Courtesy of The Guardian, the final Essential Research poll for the year moves a point in favour of the Coalition, who now trail 53-47. We are also told the Coalition primary vote is at 37%, down one on a fortnight ago, and Labor is on 36%, down three. Which minor parties have taken up the slack will remain a mystery until the full report is published later today.
As it does in its last poll every year, Essential asked respondents to nominate if it had been a good or bad year for various political principals and politics in general, finding 65% rating it a bad year for Australian politics, compared with 54% last year, and 57% a bad year for the federal government.
There is also Essential’s occasional question on leaders’ personal qualities, which provide a more nuanced picture than the usual approval ratings of a decline in Scott Morrison’s popularity. Other findings: only 21% expect the Coalition will win the election, compared with “over half” for Labor; and 27% want an early election, with 52% preferring a full term.
The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1026.
UPDATE: Full results here. Greens up one to 11%, Labor up one to 7%.
phoenixRED @ #1534 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 11:53 am
Treason!
We always talk of “The Murray”.
Straits are frequently referred to with the definite article as well. If you do a Google search you’ll see plenty of articles talking about “the Strait of Gibraltar”, “the Malacca Strait”, “the Strait of Hormuz” and so on.
dave
That’s it ? Following the yanks and their Saudi mates backing the 50 shades of head chopper jihadis when the FSA fizzled. Russia was guaranteed that position. Even before the war they had the largest foreign military presence in places like Tartus.
Barney
Also
Multiple is apparently ‘better’ than Many
and
I haven’t heard ‘twice’ in an advertisement for months. It’s always ‘two times’. Twice must be going the way of thrice, perhaps?
lizzie @ #1546 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 9:02 am
I think one problem with Bass Strait it’s often mentioned as a compound noun, the Bass Strait ferry.
🙂
I think ‘the British’ call it ‘the Lebanon’
Time to mow lawns before storms arrive
zoomster @ #1549 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 9:03 am
That’s so you don’t confuse it with the bloke next door! 🙂
We always talk of “The Murray”.
Up in the northern rivers there’s a village called The Channon.
All I am going to say about Buckingham and his claims is this.
National Leader of the party Senator Richard Di Natale who moved against Lee Rhiannon also asked Buckingham to resign for the good of the party.
Personal irritants are “utilize” and “off of”.
jenauthor
Perhaps Barney has the clue -it’s all about the size. e.g. the mighty Murray.
jenauthor @ #1554 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 9:08 am
The Human League certainly did! 🙂
https://youtu.be/TH-_bsCwdRw
autocrat @ #1512 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 12:17 pm
Seconded.
Nick the Greek agrees.
The Ukraine, the Congo, The Gambia.
It’s a British thing. https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/04/gambia-lebanon-etc.html
Late Riser
Off of, Outside of… But not, usually, inside of or beside of. No doubt that will arrive soon.
Kelly O’Bigmouth doing her best to frighten people about Labor.
To the or not to the. In Ukraine since independence using ‘the Ukraine” is considered norty.
Lizzie
Its all they have left.Fear and division.That went down well in Melbourne.
Good market there. Make sure your kids are fully vaccinated beforehand.
After I found that factory used to be manufactory, I gave in and decided not to write programme any more, but program instead.
Swan took a very Keynesian approach to the GFC and had the best results worldwide.
He was too keen to get back to surplus (which is a bit of economic showmanship that Keating introduced to Australian politics), but otherwise has been quite consistent.
That may well be where I first heard it! ‘Tighter than a ducks butt…Now let me feel the fibre of your fabric’
lizzie @ #1429 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 12:23 pm
I gave up too, but for the longest time “a program” was how you made computers work, while “a programme” was how you scheduled an event.
They were swamped by slogans. The debt bus was one. Seemed every line of attack that the Libs used was cutting through, thanks in no small part to the uncritical regurgitation and repetition given to them by the compliant media.
@AP tweets
London’s Gatwick Airport has shut down while officials investigate reports that drones flew above the airfield. http://apne.ws/zdV6FQ2
lizzie @ #1569 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 9:23 am
I much prefer that to ‘factory, such a lovely sound to it. 🙂
@BuzzFeedBen tweeted 3 hours ago for any that missed it.
My statement: https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedBen/status/1075521705077075968/photo/1
guytaur,
A quick search for “Steele Dossier” yielded a slew of articles. The one I decided to read, written yesterday, pans buzzfeed’s original decision to publish and gleefully points out the various people who also disagreed, and the setbacks in court. It ends with the following sentence, “Update: Buzzfeed won the court case.”
S K,
Yep.
Abbott would say “Less tax, no cuts, bigger surplus”.
“How?” (On the rare occasion the magic pudding was questioned).
“Because we’re grownups.” (my favourite 3 word slogan).
@MySydney
Major construction on Stage 1 of the Parramatta Light Rail will begin in 2019 after two contracts were awarded to build and operate the light rail network. Find out more: https://www.mysydney.nsw.gov.au/node/4847 https://twitter.com/MySydney/status/1075574502568845312/photo/1
Who wants to guess the end date bearing in mind the delays on the Eastern Suburbs down George St project?
lizzie @ #1560 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 1:10 pm
Not so mighty any more, methinks! 😉
There is also a place called ‘The Alice’
guytaur @ #1579 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 2:00 pm
You’d think Sydneysiders would have learned their lesson after two light rail disasters already 🙁
P1
We shall see if thats true. If they have learnt their lesson we will have a Labor government in NSW next year 🙂
P1
We shall see if thats true. If they have learnt their lesson we will have a Labor government in NSW next year 🙂
When Jeff says you should resign, it might be a good idea to do so. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberal-powerbrokers-should-quit-over-racist-homophobic-texts-kennett-baillieu-20181220-p50ncw.html
Seriously hoping for some collateral on this one. I reckon there is the documentation for that, it’s whether it gets released in anger. Bring on the popcorn if that occurs!
It’s just Gladys and the Libs getting in quick to award the project for the Light Rail to their mates and political donors before they get tossed at the NSW State election.
@TWUAus tweets
Just days before Christmas hundreds of transport workers are hearing they’ve lost their jobs without any official word from Redstar Transport. It’s outrageous. We’re investigating and will update drivers as soon as we can. #SafeRates #AusUnions https://twitter.com/TWUAus/status/1075582627862573057/photo/1
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/ripping-up-my-membership-jeremy-buckingham-quits-toxic-greens-to-run-as-an-independent-20181220-p50nec.html
It’s hard to hear things when there are no words.
My absolute irritant that really sets me off is then/than
So many get it wrong!
And I freakin’ HATE spell-checkers that change off to of
zoomster @ #1549 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 10:03 am
Not to mention The Amazon, The Nile, The Seine, The Thames, etc.
Those with long memories (like me) might recall that Tory warrior Charles Court had no use for the definite article.
Regions in WA’s north were simply Pilbara and Kimberley, with some emphasis on the Pil and Kim just as he said WESTern Australia.
And don’t come over here talking about the Kimberlies.
a r @ #1449 Thursday, December 20th, 2018 – 1:13 pm
There was a song, wtte “Silence Is Golden”, which was irrefutable, and the off switch agreed.
Mattis, once one of ‘my generals,’ loses his influence with Trump
President Trump’s decision to abruptly withdraw troops from Syria is a clear rebuke to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the last remaining member of a retinue of military men Trump once fondly called “my generals.”
Mattis had argued that the counterterrorism mission in Syria is not over and that the small U.S. presence in Syria should remain, said current and former U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal policy discussions.
The Pentagon chief also had tried to explain to Trump that there would be more chaos in the region and future problems for the United States if the troops leave, they said.
On Wednesday, it became clear Trump was brushing aside his defense secretary’s advice.
Once considered among the most influential advisers to a president with no prior government or military experience, Mattis has been repeatedly overruled by Trump in recent months and left out of key discussions as the president pursues his own national security path.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mattis-once-one-of-my-generals-loses-his-influence-with-trump/2018/12/19/cb3b61f2-03a2-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.4a13d9374c74
There’s a place near Kyogle (Nthn NSW) called The Risk.
The NSW Reds in the Greens have destroyed the environmentalists in the Greens.
The Reds are the folk who think that hyperventilating about Palestine is far more important than what happens in the environment of the MDB.
The Greens can now stop pretending that they are interested in the environment.
Do the rational thing for the environment: Vote 1 Labor.