The latest Newspoll has Labor’s two-party lead unchanged on last fortnight at 53-47, from primary votes of Coalition 37% (up one), Labor 38% (up one), Greens 9% (down one) and One Nation 7% (down one). Despite the stability on voting intention, Malcolm Turnbull’s lead on preferred prime minister has been slashed from 40-33 to 37-35. The Australian’s report relates that Turnbull is down two points on approval to 32%, and Shorten is down one to 33%, but the only hint we get about disapproval is that Turnbull’s result is worse than Shorten’s. More on that shortly. (UPDATE: Turnbull’s disapproval is up three to 57%, Shorten’s is up two to 56%). The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1657.
sprocket_ @ #1925 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 7:05 pm
😆
Barney
What do the local people call Ho chi Min City.
I was told by kids from the South that they still use the name Saigon. Is that the case?
Barney in Go Dau @ #1949 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 6:57 pm
In India it was not unusual to see a family of 6 on a motor bike
BigD:
I like the idea of countdown timers at traffic lights. We mostly encountered them with pedestrian crossing lights and they gave an indication of whether a slower walker like my OH should attempt to cross. At one crossing in KL they not only had timers but an animated walking figure that started running as the time limit approached.
People fleeing Sydney ?
Little wonder with toads like Alan Jones and Ray Hadley polluting the city.
BW
“What is your view of getting rid of it altogether?”
In the short term completely impossible as the public system is bursting. Overdue waiting lists in SA have trebled. There is no capacity for more.
But if we keep PHI we’re going to end up with managed care vs going public. The future for health isn’t bright. It’s not sustainable. I’m glad I’ll be out in 5 or so years.
BUPA has just announced it won’t pay for its clients to get care in a public hospital.
Dio
What we need is a Boomer-specific epidemic to thin out we who are past our use-by dates.
“Daretotread
In India it was not unusual to see a family of 6 on a motor bike”
The Indian army created a Guinness record with 58 soldiers on a motorbike.
citizen @ #1954 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 4:00 pm
The countdown clocks are great and would be even better if people actually took notice of them!!!
They’re great when you are approaching a green light and you know if you are going to make it or not.
When I was last in Oz I found it difficult to react to light becoming red because I was so used to plenty of warning.
And yes, the little runners, not quite what I was taught to do in road safety class at school. 🙂
Unsurprising the WH is downplaying the loss of Cohn. I suppose they’ll have people believe he was just the coffee boy or something.
I’m a BUPA member and got that email today, along with notice that certain surgeries won’t be eligible for claim, including hip and knee replacements!
Boerwar says:
<blockquote.
Dio
What we need is a Boomer-specific epidemic to thin out we who are past our use-by dates.
We already do, Father Time. just as there was a rapid increase in numbers so shall there be a rapid decrease in numbers as the bump moves though the population python.
poroti
I take your point but maintain the general position that there are too many Boomer lurkers for the health of the health system.
daretotread. @ #1952 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 3:59 pm
Saigon is still pretty common especially when talking about the District 1 and surrounding suburbs, but HCMC is so much more nowadays with it extending out to Vung Tau on the coast, Chu Chi to the west and almost down to the Delta in the south.
Technically I only live about 15km (Chu Chi) from HCMC which takes less than 20 minutes although the 50km to what was Saigon can take anywhere from an hour and half to two and half hours depending on traffic.
Confessions
Just like when Cadburys kept the price of its chocolate block but reduced their weight.
Boerwar
“here are too many Boomer lurkers for the health of the health system.”
Not for much longer.
Not sure if already posted. MSM at war with itself:
https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/national/federal-election/boos-for-chauvinist-men-who-hijacked-tanya-pliberseks-speech/news-story/afa9a66662c023c4a544277acaff072b
p
Chin up!
Diogenes @ #1956 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 8:05 pm
I hope Bupa loses lots of customers.
b
I sort of heard that BUPA did this because the gap was so large that it made little difference to the operatee – that is to say, it was basically an honesty measure.
I am not at all sure.
BK:
I think I will have to change except they are probably all the same.
A definite cartel propped up by taxpayer-funded incentives!
BK
The Toblerone ‘Fail’ was one for the text books. Ya reckon the customers noticed and care a lot ? 😆
Old
New and improved 🙂
Victorian Labor went to the 2014 election promising to build truck off-ramps from the West Gate Freeway. Then some former Labor staffers who work for Transurban pitched a many times more expensive toll road idea that is roundly condemned by transport and town planning experts as ineffective.
The Greens would like Labor to honour its 2014 election commitments instead of providing a windfall for Transurban. The Greens would like Labor to implement the cost-effective, expert-recommended measures that it promised four years ago.
That isn’t too much to ask. It is also in line with longstanding Greens policy.
It is Victorian Labor that is breaking election promises and putting a company’s profits ahead of the public interest.
Boerwar
As a Boomer it is my sacred duty to hang on for as long as possible and cause problems. Causing problems ,’tis the Boomer’s raison d’être since 1942 🙂
N
Self-evidently, the Greens would like to continue their fatuous quest to cause trouble without effecting useful outcomes.
The state Vic Labor govt has been getting heaps done.
The Greens can go and shove it. Fancy teaming up with the fiberals. How unsurprisement
poroti
I know the feeling. Had a bit of fun with my one remaining classmate friend the other day. (Some of our classmates are dead, but most linger). The game was to see how many names we could remember from the Class of ’66. Not many, I am afraid…
poroti:
That’s a huge fail!
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed over the years that iced vovos, wagon wheels and fantails seem much smaller than when I was a kid.
“What we need is a Boomer-specific epidemic to thin out we who are past our use-by dates.”
There is a very funny book called “Boomsday” by Christopher Buckley. One party has a health policy that you will get free top-quality health care but in return you have to be euthanised when you turn 70.
I prefer a tunnel under Yarraville for the trucks than sending them all down residential Hyde St.
Confessions
Not just you . The sizes have been shrinking for a while now. The weights keep going down. Unlike the price 🙂
On return to government, Chris Bowen has promised to set up sizewatch as well as bring back fuel watch and grocery watch to stop these outrageous toblerone style rip offs.
poroti @ #1972 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 8:27 pm
Yes they did. Toblerone used to be one of my favourite chocolates. Never bought one since. Same for Cadbury’s actually. Moved to Lindt chocolate, even though it is more expensive.
P1
We have found that Aldi’s chocolate is good.
BK @ #1984 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 7:50 pm
And certified slavery fee
BK @ #1984 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 8:50 pm
I’ve tried a few of theirs – they’re not to my taste. However, I notice they have a new range out that I’ve not tried yet, so I’ll give it a go. But Lindt chocolate is so good that I don’t mind spending the extra! 🙂
“I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed over the years that iced vovos, wagon wheels and fantails seem much smaller than when I was a kid.”
Everything seems much smaller than when you were a kid.
Steve777 @ #1987 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 8:56 pm
Often true, but not in this case – wagon wheels are just plain ridiculous now. They should rename them “skateboard wheels”!
And I reckon those departing are going to find that having Trump Administration on your CV is a career-limiting move. Either because they are tarred with the incompetence brush or in jail!
Steve777:
Maybe, but I had one of those lollies that come in wrappers with jokes on them the other day and my childhood recollection is of at least one, sometimes two jokes on the wrapper. This wrapper barely was able to fit one joke on it.
Dio
I kinda like that idea but 70 might be too young for me.
I am 65, I still have my own knees, hips and organs seem to be OK, I was at the GP the other day for the first time in six months for prescription renewals (statins and blood pressure).
So apart from the PBS cost I am not a burden on the system.
Can I have an extra few years?
Or is the idea to get rid of me before I become a burden?
Confessions @ #1990 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 9:00 pm
The joke is now inside the wrapper.
Even the kids these days seem smaller than when I was a kid!
So Greens have just voted with Libs to block 14km of bike paths, 4 MCGs of wetlands and parks, 3 cycling bridges, a veloway, pedestrian infrastructure and take 9,000 trucks off the road.
But that’s ok. It’s only cost 6,000 jobs.
And no relief for the west gate. It’s carbon trading and the Malaysian solution all over again. Green in lockstep with the Liberals removing possible solutions. Nothing gets done so the Greens can continue complaining.and the Liberals can win government.
booleanbach @ #1998 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 6:04 pm
I find the opposite. Kids these days are huge! Both in height and weight.
Frednk
Hear hear! I have had a gutful of them
Puff, The Magic Dragon says:
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:03 pm
Michaelia Cash is a revolting human being. I looked up her Wiki. She went to a modest Catholic girls school and from what I know of them, as my girls went to one, there is an emphasis on community service and looking after the vulnerable. My daughters were with the rest of the class were rostered to help in the City Mission, raise money for charity including overseas aid, and such like.
Family is more important than the school, usually, unless the student is at a boarding school and only goes home for holidays.
It would be interesting to know what her family is like, in particular her mother.
It’s been my experience that even wonderful parents can have a difficult kid, but all the wonderful students have a great family.
I don’t get who it is that keeps thinking that ‘shrinkflation’ is a good idea. There must be some management school out there that is teaching that playing tricks on your customers is a roooly bonza idea.
All it does is make me seethe and do my best to change to a competitor who is less keen on the idea.
If you need to charge more for your product to maintain your profit margin then bloody well be honest about it and charge more, don’t start pretending that 165g is really the same as 200g or whatever. You know what happens when we get that sneaking feeling we’re being played, and then find out we are being played? We get unhappy, and your goal in life – as a marketer of random shit that you want people to buy – is not to make your customers unhappy.
Player One says:
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:56 pm
Bushfire Bill @ #1891 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 – 6:29 pm
People are leaving Sydney in droves, and can you blame us?
Have to agree with this. Sydney these days reminds me of the classic fable about boiling a frog. If you do it suddenly, the frog realizes and jumps out. But if do it gradually, the frog never cottons on, and eventually gets cooked to death.
The frog that boils is, indeed, a fable.
The rotters jump out as soon as the water gets too warm. It is a myth.
But a great metaphor for many situations, even so.
Steve777
It is not just “memories”. Remember when 375g cans were standard ? Then they became 350g and now in the 330s.