Newspoll: 54-46 to Labor

Better numbers for the Coalition in the third Newspoll of Scott Morrison’s prime ministership, but Labor is still well in the clear on voting intention.

This fortnight’s Newspoll result is 54-46 in favour of Labor, after the Scott Morrison era began with successive results of 56-44. The primary votes are Coalition 36% (up two), Labor 39% (down three), Greens 10% (steady) and One Nation 6% (steady). Movement also to the Coalition’s advantage on personal rating: Scott Morrison is up three on approval to 44% and steady on disapproval at 39%, while Bill Shorten is respectively down five to 32% and up three to 54%, and Morrison’s lead as preferred prime minister has widened from 42-36 to 45-32.

UPDATE: Further findings from the poll record 24% of respondents saying Scott Morrison has made them more likely to vote Coalition, 31% less likely and 36% no influence; and 46% nominating Morrison as the more “authentic” of the two leaders, compared with 31% for Shorten. The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1675.

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.

993 comments on “Newspoll: 54-46 to Labor”

Comments Page 14 of 20
1 … 13 14 15 … 20

  1. her poor relationship with the federal government.”

    Aaah. Now we’re getting down to it. I wasn’t all that impressed with Guthrie, but if she tried to keep the Coalition paws off her programs, well…

    Perhaps govt didn’t appreciate 4Corners reports, for example.

  3. Interesting too that ScumMo, while on site at the airport with no rail link, had a smooth, polished answer ready for journalists when asked about Guthrie’s sacking. It was almost like he rehearsed it!
    See the video:
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-24/michelle-guthrie-leaves-as-md-of-the-abc/10297608

    Of course this would be impossible because ScumMo did not make the decision. But it would be interesting to ask ScumMo when he was informed of it by the board?

  4. Lizzie

    Exactly. I m no lawyer, but given it was Guthrie’s job to be independent, I reckon those words by Milne will be the basis of her case.

  5. “Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused Bill Shorten of ‘strutting around’ behaving ‘as if he’s already in the job’. (Oz headline)”

    So Morrison can’t think of anything about the Opposition or his actions to criticise? Nor The Australian?

  6. So why was GladysB missing from the sod turning at Badgery’s Creek airport this morning? Not happy with the Prime Sod?

    Not as far as we know – she had to drop this key publicity event to deal with her fueding ministers including the pushy Deputy Perottet.

    In the cess pit which is the NSW Liberal Party, GladysB has ‘resolved’ her feuding male ministers over seats by granting one an Upper House seat, thereby shafting the talented female ready to take the spot. Some other Liberals are less than pleased

    “The spill at tomorrow’s party room meeting will almost certainly not go ahead, but the infighting has caused significant disquiet within the government.

    “The amount of anger at Dom and Ray is unbelievable,” A senior minister told 9NEWS.

    Another MP said the sense of entitlement from the two cabinet ministers was “bulls***”.

    “Everyone has got to focus on their f**** electorates for f*** sake.

    “Without the party we are nothing.”

    https://www.9news.com.au/2018/09/24/11/37/gladys-berejiklian-badgerys-creek-divisions-cabinet

  7. A SCOTUS Justice can only be impeached? Is that right?

    SK, from the Jennifer Rubin, WashPo article linked by ‘fess earlier:

    Findings of wrongdoing in the confirmation process itself, if serious enough, are grist for impeachment or professional sanctions. (Only one other Supreme Court justice was impeached, Samuel Chase. He escaped removal in 1805.)

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/23/if-republicans-dont-get-answers-democrats-will-in-2019/?utm_term=.92003c51bad7

    I’m assuming she thinks it won’t get past the confirmation process.

  9. Bill Shorten is absolutely the last person to strut around like he is already PM! God, these tired old saws from the Coalition whenever Labor look like they might win! I’m sure you could find exactly the same quotes about Hawke and Rudd!

  10. Bloody hell..
    @MichaelAvenatti
    Follow Follow @MichaelAvenatti

    Brett Kavanaugh must also be asked about this entry in his yearbook: “FFFFFFFourth of July.” We believe that this stands for: Find them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them. As well as the term “Devil’s Triangle.” Perhaps Sen. Grassley can ask him. #Basta

  11. 😆

    Urban Wronski‏ @UrbanWronski · 1h1 hour ago

    “The acting managing director is a veteran ABC employee who worked his way up from the mailroom.”
    OMG The ABC giving MD’s post to a man of letters?

  14. C@tmomma @ #659 Monday, September 24th, 2018 – 1:32 pm

    Bill Shorten is absolutely the last person to strut around like he is already PM! God, these tired old saws from the Coalition whenever Labor look like they might win! I’m sure you could find exactly the same quotes about Hawke and Rudd!

    Bill’s problem is that he can’t help looking competent.

  15. Avenatti must be feeling confident, tweeting this…

    Brett Kavanaugh must also be asked about this entry in his yearbook: “FFFFFFFourth of July.” We believe that this stands for: Find them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them. As well as the term “Devil’s Triangle.” Perhaps Sen. Grassley can ask him. #Basta

  16. ““The acting managing director is a veteran ABC employee who worked his way up from the mailroom.”
    OMG The ABC giving MD’s post to a man of letters?”

    I expect that a critical condition under Liberal management principles would be that the new MD must be less educated than ScumMo or Reichs Potato. How else will he be subservient. And you can write your own ticket on bets for ScumMo endorsing a female replacement.

  17. Assoc editor ABC

    “Certainly what I’ve been told is that the morale has been rock bottom all the way through Guthrie’s tenure on the TV production side. The ‘Larry thank you cards’ were possibly the final straw,” the source said. Another said staff were feeling “pretty cheerful” on Monday morning after the news broke.

    In September, Guthrie told staff to try and boost morale by handing out thank you cards with images of a corny character named Larry.

    “Blunders like ABC Larry were harmless but reinforced the perception of someone who didn’t understand how the place works,” said one employee.

    Executive producer of Four Corners Sally Neighbour added a twist to events, tweeting on Monday morning that the sacking was an “excellent decision“.

    This was compounded by Melbourne ABC broadcaster Jon Faine who said Guthrie’s behaviour was an “astonishing fail” in an on-air spray on Monday. He added she was given the benefit of the doubt, in part, due to her gender.

    Guthrie came under intense scrutiny during her time as managing director for not defending the ABC against attacks from the Coalition government and from the News Corp papers. A source in the radio division said staff were disappointed in Guthrie’s lack of appearance at Senate estimates.

    “She wasn’t turning up to Senate estimates and though we had really capable and experienced staff at Senate estimates, people felt she could have been a stronger public advocate. She did however spearhead the Your ABC campaign which is doing that loudly and publicly.”

    Another source suggested the Google-centric approach of Guthrie, who was previously an executive in the technology company, did not translate well to a public broadcaster.

    “For example, with hot-desking, it meant the only content maker in Melbourne who had their own desk was Shaun Micallef. There was nowhere to go and make phone calls with any degree of discretion.”

  18. Nath @ 1:12
    “Simon² Katich®
    Nirvana isnt getting a hole in one in golf, or sleeping with a goddess… you know you have reached Nirvana when you do those things AND dont feel the need to tell anyone about it.
    ____________________
    First of all I despise Golf.” …..etc

    But you don’t mention sleeping with a goddess! Are you sexist, or just shy?

  19. shellbell:

    [‘Breach of contract would be Michelle’s cause of action.’]

    In her letter published today Guthrie writes:

    ‘While my contract permits the Board to terminate my appointment “without cause and with immediate effect” [my emphasis], I believe there is no justification for the Board to trigger the termination clause.’

    That seems a very harsh clause, denying her natural justice. Thus one would think it could be struck out.

  20. The Australian broke the news about Michelle Guthrie’s departure BEFORE staff at the ABC even knew about it

    Go figure ⁉️ Wonder who leaked that given Guthrie, the ABC board and the Government were the only people aware of it.

  21. “I’m not going to characterize her leadership style, for you”

    Burn!

    Or rather, ABC board member is an arrogant, condescending jackass. I hope they all get sued.

  22. If Guthrie did not pick up on the staff dissatisfaction and therefore can’t understand what she did wrong, it does suggest a problem with her management style.

  23. Gippslander
    First of all I despise Golf.” …..etc
    But you don’t mention sleeping with a goddess! Are you sexist, or just shy?
    ____________________________
    If you want details on my sexual history that may require another forum. If you really are interested pass on your email and I can write up a report for you. no pics though, cant help you there.

  24. “If Guthrie did not pick up on the staff dissatisfaction and therefore can’t understand what she did wrong, it does suggest a problem with her management style.”

    True, but given the current government’s attitude to the ABC, I doubt they had her sacked for annoying the staff they hate so much.

  25. Socrates

    No, they wouldn’t care about staff unhappiness as long as costs were cut. I’m wondering how much she really engaged with staff. Did she read their comments on Twitter? Perhaps she had her own goals to pursue and simply imposed them without much consultation, hence her sudden ‘oops!’ and the cards of ‘appreciation’ (not appreciated).

  28. Lizzie

    In analogy terms this seems more like Stalin getting Beria to liquidate Yezhov. Guthrie is brought in to cull ABC staff numbers and have fewer of those pesky investigative journalists around. Then Guthrie is removed. I think there are a few ex-Newscorp or Fox lieutenants who would make excellent Berias. And won’t this all ensure that the next ABC MD is compliant?

    No sympathy for Guthrie, but I do not believe the stated reasons for this decision for one second.

  29. Sprocket_ @ #665 Monday, September 24th, 2018 – 1:36 pm

    Avenatti must be feeling confident, tweeting this…

    Brett Kavanaugh must also be asked about this entry in his yearbook: “FFFFFFFourth of July.” We believe that this stands for: Find them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them. As well as the term “Devil’s Triangle.” Perhaps Sen. Grassley can ask him. #Basta

    Avenatti has not been found to have published anything incorrect or not supported by sworn evidence/stat dec since he first took up the Stormy Daniels case. He has ‘pwned’ Cohen and Trump. You can be sure he has statements from school contemporaries of Kavanaugh and Judge, who are not supporters of Trump and the stacking of the Supreme Court. He is one smart cookie, and knows how to play the media game.

    Kavanaugh will read Avenatti’s tweeted drops, and see the writing on the wall. All very biblical. I hope he is literally shitting himself about what Avenatti has assembled.

  33. Thanks, Auntie 🙂

    “She was obsessed with platforms, structures, flowcharts,” he said.

    But not people, listeners, viewers, obviously.

  34. If Avenatti is right a lot of Kavanaughs old party friends will be sweating buckets. If Avenatti is right I hope the FBI have some of them taped as they attempt to conspire to conceal evidence.

    I am not sure how much longer Mark Judge can stay quiet with nothing but a written statement of innocence (or no memory of the event). Were there any GOP women on the committee he may well be subpoenaed.

  37. Teams Trump and Kavanaugh will really be hoping (and likely praying) that none of the Kavanaugh accusers press charges. While everything is kept before the Senate Judiciary Committee it can all be contained and compartmentalised and then dismissed as insufficient to deter his confirmation. Not so once assault and/or rape charges are brought on.

  38. Nick O’Malley
    ‏ @npomalley
    2h2 hours ago

    Bit rich for the ABC chairman to blithely declare he is not going to tell the public why the board sacked the MD.

  39. a r @ #578 Monday, September 24th, 2018 – 1:56 pm

    Indeed. But why does this work on literally everybody except Trump?

    Because he is the master of getting ahead of the curve. He told everyone he could get away with anything, even shooting someone on 5th Avenue. Since then people just repeat it whenever an issue arises. QED. Dystopian reality a la Trump. Oh, and he never admits responsibility and never backs down, he doubles down.

  40. Things will only get worse at the ABC – the next head will be ‘more friendly to the government’. The Stalin-Beria comparison is apt. As if Guthrie was not friendly to the Liberal Party. For Stalin 100% loyalty was never enough, I fear the same goes for ScuMo.

  43. Speaking of the Russians. Guess who they tried to break out of solitary confinement last christmas?

    Russian diplomats held secret talks in London last year with people close to Julian Assange to assess whether they could help him flee the UK, the Guardian has learned.

    A tentative plan was devised that would have seen the WikiLeaks founder smuggled out of Ecuador’s London embassy in a diplomatic vehicle and transported to another country.

    One ultimate destination, multiple sources have said, was Russia, where Assange would not be at risk of extradition to the US. The plan was abandoned after it was deemed too risky.

    The operation to extract Assange was provisionally scheduled for Christmas Eve in 2017, one source claimed, and was linked to an unsuccessful attempt by Ecuador to give Assange formal diplomatic status.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/21/julian-assange-russia-ecuador-embassy-london-secret-escape-plan

    You’ve got to give then an A for Audacity!

  45. bahah ABC are reporting their own MD sacking:

    Breaking news
    Former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie says she is “devastated” by the Board’s decision to terminate her employment

  46. Simon² Katich®

    Article III of the USA Constitution

    The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

    This has been interpreted as lifetime appointment, so unless they resign, retire or die they can only go by being impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. One was impeached by the House in 1804 but acquitted by the Senate.

    phoenixRED

    Thanks for the updates. Yes, Trump should cut and run. Kavanaugh is toast. Nominate by Trump on July 9 – is there really time to get another nominee up before the midterms or at least before the new Congress takes office in January?

  47. The plan was abandoned after it was deemed too risky.

    Poisoning people and their family is less risky than trying to break Assange out of an embassy? The Russians would be doing Ecuador a favour in taking him off their hands. I’m sure they wouldn’t protest too much about it.

  48. is there really time to get another nominee up before the midterms or at least before the new Congress takes office in January?

    Highly unlikely before the midterms, esp as trying to ram Kavanaugh through the Senate has led to where they are now. The pressure for a more detailed confirmation process will be monumental, even more so in light of today’s revelations.

  49. laughtong

    Thanks for that.
    I was also startled in one report to see that ‘hot-desking’ was introduced, except for “Mad as Hell”. Surely that was a joke?

Comments Page 14 of 20
1 … 13 14 15 … 20

Leave a Reply

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