As reported by The Guardian, the latest fortnightly poll from Essential Research shifts in favour of the Coalition, who now trail Labor 52-48 compared with 54-46 in the last poll. While this fits the narrative of Labor taking a hit from dividend imputation better than Newspoll, Essential’s question on the subject produces a better result for Labor than Newspoll’s, with 32% supportive and 30% opposed (compared with 33% and 50% from Newspoll). Primary votes and full report to follow later.
UPDATE: Full report here. As with two-party, the Coalition is up two on the primary vote, to 38%, and Labor down two, to 36%, with the Greens steady on 9% and One Nation steady on 8%.
I believe the mystery of Newspoll’s and Essential’s different numbers on dividend imputation is solved: Essential’s question was preceded by another on how many people were beneficiaries of the existing policy (16% received a tax deduction, 10% a cash payment), which explained how the existing policy works and how much it costs. This is unfortunate in my view, because it put respondents on a different footing from the general population. Some of the “statements about imputation credits” that respondents were invited to agree or disagree with also seem a bit leading (“paying people money to compensate for tax they haven’t paid does not make sense”), although in this case it doesn’t affect the responses to the more important question of support or opposition to the policy, as it came later in the survey.
The poll also canvasses opinion on what other tax policies respondents might support or oppose, and as usual it finds that the public heavily favours a more redistributive approach (class war and the politics of envy, if you will). Nonetheless, 40% favour cutting the company tax rate to 25%, with 30% opposed. Twenty-six per cent trust Labor more to manage a fair tax system, 28% the Coalition, and 31% no difference. Only 7% reckon Australia’s gun laws too strict, 25% think them too weak, and 62% say they are about right. A series of questions on Facebook finds 79% agreeing it should be more regulated, with 12% disagreeing, but 45% finding Facebook “generally a force for good”, with 37% disagreeing.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers.
David Warner is emerging as the central character in Australian cricket’s ball-tampering crisis and the deposed vice-captain will not be allowed to play in the fourth Test. This is hardly surprising to me.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/david-warner-at-heart-of-ball-tampering-scandal-20180326-p4z6d3.html
Malcolm Knox gets to the rewarded arrogance of the Australian cricket team has led to more arrogance and the ball tampering scandal.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/for-australian-cricket-arrogance-rewarded-just-led-to-more-arrogance-20180326-p4z6c5.html
Jason Gillespie has come out to say that this was pre-planned cheating in South Africa and we need to know who was involved if Australian cricket is to restore trust. Smith must go after torching Australia’s reputation he says.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/mar/25/steve-smith-must-go-australia-jason-gillespie
Peter Lalor says that Cricket Australia are set to come down hard on the team’s senior figures with Darren Lehmann’s future to be determined as early as today. Google.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/axe-looms-for-darren-lehmann-over-ball-tampering/news-story/9f579398f2e41208189d21cbb36d4b70
And in breaking news Steve Smith steps down as captain of an IPL side after his cheating scandal.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/cricket/steve-smith-steps-down-as-captain-of-ipl-side-after-cheating-scandal-20180326-p4z6dn.html
Van Badham is of the view that Australia’s real leadership failures are in politics, not cricket
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/26/australias-real-leadership-failures-are-in-politics-not-cricket
Paul Bongiorno writes that the protracted company tax debate is not helping Malcolm Turnbull.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/03/26/company-tax-debate-malcolm-turnbull/
Mark Kenny tells us that Labor will take to the next election a pledge to repeal any cut to the company tax rate for Australia’s biggest businesses, but could retain the relief already in place for small firms at a cost of nearly $30 billion.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-could-keep-30b-tax-cuts-passed-by-the-pm-but-repeal-any-changes-for-biggest-businesses-20180326-p4z6b0.html
Phil Coorey explains that More than 300,000 low-income retirees will be spared from Labor’s plan to scrap cash payments for excess franking credits after the opposition amended the policy to exempt full and part-time pensioners, as well as every pensioner who is currently a recipient from a self-managed superannuation fund. Google.
/news/labor-spares-300000-pensioners-in-33b-policy-backdown-20180325-h0xy8t
Adam Gartrell advises that former Liberal minister Bruce Billson is set to be censured by Federal Parliament after a bipartisan inquiry found he failed to uphold proper standards by taking a paid lobbying job while he was still an MP.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/former-liberal-minister-bruce-billson-faces-censure-over-lobbying-job-20180326-p4z6a7.html
Laura Tingle has the scoop on a secret BCA survey that shows that fewer than one in five of Australia’s most powerful CEOs say they will use the Turnbull government’s proposed company tax cut to directly increase wages or employment. Now what Mr Motormouth Morrison? Google.
http://www.afr.com/news/secret-bca-survey-does-not-back-tax-cuts-going-to-jobs-wage-rises-20180326-h0xzm7
Michelle Grattan has her say on the latest Newspoll.
https://theconversation.com/coalition-trails-47-53-in-29th-consecutive-newspoll-loss-93940
The cost of progress – but what a horrible thing to be endured for those whose properties will be resumed or otherwise badly affected.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/homeowners-find-properties-in-path-of-future-rail-road-projects-20180326-p4z68z.html
How the Sydney rich get ahead.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pub-baron-justin-hemmes-sues-solicitor-over-eviction-notice-20180325-p4z66b.html
Social media data abuses by tech giants and political parties will continue as long as “you’re the product”, writes John Passant. We need to talk about Bacebook he says.
https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/we-need-to-talk-about-facebook,11331
The leadership of Woolworths’ pubs and pokies business was initially divided over how it should respond to whistleblower allegations about staff spying on vulnerable gamblers and encouraging prolonged gambling in its venues.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/woolies-board-was-split-on-how-to-respond-to-pokies-scandal-20180326-p4z6bc.html
Weather bureau staff will step up strikes in a fight for a new workplace deal as bosses continue to refuse conciliation at the industrial umpire. As of midnight on Tuesday public servants at the Bureau of Meteorology will take rolling strike action at any time, moving into a new phase and ramping up pressure on the agency as negotiations stay deadlocked.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/bureau-of-meteorology-industrial-action-ramps-up-as-workplace-storm-intensifies-20180326-h0xz9t.html
Mungo McCallum says it’s official – the banks ARE bastards.
https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/mungo-maccallum-the-banks-are-bastards,11333
The NRL is rarely out of the news – for all the wrong reasons.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/bob-fulton-says-he-s-been-thrown-under-the-bus-in-manly-cap-scandal-20180326-p4z6d8.html
Ross Gittins pours scorn upon the government for its “Orwellian Welfare Reform Bill”. And rightfully so!
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/we-have-a-bad-case-of-misdirected-compassion-20180325-p4z64c.html
Donald Trump’s standing gets another spanking. This is funny.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2018/03/26/stormy-daniels-interview-trump/
The SMH editorial says that defamation laws are increasingly unworkable and in desperate need of overhaul as slurs on social media and other digital platforms take off as a growing source of defamation claims.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/smh-editorial-defamation-laws-long-overdue-for-overhaul-20180326-p4z68j.html
Jennifer Hewett says a bitter goodbye to the notion of public trust in institutions in general and in political, business, religious, media and now sporting leadership. Google.
/opinion/columnists/a-bitter-goodbye-to-the-notion-of-public-trust-20180326-h0xzol
Peter Hartcher examines the current state of play in the Middle East and how the credibility of the US is a casualty.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/us-credibility-another-syrian-casualty-20180326-p4z6bd.html
This school student asks what hope is there for young players now the gentleman’s game is gone?
https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-hope-for-young-players-now-the-gentleman-s-game-is-gone-20180326-p4z69f.html
Gun control advocates have called for federal intervention – and even a referendum – after commissioning a damning report that shows states and territories have trashed the historic 1996 national firearms agreement.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/26/australian-gun-control-advocates-call-for-federal-intervention-as-states-bow-to-firearms-lobby
It’s a decade and a half since Australia helped launch the invasion of Iraq, an attack which destabilised an entire region which today remains in chaos. Michael Brull looks back on the response of the left to the drum beats of war, and whether or not it did enough.
https://newmatilda.com/2018/03/26/left-got-right-iraq-thats-pretty-small-comfort/
The Conversation fact check’s Paul Fletcher’s assertion that SA’s high electricity price is a consequence of Weatherill’s renewable energy policies. WRONG, it concludes.
https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-south-australias-high-electricity-prices-the-consequence-of-renewable-energy-policy-93594
Infrastructure Australia’s new $55 billion blueprint for national-interest projects has been released and Barnaby’s big inland rail project isn’t in it as a high priority. Google.
/news/barnaby-joyces-inland-rail-isnt-a-high-priority-infrastructure-australia-20180326-h0xyim
Jenna Price tells us about the chaos that the severely underfunded Family Court is in.
https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/parenting-property-and-the-misery-of-family-law-20180326-h0xyy3.html
Dutton has denied any wrong doing over reports he intervened to grant tourist visas to two women facing deportation after trying to work illegally in Australia as au pairs. Google.
/news/peter-dutton-denies-wrongdoing-over-foreign-au-pair-case-20180326-h0xzap
Dutton calls the story “defamatory”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/26/peter-dutton-attacks-defamatory-story-and-says-he-did-not-benefit-from-au-pair-decision
When the singularly most powerful Minister in the country, excepting (arguably) the PM, categorises a group of people as “dead” to him, should we take it literally?
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/dead-to-me-the-world-according-to-peter-dutton,11330
Stephen Koukoulas says that Australia desperately needs another interest rate cut or two.
https://thekouk.com/item/590-australia-urgently-needs-an-interest-rate-cut.html
It’s only Tuesday and Mehajer makes it into the news this week.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/salim-mehajer-accuses-estranged-wife-of-grandstanding-over-alleged-avo-breach-20180326-p4z6ai.html
Transport for NSW is in deep merde with its big IT program.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/425m-it-upgrade-for-transport-agencies-veers-off-the-rails-20180322-p4z5n2.html
The day after Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg was sacked, Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo sent a memo to all staff saying Quaedvlieg should not be judged for the way his career ended.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/michael-pezzullo-calls-sacking-of-roman-quaedvlieg-a-sad-day-for-border-force-20180326-h0xyou.html
A wide ranging inquiry by the Productivity Commission into ways to introduce competition and informed user choice into human services has found that most people want to die in surroundings that are familiar to them, surrounded by their family. Instead they are often rushed to hospital, even though it would be cheaper and more dignified to treat them where they lived.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/let-australians-die-as-they-want-to-says-productivity-commission-20180326-p4z6ao.html
A charge of official corruption against Logan City Mayor Luke Smith centres on allegations he received a luxury boat from a Chinese developer who donated tens of thousands of dollars to his election campaign fund.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/qld/2018/03/26/logan-mayor-luke-smith-corruption/
Doctors have exposed the best and worst private health insurers in a new report card that shows the major funds are continuing to grow their profits even as policy exclusions spread and customer complaints soar.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/doctors-name-and-shame-health-insurers-as-profits-and-complaints-soar-20180325-p4z64g.html
Telstra has admitted more than 100,000 people may have been charged for content they did not mean to sign up for. Thousands of Telstra customers were unknowingly signed up to subscription services or charged for content including ringtones and games, without having to enter payment details or verify their identity. Apparently they are not alone.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2018/03/26/telstra-billing/
Businessman (and member of Gerard Henderson’s Sydney Institute) Joseph Gersh has been tipped for an open ABC board role. And the stacking continues.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/businessman-joseph-gersh-tipped-for-abc-board-role-20180326-p4z6az.html
More than 10 tonnes of bird poo has been removed from the dome of Melbourne’s Flinders Street station as part of restoration works. What a shit of a job!
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2018/03/26/flinders-street-station-dome-clean/
Cartoon Corner.
Peter Broelman on the ball tampering.
Paul Zanetti gives us the Ashes.
As does Jon Kudelka.
And David Rowe.
John Shakespeare – That’s not cricket!
Glen Le Lievre has a go at the ball tampering.
Mark Knight also has a good crack at it.
And he has a look at the #deletefacebook movement.
Sean Leahy and the Newspoll countdown.
Brilliant work from David Pope. One for the pool room.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/david-pope-20120214-1t3j0.html
Pat Clement has a suggestion for Turnbull.
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/31eb08ce2d3be04eec3a76c53dae248f
More cartons here.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/best-of-fairfax-cartoons-march-27-2018-20180326-h0xzvj.html
The only clear narrative coming from opinion polls is a consistent winning position for the ALP, something that has been maintained since immediately after the last Federal election. Any other narrative beyond that is just background noise.
…. The latest Essential and Newspoll simply confirm that….
I like the last cartoon in BK’s post. Abbott is unlikely to have the numbers now, but he will make noise after consecutive negative Newspoll N.30… in preparation for the take over of the leadership of the Liberal Party… in opposition!
Greens fading to beige… must be the effect of the Black Wiggle
‘A document obtained by The Australian analysing the Greens’ performance in polling since the 2016 election has sounded a warning that the party is on track to have just four senators from two states within eight years.
According to the analysis, the Greens’ federal primary vote has wound back to 2013 levels. In polling for the 12 months to March, the Greens have scored only a primary vote above 10 per cent once, compared with 16 times in 2016.
The Greens now sit on an average primary vote for the past 12 months of 9.7 per cent, down from 10.6 per cent in the 12 months before the 2016 election, and 9.6 per cent before 2013.
Party members are agitating for drastic action in the wake of a shock loss in Victoria’s Batman by-election and poor results in the South Australian and Tasmanian elections.
“The new lower level of our vote seems to have become a permanent feature,” the analysis warns. “It is clear that our lower numbers are very firm, only moving between 9 and 10 in all but one instance. Whatever we are doing now, it is not working. We do not appear to be connecting with voters. Several of our senators are at serious risk. We’re flatlining and we should be very worried.”
Newspoll data revealed by The Australian yesterday had the Greens sitting on a stagnating primary vote of 9 per cent.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/senate-seats-at-risk-as-greens-flatline-with-voters-polling-shows/news-story/0313fddd1943247fcef1075a86baed4c
No Australia? Mass expulsions on Russian diplomats..
Dutton is showing worrying signs of becoming a dictator, answerable only to himself.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/dead-to-me-the-world-according-to-peter-dutton,11330
I was disturbed when watching The Drum yesterday by the woman who gave complete, enthusiastic support for the current refugee policy of the Duttonites, insisting that even a physically ill, suicide-prone ten year old boy could not be shown any mercy because it might lead to thousands of other AS descending on us.
The case of the ‘babysitter’ who was given a Visa after appealing to His Potatoship confirms the adhoccery which dominates AS policy.
People live or die according to the whim of Dutton. His wife has been quoted as saying wtte “Peter sees the world in black and white and never changes his mind on it is made up.”
Turnbull should be taken down, if only for this crime alone – giving a Potato so much power.
Whelp. Michael Pascoe is a good writer. Wht would you sack him?
Fairfax is definitely getting worse.
Please read this.
https://arena.org.au/incarceration-autonomy-and-resistance-on-manus-island-by-behrouz-boochani/
Which is more important – exporting woodchips or our water supply?
Australia might expel some Russian diplomats today. But given the general level of incompetence of this government them might end up expelling the Olga and Valeria for MKR (AKA the Russians) by accident as well.
Hmmm… looks like it is electoral death to take money from pensioners.
lizzie
Seeing everything in black and white and never changing your mind is a great way of never having to think about anything. A wonderful option for the lazy the thuggish or those who are not that bright when it comes to analysis.
After their announcement Shorten said that Labor would be making further decisions on fairness to pensioners, but the MSM (inc. ABC) naturally labels the decision a backflip ‘as a result of pressure from the govt’.
I call biased b.s.
More than 300,000 low-income retirees will be spared from Labor’s plan to scrap cash payments for excess franking credits after the opposition amended the policy to exempt full and part-time pensioners, as well as every pensioner who is currently a recipient from a self-managed superannuation fund.
The backdown, badged as the Pensioner Guarantee, will reduce from $11.4 billion to $10.7 billion the revenue the policy was estimated to make in its first two years, and from $59 billion to $55.7 billion the revenue it was slated to earn next decade, a fall of $3.3 billion.
http://www.afr.com/news/labor-spares-300000-pensioners-in-33b-policy-backdown-20180325-h0xy8t
poroti
Not a characteristic I would choose for a ‘life companion’. Perhaps a rich husband is adequate compensation. 🙁
lizzie
Years back the stoopid “zero tolerance” became a bit fashionable in the US, the attraction of course being you did not have to think or take responsibility for making a decision. A US pollie put it brilliantly., “zero tolerance means zero intelligence” .
Lizzie – and the insane thing is that Pascoe would be costing the herald almost nothing, as a contributor. Looks like the Herald may be pretty much done in 5 years.
lizzie
Yes, always saying “Yes Peter, you are right Peter” would wear after a while. Perhaps she was who pushed him into politics. A great way to keep him out of the house 🙂
antonbruckner11 @ #17 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 7:05 am
It’s done already I think.
Traditional media is in a death spiral. Much of it Won’t be around in 12 months.
lizzie @ #13 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 7:57 am
Hi Lizzie,
I’ve been watching ABC News Breakfast this morning and they have been more measured than that, describing it as a ‘retreat’ and a straight down the line reporting of it as exempting Full and Part Pensioners, Carers and Newstart recipients. No negative overtones detected by me either. 🙂
Boerwar @ #11 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 7:52 am
And Essential may well rebound next time as a result.
Katherine Murphy managed to call it a “backflip”, of course.
Good morning all,
Interesting tactic by the government to attack labor for excluding pensioners from its dividend policy.
I would have thought “protecting “pensioners was not something for which the government should ridicule labor especially at a time when they are trying to give tax cuts to big business. Not good optics I would think.
Re the policy change. Small loss in savings to cut off attack noise. Pragmatism over purity. A sign of good government from labor.
Cheers.
Eh. Still an election winning position for Labor.
No way of knowing yet if this is the start of a trend or just a momentary blip. My money’s on the latter, though I am prone to wishful thinking on these things.
Whatever labor did it was always going to be a backflip etc etc for much of the MSM. That was and will continue to be a given.
I do not think labor would really care that much to be accused of backflipping for ” protecting ” pensioners.
Cheers
$300 million cost to wipe the Libs attacks on the policy. I think thats a fair enough compromise when its still forecaste to raise billions.
Essential does bounce from time to time. Just two or three polls ago the same thing happened and some posters wet their pants. The next poll turned around to favour labor. It happens.
Flow with the go.
Cheers.
@ Lizzie
‘After their announcement Shorten said that Labor would be making further decisions on fairness to pensioners, but the MSM (inc. ABC) naturally labels the decision a backflip ‘as a result of pressure from the govt’.
I call biased b.s.’
That’s why Ratsak posted on the Newspoll thread warning against such a shift & why I agreed with him – even though I can see the case for such a move. It will allow the Government proxies in the CPG (that would be just about all of them) to pile on remorselessly over Labor ‘chaos’ and ‘incompetence’ etc etc in some false equivalence with the government (if we are lucky) who – as everybody knows is a shambles, shambling their way through a shambolic shamble-thon.
IMO it would have been much better if this was announced originally or as a pivot later on – as part of a much larger package of policies – either at budget time or in the election campaign.
Hopefully this pivot will be a bit like ripping off a bandaid quickly – soon forgotten. However …
Andrew
Im leaning a bit the other way in that Labor might have expected such an attack and let the Libs make such an argument, to then cut it off to make Morrison/Turnbull look bad. I’d give credit to Shorten and Bowen if that was the plan.
Chris Bowen characterising the change as Labor responding to feedback. Or, iow, they listen to people. 🙂
The commentary in the media sounds as if Labor is in government and the COALition is the opposition.
@ c@tmomma – now, just imagine how much smoother Labor’s life could have been if they proposed their idea to the Greens behind closed doors first, and only taken it public when they had the improved version.
I just heard Matthias Cormann commenting on the leaked BCA Report, which was a survey of members questioning them as to what they were likely to do with the big tax cut likely coming their way. Most said they would return value to shareholders or reinvest in the business, NOT give wage rises to employees.
So, what does Cormann say to that? In true, ‘Through the Looking Glass’ fashion, he says that that may be what they say in the survey, but it’s not going to be what they do! With absolutely no evidence to support his assertion, at all.
What a sterling example of a Con Artist.
Voice Endeavour @ #33 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 8:38 am
Or vice versa, when The Greens got wind of it. 🙂
Ides of March not.logged in @ #7 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 7:32 am
Pascoe had been cutting close to the government bone recently. So there’s that, maybe.
Fair enough c@t.
While I’m always hesitant to make predictions about how these sorts of policy proposals will be recieved by the public – as I have a tendency to be, well, wrong – I can’t see this alleged “backflip” being much of a negative for Labor. At worst, there’ll be a couple of days of bad press and then everyone will move on to the next story – most likely aided by the Turnbull and the Coalition shooting themselves in the foot in some hilariously embarassing way.
And I think others here may well be correct about the pensioner exemption effectively blunting any criticism Labor may cop over this. I mean, the main line of attack was “Labor are screwing over battling pensioners!!”, after all.
Time will tell, I guess.
One very small step in the right direction.
“The Turnbull government has announced it will legislate for five days’ unpaid family violence leave, extending a Fair Work Commission decision to create the right in modern awards.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/27/coalition-says-it-will-legislate-unpaid-family-violence-leave-as-unions-voice-anger
I suspect Fairfax got lots of complaints about Pascoe from the ABC board (aka The Government) and had to release him.
It’s a pity that Labor didn’t exclude the pensioners from the get go. It troubled me at the time that they didn’t. But they have got it right now and the damage should at least be minimised.
Naturally Neil Mitchell is in full bash Bill Shorten mode, claiming that the whole policy has unravelled. But he is always prone to these ridiculous over statements where Labor is concerned. It’s no wonder that Shorten refuses to go on his show.
Morning all.
Interesting how media ‘characterise’ their discussions of the govt and opposition.
I thought it was glaring how media had been treating labor’s policy positions as if they were already in law, already affecting people
More disturbing news about Facebook:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/facebooks-experiments-abroad
Will they tilt or at least try to tilt our next election?
And just a bit more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/26/feds-launch-probe-users-discover-horrifying-reach-facebooks-data-mining
Nah this is dumb. Either have it as part of the original announcement or have another ace up your sleeve for later.
Shorten had this battle won. The best plan was to let Trumble rant about poor millionaires. It would have blown itself out.
Now Labor has breathed life into a dying argument, and effectively endorsed the criticism. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Trumble’s not going to just go oh well that’s ok. He can now ramp up the pressure and look to force more backflips.
Worse it takes the focus off Dutton and the cricket. As an opposition Labor has been good at grabbing attention for a courageous policy, but by sticking to it they’ve allowed the attention to go back on the government where it belongs.
It shows no matter how good you are going you can still make mistakes. I doubt it will be fatal, but this is a real unforced error. Let’s hope it’s the last for some time.
booleanbach @ #39 Tuesday, March 27th, 2018 – 4:48 am
I don’t think it’s personal, sounds like like a structured change.
Pascoe wasn’t the only one and it’s not instantaneous.
Andrew Street also got dumped but they will continue to contribute for a while yet. 🙂
@V-E
“@ c@tmomma – now, just imagine how much smoother Labor’s life could have been if they proposed their idea to the Greens behind closed doors first, and only taken it public when they had the improved version.”
Fantasy land stuff. If the Greens were brought in to the circle they would have found a way to ‘get the jump’ on Labor with their own announcement and then set up a virtue signalling circle jerk to put shit on Labor’s ‘weak policy’.
You might recall THAT is exactly what the grubs did with the negative gearing debate. Ditto the CRPS legislation in 2009.
No more.
Neil Mitchell actually referred to the alleged “backflip” as “sloppy government”, I kid you not. What a dick head.
Pascoe was much too independent a thinker to last.
Gittens’ forced retirement can’t be too far off.
The scary thing is that Facebook now has the data on ALL reporters & journalists – who they called, when and for how long. Is this the same data our intelligence agencies and federal police are able to get access to only when they have a court order?
Bill Shorten coming up on ABC24 very soon.