The Guardian reports that Essential Research’s fortnight rolling average has Labor’s two-party preferred lead unchanged at 54-46, with the Coalition (37%), Labor (39%), the Greens (9%) and One Nation (8%) all unchanged on the primary vote. The poll also records 39% approval of the postal ballot on same-sex marriage with 47% opposed, just one week after the same question elicited respective results of 43% and 38%.
The survey also found that 33% considered the top marginal tax rate of 47% too high, compared with 12% for too low and 39% for about right. A suite of questions on the Turnbull government’s handling of various policy areas recorded negative results for “the implementation of the national broadband network, schools and universities funding, addressing climate change, funding health and hospitals, implementing a fair tax system and ensuring reliable and affordable energy”, with the only positive result apparently being for “protecting Australians from terrorism”. Only 15% reported satisfaction with the government’s policies and progress in implementing them, with a further 28% reckoning only that it hadn’t made enough progress, and 41% expressing disapproval for its policies and decisions.
Other questions related to respondents’ financial situations, with 53% reporting that their income had fallen behind the rising cost of living, 25% saying it had remained even, and only 15% saying it had improved.
Section 2 . . .
The Turnbull Government’s requirement for a postal plebiscite on marriage equality but not for sending troops to North Korea only reinforces the importance of voting “Yes”, says John Passant.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/love-war-and-marriage-equality,10609
Now how will the government shitcan THIS energy project in SA?
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/south-australia-energy-plan-port-augusta-will-be-home-to-new-650-million-solar-thermal-power-plant/news-story/857bd46f35b44689846cfbd04a5af54b
By bowing to pressure on him Trump makes it look worse by now condemning the right wing thug organisations.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/trump-bows-to-pressure-to-condemn-white-nationalists-kkk-in-charlottesville-20170814-gxw6o3.html
Charlottesville started with a statue. “Will Americans confront their history now?”asks Steven Thrasher.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/14/charlottesville-confederate-monuments-racism-us-history
Trump finally gets around to describing racism as “evil”. Here are sixteen times he embraced it!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/08/14/trump-condemned-racism-as-evil-here-are-16-times-he-embraced_a_23077415/?utm_hp_ref=au-homepage
And Trump gets all thingy on Twitter as he is enraged by the resignation of a CEO from his manufacturing council. Child!
http://www.smh.com.au/world/donald-trump-fires-back-after-the-ceo-of-merck-resigns-over-virginia-violence-20170814-gxw6dk.html
Following the death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, the media must find the language to take on the so-called ‘tie Nazi’ as robustly as they would the ‘boot Nazi’. The Nazi thinkers should be called out as thugs writes Zoe Williams.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2017/aug/14/tackle-neo-nazis-thinkers-thugs-charlottesville
The leader of the neo-Nazi group that James Fields marched with in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday before allegedly killing a protester with his car served in the US marine corps until earlier this year.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/14/charlottesville-attack-vanguard-america-james-fields-dillon-hopper
Greg Jericho writes that it is now apparent that the issue of inequality is the economic topic of 2017. He says that that while global forces are at play, the drop in union membership is a significant factor. Australia is not alone with this phenomenon.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/aug/15/imf-report-shows-lower-unionisation-leads-to-lower-wages
Dave Donovan tells us about the top five Liberal Party “wise guys”.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/matthew-guy-and-the-mafia-top-five-liberal-party-wise-guys,10610
Section 3 . . .
Public servants have been warned they could breach their conditions of employment by making political comments during the Turnbull government’s postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage. Pathetic!
http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/warning-for-public-servants-over-samesex-marriage-plebiscite-campaign-20170814-gxvi6b.html
David Marr hits back strongly at yesterday’s pontificating from Paul Kelly.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/14/marriage-equality-paul-kelly-churches-lgbti-rights-david-marr
Peter Hartcher writes that Kim is more predictable than Trump.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/as-experts-in-extortion-kim-jongun-and-tony-soprano-have-a-lot-in-common-20170814-gxvt3w.html
The directors of Network Ten knew for at least four weeks before the company’s collapse that James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings was not going to guarantee a new company loan but failed to pass this information onto shareholders. Very naughty!
http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/tens-board-failed-to-update-market-for-four-weeks-after-packer-walked-20170814-gxvpnu.html
Adele Ferguson on why CBA’s Ian Narev had to “retire”. I remember from the first round of appearances of the big four banks ‘ at the parliamentary inquiry he stood out for all the wrong reasons, arrogance being one of them.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/why-cbas-ian-narev-had-to-retire-20170814-gxvt2z.html
The CBA might have cut Narev loose but the pressure on it remains.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-board-cuts-narev-loose-but-pressure-remains-20170814-gxvsfc.html
On the same day the board tapped Narev on the shoulder, corporate regulator ASIC reported that CBA had agreed to refund about $10 million in credit card insurance it wrongly charged students and the unemployed – with an average refund of $154 including interest.
http://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2017/08/14/cba-credit-card-scandal/
Fugitive Clive Mensink asked his uncle Clive Palmer’s personal ¬assistant to book overseas cruises for him as recently as March, just weeks before the Federal Court issued warrants for the globetrotting businessman’s arrest. palmer is playing with fire. Google.
/news/investigations/clive-palmer/clive-mensink-asked-clive-palmers-aid-for-help-with-cruises/news-story/91ffe9dc97c8a420e01d8419fbf717c9
Former NSW Deputy Premier John Watkins with a rather vacuous contribution against the death with dignity push.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/so-much-to-lose-if-we-allow-voluntary-assisted-dying-20170814-gxvivj.html
Jenna Price on the role of teachers in the SSM marriage debate and the need to teach young people about civics.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/same-sex-marriage-we-should-all-be-out-campaigning-20170814-gxvtdo.html
Section 4 . . .
Huge rip-offs in the orthopaedic specialist surgeon industry have been detailed in a report from Medibank. Come to SA if you want good results for quite low out of pocket expense.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/same-surgery-different-surgeon-huge-variations-in-outofpocket-costs-for-orthopaedic-operations-20170814-gxvppb.html
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has criticised a parliamentary report on the black economy, saying it fails to understand how serious wage theft is in Australia. It has called for an overhaul of the industrial relations framework, saying the government needs to make it easier for workers to recover stolen wages from their bosses.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/15/actu-says-black-economy-report-ignores-scale-and-severity-of-wage-theft
In an embarrassing backflip, the Berejiklian government has conceded it unlawfully foisted an insurance-style scheme on thousands of people managing the financial affairs of incapacitated loved ones and has promised to issue refunds. Gladys is not having a good year.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-trustee-and-guardian-scotches-surety-bond-scheme-and-apologises-to-private-managers-20170804-gxpmqh.html
Priests would no longer be able to use the secrecy of the confessional to avoid reporting allegations of child sexual abuse, a royal commission recommends in its latest report. In the wide-ranging report into the criminal justice system, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has made 85 recommendations aimed at better protecting children. And already the pushback has begun.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/child-sexual-abuse-disclosed-in-confession-should-be-reported-royal-commission-20170814-gxvlie.html
Bernie Sanders has written an op-ed in which he says “Most Americans want universal health care so what are they waiting for?”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/14/healthcare-a-human-right-bernie-sanders-single-payer-system
The Parliamentary Budget Office has been forced to disown modelling released by the Turnbull government that claimed Labor’s tax plan would put a $150 billion tax bill on families and small businesses.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/parliamentary-budget-office-disowns-150-billion-turnbull-government-costing-20170814-gxvmad.html
Government lawyers battling terrorists, child sex offenders and other serious criminals fear their jobs are to be outsourced as their bosses trim employee numbers, according to the public service union. What in the hell is going on with this mob?
http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/federal-government-to-dump-prosecutors-for-labourhire-lawyers-20170814-gxvo9i.html
The demolition of the Manus Island detention centre must stop immediately, lawyers for the detainees have told Papua New Guinea’s supreme court. Work to dismantle to centre, including the shutdown of power and water, breached the constitutional rights of refugees and asylum seekers, the court heard.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/14/manus-island-detention-centre-demolition-must-stop-detainees-lawyers
Young adults who consume too many energy drinks are more likely to use cocaine later in life, new research shows. Bloody hell!
http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2017/08/14/energy-drinks-cocaine-drugs/
The control of Australia’s insurance market wielded by Warren Buffett’s General Re makes his continuing health a subject of real import for the Australian financial system, write Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/keane-dyer-how-will-warren-buffetts-death-affect-australian-market/
Mimhoff
For one thing reasonable steps depend upon personal resources. Its clearly reasonable for Sam to have spent 25 000 renouncing his citizenship because he did without any hesitation. Its probably not reasonable for a non independently wealthy independent candidate to do so.
Also one party being willing to take steps doesn’t mean they are ipso facto reasonable. I might be willing to murder someone in my family to break the line of a citizenship I could potentially inherit but that’s not bloody likely to make it reasonable that others should be so.
Looks like Jay is well ahead of Malcolm:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/14/port-augusta-solar-thermal-plant-to-supply-south-australian-government
Section 5 . . . Cartoon Corner Part 1
Ron Tandberg and Turnbull’s hierarchy of problems.
Nice work from Cathy Wilcox.
Mark David with Barnaby Joyce’s problems.
Cruel work from David Pope.
Paul Zanetti with Turnbull’s fallout problems.
A bit of alchemy has been done on that lump of coal.
David Rowe and Trump’s bed hair.
‘Turnbull has warned he will challenge the citizenship of at least 5 Labor MPs if Labor tries to exploit the crisis.’
If there is any doubt about any MPs eligibility, there should be no question of ‘warnings’. They should be automatically referred to the High Court, regardless of what Labor does or does not do.
Thank, Ides. I can’t ever listen to Chrissie Pyne.
Section 6 . . . Cartoon Corner Part 2
Matt Golding and the citizenship crisis.
More from Golding as the polls go to Guy’s sand belt electorate.
Mark Knight on the sinkhole that has appeared in Parliament House.
Mark Knight on the Charlottesville clash.
Sean Leahy serves it up to Barnaby!
As does David Rowe.
And Mark Knight.
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/2e1a95c045ae3aae7a7e447e2008df8b?width=1024
Pat Clement and Turnbull’s flightless kiwi.
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/67cec1858e94513fdc1e6eb584196a85
A good reminder from Ron Tandberg.
nytimes: Steve Bannon’s position is growing precarious. Rupert Murdoch and others have pressed President Trump to fire him. nyti.ms/2w7VoQf
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/us/politics/steve-bannon-trump-white-house.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Morning bludgers
Let me get this straight.
It has been established that Joyce has dual citizenship, and he won’t step aside until HC rules on matter. Meanwhile, Turnbull is saying Labor has questions to answer on some of their own MPS! Really!!!!!
mimhoff
Don and other eclipse fans: There’s one that goes across Australia and right through the centre of Sydney in July 2028. Save the date!
Noted – the only problem is whether I will be around to see it!
Any day you don’t wake up dead is a great day. Today is a great day!
Amanda Vanstone on News 24 bagging Tony Abbott.
lenoretaylor: Labor in talks with crossbench following Barnaby Joyce high court referral – politics live theguardian.com/australia-news…
https://twitter.com/lenoretaylor/status/897220942484471808
Fess
The good people of Sturt need to do Australia a favour and turf him.
“lenoretaylor: Labor in talks with crossbench following Barnaby Joyce high court referral ”
Go for it and rip the bastards a new one.
Although i suspect a timid crossbench wont move or even say anything definitive.
annabelcrabb: So many opportunities offered by yesterday’s events. This is pretty good in the Tele pic.twitter.com/MAaAa4zPjk
Don’t underestimate how canny cross benchers can be when a government is facing awful polls and a possible minority. All they have to do is say something non-commital and they’ve instantly got a huge amount of bargaining power.
EL
You are precisely correct. Sharkie is particulalry powerful as they also need her colleagues in the senate.
A bit of vision of Barnaby entering PH earlier, I think.
Not looking quite so confident.
Thanks bk.
For me Tandberg nails it this morning.
ChristineMilne: Mr Speaker, there are Parlt procedures in Standing Orders for removing a stranger, not eligible to be there, from the House. #auspol
Is Turnbull going to try to make dual citizenship unlawful for everyone???
“All they have to do is say something non-commital and they’ve instantly got a huge amount of bargaining power.”
Agreed, but will they exploit and do something worthwhile with it? There is stuff they could push.
That wage exploitation legislation Cash is sitting on for example?? The penalty rates probably too controversial for them but the bank inquiry should be a no brainier. I’d like to be pleasantly surprised and see them do something but am keeping expectations low.
They don’t generally get to bring things to the floor the government objects too (so probably not banks) but they can usually get pork or push the government to do something it was considering but hesitant on or that it’s totally indifferent too.
Mr Bowers caught this image of Mr Joyce going to work
I get the feeling Labor are egging on Turnbull and Co re dual citizenship.
Turnbull wrote a letter to Shorten offering assistance for any of their MPS who may have issues with their citizenship. Shorten replies thanks but no thanks. All good. In meantime, Turnbull and Co. Bleat on about some Labor MPS needing to clarify their citizenship. Labor appears to be playing dead on issue. My feeling is to flush out the fibs for sheer hypocrisy. Ie. The more the fibs suggest Labor have something to answer for whilst still not having Barnaby step aside whilst matter dealt with
The bells are tolling for Bannon’s exit!
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/us/politics/steve-bannon-trump-white-house.html
Elaugaufein
The point isn’t to set up ridiculous scenarios like murdering your parents. Every Labor candidate (so 188 people per election) was able to go through their process. That suggests to me that a vetting process is a “reasonable step”.
What do other parties do to ensure their candidates are eligible? (Malcolm Roberts knew he wasn’t eligible and did take steps to address this.)
victoria @ #78 Tuesday, August 15th, 2017 – 8:38 am
Labor are taking advantage of the Government’s chaos to prosecute their policy agenda.
“After the deputy prime minister’s eligibility was referred to the high court, Labor is negotiating with the crossbench to strike out the penalty rate cut and establish the bank royal commission”.
Labor are not about to waste this crisis on trivialities.
This is the nutcase who ran over the peaceful anti-fascist protestors in Charlottesville:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/scared-he-is-going-to-become-violent-mother-of-charlottesville-driver-james-alex-fields-called-911/2017/08/14/4bf61190-812a-11e7-82a4-920da1aeb507_story.html?pushid=599225e9a1ccab1d00000022&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.b9ec247eddee
mana_kailani: BJ says he won’t stand down on advice from Sol General. We all saw how good that guy’s advice was to the Contempt of Court 3
A vetting process is a reasonable step, but I’m doubtful that Labor’s process in particular will set a lower bar, it’s far too high in terms of institutional resources for smaller groups, particularly without Labours institutional ties that give it ready access to legal advice on call. Though perhaps I’m overestimating the unwillingness of the high court to effectively drop us into a 2 party system.
Re the great news on Jay Weatherill contracting the new Aurora solar thermal plant in Port Augusta.
This gives a giant finger to the promoters of new coal and gas.
Taking data from Appendix A of the Finkel review – Levelised cost of electricity:
The contracted price of $75-78 per MWh for Jay’s solar thermal is similar to that of a new supercritical coal power plant in 2020 (75$MWh).
It is less than closed cycle gas on $83 per MWh.
It is way less than an open cycle gas peaker (the most likely to be built) at $123 per MWh.
http://www.environment.gov.au/energy/publications/electricity-market-final-report
If the LNP knows something about dual citizens in the Labor ranks then it’s up to them to name some actual names, provide evidence for the claims and those that are named to repudiate. Until this happens I will assume Turnbull is pointing his finger at no-one in particular because he has nothing and that Shortens belief in Labors strict processes to ensure compliance is justified. In other words, I think it’s all just desperate waffle designed to buy the LNP some time whilst their backroom prospectors go digging for something, anything at all, that they can find on someone across the aisle that might cast doubt on their citizenship.
AP: BREAKING: Jury sides with Taylor Swift in groping lawsuit, orders fired radio host to pay the pop star a symbolic $1.
adamgartrell: Nick Xenophon says the suggestion he traveled to the Middle East on a Greek passport was a joke that some people took too seriously #auspol
Trog
And those numbers have no recognition of the cost of emissions.
Blanket Criticism @ #87 Tuesday, August 15th, 2017 – 8:49 am
Chasing Labor down rabbit holes isn’t going to restore the standing of this Government. They’re distracted, they’re divided and they seem to have lost their bottle.
The end can’t be too far away now.
The Lbs are crying foul over what hey say is Labor’s role in the NZ revelations on Joyce.
They have forgotten about the way they went after Gillard and the house renovations.
Blanket Criticism
I wouldn’t automatically assume that’s the case. There are issues where the parties have historically been unwilling to tackle edge cases in case their house is glass (like foreign donations). Its possible Turnbull had a few very weird citizenship cases that could potentially catch some of his own. Or he could be blowing smoke.
GG
Yep desperate is the word!
MarkDiStef: Assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar just accused the ALP of “borderline corruption” for contacting NZ Labour about Barnaby Joyce
Crocodile Dunedin
BevanShields: Ouch. Barnaby’s local paper points out what the Deputy PM said following the Ludlum and Waters resignations northerndailyleader.com.au/story/4852973/… #auspol pic.twitter.com/M83FzM8MUJ
I don’t even begin to understand how asking someone you know to look into something in the public interest is corruption. Unless they think NZ Labor , while in opposition, influenced a Government department to change its position. Which is quite the conspiracy theory. If you can do that, you don’t really need to hold Government.
Just to make the point once again about how drastically inaccurate most of the “experts” future cost projections are for solar, you only have to look at Finkel’s (Jacobs) projected LCOE for solar thermal with storage.
He has it at $172 per MWh in 2020, $109 in 2030, and $87 per MWh in 20050.
All I can say is that Weatherill is one hell of a great negotiator! He scored the world’s largest solar thermal with storage plant for $75 per MWh, which is way less than Finkel/Jacobs projected cost of $87 per MWh in 2050!
sprocket_
Or Barnaby Footrot.
AshGhebranious: If your solicitor general is telling you that you can use the ignorance of the facts excuse, you need a new solicitor general #auspol
guytaur,
Beautiful.
Barnaby sinks his own defence.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂