No change this week on Essential Research’s two-party preferred result, which shows Labor maintaining a two-party lead of 54-46, although as usual we’ll have to wait until later today for primary votes. The pollster’s monthly leadership ratings find Malcolm Turnbull with 39% approval (up one) and 42% disapproval (down three), while Bill Shorten is on 33% approval (also up one) and 46% disapproval (also down three), and Turnbull’s lead as preferred prime minister is 42-47, down from 42-25 last time. As related by The Guardian, the poll finds 72% supporting company tax cuts being made conditional on pay rises; more disagreeing than agreeing that company tax cuts would lead to higher wages without prompting; most disagreeing that penalty rate cuts would encourage companies to hire more workers. A series of questions on the proposed Adani coal mine found 48% saying it should be assessed on its economic and environmental merits, 22% saying coal mining in the Galilee basin should be banned, and 13% saying all mines should go ahead subject to environmental approvals.
UPDATE: Full report here.
What if a minister sleeps with another minister?
What if the PM sleeps with a backbencher?
What if the Minister for Urban Affairs has it off with their shadow minister?
Are these okay by the Ministerial standards?
Turnbull today had his chance to stand up and thwart Joyce, New England, and the Nationals. Turnbull had his chance to put the boot in when mostly everyone was willing it. At 8.39am this morning I believed I used the words ‘gutless wonder’ and hasn’t Turnbull obliged. The Senate had to do his job for him.
Barnaby’s best option if Gina hasn’t injured herself laughing, is WA, the boondocks, on one of the newly acquired cattle stations with a pub nearby so the grey army can come and have a photo taken with Barnaby’s growing family. Imagine if the Nationals were still called the Country Party!
Does Vikki have a ‘cooling clause’ in her contract?
The strutting pidgeon was reduced to blood and feathers today.
So is Turnbull going to have a camera installed in every Minister’s office? How’s he going to police this Bonk Ban!?!
I said the other day that Turnbull hates Joyce in private is not far off the mark tonight.
Sam Maiden says relationship between Turnbull and Joyce has irretrievably broken down. And Turnbull would be hoping that Joyce now resigns, but it may not happen. This is a clusterf@@k
Victoria @ #2456 Thursday, February 15th, 2018 – 6:22 pm
Didn’t take long after the New England by-election win for that to happen, did it?
Clearly the government is dysfunctional. But we knew that in Mid 2016. The MSM seems to have not clued in, and they watch the govt more than we do!
Also Sam Maiden heard rumours that Turnbull had a couple of ministers in his office today and told them if they were engaged in sexual relations with their staff to desist or look for another job. She qualified by saying she hasn’t been able to confirm this has occurred. @facepalm@
‘Turnbull said it didn’t matter if the minister was married or not. No sex with the staff.’
He went on to say ‘Don’t get your meat where you get your bread and butter’
Turnbull’s edict means Parliament House will probably start employing a few morality inspectors, like the post war beach inspectors in Australia:
Sam Maiden says theres no sex ban on ministers having sex with other ministers staff.
I think that is open to interpretation, Turnbull said a minister and a staff, not a minister and their staff. A staff would imply any staff member, presumably also a staff member from another party.
c@t
Sam Maiden was talking with Peta Credlin on Sky, and it was agreed by them that BJoyce could return from gardening leave and not resign. What is Turnbull to do then? What a frickin joke
If it’s only ministers, there’ll be a few choices to make.
“Do I want to carry on bonking my adviser (who happens to be my wife) or would I like a pay rise as minister for dogs’ breakfasts?”
A typical Turnbull week.All smiles at the beginning.At the end it all turns to shit.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
‘But Mal.’
‘Don’t you Mal me Barnaby. How dare you make me look like a spineless fucktard in front of the entire nation’
‘Fuckwit’
‘What?’
‘Spineless Fuckwit… not fucktard’
‘Oh Shut up’
lizzie says:
Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Above table:
A Brand New ReachTell Poll Just Released For New England And Bonking Barney Is SCREWED 15 Feb – 2018
____________
No.
The fine print says he would win 52 – 48 after the distribution of preferences.
don
I didn’t think it looked as clear, either (without working out the detail). Interesting that Tony Windsor got a good go, though.
Rossmcg says:
Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 5:55 pm
Simon Katich
I worked with a guy from Armidale. He reckoned Guyra, just up the road, was colder.
___________________
Your work colleague was dead right.
I think anyone who stood for the Nationals in New England would win nowadays.
ides
like most policy on the run, there will be a lot of “what ifs” associated with the ministerial bonking ban.
I reckon there will be a few MPs, ministers and backbenchers alike, considering their positions vis a vis relationships over the next few weeks.
They might decided that a bit of comfort on a cold Canberra night might not be worth the trouble. At least until things quieten down a bit.
You have to laugh….lol
https://twitter.com/msmegwatson/status/964021379950526464
$400,000 for a clown to abuse his position and think he can get away with it.
Standard ministerial gear from now on (must not be removed):
Trog Sorrenson Thursday, February 15th, 2018 – 3:35 pm Comment #2166
Musk showing his ‘smarts’ in recognising possibilities to ‘leverage’ new products off the back of his existing ones. A true ‘entrepreneur’ in action. He’ll launch these quite small satellites for ‘free’ while he launches big ones for other enterprises.
@barriecassidy
Now that affairs between ministers and staff breach the code do journalists now have an obligation to chase down this stuff? Just asking.
steve davis says:
Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 6:35 pm
I think anyone who stood for the Nationals in New England would win nowadays.
___________________________
That’s the way it has always been – Tony Windsor looks like the exception, but he was originally in the Nationals, and was seen here as the National you have when you don’t have a National.
When he ran as an independent for NE, he had the weak opponent of Stuart St Clair as the National to beat, and since this gentleman was not at all highly regarded after his one term, Tony wiped the floor with him. First time since 1922 that the seat was not in Country Party or National hands.
The rest you know.
Don, Guyra…… Rings a bell….. Something about a dam and a meteorite. Was that a hoax or did they find something?
We mightn’t like a lot of what she writes but Sharri Markson does come across well on TV
So, how does a knee jerk work?
More importantly does it fall foul of the ban?
I always thought Abbott and Credlin were lovers.
PeeBee says:
Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Don, Guyra…… Rings a bell….. Something about a dam and a meteorite. Was that a hoax or did they find something?
_____________________
You’ve got a good memory! Not much news ever comes out of Guyra, except for jokes at the locals’ expense.
#UFOsonPB
http://www.unexplainedaustralia.com/25-ufo-s-aliens/86-the-guyra-dam-mystery
___________________________________________
On the 8th of December 1999 a Unidentified flying object slammed into a dam in the small town of Guyra NSW. It is believed that the object hit the dam between Monday 6 December and midday, Wednesday 8 December. The object flattened the reeds in an area approximately 15 metres long by six metres wide which was discovered by a local council employee.
Theories ran wild about what the object could have been from a UFO, space junk, a meteorite, a NASA probe back from Mars, frozen sewage or simply a hoax. The water supply was cut off to stop possible contamination as the dam is the towns only drinking water source.
According to researchers the object had a 45 degree angle of entry, no-one in the town heard a sonic boom or explosion, the surface had burn marks, reeds were flattened but not broken, mud was splashed around the area and the object may have even skipped on the water before entering the dam.
On Thursday, December 9, 1999, divers entered the lake behind the Guyra dam “to test for toxins or radioactive material.”
On Friday 10 December, 1999
Police divers finished their work in Guyra Dam. The divers recovered sediment and fragments believed to be from the object. The sediments were tested by geologists on-site and the geologists have advised police they believe sediment was from a small meteorite the size of a golf ball.
The meteorite apparently penetrated the mud at the bottom of the dam and is now embedded about four metres into soft granite and is unable to be moved.
Trog – Just realised that I still have the Reuters article I read sometime in the dark hours on Musk’s satellite internet plan open in a tab –
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-broadband-fcc/spacex-gets-u-s-regulator-to-back-satellite-internet-plan-idUSKCN1FY2H4
They’re going to create a whole new department for the Bonk Ban. The Bonker Force.
Lots of overtime standing outside Ministerial offices with a glass on the door, or across from hotel rooms where Ministers are staying, with a telescope. The new uniform will be a raincoat.
🙂
AFLX. That’s 2 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. WTF and why?
Malcolm should take a turn at stand-up comedy. Journos are really enjoying themselves this evening.
Has it got to the point that the Beetrooter is hanging on for no better reason than to fuck up Trumble?
don @ #2485 Thursday, February 15th, 2018 – 6:52 pm
“Soft granite” never heard of it. The granite I am familiar with is a very hard rock.
ratsak @ #911 Thursday, February 15th, 2018 – 6:58 pm
A secret conservative plot to get rid of Malcolm.
This is what a sick society America is:
BBC has picked up the bonking ban story (bonking seems to a favourite occupation in Britain among MPs and the aristocracy).
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43067310
Denise Scott
Denise Scott
@_denisescott
·
1h
Good luck with the new rule banning our govt leaders from bonking staff members cos I’m pretty sure Barnaby ‘s wife had that same rule and look how well it was heeded.
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Bemused:
“Soft granite” never heard of it. The granite I am familiar with is a very hard rock.
__________________________
Granite that has started decomposing gets soft.
When I was a kid we always had decomposed granite as the top surface for tennis courts. Worked a treat.
From Dr Google:
_____________
Decomposed granite is rock of granitic origin that has weathered to the point that it readily fractures into smaller pieces of weak rock. Further weathering produces rock that easily crumbles into mixtures of gravel-sized particles, sand, and silt-sized particles with some clay.
“Today, in 2018, it is not acceptable for a minister to have a sexual relationship with somebody who works for them, it is a very bad workplace practice and everybody knows that no good comes of it,” he said. ”
So the ban only applies to staff working for the minister.
And Turnbull drops another bucket of shit on Joyce, his new partner and their expected baby saying no good comes from it. If I was Joyce I’d snot him, if I was Joyce’s partner I’d ask why he hadn’t snotted him.
But it appears was wrong when Joyces partner was his staffer but ok when she was working for other ministers.
This is another coalition privatisation by stealth, just like Medicare, the various professional services in Fyshwyck will now much busier.
This must have been on that IPA list.