NOTE: The configuration of comments at the moment is as a result of a glitch which will, I am told, be rectified over the next 24 hours – so hopefully by Wednesday afternoon.
This week’s reading of the Essential Research fortnight rolling average has Labor’s blowout lead from last week moderating slightly, from 55-45 to 54-46. On the primary vote, the Coalition is up a point to 35%, Labor is steady on 37%, the Greens are up a point to 10%, One Nation are down two to 8% and the Nick Xenophon Team is up a point to 4%.
The poll also finds 59% approval for the government’s proposal to invest $2 billion in the Snowy Hydro scheme, while its proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, once explained, draw 45% approval and 34% disapproval. However, another question finds 16% saying racial discrimination laws are too strong, 26% too weak and 40% about right.
Asked to select three from a list of favoured government priorities, health and ensuring big business pays a fair share of tax come out on top, and investment in renewal energy gains six points since the question was last asked in the middle of last year. On the importance of various international relationships, the United Kingdom has gained six points since June last year and Japan five points, both of which reverse earlier downward trends, leaving the UK and the United States at level pegging on top of the table. Only 6% rate that Australia’s relationship with the US is getting better compared with 41% for worse, for reasons I can only speculate about.
Elsewhere:
• Roy Morgan conducted one of its occasional small-sample polls on party leaders, which recorded little change for Malcolm Turnbull since the last such poll in October, with approval down one to 30% and disapproval up one to 54%. However, Bill Shorten recorded particularly weak ratings of 28% approval and 56% disapproval, respectively down three and up seven, while Turnbull’s lead on preferred prime minister widened from 47-32 to 49-32. Peter Dutton was added as a response option to the question of best person to lead the Coalition, and his 5% appeared to cause Tony Abbott to come down from 14% to 9%. Julie Bishop retained her lead over Malcolm Turnbull, although it narrowed from 34-25 to 30-27. Bill Shorten continues to run third on the Labor question, which has Tanya Plibersek up a point to 26%, Anthony Albanese down five to 19% and Bill Shorten up one to 15%. The poll was conducted Tuesday to Thursday two weeks ago from a sample of 534.
• Supplementary questions from yesterday’s Ipsos poll for Fairfax address penalty rates (29% believe the cut will encourage more businesses to open on Sunday, against 63% who do not), negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions (35% believe they should be pared back, 40% do not) and company tax cuts (44% support, 39% oppose). Another tranche of results published today relate to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, finding 78% agreeing with the section’s “offend, insult or humiliate” provision versus 17% opposed, but as there is no allowance for the “intimidate or harass” alternative proposed by the government, I would consider the Essential findings more useful.
• The Australian had a follow-up to last week’s Newspoll finding 59% support for higher penalty rates on Sundays, 29% for reducing them to Saturday levels, and 10% abolishing them altogether.
I remain a week behind the eight-ball on BludgerTrack, and continue to promise that normal service will resume at the end of this week. Let’s see if it actually happens this time. For the time being, here is the result I should have published at the end of last week, inclusive of the Newspoll result and last week’s Essential, but not the latest Ipsos and this week’s Essential.
And that’s a fact, says Malcolm, rubbing his nose 😆
Clearly Cash and the government didn’t think through the statement that some low income workers live in high income households. Most of those on the minimum wage are young and given that they probably live at home because their incomes do not allow them to mortgage or possibly even rent a house. Parents are possibly working so when you put it all together of course some individual low income earners are living in a household that collectively could be consided “high” income.
What they seem to be implying is that people like Lucy Turnbull are travelling in from Point Piper to clean rooms at some big hotel because someone in her household is earning a heap and therefore that should be taken into account when determining the level of minimum wages.
Barney
What do you mean by the “If true” bit?
It’s obvious, Abbotts got no idea, BishSnr no idea, and Cash even fawken less …
😀
Turnbull finally lost it. Piss funny!
Mal just completely lost it.
Dear oh dear people are so over dramatic precious petals these days (or at least the media and politicians are).
Here in Brisbane there is a bit of heavy rain with a possibility of local flooding. The BoM radar shows approaching rain as light to moderate, though extensive.
The whole city is closed down and the media has endless advice about “staying safe”.
This extreme concern about danger and safety from normal weather events contrasts starkly with the cavalier brutality of the current political and economic orthodoxy.
What has set Truffles off ?
Mal’s Margarita Moment
Mal demanded Shorten answer a question and Speaker said OL had no right to answer questions. House in uproar. The Mal had to be told 5 times to sit down, but went on roaring. Is he deaf ?
Shorten hold up a picture of a dead cat or was it the HIH tie ?
Reinhart taking on new workers at her mines, at much lower wages than existing employees:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/gina-rinehart-turns-to-netballers-to-cut-costs-at-roy-hill-mine-20170329-gv9gw5.html
She’s slowly moving towards her $2 an hour target.
So now its Labors fault that Cash apparently parroted what had been previously claimed to have been said by Labor.
I’ve been trying to get my head around that all through QT. I think Libs were prepared after her stuff-up this morning.
Yes, it’s really quite insane. Went for lunch and all the local shops were shutting down “due to weather”.
It’s just a rainy day with some wind, ffs! It’s not like the Sunshine Coast is suddenly adjacent to Airlie beach or anywhere else that’s experienced a legitimate disaster. The rain isn’t even that intense.
Swamprat
Is Koch doing any OB in the rain around Brisbane or has he skived off back to Sydney?
Clearly, like all dodgy bastards, Turnbull takes his good name very seriously
ab
The number of people he’s threatened to litigate against is legendary.
Sorry. Crikey ate it.
So bloody Truffles pretty much called the worker Shorten spoke about a liar
But ha bloody har Truffles
.
The case of Margarita Murray-Stark illustrates how workers reliant on Sunday work are likely to receive cuts that can be offset only if the Fair Work Commission phases them in over five years or more.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/08/housekeeper-writes-to-malcolm-turnbull-to-ask-him-to-stop-penalty-rate-cuts
CTar1
Look up HIH Insurance on Wikipedia. All the gory details and yet somehow not a single mention of a Turnbull.
Not sure what this means, good or bad….
Still not fixed I see. Might be back next week.
William – I really, really, really am sad that this platform has become unusable.
CTar1
[Barney
What do you mean by the “If true” bit?
It’s obvious, Abbotts got no idea, BishSnr no idea, and Cash even fawken less …
Where is the best place to watch the replay of QT from today. Bloody local Ergon decided to work on a pole right near the start of the Questions. Wammmmoohhh no power to de house.
Was just getting ready for the popcorn and bammmm
Kind folks where is the replay located.
Sorry, if no one is losing money through the cut in penalty rates (which is an absurd proposition) then there is no gain to the employer in cutting penalty rates, and thus no ‘benefits’ – in the shape of more hours employment – to pass on.
Thus Malcolm should be saying, “Of course she’s losing money, and a good thing too.”
If she’s not, because her employer has decided to keep on paying her penalty rates, then that employer is saying by doing so that there is no benefit to cutting penalty rates.
If so many employers are NOT cutting penalty rates, to the extent that Malcolm is justified in questioning whether it is happening at all, then there is no harm in the Liberals opposing the cut in penalty rates.
Or something. My head is beginning to hurt.
found it – Mr google answered my prayer.
lizzie
cupidstunt
So now its Labors fault that Cash apparently parroted what had been previously claimed to have been said by Labor.
I’ve been trying to get my head around that all through QT. I think Libs were prepared after her stuff-up this morning.
Labor apparently had a similar line in a previous submission but they were arguing that this was no reason to restrict any increase, while the Libs are arguing that it is a reason to restrict any increase.
lizzie,
Procedural changes would be good. All sides agree on that even th HRC.
Section 18C is the issue and a change in wording. That change is the holy grail for liberal conservatives and is opposed by labor , Senator X. and most of the cross bench.
If Tunbull thinks changing the procedural issues will cool the baying of the extreme right then he is in la la land. Right wing coalition pollies, commentators and the Australian will not be happy and this issue will continue to fester.
Just a band aid solution for Turnbull if it gets up.
Cheers.
found it but get the “page not found” when I click on the play …. might be a tad to early to watch the replay.
Cash’s line that her department had put it in the submission but she didn’t know what it meant …
Reeks of a minister who is getting paid to do a job and is not doing it.
PB still mingy and crappy on Thursday afternoon. Boo!
CBS Evening News
@CBSEveningNews
Intel chairman says Russia hired more than 1000 hackers to create fake, anti-Clinton news in key states, won by Trump.
Our tech people have been too busy getting nothing done to offer a status update on the comments situation. Will let you know if I hear anything.
“Chatter there’s an 18C crossbench deal in the wind with @Nick_Xenophon voting through procedural changes. Would smash out substance – words”
If so, best outcome. Leave the words of 18C alone, but change the procedure to deter frivolous and vexatious suits.
WB,
Thanks for the update.
When do we get the page numbers back?
Murdoch’s Oz on QT today – not a good look for Mr Harbourside Mansion:
Shorten throws Margarita in the mix
4:43PMROSIE LEWIS
PoliticsNow: The PM had no answer for a hotel cleaner worried about her penalty rates
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/employment-minister-michaelia-cash-just-made-a-complete-mess-of-the-governments-minimum-wage-arguments-on-live-radio-2017-3
Needs to resign….
Thanks William. You do a professional job in trying circumstances.
pritu
The last Crikey tech just went out to fix it saying “I am just going outside and may be some time”.
C@tmomma
PB still mingy and crappy on Thursday afternoon. Boo!
Remember none of us are paying for this service.
Crikey is a news site. They happen to to have a couple of blog pages. Nearly all of the blog pages get a dozen comments per post if they are lucky. One of the blogs, Pollbludger has a community of commentors who will post a couple of thousand comments per post. It is not at all surprising if the programmers who build this site don’t really care that much about Pollbludgers, as it is not in anyway their core business.
On the other hand, how hard can it be to have page navigation and time and date stamps on posts?
MTBW
You’re wrong. But the service is so bad I am considering whether to renew this year.
@Roger Miller
iT is no excuse regardless, for any blog or news site – key to be successful is navigation.
If the programmers don’t care about it, then should be replacing them with better ones.
If this gets through-
Scary read in the NY Review of Books about Trump’s dangerous escalation of military action in the Mid East in parallel with relaxing rules of engagement, abandoned diplomacy, decreased aid funding, and Tillerson a virtual no-show in Washington.
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/03/27/trump-in-the-middle-east-the-new-brutality/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20Paul%20Auster%20Trump%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20the%20value%20of%20translators&utm_content=NYR%20Paul%20Auster%20Trump%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20the%20value%20of%20translators+CID_547d48304529f3aed19840dde3c3d240&utm_source=Newsletter
Biggest failure of a President thus far I think:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hawaii-judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-travel-ban-n740396
The other advantage of the Senate amending, rather than rejecting, the Government’s bill is that it will force a vote in the lower house on 18C. Government Backbenchers in the lower house won’t be able to hide (I wonder if any will call in sick?)
I’m a long term Crikey subscriber since 2001 and I am NOT happy.
I’m just an ordinary political onlooker. However it seems there are political insiders, perhaps with some influence, who do read and contribute to PB.
On this basis, Crikey’s problems will not go unnoticed in the wider sphere.