ReachTEL: 54-46 to Labor

More evidence that the Barnaby Joyce saga has shut out the Coalition’s glimmer of polling sunlight at the start of the year.

The latest ReachTEL poll for Sky News is the Coalition’s worst result from that pollster this term, showing Labor with a two-party lead of 54-46, out from 52-48 at the previous poll on January 25. On the primary vote, the Coalition is down a point to 33%, Labor is up one to 37%, the Greens are up one to 11% and One Nation are down one to 7%. Malcolm Turnbull’s lead on the forced response preferred prime minister question is 53-47, down from 54-46. The poll was conducted on Thursday, the evening before Barnaby Joyce’s resignation: it found 57% thought he should indeed resign, against 32% who thought he should remain. A question on who should be Nationals leader had Joyce on 23%, Bridget McKenzie on 15%, Michael McCormack on 11%, Darren Chester on 6% and “don’t know” a formidable 40%.

UPDATE: As noted in comments, the Coalition have done well to make it to 54-46 on ReachTEL’s respondent-allocated two-party preferred result. If 2016 election preference flows are applied, the result is around 55.5-44.5.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

1,838 comments on “ReachTEL: 54-46 to Labor”

Comments Page 30 of 37
1 29 30 31 37
  1. Rossmcg

    HBO has a TV series called ‘Rome’ primarily about Octavian. It’s contains a string of fiction that tells the story of two Roman Legioners and another that sticks to the facts of things that went on and the historical characters involved.

    It got good reviews but was released around the same time as Game of Thrones. I don’t know if it was ever broadcast here.

    There’s two series and you’d find the in the very cheap bins at somewhere like J&Bs.

    Good viewing but like GoT dies off in the second series.

  2. The idea of god has had a rather dubious past, is causing a lot of bother for a lot of people, and will probably hang around like a bad smell in the future.

  3. Dan Gulberry @ #1447 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 11:33 am

    Barney in Go Dau @ #1362 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 8:03 am

    The New Testament shows many borrowings from Greek Mythology. 🙂

    Not to mention Zoroastrian, Mythran, Hindu and a whole potpourri of other though systems prevalent at the time.

    Dan

    The whole virgin Mary and Christ story is a retelling of Mithras and of course Isis and Adonis. The dying god who is reborn is an ancient Mediterranean fertility cult (actually all of Europe). Read some Frazer.

  4. Sorry DTT, no intention to be nasty.

    As we have often discussed in the past, some things you say baffle me (particularly about Trump).

  5. CTaR1
    I imagine that it is going to be insurance lawyers at 20 paces over in the ANU. As noted previously in this august blog, the ANU has made some bad decisions in relation to clogging the Sullivan’s Creek flood plain with bits of built environment. Add two major construction sites right on the banks of the creek and…
    I imagine that there will be a bit of contumely in Lendlease HQ about how come 11 excavators were allowed to be drowned…

  6. daretotread. @ #1450 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 12:36 pm

    bemused @ #1404 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 10:47 am

    daretotread. @ #1395 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 11:39 am

    Question @ #1360 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 10:00 am

    daretotread. says:
    Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 10:39 am

    As society became more humane and civilized so too did the biblical texts.

    bemused says:
    Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 10:44 am
    When did this happen?

    DTT may be referring to the difference between the old and new testament.

    Thanks Question

    Fairly bloody obvious Bemused. I just assumed you and everyone else would grasp that. Peace love and Kumbaya.

    The Roman Empire, which dominated at the time the New Testament was written, was not notably touchy feely.

    Compared with Abraham putting his little son on a block ready to sacrifice him to a vengeful god the roams were pretty touch feely. Not saying they were perfect mind you but human sacrifice had gone out of vogue. The Greeks who receded them also were into paedophaelia rather than throat slicing. A minor step forward.

    There much less of god smiting people with thunder bolts too in the New testament era. Christ was more for suffering the little children to come forward rather than slitting their throats. Forgiveness of sin was all the rage too.

    Hmmmm, well things like putting Christians into the arena with lions doesn’t sound too friendly. No do other practices like lighting up an arena with burning Christians.

  7. Dan

    I find the whole religion/mythology thing fascinating. From what I can piece together it seems as if the mediterranean region had a religion that was very Hindu (Dravidian) in concept. Onto this was imposed firstly an Indo European religion – fertility, tree worship and horse worship along with dying gods (grain gods mostly) which of course was also influenced by the earlier pagan religion. When superimposed onto the Dravidian culture of India it became what we no know as Hinduism. These religions being largely fertility cults gave great power to FEMALE deities as mother fertility goddesses although thunder gods also got a look in. Think Zeus and Aphrodite. Isis and Horus, Thor and Freya

    Then especially in the desert areas the Semitic herders imposed their essentially sky god religions which typical of herders rather than farmers were much more male dominated. Thus we had Zoroastrianism. Judaism, and finally Islam. The more modern New Testament of Jesus (ie Christianity rather than Judaism) was much more a Mediterranean fertility cult than the sky god of Judaism.

  8. CTar1
    “HBO has a TV series called ‘Rome’ primarily about Octavian.”

    ‘Rome’ (the TV series) has more boobs that you can poke a stick at (especially those belonging to Atia).
    As you say, it focuses on two legionnaires, whose lives intersect with those of Roman grandees like Caesar, Pompey, Octavian/Augustus, Antony, and Cleopatra. Not bad viewing. I thought some pivotal historical moments were well handled, such as the crossing of the Rubicon. Definitely sputters in season 2.

  9. “Rome” was a great series, really had a good go at trying to convey what life might have been like in ancient Rome.

    For really readable narrative histories of Rome in that era, “SPQR” by Mary Beard and “Rubicon” by Tom Holland are fantastic.

  10. Q
    “That might explain why they lost their mojo after they became Christian”

    I’m glad you mention this, because this is a subject of continued historical debate. There is a view that Christianity helped strengthen and unify the Roman empire, particularly during the late Eastern Roman (= Byzantine) period.

  11. Question @ #1458 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 11:39 am

    Sorry DTT, no intention to be nasty.

    As we have often discussed in the past, some things you say baffle me (particularly about Trump).

    Question

    I fully understand how controversial my view on Trump is.

    However first you must understand it is NOT that I like Trump, rather that I disliked (no feared not disliked) Hillary Clinton. For evidence just look at what her VP pick is now doing re on going warfare.

    Hillary Clinton is a child of the cold war PLUS the experience of unfettered US dominance that characterized the 8 years of Bill Clinton’s presidency. These two strands to her thinking led her to be violently anti Russian but also to have an overblown confidence in the capacity of the USA to exert its will. her closeness to the Pentagon, combined with her known history of supporting US imperialist military adventures made her a dangerous choice for President. The personal animosity between her and Putin did not help.

    The main difference between myself and conventional “lefties” is that I fear nuclear war and do not believe that anyone in power in the USA has the capacity or common sense to avoid it. Hillary would have had next to zero chance of stopping it and advocated policies (no fly zones) that made it much more likely.

    Trump’s rhetoric was less confrontational. In the upshot however Trump has proved weak and powerless, so in reality the outcome has been pretty much the same anyway. I still cling to a vague hope that Trump will at least avoid a nuclear conflict with Russia. I am even less hopeful about China.

  12. daretotread. @ #1464 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 9:52 am

    Dan

    I find the whole religion/mythology thing fascinating. From what I can piece together it seems as if the mediterranean region had a religion that was very Hindu (Dravidian) in concept. Onto this was imposed firstly an Indo European religion – fertility, tree worship and horse worship along with dying gods (grain gods mostly) which of course was also influenced by the earlier pagan religion. When superimposed onto the Dravidian culture of India it became what we no know as Hinduism. These religions being largely fertility cults gave great power to FEMALE deities as mother fertility goddesses although thunder gods also got a look in. Think Zeus and Aphrodite. Isis and Horus, Thor and Freya

    Then especially in the desert areas the Semitic herders imposed their essentially sky god religions which typical of herders rather than farmers were much more male dominated. Thus we had Zoroastrianism. Judaism, and finally Islam. The more modern New Testament of Jesus (ie Christianity rather than Judaism) was much more a Mediterranean fertility cult than the sky god of Judaism.

    An interesting insight dtt.

  13. Too good for the peasantry but for magnificent moi………

    Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had his department intervene to connect his Point Piper home to the NBN on the 100Mbps speed that he says most Australians don’t need. https://t.co/mRKwpuAv6N

    — Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) February 26, 2018

  14. I think we may all have an exteemely bowderised view of Roman religion. (as portrayed by Romans I might add).

    We all know that at least in public the Romans adopted the Greek gods, giving them Roman names etc. That is what I recall being taught. Jupiter, Diana, Apollo etc.

    However I was surprised to learn that Pompei had an extremely porno fertility cult going on with images that seem a bit like the Hindu temple at Kujaroa and where something pretty much like the Hindu Lingus was all the go. I do not know a great deal about it but read somewhere that a character such as Piaps was all the rage – he seemed to be a garden gnome with a very, very long pone (new images of the rakes and shovels should now spring to mind).

    GRRM who is a mythology buff may have drawn Tyrion from this image – a dwarf with er um an active one.

  15. kakaru

    I thought some pivotal historical moments were well handled, such as the crossing of the Rubicon.

    It hit the mark often on explaining what happened and why it was important.

  16. Question:

    (bemused) She also has me wondering how Latvia gets classified differently to the other Baltic States, Lithuania and Estonia?

    Any clues?
    ____________

    With DTT it’s often better to just go with the vibe, but to be honest I don’t know much about the Baltic states.

    _______________

    Why bother trying to interpret anything DTT says? Scroll on by.

  17. dtt

    ‘although ancient domination by Scandinavia could perhaps give it entree to a Scandinavian zone.’

    WHAT ancient domination by Scandinavia?

    Lithuania was totally independent into around the 1400s. There were attempts by the Germans at settlement, but these were only around the fringes. Lithuania became part of Poland (although they would never phrase it like that; they saw it as a partnership).

    In the late 1800s, it became part of Russia, became independent again at the end of World War I, then got gobbled up by the Soviet Union.

    If we’re using history as a guide, one might expect Lithuania to be pro-Russia (it’s fiercely not, of course).

    I agree with you that Lithuania is more likely to look to Europe in any shifting of allegiances.

    (It’s the Scandinavian bit that got me).

  18. DTT – Interesting approach, but I think you’re so dead wrong, that you’re into zombie territory.

    Clinton’s approach to the military was problematic to me. I supported her because she’s smart, understands how politics actually works, not the least been an advocate and been WAY to the left on a number of fronts and in both 08 and 16, had issues (immigration, healthcare and guns) where she was miles to the left of both Obama and Sanders (something usually forgotten). But the idea that a closeness to Putin, or a less confrontational approach, is helpful, is troubling. Clinton’s approach to Putin was no different to Obama’s or any other mainstream Democrat, this has less to do with Clinton’s age or her being a child of the cold-war, but actually understanding what Putin’s long-game is. A fractured Europe, an undoing in liberal social progress in the West and the creation of a new sphere of influence that surrounds them.

    If you think a nuclear confrontation is likely, let alone justification to support Trump, doesn’t demonstrate an understanding of what these countries (China and Russia) actually want. Neither could sustain such an eventuality and know that their focus on regional influence (economic and strategic) would be totally upended by such a thing.

    Clinton’s no-fly zone approach to Syria wasn’t the right one, but what’s Trump’s actual policy? Trump is the one who VOLUNTARILY decided to start a flame war with an unstable nuclear power. Say what you want about HRC, if you think she would have done something so aggressively stupid, that also suggests that your dislike of Clinton is blinding your views.

  19. poroti says:
    Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 11:39 am

    Latvia has a v large ethnic Russian population so that may be the reason.

    ____________________

    So does Estonia. A very good friend of mine was born there and lives there, and thinks of himself as Russian. He says that is son-in-law is Estonian.

  20. Bw

    I imagine that it is going to be insurance lawyers at 20 paces over in the ANU.

    The digging for the ‘Tram’ probably played some part?

    The should get Penny Sackett back to take on the insurance companies!

  21. don @ #1483 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 12:15 pm

    Question:

    (bemused) She also has me wondering how Latvia gets classified differently to the other Baltic States, Lithuania and Estonia?

    Any clues?
    ____________

    With DTT it’s often better to just go with the vibe, but to be honest I don’t know much about the Baltic states.

    _______________

    Why bother trying to interpret anything DTT says? Scroll on by.

    What a narrow minded, ignorant, nasty, arrogant, misogynistic person you are.

    If you know something about the Baltic states then contribute it. If not stop being a bloody minded pratt. Discussion about the Baltic states had nothing whatever to previous comments I may have posted.

    In reality Don I think you are a bear of little brain and unable to read anything longer than a paragraph, and take out your sense of shame on others by being a nasty bastard.

    Oh well it takes all kinds.

  22. Yep, in ‘Rome’ the genitalia were so prominent they could have been given their own billing.

    I preferred ‘I, Claudius’. John Hurt’s Caligula was mesmerising. His character was such fun to watch that I wished he had reigned longer (a sentiment likely not shared by his relatives and senators).

  23. People curious about day to day life in ancient Rome could do worse than sample the series of detective novels featuring Marcus Didius Falco, a fictional “informer” active in the days of Vespasian, with a number of stories also set in other parts of the Empire, like Britain and Spain. Generally light reading, but also humorous and seems to ring true.

  24. don @ #1487 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 12:20 pm

    poroti says:
    Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 11:39 am

    Latvia has a v large ethnic Russian population so that may be the reason.

    ____________________

    So does Estonia. A very good friend of mine was born there and lives there, and thinks of himself as Russian. He says that is son-in-law is Estonian.

    Yes Donny boy

    Estonia and Latvia have very large RUSSIAN populations and also are Lutheran or Orthodox NOT Catholic. By contrast Lithuania does NOT. Hence my reason for distinguishing between the states.

    Can you understand this you arrogant person.

  25. When Sweden had a Baltic empire (17th century) it occupied parts of what are now Lithuania. This followed an earlier war with Poland. After Charles’ army was defeated at Poltava it was all lost.

  26. kakuru @ #1490 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 12:23 pm

    Yep, in ‘Rome’ the genitalia were so prominent they could have been given their own billing.

    I preferred ‘I, Claudius’. John Hurt’s Caligula was mesmerising. His character was such fun to watch that I wished he had reigned longer (a sentiment likely not shared by his relatives and senators).

    One problem I have with all the Roman history is that it focuses so much on the early repubican period and we get very little stuff on the later Empire stuff, even though tjis was the period of expansion.

    What is bizarre (to my way of thinking) is that the Roam empire endured and seemed to prosper, despite the fact that the leadership was not existent, with emperors being assassinated more frequently than Australian PMs and all sorts of junior soldiers seizing control for a month or so.

    So we know lots about the Caesars but nothing much about the later guys. i did read Gore Vidal’s Justinian which was interesting.

  27. I have a very good Russian Estonian friend. She was out of Estonia when the Estonian language test required to gain citizenship was conducted, and doesn’t speak Estonian in any case.

    So she found herself stateless working in Israel. She’s not Jewish. What to do?

    A very kind work colleague married her. He was not the marrying kind, if you know what I mean, but did have joint US and Israeli citizenship.

    She then had to stay in Israel for the requisite number of years (which wasn’t an issue because her employer thought she was tops).

    I met her when she moved to the UK after her “divorce”. She ended up married to another Israeli, has a couple of kids and a top career at Cambridge. Never been back to Tallinn.

    The take away for me is that Baltic history is complicated!

  28. Socrates @ #1494 Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 – 12:29 pm

    When Sweden had a Baltic empire (17th century) it occupied parts of what are now Lithuania. This followed an earlier war with Poland. After Charles’ army was defeated at Poltava it was all lost.

    Of course the other possibly relevant thing is the extent to which the same Swedish empire influences Russia – all those tall blondes! more overlap and cultural connections thn we really inderstand I guess.

  29. I did think as I was watching “Rome” that I was glad I wasn’t watching it prior to some kind of history exam. In terms of dramatising the daily lives etc I thought it has a lot to offer.

    I, Claudius was brilliant

  30. I did think as I was watching “Rome” that I was glad I wasn’t watching it prior to some kind of history exam. In terms of dramatising the daily lives etc I thought it has a lot to offer.

    I, Claudius was brilliant

  31. dtt

    I was surprised to learn that Pompei had an extremely porno fertility cult

    And was considered just far enough out of town (Rome) you could go there for a naughty week away and it wasn’t mentioned in ‘polite society’!

Comments Page 30 of 37
1 29 30 31 37

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *