The latest result for Essential Research is largely unchanged on last week, with the Coalition steady on 42% of the primary vote, Labor steady on 38% and the Greens down one to 9%. One change is that the pollster has dumped Palmer United from its survey and replaced it with the Nick Xenophon Team, which opens it account on 3%. The poll also features Essential’s monthly leadership ratings, which find Malcolm Turnbull up one on approval to 40% and up three on disapproval to 42%, Bill Shorten up four on approval to 34% and down one on disapproval to 43%, and Turnbull’s lead as preferred prime minister narrowing from 44-22 to 43-28. There is also a suite of questions on social class, something 81% agreed existed in Australia, with only 8% saying otherwise. Only 2% of respondents identified as upper class, yet 53% thought the Liberal Party mainly served that party’s interests. Forty-eight per cent of respondents identified as middle class, which 15% thought mainly served by Liberal and 17% by Labor, while 34% identified as working class, which 39% thought mainly represented by Labor and 4% by Liberal. The poll also found 48% approval of the budget’s internships scheme for the young unemployed, and 52% rating the election campaign too long versus 5% for too short and 32% for about right.
Essential Research: 51-49 to Labor
No change from Essential Research this week, which also records Malcolm Turnbull dipping into net negative territory on personal approval for the first time.
BB
Btw Federal court will decide tomorrow if AFP can access Ashby texts
In fact the obvious response to Dutton’ s remarks is that the federal govt used to provide settlement services for precisely the reasons he raises. Except the Howard govt substantially reduced if not abolished the very services that would’ve assisted refugee integration to Australian society.
I don’t watch/listen to any ABC news or current affairs these days, but I see Leigh Sales is being savaged on Twitter for her interview tonight. PB-ers not the only ones.
citizen @ #1230 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Wesley Rickard wins fastest ever to make it onto my (very small) STFU list. Took to just the opening of the third comment.
Looks all the world to me like a beta version bot out for its first field test.
Steve,
As I said earlier, the Liberal base is disengaged atm. Some like Turnbull. Others abhor him. It’s about finding an issue that they can all agree on and motivate them to attack Labor.
For the non Liberal disengaged, it’s just the latest shiny object to entertain. They’ll move on when something else happens.
confessions @ #1250 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Depends if our fearless national re-broadcaster picks up the story. So … no, probably not.
I don’t understand Turnbull’s strategy now. When the Liberals refused to act on Negative Gearing I was sure Malcolm had had enough of the RWNJ’s he was confronted with and was throwing the election (after putting a nice sum on Labor to win). But today he kind of sounded like he passionately meant what he was saying in regard to settling refugees. Does he want to win or not? Now I am not sure. Wondering when will the most catastrophic series of climate measurements in recorded history get a mention? Guess Labor is hiding from scrutiny over another Carbon Tax instead of arguing why we have to do it – like when Rudd threw the last election away and started talking budget black holes which no-one gives a stuff about.
730 in WA is doing some malpractising sexual abuse doctor.
So Peter Dutton claims his border force is stopping people smugglers, but it has drug smugglers on the inside http://www.theage.com.au/national/customs-officials-involved-in-drug-and-tobacco-smuggling-20160518-goy672.html …
Ok, I got to 4.59 out of 6.25 of the Leigh Sales interview. Do I have to watch all of it?
Christ, Leigh Sales is a harridan. Why does she think it’s smart to sound so pissed-off all the time?
WA 730 now doing indigenous remote schooling.
Is there a link to what eastern staters saw wrt federal politics?
*Gives up on 730*
Obviously the federal election campaign isn’t worth mentioning here. 🙁
Welcome JK!
bushfire bill @ #1249 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 9:23 pm
He was certainly on Kanimbla during WWII but am not sure when he left the Navy. Might have been before that voyage.
Labor would have been preparing assiduously for exactly this day. They know they cannot afford a single serious gaffe on this whatsoever, and must more-or-less neutralise it from the go. (They can’t win it in the current political climate.)
How successful they will be remains to be seen. But I am pretty sure they are as ready to give it their best shot as they could be.
Unlike Bluey, an otherwise sage and eloquent cephiness, I am not convinced Labor lost today. Just too early to call that one.
We shall see.
Fritz Schumacher, economist, wrote about the impossibility of infinite growth in a finite world. We need to give priority to improving the quality of our lives and helping people to flourish.
Nicholas
A finite world means we can’t keep improving the quality of our lives or help people to flourish.
It’s a pity we can’t display images on the blog, this is a Grade A meme:
This is for markjs, who was asking earlier whether Christopher Pyne had had anything to say about Dutton:
Sales was a shocker. Shame abc shame!
Re Cat’s Mother @10:03PM: so, Pyne’s answer was ‘No’.
https://newmatilda.com/2016/05/18/tunnel-collapse-the-insider-emails-that-show-westconnex-in-a-new-light/
It’s time to break the political duopoly.
Most of the CPG are critical of Turnbull praising Dutton today. But when the likes of Massola, Kenny, Libtika and Grattan join in the chorus of disapproval you get the impression the LNP have over-reached with this particular dead cat. Sales over-reached tonight too, parroting the LNP daily tip sheet lines, but we’ve come to expect that of her.
Still 70 odd days to go …. Today’s LNP tactics might have worked in the frenzied last two weeks of the campaign as a diversion a la Tampa, but this early it strikes of panic. I suspect the LNP may come to rue the day they let Dutton’s inner Hanson loose.
The liberal strategy is obvious win back Howard’s battlers on racism. Conflate job security with refugees- classic immoral right wing /fascist playbook.
I don’t think bashing on refugees will be all that beneficial to Liberals. People that will support Libs over refugees would already be doing so. Plus, it looks lame when Turnbull is the one running this latest refugee bashing campaign. It just reminds people of Abbott days. I think the issue has lost most of its potency over time as the boats have stopped coming.
Rossmore
45 days to go
“It’s time to break the political duopoly.”
No, it is time to get big money and their army of lobbyists out of politics.
We saw a different 730 in the west. Interesting.
At some point, Malcolm is going to have a full-on panic attack, when he realises that he is on the verge of the biggest political choke in Australian history – that instead of being a coronation, this election is going to be a public hanging. I wonder if he’s already had it, and that’s why he’s sounding so passionate about boats. This is a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
I agree with Bluey. The Crosby/Textor dead cat won the day. I’m very sure they have stored up a few more stinkers to throw out as required. They will also use repetition and repetition of a few key framings. Worked very well in the UK. Media totally sucked in, with no analysis of the strategy.
One can only hope the ALP office have their own negative strategy well tested and ready to go.
Although his comments were repugnant, Dutton was correct in saying that the unemployment rate among refugees is very high, I gather more than 50% at five years.
Nothing ‘inner’ about Dutton’s Hanson. In fact, Dutton is a stupider version of Abbott.
K17
Wouldn’t you be? Whenever he looks behind him he sees Abbott getting closer and closer. And when he looks in the mirror he sees Abbott’s face in the reflection. No wonder he is getting a bit shrill!
Victoria feels like 70…..
Rossmore
It sure does!
Bingo!
Rowan
3m3 minutes ago
Rowan @FightingTories
So the Gov that signed FTAs which allowed other countries to bring their own workers, now say refugees will
https://theconversation.com/election-factcheck-are-many-refugees-illiterate-and-innumerate-59584
Try again
Rowan
6m6 minutes ago
Rowan @FightingTories
So the Gov that signed FTAs which allowed other countries to bring their own workers, now say refugees will take our jobs
paddy o @ #1276 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 10:14 pm
‘WE will decide who gets the Jobs and Growth in this country, and the manner in which they get them!’
FESS, you left 730 too soon. We got what you got – politics wasn’t up front tonight.
The Libs aren’t appealing to the base on refugees folks it’s the swing and labor voters and Mal shows that he’ll do anything to get elected. cartoonist should draw Mal in red speedos,
confessions @ #1280 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 10:20 pm
I doubt it. Everything you mentioned was on 7.30 in Victoria.
vic:
That’s a good point about the foreign workers.
jenauthor:
I have tried to search on iView but without success.
Josqim .. Except, unlike the UK, the media haven’t been sucked in …. They are outraged at Turnbull fanboing Dutton.
Conflating, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers was an old Hanson ploy … And the ploy might still win votes in the UK, but it touches the rawest of nerves in Oz, a nation overwhelmingly comprised of families of migrants.
confessions @ #1295 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 10:34 pm
http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/7-30/NC1605H098S00
Bizarrely, NewsCorp has commissioned a study into the effect of freezing the medicare rebate on gap payments. A $222 gap is ridiculous, although I note they say “up to” in the fine print so it’s a meaningless figure.
Turnbull must have really pissed Murdoch off.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/federal-election/how-the-cost-of-having-a-baby-getting-your-tonsils-out-and-having-a-colonoscopy-is-about-to-rise/news-story/20e96f46044f00d745fd59b8489bc574
I think today Turnbull lost the main ingredient a polly needs to succeed….
TRUST
Sales shocker was on in WA I switched channels so I wouldn’t throw a shoe at the tv!