significantly improving on their very substantial gains over the last month. However, the state-level results have been favourable to Labor to the extent of adding two to the seat projection, namely one in New South Wales and one in Victoria. While Essential dampened any shift on voting intention this week, only Ipsos provided new numbers for the leadership ratings, which accordingly see a solid lift in Bill Shorten’s position, such that he has overtaken Tony Abbott on both net approval and preferred prime minister.
Fans of new content are advised to look carefully below this post, where they will find a belated account of the latest Tasmanian EMRS state poll, the regular Seat of the Week, and a reupholstered post on the all-important Canning by-election.
There is also a good article in Independent Australia about the disgraceful pass the commission gave to Kathy Jackson.
Liberal problem in Canning is they have to defend the seat at a local level all the while it’s turning into a proxy vote of do you or don’t you want Abbott as PM. The more resources & pork barreling they pour in the worse it looks from the locals point of view.
Given that Randell wanted to see the back of Tony & he was seen as a good ” local” member in touch with his constituents it’s unlikely his personal vote will transfere to ” no safety net ” Hastie.
Blind panic bound to set in after next local poll, even if it’s a union sponsored one.
[ “I have led under pressure and worked with honour, integrity, compassion and diligence. ]
Whenever I see this type of thing I recall a Scottish (I think) saying, wtte –
[The more he spoke of his honour and integrity – the more we check counted the family silver ]
hastie may have all these qualities, I don’t know but self praise is rarely a recommendation. Maybe some who served with him might have better made such observations.
He may well have the qualities he has boasted about but to say/ imply the political party he opposes fails to support our fighting forces is just beyond the pale.
He is off to a bad start, even if he wins.
Hastie and Abbott seem to come from the same school; you don’t try and stop them you just give them enough rope to hang themselves.
I am wondering how Hastie felt the Liberals would cover his back better; less of an inquiry into corpses losing their hands; or less effort to stamp out the mistreatment of women in the armed forces. Clearly it is not better pay.
Agree that Shorten gave the appropriate response re Hastie. Abbott and Co are shamelessly attempting to bait up Labor on this
Jackol@1450
Yep. Precisely how team Labor ought to handle it
Victoria
That seems to be Shorten’s strength; he doesn’t have an ego that prvents him from handing out the rope.
[Who’s the bigger jerk, Stutchbury or Latham?]
A deadshit dead heat.
frednk – Shorten is, in fact, very deft. He knows when to attack and when to defend. That becomes more and more apparent.
frednk
[I am wondering how Hastie felt the Liberals would cover his back better]
Good point. Only a total idiot would trust Abbott to cover their back.
KEVIN-ONE-SEVEN
Never argue with a fool; they drag you down to their level and beat you with experiance.
bemused@1232
Me too.
You don’t get to the end of the SAS training, and pass, unless you have incredible mental and physical toughness, and integrity. We are talking about an elite, in all senses of the word. If they have a good opinion of themselves, it is deserved, but I suspect that they are well aware of their own (minor) shortcomings, and work daily to overcome them, even though to the rest of us they have no need to be humble.
These are not raaa – raaa rugger buggers. These are highly trained, highly intelligent people who deserve our unreserved respect.
I am in awe of their abilities.
Frednk/k17
Many have criticised Shorten for not being reactionary. Definitely his strength that he isnt. Must frustrate Abbott no end
[I doubt many of the present PBers were even aware the blog existed in 2004.]
Possum’s place would have been more active then I think. Probably only popped in infrequently from there. Before that would have been Margot’s and Dunlop’s pre-blog blogs on Fairfax and News sites.
mikehilliard
So far this century the Libs gave them Iraq MkI . MkII , Syria and Afghanistan . What more could G.I. Joe ask for ? Labor gave ’em nothing.
[
victoria
Posted Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 7:56 pm | Permalink
Frednk/k17
Many have criticised Shorten for not being reactionary. Definitely his strength that he isnt. Must frustrate Abbott no end
]
Makes Shorten look like the adult and Abbott the kid that hasn’t got past university politics.
ratsak@1464
I was a frequent visitor to Possum’s blog until the run-up to the 2007 election, when I started frequenting PB.
[Agree that Shorten gave the appropriate response re Hastie.]
From the remark I saw posted here, yes. Better to portray Hastie as yet another patsy to the Abbott govt’s agenda of losing Australians their jobs, having no vision for the future of this country, or the local electorate.
Got to laugh at that knob-head Andrew Hastie with his line about not sitting behind a desk pushing paper.
Who the hell does this fuck-knuckle thinks pays taxes so we can afford to have a defence force in the first place?
Its the 99.99999% of us not in the military who work hard everyday so little rich boy pansys like him can put on war paint and play with guns.
What a fucking dud.
[ These are highly trained, highly intelligent people who deserve our unreserved respect. ]
*unreserved* is a bridge too far for me – But I’m not into blank cheques.
[ “It (the Cousins incident) is so serious that the Special Operations command put out an email to all unit commanders ordering them to distribute a directive from the Deputy Chief of Army, Maj-Gen Rick Burr,” one source revealed this week.
“That directive outlines a full audit of controlled items, meaning ammo and drugs.”
Commandos and SAS forces have been issued with morphine for decades, for good reason.
But the self-reliant special forces run on trust to such an extent their morphine supplies have been monitored no more strictly than their ammunition.
The military has enough trouble keeping track of arms, let alone drugs, but the Cousins incident has forced it to act.
Maintaining the line that divides “trained killers” from the criminal type is a dilemma for the military, especially at a time when so many soldiers have been exposed to the trauma of a shooting war in Afghanistan.
In 2009, an Australian commando was flown to hospital in Germany from Afghanistan after almost dying from a heroin overdose.
Early last year, Victorian police arrested a sacked army sniper recruited by the Comancheros outlaw motorcycle gang as an enforcer, effectively “standing over” drug users and dealers in Mildura.
Josh Faulkhead, then 37, claimed to be known as the “White Devil” by Afghani villagers, had been booted out of the army for steroid abuse. He allegedly moved seamlessly into dealing in ice and other illicit drugs for the Comancheros.
During Faulkhead’s tours of duty, he might have rubbed shoulders with one of Australia’s deadliest special forces “gunfighters”, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Two years ago, that man was discreetly pushed out of the army after a search of his quarters at a major Australian base revealed a cache of arms and ammunition he could not explain.
The fierce autonomy, resourceful-ness and aggression that made this particular non-commissioned officer a battlefield legend in Afghanistan did not fit well into the day-to-day barracks routine back in Australia. ]
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/why-did-ben-cousins-break-into-high-security-perth-defence-barracks/story-fni0fiyv-1227309796464
THe ABC 4C effort on Shorten will be interesting; not so much for what is says about Shorten but for what it will say about the ABC.
poroti
Your summation is correct, us “lefties” just don’t buy into useless wars.
I wonder what “cause” Hastie thought he was fighting for?
[I am wondering how Hastie felt the Liberals would cover his back better; less of an inquiry into corpses losing their hands; or less effort to stamp out the mistreatment of women in the armed forces.]
Me too. Hence my question: apart from ridding the ADF of its culture of abuse, what could Hastie’s comment possibly be directed at in terms of the two parties in govt?
I’ve started using the Baidu cloud service in China (basically because it gives me access to lots of classical music on the Chinese cloud). Nifty service.
Frednk
Abbott is still playing student politics. Any wonder this govt is a clusterf@@k
Stony Habbott
And what does Hastie think he is going to do as an MP. Fly around in choppers like dear old Bronnie. 😀
Can you tone it down a bit please, Stony Habbott.
Tories showing how much they have the *back* of SASR –
[ Anger as government moves to sell off SAS housing in land grab
GOVERNMENT bean counters look set to expose the nation’s most elite soldiers to direct threat from wealthy neighbours, spies and possibly even terrorists.
Troops at the high-security Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) barracks at Swanbourne near Perth will be within sniper and “listening” range of millionaire housing if a plan to sell off Defence Housing Authority (DHA) houses at the SAS “married patch” on prime ocean front land goes ahead.
He said it was remarkable that no security assessment had been produced yet regarding the planned development of the “married patch”.
“We need to be reassured on a whole lot of security issues including possible espionage and the security of personnel and their families,” he said.
The last security assessment of the site was conducted in 1995.
“The threat levels are far higher now than they were 20 years ago,” Mr Nolan said.
SAS wives who live at the village told News Corp that the DHA viewed the development as nothing more than a business transaction.
“There is nothing wrong with our houses and this is a complete and utter waste of time and money,” a wife, who cannot be identified for security reasons, said.
“Our lives are often challenging enough. Our husbands need their home to be a place of refuge to decompress from the stress of their jobs and repeated deployments.”]
http://www.news.com.au/national/anger-as-government-moves-to-sell-off-sas-housing-in-land-grab/story-fncynjr2-1227282419677
PB didn’t have comments in 2004. I think ML’s comment is being misinterpreted slightly.
When did you open up for comments Billbowe? I think I would have found this place from Possum’s in the pre-Crikey days so maybe late 06?
William,
Noted and Sorry.
Andrew Hastie deserves respect for his work as an SAS officer but he deserves contempt for invoking that service in an arrogant and distasteful way. He is NOT better than someone who contributes to society in a non-military occupation. The Coalition is NOT better for the wellbeing of troops than Labor. The claims he is making are reminiscent of Tony Abbott’s aggressive hyperbole. He has all the makings of an insufferable braggart who talks a big game but delivers nothing.
William,
Noted and apologies.
Take 2.
Got to laugh at that fool Andrew Hastie with his line about not sitting behind a desk pushing paper.
Who the hell does this guy thinks pays taxes so we can afford to have a defence force in the first place?
Its the 99.99999% of us not in the military who work hard everyday so little rich boys like him can put on war paint and play with guns.
What a dud.
liberals are daring Labor to bite over Hastie, so are much of the media. I think we’re all supposed to’ve forgotten that Abbott wants to cut their pay. Maybe the ABC has. Hastie seems to’ve, an all.
I’m a relative newcomer to PB. I started posting in January 2012 but looked in occasionally before then.
[When did you open up for comments Billbowe?]
2005 some time, I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCW6Kte2o1A
[William Bowe
….PB didn’t have comments in 2004. I think ML’s comment is being misinterpreted slightly.]
…as oft they are.
PS its H not ML now me hearty*
*watching Pirates of the Caribbean, don’t you know
A lot of people came here about 2007 when whats his name closed etc.
Brian ?
dave:
[SAS wives who live at the village told News Corp that the DHA viewed the development as nothing more than a business transaction.]
Wives and families obviously don’t factor in the ‘have your back’ considerations. They can fend for themselves. 😉
Stony Habbott@1484
You mean the 99.99 whatever % not in the military who would squeal like stuck pigs if Australia was ever threatened and needed a strong military and didn’t have it?
I came here after Bryan Palmer’s blog closed for comments, and left for a while during the Clinton/Obama wars.
I remember finding the length of threads a bit daunting!
[ I think we’re all supposed to’ve forgotten that Abbott wants to cut their pay. ]
I think a good way to handle this is for people from the ALP to welcome the coming contest of ideas that will be the Canning by election, and express hope that if elected the Liberal candidate will stand up and fight for decent pay for his fellows in the ADF.
Libs on twitter are really pushing Hastie.
TPOF,
[Well, you are applying for a job that is going to demand an awful lot of sitting behind a desk pushing paper. Are you going to be able to handle the tedium?]
Of course he will.
During Question Time and Committee work, as a pen-pusher, he’ll find a very interesting and more useful purpose for his pen.
He’ll take out more opposition members than Mesma with her Death Stares.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FqwQDrURS0
Fess – at best hastie has been hasty and selective in his finger pointing.
A bad start – which goes to trust and character.
(That last but pinched from what the murdoch snakes would say about Labor).
[ zoomster
Posted Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 8:30 pm | Permalink
I came here after Bryan Palmer’s blog closed for comments ]
Yep. Same here.
imacca@1494
Makes sense to me.
but = bit
Grrr.