Two privately conducted ReachTEL polls from the past week to relate, followed by enough federal preselection news to choke on. Also note immediately below this the post on a new YouGov Galaxy state poll from Queensland. I should also observe that September 8 has been set as the date for the Wagga Wagga state by-election in New South Wales, to be held after Liberal member Daryl Maguire fell foul of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. It presumably won’t be contested by Labor and will probably be of interest only to locals, but Antony Green naturally has a guide up.
On with the show:
• The Guardian reports a poll conducted for the ACTU has Labor leading 51-49 on two-party preferred. Other findings of the poll relate to wage rises, or the lack thereof: 47.6% reported not having received one in the past year, 32.9% said such as they had received did not cover the cost of living, and only 19.5% said their pay had improved in real terms. The poll was conducted on August 2 from a sample of 2453.
• Greenpeace has a Victoria only poll which, after exclusion of the 6.7% undecided, has the Coalition on 35.4% (compared with 41.8% at the 2016 election), Labor on 34.9% (35.6%), the Greens on an unlikely 18.6% (13.1%) and One Nation on 5.1%. Labor leads 57-43 on two-party preferred, compared with 51.8-48.2 at the election. The poll was conducted July 30 from a sample of 1118.
The preselection news bonanza starts in Victoria, where internal party democracy has been having a rough time of it lately, with Labor’s national executive and the Liberal Party’s state administrative committee both taking over federal preselections to protect sitting members amid factional unrest.
• The Labor vacancy created by the retirement of Michael Danby in Macnamara, as Melbourne Ports will now be known, is set to be filled by one of his former staffers, Josh Burns. The seat is reserved to the Right under factional arrangements, and Burns prevailed in a factional ballot with 61 votes to 49 for Nick Dyrefurth, executive director of the John Curtin Research Centre, and 16 for Mary Delahunty, a Glen Eira councillor (numbers related by Emma-Jayne Schenk of the Caulfield Glen Eira Leader). Delahunty called on the national executive to disregard the result, accusing Danby of hand-picking the attendees to the meeting and seeing that others were locked out, and complaining that 85% of those present were male.
• United Voice state secretary Jess Walsh will take second position on Labor’s Victorian Senate ticket after winning Socialist Left endorsement at the expense of incumbent Gavin Marshall. Marshall has been demoted to what is being described as an unwinnable position – number three according to the Herald Sun, though reports vary. The result is a defeat for Socialist Left powerbroker and Marshall ally Kim Carr, whose influence has diminished in the face of a new alliance between the Industrial Left and Right forces associated with state MP Adem Somyurek. It also contradicts the justification for referring preselections to the national executive, which was to protect sitting members.
• The Herald Sun reports a factional deal has set up state upper house member Daniel Mulino to run in the new safe Labor seat of Fraser in western Melbourne, making his existing seat in Eastern Victoria available for Jane Garrett. This was supported by Bill Shorten, and bitterly opposed by Garrett’s foes in the United Firefighters Union. Garrett is backed by the Industrial Left, which has been determined to find her a new seat after she abandoned her existing berth of Brunswick, where she is under growing pressure from the Greens. Mulino is aligned with the Right faction Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (although the internal politics of that union is a story unto itself), which was at first unhappy at losing influence within the state government, but has been mollified with the promise of an extra state seat.
• Jenny Macklin’s successor in Jagajaga, which is reserved to the Socialist Left, will be Kate Thwaites, a former staffer to Macklin, ABC journalist and, most recently, communications director at Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services. Thwaites won factional backing ahead of Sonja Terpstra, a local teacher and community activist.
• The Victorian Liberal Party’s administrative committee has rubber-stamped the preselections of all sitting federal MPs, ostensibly to prevent the party from being distracted in the lead-up to the November 29 state election. However, the real story by all accounts is that the dominant conservative faction wishes to protect Kevin Andrews in Menzies, who faced a challenge from Keith Wolahan, a former Blake Dawson lawyer who earlier served overseas with the Australian Defence Force.
Elsewhere:
• Matthew Killoran of The Courier-Mail reports five candidates are seeking preselection for a Queensland Senate position reserved to the Left, which is being vacated with the retirement of Claire Moore. The front runner by all accounts is Nita Green, a former staffer to Senator Murray Watt, who is backed by the CFMMEU. This is despite Green being based in Brisbane, and party rules reserving the spot for central or north Queensland (Green says she will move there if successful). Others in the field are Leanne Donaldson, who held the state seat of Bundaberg from 2015 until her defeat in 2017, and lost her position in cabinet when it emerged she had failed to pay nearly $8000 in council rates; Julie McGlone, Tourism Australia marketing executive; Tania Major, Cairns-based indigenous youth advocate; and Karin Campbell, an occupational health and safety consultant.
• Paul Starick of The Advertiser reports that Georgina Downer, who for some reason wants to run in Mayo again, will face opposition from Reagan Garner, human resources manager for ReturnToWorkSA. However, Starick reports Downer is the “overwhelming favourite”.
• Sally Whyte of the Canberra Times reports there are five nominees for Labor preselection in Canberra, where a vacancy is available as a result of the Australian Capital Territory’s House of Representatives seat entitlement increasing from two to three. They are John Falzon, chief executive of St Vincent de Paul; Kel Watt, a lobbyist for the greyhound racing industry; Jacob Ingram, a staffer to Chief Minister Andrew Barr; Simon Banks, managing director for lobbyists Hawker Britton; and Alicia Payne, who has worked as a staffer to Jenny Macklin, Bill Shorten and Lindsay Tanner. Falzon has been endorsed by the Left, Watt and Ingram are seeking endorsement from the Right, and Banks and Payne are unaligned. Falzon has been in the news lately after a picture emerged of him wearing a t-shirt with Lenin emblazoned on it, while Watt has been the target of a dirt sheet being circulated within the local party. The preselection process will be completed early next month.
• In South Australia, Labor will deal with the abolition of Port Adelaide by having the homeless Mark Butler run in Hindmarsh, and moving Hindmarsh MP Steve Georganas to neighbouring Adelaide. The latter is being vacated by Kate Ellis, and has turned from a marginal to a fairly safe Labor seat as a result of the redistribution changes. Paul Karp of The Guardian reports the deal involves a Senate seat being forfeited by the Left, of which Butler is a member, with the top two positions on the Senate ticket to be taken by the Right.
• Nathan Hondros of Fairfax reports Labor’s likely new candidate for the marginal Liberal seat of Hasluck in eastern Perth is James Martin, Mundaring Shire councillor and director of Marketech Ltd, a firm that develops stock market trading software. The position became vacant after the withdrawal of Lauren Palmer, an official with the Maritime Union of Australia, who cited health reasons. Andrew Burrell of The Australian reports Martin is a member of the Progressive Left faction, which combines forces of the Right (the SDA, TWU and AWU) and Left (the MUA and CFMMEU).
• Luke Hartsuyker announced this week he will not seek another term in the mid north coast New South Wales seat of Cowper, which he has held for the Nationals since 2001. No word yet on who might succeed him as Nationals candidate, but Rob Oakeshott, who ran unsuccessfully against Hartsuyker in 2016, is not ruling out running again.
I stand corrected, Hunnas were a Melbourne band.
We had a regular (ie. every) Monday night at the Sandringham to see Paris Green. The sometimes drummer was Louis Burdett (made famous by the Whitlams), they came along later of course at that time Tim Freeman was a fellow punter.
Burdett later went to Berlin but was asked to leave as he was ‘too unorthodox’
The Angels at the old Bondi Lifesaver. Came on stage at 2.30am and destroyed the joint.
” A 71-year-old Norwegian politician Svein Ingvald Opdal, is the latest to make his feeling known ….. and other things ”
Shocking, just shocking: men over the age of, say, 35, should not publicly show their wares, despite harbouring a legitimate grievance.
Poroti
Nice pics. Like the shark ones.
I am continually surprised that one of the big ones hasn’t made it over the protective grilles on the side of the boat. Seem a little low to me.
Hope the video cameras are rolling if they ever do. 🙂
sprocket_ says: Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 3:55 pm
The Angels at the old Bondi Lifesaver. Came on stage at 2.30am and destroyed the joint.
************************************************
I can’t say for certain as it was my first visit to Sydney but I well remember at one Sydney surf club seeing the brilliant instrumental surfing band “The Atlantics’ ….. they played a few familiar songs ( Bombora etc) then said this was their new song – “War Of The Worlds” …….. have never heard anything before or since that compared – the crowd was just stunned at the end of it for what seemed like ages and just stood there in some sort of disbelief to what they had just heard – then the whole place just went beserk …… was a great night ….
Not Live but :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Fr0cSnW95c
Last year my band was running a bit over time at rehearsal, only to find out we were making Radio Birdman wait.
They were rehearsing for a show at the Enmore the following Friday (I think it was Friday…)
Old guys still got it. Died Pretty supported and were great, but Birdman just blew the lid off. Sometimes Rob Younger can be a bit ‘subdued’ but that night he obviously had Peno on form first up to inspire him to give it everything. Rob’s always a great for a chat to. Really friendly unpretentious guy. Always seems surprised to be recognised.
They’re doing some shows in the next few months, so if you love 70s guitar rock do yourself a favour.
https://youtu.be/sXYnro7SbxA
Wonderful television from back in the day.
.
Life Of Brian- 1979 Debate (3/4)
9 November 1979, hosted by Tim Rice.
Mervyn Stockwood (The Bishop of Southwark), Malcolm Muggeridge, John Cleese and Michael Palin on Friday Night, Saturday Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGI9UevrzGc
JM
I did not take any of the shark ones. Crocs jump vertical and so unless you are dumb enough to stick your head over the rails then you are safe as houses.
“Crocs jump vertical and so unless you are dumb enough to stick your head over the rails then you are safe as houses.”
So, only a matter of time then?
😉
sorry. reply to wrong comment
Angels – a freezing cold July winter night at St. Mary’s Band Club … one of my favourite gigs of all time.
Yes. Birdman have aged very well.
Is that croc ‘Mr Reliable’? If so he has grown a lot since I saw him. A real crowd pleaser.
I meant to say in my earlier post that it would not surprise me at all if the GBRF hands back the money voluntarily to “defuse the issue and protect the Reef.”
I wonder what they word do with the interest, maybe around $7-$8 million so far.
Josh Frydenberg on Insiders: “Let me make it very clear. The foundation (i.e., GBRF) was chosen because it is the best organisation to leverage off the private sector.”
Complete. And. Utter. Rubbish. This makes my blood boil.
The government’s own Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) runs rings around it. Take for example this short-listed project proposal (full details here: https://www.business.gov.au/Assistance/Cooperative-Research-Centres-Programme/Cooperative-Research-Centres-CRCs-Grants/current-CRC-selection-round#crcs18 ):
Future Fuels CRC
Government Grant Funding: $26,250,000 over 7 years
Participant Contributions: $64,389,000 (i.e., cash and in-kind from industry)
So, a SINGLE (as yet unsuccessful!) application is going to pitch in about the same amount of private sector funding that the GBRF has raised in its entire history.
And as I mentioned in a post the other day, many centres relevant to the GBR have been established under this scheme. These include:
CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management
CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
CRC for The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area
CRC for Greenhouse Accounting
CRC for Water Quality and Treatment
CRC for Catchment Hydrology
eWater CRC
Old Mavis @ #703 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 4:00 pm
I think one can justify it as an HG Wells homage: Things to Come .
Speaking of untrammeled Sunday nostalgia, can I recommend the 1936 Korda film Things to Come . The “wandering sickness” – a biological weapon designed to spread by contact haunted me as a child. It was one of the reasons I became involved in counter BW research.
Next week during QT I suspect ALP will ask for details like dates/times and meetings.
That will expose the farce of reefgate
jenauthor @ #716 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 4:19 pm
I think Reefgate may be Lucien’s iceberg – well other than the MBN one, the Gretch one, the HIH one…
It is called Question Time, not Answer Time. Smith and the CPG will be in the spotlight.
true rh, yet another iceberg.
We just have to hope Albo doesn’t give another speech.
i.e. Labor does something, anything, that causes the press gallery to, as one, wheel about, change direction 180 degrees and head off, away from the beleaguered government.
Bushfire Bill @ #713 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 4:17 pm
But that would be an admission of abject failure. Not sure Turnbull could countenance that.
It is called Question Time, not Answer Time ….. so true, fantastic comment!
Only when it’s a coalition govt being questioned. When it’s Labor in power they are always expected to answer everything the opposition and media asks them.
Remember Gillard holding hour+ long media conferences, and STILL she had questions to answer.
CA
Hey ‘Rational Leftist’ what is Kindy Left about taking umbrage at the constant vicious anti Semitic smears those on the far right of the ALP constantly make about people on the left? Right out of the Rupert Murdoch play book.
____________________________
What the fuck are you on about? You seem obsessed.
Another thing about Frydenberg… he could have removed all doubt and ambiguity from the answer about whose idea it was by saying “Mine.”
Instead he said, “It was my submission as minister through the cabinet process.”
Which might mean that he was given the idea by someone else to submit as his own, as a way of covering up whose original idea it was.
poroti @ #644 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 1:36 pm
Given that sanders is in fact Jewish and is I think a DUAL national with Israel, even the Groupers may have trouble calling him anti Semitic.
Oh sorry – self hating jew ids OK though
DTT
Like Mr Attlee you are setting up a straw man in order to obsess about not being called antisemitic for opposing Israel. Honestly, don’t you people have anything better to do?
Oh, by the way DTT, why do you think Sanders has Jewish citizenship? Just because he was born Jewish or do you have some factual basis for thinking that?
Why would Frydenberg remove all manner of ambiguity around whose idea the half billion dollar gift to GBRF was by copping to it wholly and solely? Esp when he would know there are people out there digging into this, as stated by Savva, and the issue could get messier and more awkward as facts come to light.
BB
Frydenberg had even more questions to answer at the end of the interview than he had at at he beginning of the interview.
Meanwhile, the Coalition discovers a new cause for fake outrage to distract from its corrupt incompetence.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/12/coalition-alarmed-after-students-with-atars-as-low-as-179-accepted-into-teaching
TPOF @ #659 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 2:17 pm
TPOF
I hope you realise that quoting such a guy is essentially anti antidemocratic is arguing for rule by elites, autocracy or oligarchy at best. Rule by Kings and an aristocracy. perhaps at very best the bureaucrats of ancient china who rose via education.
It is very, very dangerous stuff. even where there are elements of truth, the alternative is autocracy.
Another quote is that “countries get the governments they deserve”
As for the GBRF, Labor will ask the questions in QT that the CPG should be asking. We will get the same old crap from Trumble and Frydeplanet in response. The question will be whether the press gallery will press those questions with Trumble and his patsy or whether they will engage in episode 994 of Kill Bill.
This is a discredited rumour that was circulating in Fake Newsville on the internet some years ago. It doesn’t surprise me that DTT has fallen for it – she takes at face value just about every wacky conspiracy theory out there.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/11/the-strange-anti-semitic-internet-rumor-that-bernie-sanders-has-israeli-citizenship/?utm_term=.bfcc61c8c2fa
Bushfire Bill @ #724 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 5:03 pm
I suspect it was Lucy’s “idea”, channeling the rapidly evaporating GRASPer zeitgeist – so Lucien Aye will neigh, and Murphy et al. will collect and distribute the delicious unicorn poo that he emits. Otherwise it’s a choice between Adolph Kipfler for breakfast or Toady Rabbott’s coal-flavoured treats.
I wonder what fuckup the CPG will ignore next?
DTT
“I hope you realise that quoting such a guy is essentially anti antidemocratic”
_______________________________________
Actually quoting such a guy is totally democratic. It’s called free speech.
Frydenberg is a ‘wet’. Think of ‘wets’ like slinkies; slinking down stairs, head down, flipping and flopping, twisting and turning….. there is no body to them. Just coiled up wire.
FWIW, I don’t think criticism of Israel and antisemitism are the same thing. Although some people who are critics do it from a position of antisemitism, Israel (especially under Netanyahu) do a lot of things that warrant criticism. I agree that people who yell “antisemite” at legitimate criticism are stupid and also weaken legitimate claims of antisemitism.
HOWEVER, I do also think that claiming anyone who doesn’t blindly agree with you about everything is a far-right “grouper” (because it’s suddenly 1955 again) who recites “Murdoch” talking points is a bit idiotic. The reason I called the poster in question “Kindy Left” is because they remind me of leftists who are more about labels, mantra and rhetoric, than anything substantial. They’re the type who are obsessed with the correct -isms and throw labels like “neoliberal”, “DLP”, “grouper” etc. without knowing what they’re talking about because it’s just a label for othering those who don’t subscribe to their worldview. It’s lazy and narcissistic.
*I note that I used a label to describe them. I don’t need that pointed out, thanks.
TPOF @ #726 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 5:08 pm
TPOF
I read it on a site just yesterday. I will try to find the article and link it.
Found it – or one that does the same. I think there is a decimal point error in the header. I am assuming it is 8.9%
http://www.investmentwatchblog.com/89-of-our-senators-and-congress-hold-dual-citizenship-citizenship-with-israel/
Doing the sums myself it seems that 13-14% of all Democrat senators and congresspeople are Dual Israeli citizens.
TPOF says: Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 5:13 pm
As for the GBRF, Labor will ask the questions in QT that the CPG should be asking. We will get the same old crap from Trumble and Frydeplanet in response. The question will be whether the press gallery will press those questions with Trumble and his patsy or whether they will engage in episode 994 of Kill Bill.
******************************************
QT will be the same old same old pattern – forensic questions will be asked – but Speaker Smith will allow obtuse non-answers and derogatory ALP/Shorten abuse to be the reply ……. and the compliant/complicit CPG will just let it all go through to the keeper without holding the LNPs feet to the fire ……. the fix is in and the script is all written before tomorrow QT actually happens ……
TPOF @ #734 Sunday, August 12th, 2018 – 5:17 pm
Fair point TPOF
I should have said that agreeing with him is antidemocratic.
DTT, are you a parody account?
Simon² Katich® says:
Ah yes the Liberal Party’s cultural wars. The Rodent and his ‘Dries’ killed the Wets right off.
C Atlee sees a Grouper Under Every Bed.
‘Simon² Katich® says:
Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 5:21 pm
Frydenberg is a ‘wet’. ‘
Yeah. Like Dry Ice is wet.
Alright. Not a wet. A slinky.
I must admit that I have struggled to understand even the most basic things about the NEG. I assume that this was the general intention.
But one thing that Mike Seccombe exhumed from the NEG discussion on Insiders does make sense.
If the general feeling is that the NEG is a start and we ought at least make some sort of national agreement on a start, then Labor should absolutely insist that the NEG can be ramped up by way of Regulation.
This gives the future government of the day far more flexibility than trying to ramp up the NEG by way of legislation in the House and the Senate.
DTT @ 5.23
A patently anti-semitic site makes a claim without any evidence whatsoever and you believe it? It seems to me that whoever came up with that list simply trawled through the list of Jewish Congress people and staff and stamped them all as dual citizens. As far as I know, one does not become a citizen of Israel without either being born there (like Australia) or seeking Israeli citizenship. It may be dead easy for Jews to become citizens of Israel, but I’m totally sure that it is not conferred without seeking it. In the same way that this country will not confer citizenship automatically on anyone other than the children of citizens and permanent residents who are actually born here.
And this site was a perfect example of anti-Israel rhetoric which is fundamentally antisemitic in content, even if it pretends to be talking about Zionists, rather than Jews. For example, this quote:
“I think this type of thing is allowed because “Israel first” Zionists essentially own our government, which is because the Rothschilds own the central banking system and have money creation powers and they promote Zionism. So you play by their rules, or you don’t get big money access. This is why most industry monopolies are headed by Zionists. It’s not a random chance thing that the tops of most all industries are super gung-ho about Israel. This is also why they get the most aid, and why they have the biggest lobbying groups.”
Once you start talking about a Rothschild banker led conspiracy, you are no longer talking about how the State of Israel is treating Palestinians, which is a totally legitimate thing to do and getting back into the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
You really need to change your reading and approach what you read far more forensically.
To reiterate — DTT has just linked approvingly to a site which claims, twice, in its headline an opening paragraph, that 89% of people in Congress are dual Israeli citizens, notwithstanding that this is a baldly anti-Semitic calumny that no person with a kindergarten level IQ could possibly believe for a second. Indeed, it should be immediately obvious to anyone who even glances at the site that only the lowest grade of halfwit could believe a single thing that was published there. Yet her response to this is to make excuses for the lies that it peddles, and to predicate that excuse on Bernie Sanders being a dual Israeli citizen, when it has just been pointed out that this is a steaming pile of bullshit.
This discredited crap has been thoroughly debunked for the anti semitic nonsense it is. And not just recently but *years ago*!!
https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2015/jun/11/backstory-behind-diane-rehms-question-bernie-sande/