The Guardian reports that the latest reading of the Essential Research fortnight rolling average, which has been delayed a day due to Monday’s public holiday, has Labor’s two-party lead unchanged at 52-48, after it fell from 53-47 last week. Primary votes will have to wait until later today. UPDATE: Full report here, with primary votes at Coalition 38% (down one), Labor 36% (down one), Greens 10% (steady), One Nation 8% (up two).
Other reported findings focus on terrorism and a low emissions target, with the former including a 47% approval rating for Malcolm Turnbull’s handling of the terror threat, compared with 56% in October 2015, and 24% disapproval, compared with 17%; 74% saying the terrorism threat in Australia has risen over recent years; 46% saying the government should be spending more on counter-terrorism, compared with only 9% for less; and 44% saying there should be more restrictions on rights and freedoms to combat terrorism, with only 12% saying current restrictions go too far, and 19% believing the current balance is right.
With respect to carbon emissions, 44% favour a low emissions target and 20% an emissions intensity scheme, with 36% opting for don’t know; and 27% saying capture and storage from coal generation should count as a low emissions energy source, compared with 29% who disagreed.
Also this week:
• The Australia Institute has published a ReachTEL poll of the Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong, which after incorporating prompting responses for the undecided finds primary votes of Liberal 48.9% (58.2% at the election), Labor 25.5% (19.8%) and Greens 17.0% (18.9%), and a respondent-allocated two-party result of 56-44 to Liberal (63.3-36.7). The poll also records a 77.9-15.5 split in favour of a clean energy target,
• Western Australian Senator Chris Back has announced he will retire as of the end of July, leaving a vacancy for a three-year term that runs to mid-2019. Andrew Burrell of The Australian identifies two possible successors: Slade Brockman, former chief-of-staff to Mathias Cormann, who is rated the front-runner; and Matt O’Sullivan, chief operating officer of Andrew Forrest’s GenerationOne indigenous youth employment scheme, who ran unsuccessfully in the southern Perth seat of Burt at last year’s federal election.
vogon poet @ #1299 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 7:34 pm
You have a very sensible dog. Give it a treat, it deserves it.
At midday today I decided that the time had come, the clouds had rolled in, and got the fire going. Warm as toast here now. We grow our own wood, and the fire gives a type of heat which is hard to quantify or describe, but is much more comforting than that from our efficient reverse cycle A/C.
Further to my #1300; it will be fascinating if the next ‘great tilt’ comes from the loss of weight over Antarctica as the ice there declines. Maybe Tasmania, Tierra del Fuego, New Zealand will be irrevocably changed ?
dan gulberry @ #1295 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 7:29 pm
My expression was a bit sloppy. Sorry about that.
Sadly I have heard reports that it is expected to reach three figures and like you I hope that is wrong.
Your list omits the soldier who had his throat cut, but is otherwise better than I could have done.
As for America, Twin Towers was big and not matched by any other single event I can think of. But of course it and the handful of other terrorist events are dwarfed by their annual gun death toll.
This story sounds familiar. Is the SMH recycling or its just first time published?
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/carl-scully-describes-conversation-with-malcolm-turnbull-in-new-memoir-20170616-gwsi8l.html
booleanbach @ #1302 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 7:40 pm
It would need a lot of physics and geology experts to work that one out.
But I thought that Antarctica was on a seperate (now) plate, and that Australia, South America, and NZ had long ago (circa 50 million years BP) parted company with Antarctica. Which would, you would imagine, mean that Antarctica was not now impacting in a significant way on the three plates which parted company with it.
But such a simple analysis may well have huge flaws.
Surely, Labor will love it if the Greens help the libs over the line with Gonski 2. Then they will scream about underfunding and offer it at the next election (using the new formula). It’s a no-brainer.
Guytaur,
You well may be correct.
However, next week the government will have to wheel and deal with the senate to get its ” Gonski” legislated.
The future of Australian children and the Australian education system will come down to three days of horse trading and conflicting demands. Cash will be thrown around and a litany of demands made of Turnbull so he can have his big win. The whole process will look like a mad dogs breakfast and the governments rolled gold ” Gonski 2.0″ will finally end up as a hybrid funding model held together by band aids and because it has been rushed it will start leaking soon after it is launched.
Not really a good look.
Cheers.
Booleanbach,
What a coincidence this story came into my Inbox today, after yours about Louisiana and Bangladesh:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/15/world/europe/climate-change-rotterdam.html?emc=edit_th_20170616&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=70388838
Con
Apparently the dredging by the oil and gas companies are aYUGE factor in Lousiana. Land started ‘disappearing’ many decades ago once they got going.
One question I want answered is this.
Suppose Labor wants to wave the Gonski legislation through with a view to fixing it when they get elected. Is there anything structural that would require new legislation and would have difficulty in the situation where Labor has to deal with a cross bench?
Don even
Doyley
Yes the Senate will not be a good look for them. Its only the media cover up that has avoided talking about the weak LNP government can’t negotiate by doing a compare the pair with the Gillard government.
However I think the polls show the voters get it.
Cud,
The main flaw with ” labor waving it through and topping it up when elected “is the assumption that labor will win the next election. Long way to go.
Cheers.
I was having an interesting conversation with two conservatives the other night. One a guy who works in federal protective services and another who was a barrister. We all agreed that Turnball is a nothing, a vacuous hollow man in a suit with no principles. The former don’t believe in global warming, but still agreed that we need to switch to a combination of renewable resources as petroleum and coal will run out one day. The latter got into a heated argument with him about the scientific credibility of the phenomena. We all agreed that nuclear power should be a part of the solution and despaired at the fact that merely mentioning this idea is inflammatory. If we are already using land to store nuclear waste in South Australia and we are capable of being mature and professional in terms of constructing and maintaining these facilities I see no reason why nuclear power should not be a part of the conversation. It’s conversations like these that make me feel a lot less cynical about politics and our current prevailing attitude of hyper-partisanship.
What are they thinking?
The retractions seem to be something decided while the proceedings were in progress.
I can see George’s hand all over this and I don’t think it will end well.
The Australian has done the obvious thing and will probably avoid any sanctions.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/16/federal-ministers-fail-to-apology-for-attack-on-hard-left-judges
bemused @ #1165 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 3:07 pm
I saw it thanks, in Sale in a couple of weeks and have nothing to do outside of work, and this trip I’m aiming to severely limit my alcohol intake, and the trip coincides with the fortnightly Sale Toastmasters meeting, so I’ll get there.
http://kevinbonham.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-uk-and-australian-elections-werent.html
The UK and Australian Elections Weren’t That Similar
BiGD,
I can see George’s hand all over this and I don’t think it will end well.
Don’t forget the Spycatcher QC running the show who would love another win against the beaks in the twilight of his career.
Sky news talking about the fajll of the government over jail time with contempt charges.
So smart of Ministers not to apologise
Sorry thats Samantha Maiden on Sky News
grimace @ #1316 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 8:12 pm
That should be interesting to see how they compare with your club.
Will you give a speech? Something provocative for an LNP area?
guytaur @ #1319 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 8:20 pm
Hahaha… I made that suggestion earlier today, but not really seriously.
Bemused
Yeah. Sounds like the media realises the consequences of not apologising more than the Ministers do.
guytaur @ #1323 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Be good to see that trio in the slammer.
Bemused
Apparently last time this particular kind of contempt was cited saw the jailing of Norm Gallagher of BLF fame
A week of the arrogant gits cooling their heels in gaol would do wonders for the separation of powers.
guytaur @ #1325 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 8:34 pm
Oh you are making me really excited and happy!
it’s time @ #1326 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 8:35 pm
During which time maybe the opposition could move a no confidence motion in the house. {super big grin}
Bemused
Its still up to the judges
Abc news crossing to latest London incident. Outside parliament shortly
Not terror related. Just a suspect with a knife
Colin Jenkins on
“Americanism Personified: Why Fascism Has Always Been an Inevitable Outcome of the American Project”
Long article – much to think about.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/colin-jenkins/73453/americanism-personified-why-fascism-has-always-been-an-inevitable-outcome-of-the-american-project
Don
the best birds I ever had were a pair of nesting kingfishers. They would not tolerate another bird in their vicinity. For year after year, I had cherries and strawberries by the bucketload — and then one summer, the kingfishers vanished.
I now have lots and lots of birds but no cherries or strawberries…
Three Turnbull ministers have expressed regret but refused to apologise for their criticism of terror sentencing when hauled before the Victorian supreme court
A too-smart-by-half fauxpology is just not going to cut it in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Anyway, it’s about time the Big Swinging Dicks in the Victorian Liberal Party were brought to book by one of the only authorities that can. The media have certainly abrogated their responsibility to hold the powerful to account.
Shining Path, the Marxist terrorist organisation in Peru, killed 69,000 people.
Still, some have said this polystyrene cladding is going to be the 21st century asbestos. I can’t believe the building codes are so pathetic.
diogenes @ #1335 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 9:15 pm
Anyone who has ever seen a piece of polystyrene burn should require no further guidance that it is a bad idea to use it in cladding.
CudChewer
Beazley was great at waving bad legislation through and saying he’d fix it after the next election. Trouble is, he would then lose and we’d not only be stuck with bad legislation but bad legislation Labor had supported.
“Anyone who has ever seen a piece of polystyrene burn should require no further guidance that it is a bad idea to use it in cladding.”
Eyewitnesses said it went from nothing to a catastrophic fire in 15 minutes. It’s totally inexcusable that it happened.
Confirmed tower fire death toll now up to 30.
The Court of Appeal may simply rebuke them and take no further action.
What is vile is the conga line the ministers formed to be quoted in the Oz to comment on what was some half arse reporting of the court cases.
Actually, I was listening to a report on the BBC last night and it was mentioned that there are 2 types of filling in the cladding, fire-retardant and non-flammable.
Presumably the polystyrene treated with chemicals is supposed to be fire retardant. Clearly it isn’t to any satisfactory degree.
The non-flammable filling was characterised as ‘mineral’. Asbestos anyone? What else could it be, does anyone know?
There are buildings in Melbourne and Adelaide with that type of cladding. Let’s see what happens about them.
bemused
This is a pretty good summary.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/what-is-cladding-and-why-it-is-used-on-buildings-20170615-gwrir6.html
I gather some of the fire retardant chemicals are toxic and banned in Germany. Sounds like all high-rise building in Australia are going to be audited.
Grenfell Tower is a turning point in the whole ‘red tape is bad, private is better than public’ meme.
The Guardian today described it as May’s Katrina moment and she’s a dismal failure for defending her not meeting community members on ‘security grounds’. She should be sacked for that comment alone.
Tory Ministers and ex-ministers are scrambling for cover and refusing to answer questions about why they ignored previous inquiries and review.
Even the Queen was out sympathising with community members before May.
cuts to the Police and Fire Service is a slow burner.
Labour MPs are starting to speak out and call it for what it is ….
The authorities are in the gun for ‘micromanaging’ the death toll.
in the most affluent borough in the country.
It’s a perfect storm that willrun for weeks.
Facebook is alive with anger from my UK friends.
Try this on the cladding –
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-banned-cladding-that-was-used-on-grenfell-tower-kd02bwjlx?shareToken=598e93e6e22e01be37bf46dd0756d74e
Grenfell is the deathly manifestation of the Neoliberal mantra of Austerity, as an excuse to cut funding and regulation:
‘When I worked for KCTMO I had nightmares about burning tower blocks’
Seraphima Kennedy
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/16/worked-kctmo-nightmares-burning-tower-blocks
Which is the problem with taking the Neoliberal project too far. Eventually it turns around and bites you on the bum. It can’t be taken so far that it ends up undoing all the regulations that were put in place in the first instance to increase safety and decrease the chance of a disaster occurring.
The Kensington locals say the cladding wasn’t for insulation but more to improve the views and ‘amenity’ from properties in the more affluent parts of the borough. The recent reno to Grenfell provided no funds for a sprinkler system. The local council has a 300 sterling contingency fund. Yes the cladding was faulty and not fit for purpose but thats only half the story.
sprocket_ @ #1247 Friday, June 16, 2017 at 5:59 pm
I can contribute to this without being a solar engineer. Depending on your roof, its orientation and your latitude you can install east or west facing panels and still get a decent return on your panels. Generally speaking, the further north you are the better the overall irradiance.
If you have space, ground mounted solar is also an option and as a rule of thumb, add 30% to the cost of whatever system you’ve been quoted to cover the mounting system. There are some nice carpark solar options out there.
A must read article on austerity and the media outlets hat promote it:
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/06/why-we-must-politicise-tragedy-grenfell-tower
What she said, perfectly ….
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/16/theresa-may-scared-grenfell-survivors-finished-austerity-cameron-osborne