Monday morning madness

Sturt preselection and election date talk – but above all, a new venue for general discussion of the political situation.

Newspoll have held off this week owing to the New South Wales election, resulting in one of the occasional three week gaps in their schedule. However, the fortnightly Essential Research will come through as normal this (i.e. Monday) evening. In other non-New South Wales news, moderate faction nominee and Christopher Pyne ally James Stewart won the Liberal preselection for Sturt on Saturday, consistent with expectations and despite resistance from conservatives who sought to make hay from the fact that the moderates had chosen not to back a woman. We also have a front page headline in The Australian this morning that reads, “Gladys triumph: PM eyes May 11”. Beyond that, over to you.

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.

569 comments on “Monday morning madness”

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  1. Itzadream – I’ve read that Lachlan is an even bigger right-wing nutjob than his father. James is the more liberal one.

  2. No prizes for guessing.

    “A handful of Australian companies are undermining efforts to limit global warming by pursuing new fossil fuel projects, or basing their business plans on energy projection scenarios that would doom the Paris agreement to failure,” the report says.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/25/out-of-line-top-australian-companies-accused-of-undermining-paris-deal

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/05/australian-mining-giants-may-be-breaking-law-by-ignoring-climate-change-risks

  3. It seems Barr’s summary of the Mueller report raises more questions than it answers. It will now be up to Congress to summon the full report and make it public.

    To his credit, Barr seems to understand that demand for the report is bipartisan and compelling. He writes that he must separate out grand jury testimony and other material that could “impact other ongoing matters.” WAIT. What?! If Mueller came across evidence of crimes that the Southern District of New York or other parts of Justice are investigating, shouldn’t we know if the president is under investigation?

    However, in a major respect, Barr’s action in declaring no crime of obstruction is inexplicable. Because it is the Justice Department’s position that Trump cannot be indicted as a sitting president, there is no requirement — indeed, it is inappropriate — for Barr to weigh in. The job is up to Congress, according to Barr’s own department guidelines. Suspicions about Barr’s willingness to clear the president, based on a memo he wrote to the Justice Department before being nominated as attorney general, look well-founded.

    We know have an entirely untenable situation: The special counsel did not render a judgment on obstruction but clearly found evidence thereof. Trump’s own attorney general and deputy attorney general wouldn’t prosecute (duh), but other independent prosecutors could certainly find that information sufficient to charge Trump now or later. Moreover, the evidence might be so compelling as to reach the standard of high crimes and misdemeanors.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/24/what-barrs-letter-about-mueller-report-says-doesnt-say/?utm_term=.f3cea9245133

  4. antonbruckner11 @ #25 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 8:55 am

    Itzadream – I’ve read that Lachlan is an even bigger right-wing nutjob than his father. James is the more liberal one.

    Which one appeared at the inquiry into phone hacking giving an impression of being an Olympic quality BS artist with the ability to talk under a metre or more of wet concrete ❓

  5. antonbruckner11 @ #52 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 8:55 am

    Itzadream – I’ve read that Lachlan is an even bigger right-wing nutjob than his father. James is the more liberal one.

    Likewise. It was therefore interesting to hear the questioner (there’s a video in the link) credit him with being a social liberal which Lachlan didn’t correct, predictably, but then go on to expose himself to be a hypocritical defender of Fox’s extreme intolerance by exhorting tolerance. (I’m repeating myself.)

  6. If Barnaby Joyce was serious from showing the public that the national party is not a syndicate of the liberal party , the most intelligent thing to do is breakaway from the liberal party , by not supporting the libs when they are in office for example nsw government

  7. If our politics is becoming less rational, crueller and more divisive, this rule of public life is partly to blame: the more disgracefully you behave, the bigger the platform the media will give you. If you are caught lying, cheating, boasting or behaving like an idiot, you’ll be flooded with invitations to appear on current affairs programmes. If you play straight, don’t expect the phone to ring.

    In an age of 24-hour news, declining ratings and intense competition, the commodity in greatest demand is noise. Never mind the content, never mind the facts: all that now counts is impact. A loudmouthed buffoon, already the object of public outrage, is a far more bankable asset than someone who knows what they’re talking about. So the biggest platforms are populated by blusterers and braggarts. The media is the mirror in which we see ourselves. With every glance, our self-image subtly changes.

    “How the media let malicious idiots take over”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/22/political-monsters-media-jacob-rees-mogg-platforms

  8. The problem for Morrison in addition to everything else, is that the Nationals are under threat and will act accordingly. As of Saturday evening the Coalition is dissolved.

  9. Pell’s character – evil bastard.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/he-is-not-to-be-pitied-reliving-the-melbourne-response-and-pell-s-20190321-p516d2.html

    “The family remain astounded that no one senior from the Church – not their local priest, much less Pell – phoned or held a meeting with them.

    “We were known enough in the area and in the Church … and we were just left out in the cold,” Jennifer said.

    They had shared meals with Pell and yet he never once reached out after Jennifer’s case emerged.

    “If he was the man he’s made himself out to be and who we expected him to be, where was the compassion? Where was the Christianity?” Jennifer said.”

  10. Lizzie, you only have to look at Ch7 – Pauline Hanson, Mark Latham, Barnaby Joyce, Ray Hadley are all regulars; with just an occasional sane contributor.

  11. Late Riser:

    I gave my Newspoll prediction thinking there’d be a Newspoll today, therefore I might change it closer to the time the poll is scheduled.

  12. Late Riser @ #62 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:09 am

    lizzie @ #10 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 5:02 am

    Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems that every time a service is privatised, we (govt & taxpayers) are taken to the cleaners.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/killing-it-australian-unity-takes-its-elderly-home-care-customers-to-the-cleaners/

    I don’t know either way, but it would not surprise me if you are right. Privatisation puts profits before people. It has to.

    And as was pointed out the other day, the Govt then spruiks itself as being fabulously low taxing while in fact the citizen is being ‘taxed’ to use the for-profit services that Govt once and still should be providing.

  13. ItzaDream @ #71 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 8:27 am

    Late Riser @ #62 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:09 am

    lizzie @ #10 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 5:02 am

    Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems that every time a service is privatised, we (govt & taxpayers) are taken to the cleaners.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/killing-it-australian-unity-takes-its-elderly-home-care-customers-to-the-cleaners/

    I don’t know either way, but it would not surprise me if you are right. Privatisation puts profits before people. It has to.

    And as was pointed out the other day, the Govt then spruiks itself as being fabulously low taxing while in fact the citizen is being ‘taxed’ to use the for-profit services that Govt once and still should be providing.

    They broke the contract. Jonathan Pie, at 2:48.
    https://youtu.be/-IL2XwSkFJQ?t=168
    Rant about Brexit, but also applies to Australia.

  14. I can’t see the SFF offering any heroic solutions for the farmers. A protest vote, but false hope there. The corporatisation of the land ahead of the onslaught of climate change has left the relatively small farmer with no where to go, except leave.

    My niece has a significant holding in the Riverina. They are looking at Ballarat and other business options. One boy has a learning difficulty, so schooling is another factor, but they are literally being driven off the land which they can handle sensibly in the face of the writing on the wall, without financial loss at the moment, and with other skills to fall back on.

  15. Quick note on poll guesses.

    By default I put your guess towards the next poll, which at the moment is Essential. Just let me know if you are guessing for Newspoll, or something else.

  16. Late Riser @ #73 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:33 am

    ItzaDream @ #71 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 8:27 am

    Late Riser @ #62 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:09 am

    lizzie @ #10 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 5:02 am

    Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems that every time a service is privatised, we (govt & taxpayers) are taken to the cleaners.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/killing-it-australian-unity-takes-its-elderly-home-care-customers-to-the-cleaners/

    I don’t know either way, but it would not surprise me if you are right. Privatisation puts profits before people. It has to.

    And as was pointed out the other day, the Govt then spruiks itself as being fabulously low taxing while in fact the citizen is being ‘taxed’ to use the for-profit services that Govt once and still should be providing.

    They broke the contract. Jonathan Pie, at 2:48.
    https://youtu.be/-IL2XwSkFJQ?t=168
    Rant about Brexit, but also applies to Australia.

    Yes, he nails it. The election of Labor federally is critical. We are well down the slippery slope.

  17. This was further down my link!!

    When the BBC launched its new Scotland channel recently, someone had the bright idea of asking Mark Meechan – who calls himself Count Dankula – to appear on two of its discussion programmes. His sole claim to fame is being fined for circulating a video showing how he had trained his girlfriend’s dog to raise its paw in a Nazi salute when he shouted: “Sieg heil!” and “Gas the Jews”. The episodes had to be ditched after a storm of complaints. This could be seen as an embarrassment for the BBC. Or it could be seen as a triumph, as the channel attracted massive publicity a few days after its launch.

  18. booleanbach https://www.pollbludger.net/2019/03/24/monday-morning-madness/comment-page-1/#comment-3110154 – there is an anti-vaxer style reaction by many on here when SFF are mentioned. Policies and facts don’t matter so I rarely bother posting anything.
    The party is centrist and apart from briefly flirting with the Libs, and being shafted, in 2012 have had a steadying influence on NSW politics.
    What i did not realise until yesterdays Insiders was that Laura Tingle is John Tingles daughter, the SFF founder.

  19. Keyman,
    My problem with the SFF is that they want to relax our gun laws (they are already too relaxed in my opinion) and I thought they wanted to do away with most of the marine parks & reserves. The article say they want to freeze them at the current extent – which I am OK with. This should be based on marine research which shows how marine parks allow for the breeding & restocking of the ocean’s fish; so the more the better as far as I am concerned. At least there should be sufficient acreage(?) to keep numbers from declining.

  20. Boerwar
    says:
    Monday, March 25, 2019 at 7:42 am
    Cat
    Good on you.
    Goll
    says:
    Monday, March 25, 2019 at 7:51 am
    C@tmomma
    ‘Vow of silence’
    Good onya
    briefly
    says:
    Monday, March 25, 2019 at 8:03 am
    C@t…..good on you…good to see…
    ______________________________
    Oh please. This praise for 1 ‘day of silence’ after what happened yesterday are just vomitous.

  21. mundo says:

    I’m changing my 53/47 to 50/50 (Newspoll)
    To paraphrase the Beatles; I’ve got a Bad Feeling.

    Are you related to Marvin in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ? 🙂

  22. booleanbach says: Monday, March 25, 2019 at 10:03 am

    Australia – take note The Trump administration touts weapons spending as the best way to bolster the American economy. It’s not.
    https://www.thenation.com/article/pentagon-spending-is-a-poor-job-creator/

    And the US makes all (or most) of its weapons at home, not in bits & pieces like us.
    Infrastructure spending gives far more bang-for-buck it would seem.

    ******************************************************

    Excellent opinion piece by Lucien Truscott in Salon

    Assault rifles are insane: New Zealand came to its senses and banned them. When will we?

    Gun manufacturers are selling military-grade killing machines to the general public. To their fans, that’s awesome

    You want to know what’s insane? The guns we allow to be manufactured and sold in this country that are capable of killing 20 grade school kids, or 17 high school students and teachers, or 58 concertgoers, or 50 worshipers at mosques in a country thousands of miles from our shores. The assault rifles those shooters used are killing machines. That’s all they are. There is blood on the hands of the NRA and the United States Congress and state legislatures in all 50 states because they allow this shit to go on. I’ll tell you what it is. It’s insane.

    MORE : https://www.salon.com/2019/03/23/assault-rifles-are-insane-new-zealand-came-to-its-senses-and-banned-them-when-will-we/

  23. phoenixRED @ #86 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:10 am

    Excellent opinion piece by Lucien Truscott in Salon

    Assault rifles are insane: New Zealand came to its senses and banned them. When will we?

    This will go nowhere because:

    1. Vested interests
    2. People who think ‘freedom’ is measured in terms of what size gun you can buy (bigger == more freedom, obviously)

  24. Keyman

    Because they are called “the Shooters” for short. “Shooters, Fishers and Farmers” is not being explained very well. I think they should put Farmers first.

  25. The assault rifles those shooters used are killing machines.

    This no-one can dispute. Thank you phoenixRED for the link.

  26. briefly says:
    Monday, March 25, 2019 at 10:18 am
    nath, for what it may be worth, my encouragement for C@t was in respect to her apologies.

    _________________________________

    That’s not worth anything to It.

  27. briefly
    says:
    Monday, March 25, 2019 at 10:18 am
    nath, for what it may be worth, my encouragement for C@t was in respect to her apologies.
    _____________________________________________
    My only thoughts are with Pegasus and I hope she returns after what occurred.

  28. “Shooters, Fishers and Farmers” is not being explained very well. I think they should put Farmers first.

    Farmers, Fishers and Shooters? FFS… 😉

  29. Good.

    But congressional Democrats have demanded more, and the release of the key findings could be just the beginning of a lengthy constitutional battle between Congress and the Justice Department about whether Mr. Mueller’s full report will be made public. Democrats have also called for the attorney general to turn over all of the special counsel’s investigative files.

    Shortly after the release of the Mueller findings, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Twitter that he plans to call Mr. Barr to testify about what he said were “very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department,” seemingly referring to the attorney general’s conclusion that the president did not obstruct justice.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/us/politics/mueller-report-summary.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

  30. lizzie, I think you’re meaning is that Farmers are more important element, but maybe you’re being cheeky? Farmers, Fishers and Shooters becomes the FFS Party.

  31. lizzie @ #89 Monday, March 25th, 2019 – 9:22 am

    Because they are called “the Shooters” for short. “Shooters, Fishers and Farmers” is not being explained very well. I think they should put Farmers first.

    They should take some rhetoric courses from other minor parties, which will put them onto something like “United Farmers Australia” or “National Farmers Party”.

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