Phony war communiques

A pre-campaign assembly of polling and scuttlebutt about the respective parties’ prospects for an election that must surely be called very soon.

The window for a May 11 election has passed, which would seem to narrow it down to May 18 or May 25, with the former seeming more likely given concerns expressed in the past about the latter. Some details on where things may or may not stand:

• Roy Morgan has published its weekly face-to-face poll result, normally available only to subscribers, but occasionally sent out in the wild when its proprietor has a point to make. This time, it’s that the government’s position has improved post-budget, with the Labor lead not at 52.5-47.5, from 55-45 last week (it may be observed that the organisation wasn’t duly excited by any of the results that got Labor to that position in the first place). On the primary vote, the Coalition was up 2.5% to 37%, Labor down 1.5% to 35%, the Greens up 1% to 13.5% (Morgan sharing Ipsos’s apparent skew to the Greens) and One Nation up half a point to 4%. The poll was conducted on the weekend from a face-to-face sample of 829 respondents.

• Michael Koziol of the Sydney Morning Herald reported on the weekend of Liberal polling that was “diabolically bad” for Tony Abbott in Warringah. Abbott’s primary vote is said to be down 12% on his 51.6% in 2016, which would indeed leave him a fair way short of competitive. Nonetheless, Liberal sources quoted by Koziol were optimistic Abbott would hang on, in part because of “a $1 million war chest from fundraising and his Advance Australia lobby group allies”. Whether that confidence remains intact now they have had a look at how Advance Australia plans on spending that money is not yet known.

• Other than that, the Liberals appear upbeat about their prospects in New South Wales. The Sydney Morning Herald reports optimism Kerryn Phelps’s win in Wentworth will prove to have been a one-off, now that voters there have vented their spleen about the removal of Malcolm Turnbull. Furthermore, the Sydney Morning Herald report says the Liberals believe they are in front in Lindsay – a claim that is both corroborated by Labor sources, and fleshed out in a report yesterday by Andrew Clennell of The Australian, which says the party’s polling credits them with a lead of 53-47. Clennell’s Liberal sources were particularly bullish, claiming leads in Dobell – on which Koziol’s source was more circumspect – and also to have the lead in their existing seats of Reid, Gilmore and Robertson. A Nationals source cited in Clennell’s report believes the party to be “marginally ahead” in their Mid North Coast seat of Page.

• Nonetheless, Labor is reportedly hopeful of maintaining the status quo in New South Wales, considering that Gilmore or Reid might balance a loss in Lindsay (apparently not rating a mention is Banks, which I for one would have thought vulnerable). Beyond New South Wales, Labor “believes it will win at least nine – and probably more – elsewhere”. Ben Packham of The Australian reported on the week end that Labor feels too secure in Victoria to devote resources to any of its own seats, and will target five held by the Coalition with “full field” campaigns: Dunkley, Corangamite, La Trobe, Chisholm and Deakin.

• The Australian reports Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance will only field candidates in Mayo, which is held for the party by Rebekha Sharkie, along with Grey and Barker, where they have respectively endorsed Andrea Broadfoot and Kelly Gladigau. The party’s predecessor, the Nick Xenophon Team, polled 21.3% across South Australia in 2016, and finished second in Grey, Barker and Port Adelaide (the latter now abolished).

• Jamie Walker of The Australian notes that Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, which has endorsed candidates in more seats than any party other than Labor, has nonetheless left open its Queensland Senate ticket and the Townsville-based seat of Herbert. Palmer earlier maintained he would run in Herbert, but few now expect that to happen, given the certainty he would fail there.

• There’s a redistribution in train in the Northern Territory, which Ben Raue at The Tally Room is on top of if you’re interested.

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.

740 comments on “Phony war communiques”

Comments Page 1 of 15
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  1. Good morning!
    An interesting collection of scuttlebutt and bullish Liberal wishin’ and hopin’.
    I look forward to seeing the updated aggregate, given all the new polling information.
    I bet it hardly moves.
    When will it be out William?

  2. grimace @ #719 Tuesday, April 9th, 2019 – 10:16 pm

    Confessions @ #651 Tuesday, April 9th, 2019 – 8:41 pm

    Jaeger:

    “The other part of your problem is Telstra. You should switch to a decent ISP like Aussie Broadband (with thanks to C@t for referring me).”

    I’d been with TPG (>10yrs) before moving briefly to Tangerine. Then discovered Aussie Broadband. Easily the best ISP in my opinion. Aussie company that genuinely values good customer relations/satisfaction. They buy enough CVC to keep speeds reliable and fairly constant, & we’ve experienced only one brief ISP related dropout since signing up almost a year ago.

    Aussie based customer & technical services are responsive & most helpful.

    Not cheap & nasty ..not too expensive either. I highly recommend them.

    Check them out against other ISPs here:
    https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/05/planhacker-nbn-plans-ranked-by-speed

    ..and here:
    https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/australia-internet-providers

  3. From the last thread..

    So why get rid of Telstra in the first place? Most people didn’t need really fast speeds anyway. Most were happy with enough to watch porn, cat videos, send an email. The whole thing was an exercise in technological masturbation

    You have no clue about this nath. There is no possible future in which copper has not been replaced with fibre. None. All this government has achieved is spending tens of billions creating a temporary network, delaying the inevitable roll out of fibre and forcing us to pay twice.

    You make yourself look foolish when you support bad policy.

  4. Yuck! 3 more years of Scott Morrison as PM! Peter ‘The Smirk’ Costello 2.0. How could people be so foolish?

    Thankfully, and hopefully, they will see the carry-on of the Coalition as just election posturing hiding their true agenda. As per usual.

  5. Cud,
    ‘nath’, good little faux Green that he is, tried that nbn malarkey before. Straight out of the Liberal playbook. A real Green would be promoting the equity and worlds best practice angle.

  7. Cud

    What most people can’t fathom is that the fibre based NBN is primarily about national productivity, with consumer use an important but secondary objective. Business, education, utilities, extraction industries, transport, smart grids, mobile phone towers, export industries, defence etc etc are the main beneficiaries of a modern, extensible fibre based telecommunications network.

  9. Re the “ internal seat polling “ in NSW.

    My understanding is the so called polling is actually state seat results from the NSW election being applied to federal seat boundaries.

    A bit of apples and oranges.

    However, I well could be wrong.

  10. sprocket. Its simpler than that. The copper network had a use-by date. According to Telstra itself, the copper was “5 minutes to midnight” back in 2004. Just like with an old road, when you have to replace infrastructure, you build the replacement to last.

  12. The tea leaves are pointing to 25 May. I still wouldn’t rule out a half Senate gambit.

    Scotty knows he is going to lose, so why not throw the dice and have another week of the Reps sitting, they are scheduled to sit next week, where he can try whatever legislative stunt on border protection, electric vehicles, culture wars, coal fired power plants – along with parliamentary privilege to empty the Liberal Party Dirt Unit files onto Bill Shorten and crew.

    Will it work? A desperate man will try anything.

  14. From The New Daily:

    However, University of Sydney telecommunications infrastructure expert Tooran Alizadeh said the NBN “has already held Australia back in comparison to our global competition”.

    “As a nation we have every right to feel betrayed because this is a national infrastructure project that only became possible because of taxpayer funding and we deserve better,” Dr Alizadeh said.

    The public is yet to fully understand the scale of inequality that will be created by Australia’s patchwork mixed-technology broadband network, Dr Alizadeh said.

    “Mixed-technology means mixed quality of service. Some will be better off than others without any clear indication,” she said

    …On Tuesday, Labor unveiled a five-point plant to fix the NBN should it be elected to government.

    In addition to a sweeping review of the network, the plan includes improving the network’s speeds and reliability, connecting low-income households, investing in fibre, and better protections for consumers and small business.

    “Labor has a plan to improve NBN technology over time, but we don’t want to pretend there is a quick fix,” the party’s communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland said.

    RMIT University telecommunications expert Mark Gregory said Labor’s approach to remedying the troubled network was valid.

    …The NBN is “already not fit for purpose”, with the service unable to meet the performance requirements of cutting-edge streaming technology, Dr Gregory said.

    His recommendation is a move back to FTTP infrastructure.

    It would cost between $16 to $20 billion over five to 10 years to return the NBN to an all-fibre network, he said.

    Meanwhile, Dr Alizadeh said it was only a matter of time before a royal commission into the NBN rollout was called.

    https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2019/04/09/nbn-accc-slow-speeds/

  16. A real left fielder, but a compliant Governor General could agree to a half Senate election, and prorogue Parliament to avoid a no confidence motion. With the Supply Bills passed and assented to, we could have Scotty ‘rule by decree’ till August/September.

  17. Cud Chewer

    In NZ , as here, Labour proposed FTTH all the way and like here the conservatives went BOOOO ! Hiss and were anti FTTH roll out. Just as it was about to start John Key was elected and ordered an inquiry/study on the kiwi ‘nbn’ to see if it stacked up financially, he was agin the ftth roll out. The result was that he called doing the full ftth a ‘no brainer’ and the need to ‘do it once, do it properly’. The guy was a former member of the NY Reserve Bank board and so a pretty hard core economically, he gave it the two thumbs up for all the sorts of reasons sprocket_ mentioned.

    What a shame instead of a John Key Australia got a tony Abbott 🙁

  18. @Sue_Dunlevy
    15h15 hours ago

    Private cancer doctors backflip on their claims in The Australian that Labor’s plan to eliminate out of pocket fees for cancer patient is “un-Australian”.Private Cancer Physicians of Australia spokesman Dr John Bashford says Labor’s plan is a “strong and genuine” attempt to help.

  19. sprocket_ @ #16 Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 – 7:00 am

    A real left fielder, but a compliant Governor General could agree to a half Senate election, and prorogue Parliament to avoid a no confidence motion. With the Supply Bills passed and assented to, we could have Scotty ‘rule by decree’ till August/September.

    Isn’t that what Red13 said he had heard King Smirk wanted to do?

    I reckon people would just use the extra time to go out and buy bigger baseball bats.

  20. poroti what’s really funny is that Turnbull was very fond of using NZ as an example – until they changed to FTTH. After that Turnbull never mentioned NZ. Not once.

  21. In regard to the NBN and not being a tech wizard, is the optic fibre now laid to the exchange/node and the existing copper from the node to your house.

    Do we only have to lay optic fibre from the node to our houses or do we have to replace the whole shebang?

  25. C@tmomma

    When broadband was first proposed (not even NBN) there was one Coalition MP (at least, Alston (?) ) who moaned about it being too expensive and it would just mean people could download porn and pirate movies faster. When people use that line I take it as being a reflection of their personal internet habits. 🙂

  27. Do we only have to lay optic fibre from the node to our houses or do we have to replace the whole shebang?

    We have to replace the whole shebang

  28. poroti – the history of technological progress in this country has one common thread. The conservatives have opposed it at every stage. They even objected to the roll out of the power grid and reticulated sewage to the suburbs.

  29. I even recall an old newspaper article where some earnest person writes in to complain about the cost of building an electricity network saying “what good is electricity for apart from running light bulbs”. I kid you not.

  30. sgh

    MPs retain all their obligations and entitlements until they are replaced – which occurs when results of an election are in, or in the case of Senators, 30 June 2019.

    I understand all the ones you are thinking about having ‘retired’, are simply not contesting the next election. If Parliament sits again, they will all turn up.

  31. Axios WorldVerified account@AxiosWorld
    2h2 hours ago
    NEW: The first exit polls from Israel’s elections project Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to win 33 to 37 seats, while retired Gen. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party is expected to win 36 to 37.

    Apparently both have claimed victory.

  32. poroti @ #25 Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 – 7:09 am

    C@tmomma

    When broadband was first proposed (not even NBN) there was one Coalition MP (at least, Alston (?) ) who moaned about it being too expensive and it would just mean people could download porn and pirate movies faster. When people use that line I take it as being a reflection of their personal internet habits. 🙂

    Me too. 😉

  33. The comments people make about ‘if Scotty delays, has a half Senate etc, the end result for the Liberals will be even worse’ or wtte, are ignoring one thing.

    Scotty doesn’t gives a rat’s arse, he is PM and wants to stay PM as long as he can. Anyone who spends $187m of taxpayers money in a photo op, lies about Labor confiscating your Ute, and is a god bothering Pentecostal does not care about the means which will achieve his end.

  34. As I was saying the other day, Americans are entitled to question whether Sanders, Trump and Biden if he runs are too old to be a fully functioning president.

    Several dozen contemporaries with whom I’ve discussed this article, and half a dozen gerontologists, agree that 50 is a better age than 76 to undertake perhaps the hardest job on Earth. The experts on aging (none as old as I) were generally more sympathetic to the idea that someone in their late 70s might be an effective president, but no one I’ve talked to thinks this is an ideal age for the role. The specialists know the numerous studies that show, unmistakably, that on nearly every scale of intellectual capacity, people over 70 have less to offer than younger generations. The one exception is the ability to learn and recall vocabulary.

    Studies of old people conclude that between 16 percent and 23 percent of Americans over 65 experience some form of cognitive impairment. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that these subjects performed worse than others on tasks involving working memory — the ability to remember information while manipulating it, as when calculating the tip on a restaurant bill — and that they’re more impaired when those tasks become more complex. Older adults also have difficulties with tasks that require dividing or switching attention, like cooking while chatting on the phone. On tests of reasoning, memory and cognitive speed, the average scores for adults in their early 70s were near the 20th percentile of the population, whereas the average performance for adults in their early 20s was near the 75th percentile. A Mayo Clinic study of 161 cognitively normal adults between 62 and 100 years of age showed that declines in learning ability closely track the passage of time. “Research has shown that concept formation, abstraction, and mental flexibility decline with age, especially after age 70, as older adults tend to think more concretely than younger adults,” according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who surveyed several studies. I would hope that impaired executive functioning is not the sort of torture Americans want their president to suffer.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/04/09/feature/research-says-septuagenarians-struggle-with-new-tasks-thats-bad-news-for-several-2020-candidates/?utm_term=.f6ce9c697275

  35. Confessions @ #31 Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 – 7:29 am

    Axios WorldVerified account@AxiosWorld
    2h2 hours ago
    NEW: The first exit polls from Israel’s elections project Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to win 33 to 37 seats, while retired Gen. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party is expected to win 36 to 37.

    Apparently both have claimed victory.

    Netanyahu has said he will form a Coalition, if necessary, with the Far Right Party in Israel, whoever they are. 😐

    Apparently, like the Coalition here, despite all the scandal of the last term of his government, he has presided over a robust economy with low unemployment and is being rewarded for that as people look the other way on the demagoguery and corruption stuff.

  39. Apparently, like the Coalition here, despite all the scandal of the last term of his government, he has presided over a robust economy with low unemployment and is being rewarded for that as people look the other way on the demagoguery and corruption stuff.

    Well I hope we get a different outcome here in Oz.

  40. Earlier

    The contrast between ths reporting of the two polls by Murdoch’s mob and Nine’s headlines is sharply different. Voters will go with what they want to believe.
    The confusion in Qld and the Labor resurgence in WA are the unknowns. NSW appears to not know what it wants for a Federal government and VIC almost certain to re- inforce its pro Labor slant.
    Morrison’s marauders will need some individual brilliance and an unnaturally large allocation of luck from the cupboard of magic and illusion to grasp a chance of winning this long overdue election.

    They’re as THICK AS PIGSHIT New South Welchers 😡 😡 😡

  41. It is simple, folks. Scotty is waiting for a sign from God to call the election.

    (I am not joking – this will be the way he thinks).

  42. C@tmomma

    Or it just reflects on how faaar right the Israeli electorate has moved. Bibi did his Golan thang and hinted at doing the same for the West Bank for a reason, it plays well in the electorate. Greater Israel here we come ?

  43. Attorney General William P. Barr testified Tuesday that he thinks he will be able to release special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report “within a week,” and that he will color-code redacted information so the public will know why various material is being veiled.

    The assertion came during an appearance before members of the House Appropriations Committee, where questions about Barr’s handling of the report on whether Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia dominated what otherwise would have been a routine budget hearing.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/attorney-general-barr-to-appear-before-house-appropriations-committee-where-he-could-face-questions-on-mueller-report/2019/04/08/57dbc076-5a0f-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html?utm_term=.cd752829cdaf

  44. “A spokesperson for Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said NBN prices were “not set in stone” and that NBN Co had “discounted its wholesale prices on multiple occasions”.”

    This showed Fraudband has failed.

  46. poroti
    says:
    Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 7:09 am
    C@tmomma
    When broadband was first proposed (not even NBN) there was one Coalition MP (at least, Alston (?) ) who moaned about it being too expensive and it would just mean people could download porn and pirate movies faster. When people use that line I take it as being a reflection of their personal internet habits.
    ______________________________
    I like big butts and I can not lie….

  48. Zoe DanielVerified account@zdaniel
    20h20 hours ago
    Dear Australia. Hybrid SUVs are already on the road in the USA and electric trucks will follow. ‍♀️ #whatonearthisgoingon

    Lisa MillarVerified account@LisaMillar
    2h2 hours ago
    This is reminding me of being in London watching the plastic bag debate in Australia – after having lived in countries for a decade where bags had been ditched

  49. nath @ #46 Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 – 7:56 am

    poroti
    says:
    Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at 7:09 am
    C@tmomma
    When broadband was first proposed (not even NBN) there was one Coalition MP (at least, Alston (?) ) who moaned about it being too expensive and it would just mean people could download porn and pirate movies faster. When people use that line I take it as being a reflection of their personal internet habits.
    ______________________________
    I like big butts and I can not lie….

    Please go away – for ever.

  50. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Surely this Chinese effort with the Coalition is far more serious that Dastyari’s. nick McKenzie gives us the details.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/chinese-donor-had-help-from-liberal-party-director-met-christopher-pyne-20190409-p51cca.html
    Michael Koziol writes here about Turnbull’s rather spectacular contribution to the above issue.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/i-have-no-concerns-scott-morrison-slaps-down-malcolm-turnbull-over-foreign-influence-20190409-p51cfo.html
    And Jennifer Hewett writes that Turnbull’s intervention provides another big tick for the Labor campaign on Coalition division and disunity, another big cross for the Coalition’s hopes of holding crucial seats.
    https://www.outline.com/2mfprv
    Michelle Grattan says the fallout from the extraordinary revelations about Peter Dutton’s contact with Chinese Communist Party-aligned billionaire Huang Xiangmo is a potent brew, its ingredients the issue of foreign interference and the legacy of last year’s leadership challenge.
    https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-dutton-suffers-reflux-after-tasty-chinese-meal-115150
    Ross Gittins tells us why politicians only pretend to care about low income earners.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/why-politicians-only-pretend-to-care-about-low-income-earners-20190409-p51c9c.html
    Tumbling house prices, a slowing economy and cash-strapped households will confront whoever wins next month’s election reports Shane Wright.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/imf-and-ratings-agencies-warn-of-more-financial-pain-for-australian-economy-20190409-p51cdh.html
    Labor concedes its tax burden will be higher than the Coalition’s if it wins the election, but says the budget will be in stronger shape.
    https://www.outline.com/kucR4d
    And according to the AFR Labor’s expected revenue savings from the negative gearing crackdown are a lot less because assumptions around how much is invested in new housing is not correct.
    https://www.outline.com/guxnh5
    The Coalition’s surpluses and future tax cuts for middle and high income earners are underpinned by a “miraculous” reduction in the size of government payments, Chris Bowen warns. Paul Karp goes into the details.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/10/chris-bowen-says-budget-surplus-propped-up-by-dodgy-accounting-trick
    Behyad Jafari, the chief executive of the Electric Vehicle Council, explains why we shouldn’t buy the scare against electric vehicles.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/don-t-buy-the-scare-against-electric-vehicles-20190409-p51cea.html
    Nicole Hasham tells us how Toyota has scuppered the claim that Labor’s electric vehicle policy would leave HiLux drivers stranded.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/toyota-scuppers-claim-labor-s-electric-vehicle-policy-would-leave-hilux-drivers-stranded-20190409-p51cit.html
    And David Crowe says that the fear campaign about electric cars has hit a new level of utter shamelessness.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-fear-campaign-about-electric-cars-has-hit-a-new-level-of-utter-shamelessness-20190409-p51ch8.html
    Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes says the Coalition has tied itself in knots over Labor’s electric vehicles policy and that the 50% target for electric vehicle sales by 2030 is “very achievable” and not ambitious.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/10/coalition-tying-themselves-in-knots-on-electric-vehicles-mike-cannon-brookes-says
    Eryk Bagshaw reports that the government is on track to spend more than $174 million this financial year on advertising – the most in a decade – as it shamelessly crams in 15 simultaneous campaigns across TV, radio and print before the federal election. Independents in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have labelled the spending a farce and called for an investigation.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/a-disgrace-independents-seek-investigation-into-174m-advertising-cost-blow-out-20190409-p51ce1.html
    This law professor writes that government advertising may be legal, but it’s corrupting our electoral process.
    https://theconversation.com/government-advertising-may-be-legal-but-its-corrupting-our-electoral-process-115061
    The federal government has ordered a comprehensive review of white-collar crime laws, with the aim of making it easier to sheet home responsibility for misconduct to senior executives and directors.
    https://www.outline.com/UMBbHM
    Dana McCauley writes that according to the AMA Bill Shorten’s plan to deliver an extra 3 million bulk-billed cancer consultations could lead to a budget blow-out, as doctors push for larger Medicare rebates across the health system and experts warn of a patient rush for free cancer scans.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/woefully-inadequate-doctors-seize-on-labor-s-cancer-plan-to-push-for-wider-rebate-hike-20190409-p51cf8.html
    Paul Kelly thinks Shorten is taking some big risks.
    https://www.outline.com/ek5qxk
    Chris Uhlmann reckons there might be a narrow path for the Coalition to miraculously win the election
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/it-s-narrow-but-there-is-a-path-to-a-coalition-victory-20190409-p51c9y.html
    Stephen Bartholomeusz writes that Labor has unveiled its NBN policies: a little bit of tinkering and a strategic review but no large-scale rebuild of the fibre-to-the-node elements of the network.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/no-bells-or-whistles-labor-keeps-it-simple-with-its-nbn-plan-20190409-p51cce.html
    While the AFR’s Paul Smith declares that the broadband war has ended, Abbott won.
    https://www.outline.com/haPCcX
    The Independent Australia says that it doesn’t come as a surprise that Labor’s plan for the NBN, announced yesterday by the Shadow Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, starts with a full-blown technical and financial review of the NBN.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/labor-tackles-nbn-chaos,12556
    And Isabelle Lane explains how Australia became a third-world broadband country.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2019/04/09/nbn-accc-slow-speeds/
    Melbourne property prices are expected to suffer the sharpest decline across the country with falls of up to 16 per cent.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2019/04/09/melbourne-property-prices/
    A number of streets in the CBD will be shut down between 10am and 1.30pm as more than 100,000 unionists are expected for the Australian Council of Trades Union’s “Change the Rules” march – joined by Premier Daniel Andrews.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/union-march-to-shut-down-cbd-roads-for-three-hours-disrupt-trams-20190409-p51cki.html
    Nick Miller writes that with just days to the Brexit deadline Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to be forced to accept a delay of up to a year to the UK’s departure from the European Union: a delay that would infuriate many in her party and could cost her job.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/britain-mulls-a-long-goodbye-from-eu-brexiteers-vow-to-make-trouble-20190410-p51cl9.html
    Peter Hannam reports that the Morrison government will spend $70 million to help avoid a repeat of the mass fish kills in the Darling River and to improve compliance by irrigators. Too little too late one could be forgiven for expressing.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/barwon-darling-river-to-get-70m-to-reduce-risk-of-more-fish-kills-20190409-p51cg3.html
    Snowy 2.0 cost blows out to $5.1 billion and will take an extra year to build.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/04/09/snowy-2-0-cost-blows-out-to-5-1-billion-and-will-take-an-extra-year-to-build/
    A WA mother has called for a national register documenting permanent disabilities after she was repeatedly contacted by Centrelink to prove her son “still had” Down Syndrome. What a disgraceful effort from Centrelink!
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/centrelink-asks-wa-mother-to-confirm-son-still-has-down-syndrome-20190408-p51c0z.html
    Meanwhile the number of sick or disabled Newstart recipients facing work requirements has hit a record high of 200,000, just as the government predicts further savings from the disability support pension. Join the dots.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/10/record-number-of-sick-or-disabled-newstart-recipients-as-coalition-seeks-savings
    The acting head of the ABC says the national broadcaster still isn’t sure how it will deal with cuts kicking in from the middle of this year. Turnbull government’s 2018/19 budget showed the ABC would miss out on $83.7 million from 2019/20, by pausing indexation of operational funding.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6011300/abc-unsure-how-to-deal-with-cuts/?cs=14329
    Bill Shorten says Labor is planning the most significant anti-smoking campaign since plain packaging was introduced.
    https://www.outline.com/NCH4LT
    According to Elizabeth Knight it looks like James Packer has lost interest in the casino business.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/wynn-may-not-have-been-packer-s-first-stop-when-he-shopped-around-his-empire-20190409-p51cez.html
    Laws which impact on religious freedoms will be examined by Australia’s main law reform body as part of federal government’s push to update anti-discrimination laws.
    https://www.outline.com/ecf9gc
    Melissa Singer explains how only 5 per cent of companies surveyed are paying their workers a living wage, according to an annual ethical fashion report.
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/from-a-to-f-this-is-how-australian-fashion-brands-rate-on-ethics-20190408-p51bwk.html
    The New York Times says that if Israel were to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, it would tarnish the already tattered prospects for a peace agreement and could lead to violence.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/netanyahu-s-west-bank-vow-a-potentially-fatal-blow-to-peace-20190409-p51cdw.html
    What’s the backlash to Gillette’s new ad really about?
    https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/what-s-the-backlash-to-gillette-s-new-ad-really-about-20190409-p51cdc.html

    Cartoon Corner

    From Matt Golding – the first one is a classic!






    Sean Leahy and Turnbull’s intervention.

    Cathy Wilcox goes to a particular Chinese restaurant.

    Alan Moir captures the Coalition’s EV stance.

    And he looks at Morrison’s reimaging of his government.

    David Rowe with some endangered species.

    A couple from John Shakespeare.


    Mark David and an old riddle.

    Also from Mark David.

    Peter Broelman’s back from a break.

    Zanetti’s back on the Adani case.

    And he typecasts the vegan protestors. (I must admit that I did the same with a comment in yesterday’s Dawn Patrol).

    Jon Kudelka with Turnbull, Captain Helpful.
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/1491e2be1c29c6cde28514ec8763aee1?width=1024

    From the US




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