A track winding back

A look at leadership approval poll trends, and my new facility for tracking them.

BludgerTrack is back, sort of – you can find a permanent link on the sidebar along with a miniature version of its main attraction, namely polling trends for leader approval and preferred prime minister. These go back to the onset of Scott Morrison’s prime ministership in August last year, and thus encompass distinct Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese epochs.

As you can see, Morrison has mostly gravitated around neutral on his net rating (i.e. approval minus disapproval), barring a post-election surge that has now run its course. Shorten’s position appeared to improve during the election campaign, which was also picked up in Labor’s internal polling, though clearly not far enough. Albanese has mostly been around neutral, but as a newcomer he has a high uncommitted rating, which doesn’t come through when you reduce it to a net measure. This is how he manages to do worse than Shorten on preferred prime minister (although a narrowing trend kicked in here a few months ago) despite doing better on net approval.

I haven’t included the most recent Newspoll result at this stage, as this is clearly a distinct new series for which I will require a few more results before I can standardise it against the other polls. On the basis of this limited evidence, the new-look Newspoll’s leader rating scores can be expected to behave somewhat differently from the old. As Kevin Bonham notes, the new poll has markedly worse net ratings for both leaders, as uncommitted rates are lower and disapproval higher.

Needless to say, what’s missing in all this is voting intention, for which I am going to need a good deal more data before I reckon it worth my while. If you’re really keen though, Mark the Ballot has gone to the trouble of running a trendline through all six of the Newspoll results post-election. If nothing else, my BludgerTrack page features a “poll data” tab on which voting intention polls will be catalogued, which for the time being is wall-to-wall Newspoll. And while I have your attention, please note as per the post above that I’ve got the begging bowl out – donations gratefully received through the link at the top of the page.

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.

1,119 comments on “A track winding back”

Comments Page 13 of 23
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  1. “ Eddy Jokovich
    @EddyJokovich
    ·
    19m
    The new submarines are $225 billion in total costs. $225 BILLION. For context: total government budget this year is $487 billion. Almost half of the budget for submarines but no money for schools, hospitals, NDIS, climate change, renewables? How stupid is this government? #auspol”

    $225billion is a scandalous amount of money to potentially commit to spending on a program that we still don’t know will actually work.

    I don’t want to get sidetracked by Rex’s musings on submarines or General Guytaur’s strategic mewings about drones, but assuming we as a nation decide that we need a manned sub program that runs to at least 2070 then we should at least make sure that the investment works before going all in. No one has attempted to put a water pump drive system to a diesel electric sub before. We don’t know whether the ‘hotel load’ is sufficient. The design reference point – the nuclear Barracuda class – isn’t operational. For political reasons (an attempt to head off a looming Nick Xenophon route in 2016) building even a prototype is not allowed to be build at DNSC’s Toloun boat yard before a completely new shipyard in Osborne SA is supposed to build 12 – with a completely fresh workforce. The French have never partnered with the ASC, or Lockheed Martin – who is providing the combat systems and most of the weapons. Yet we have signed up for a blank cheque which may cost $225 billion. Or not, who knows? Certainly not the government, or Fort Fumble. Why not a trillion dollars? FFS!

    It did not have to be this way. ThyssenKrupp was prepared to partner with ASC and Kockums to (1) upgrade the Collins subs, (2) build 6 to 12 new ‘type 216’ subs using the existing Types 212 and 214 as the design reference points, (3) using the ASC’s existing workforce and facilities. The ‘through life’ costs would have been at a fraction of the French proposal and able to be ascertained because of the use of existing benchmarks and experience.

    On paper the Barracuda is a revolutionary step forward, so I get the attraction, but if the government thought this was worth pursuing it should have paid The French between $10-15 billion to establish proof of concept by 2025 by building and testing a single sub out of the Toulon boat yard. If it worked then by all means build another 11 in Osborne.

    In the meantime the government could have got cracking in upgrading Collins and building the first 6 ‘Type 216’ / advanced Collins with the Germans and Swedes. If the French design was proven by 2025, then by 3031 first the Collins and then by 2045 the Type 216/Advanced Collins could be progressively replaced by the French designed boats. If the French design didn’t work, then we could simply proceed with another 6 German designed boats to replace the original Collins. This way we would have avoided committing $200 billion or more to what could turn out to be a pig in a poke. Walking away after spending $10-15 billion might have hurt, but nothing like how much $200+ billion would have hurt.

    That all being said, I find the tweet above to be vexing. Eddy is conflating the annual budget with the through life costs of a 70 year project. Either Eddy is thick or dishonest. It shits me because this sort of stunning C tactic detracts from an otherwise good point.

  3. Only thing i will say about the UK election is thank heavens i don’t need to vote for any of them. Boris is a clown with a nasty Brexit plan Corbyn comes across as dodgy or weak and the rest look like rank opportunist.

  4. But it should be clear to us now that it is possible for leaders to accept the scientific consensus, attend the meetings, meet the activists, nod gravely, sign the pledges and then effectively do nothing. It’s time to ask whether this approach is really a marked improvement on denying the climate crisis altogether. There is a term currently floating around activist circles, “new denialism”. This is attached to ways of thinking that acknowledge the reality of climate change, but don’t lead to what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calls the “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” needed to avoid 1.5C warming.

    New denialism accepts the basic atmospheric science, but rejects the immense volume of further scientific work suggesting that we can change things – either because it would be too disruptive to our current way of life, or to the way we’ve organised our economy. It can seem like a vague category: it encompasses over-cautious incremental policies and tepid market-based solutions; insistence that some not-yet-existing technology will emerge to wipe out our carbon debts; and even arguments that we’re too far gone, and should focus our efforts on adaptation. These all acknowledge the problem, but reject the solutions that scientists insist on: immediate, radical reductions in carbon emissions.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/28/boris-johnson-climate-crisis-denying-channel-4-debate?fbclid=IwAR1oh6rrNXYd11LpVoQxADpg6Qcgn-14M8SKOnHqe7a692wnhoKp_-pnJUc

  6. Cloth-eared Colbeck. How good is that surplus.

    An award-winning pilot program that keeps older Aboriginal people living at home or on country for longer looks set to shut down before Christmas.

    Key points:
    *The manager of an Indigenous aged care program is urging the Federal Government to keep the award-winning service afloat
    *Many Indigenous people are reluctant to seek care in their later years, and one client says the program has improved his quality of life
    *The Government says it never guaranteed the longevity of Booraja program, which is seeking $1.5m in extra funding to continue

    The Booraja aged care program in Batemans Bay was funded by a Commonwealth grant in 2017 and was designed to offer home care packages tailored to the cultural needs of older Aboriginal people.
    …
    Federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said there was never a commitment to ongoing funding, but assured eligible participants they will continue to have access to home care services.

    But Bunja Smith urged the Government to reconsider.

    “That’s not good enough for me, because who is going to provide the care?” he asked.

    “What he’s talking about is transitioning them into a mainstream program and that’s where they didn’t want to be in the first place,” he said.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-01/funding-battle-for-award-winning-indigenous-aged-care-program/11751616

  7. Oh dear Labors desire to be honest and blunt about the anti Labor coalition and what they have done seems to be gaining pace.

    Will the Greens be able to wiggle out of their responsibility, or will they reflect on that they have done. The quote from Richard Di Natale and the rubbish they have written on their web site would indicate no reflection, that the Greens, the secret little party will continue to be the environmental enemy.

    “The thing that is quite clear is that neither the Coalition nor the Greens political party have learnt the lessons of the last decade,” Wong told the ABC’s Insiders.

    “The Coalition is still in denial, and division, and the Greens political party have to decide – are they actually prepared to look for change, to look for common ground, to act for change? Or are they really going to make it their political objective to take votes off the Labor party and have a political fight with the Labor party?”

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/02/labor-says-emissions-would-be-200m-tonnes-lower-if-greens-had-supported-cprs

  8. In case you missed it, this is the considered opinion of Taylor’s wife, Louise Clegg, who thinks that recession, rolling blackouts and youth unemployment are necessary to teach people not to vote Labor. Perhaps she’s a friend of Anne Ruston.

    “Recession, rolling blackouts, youth unemployment all necessary for people to realise left populism/culture, unrestrained spending, outlawing offensive speech etc. is not the answer,” she wrote. Remember she’s married to the federal energy minister! Here’s hoping “rolling blackouts” aren’t on Taylor’s agenda, no matter how vital the need to combat left populism. Clegg later disputed (Parnell) McGuiness’ written claim that the Liberals were running “culture wars”, saying it was “all sensible centre from where I sit”.

    https://www.afr.com/rear-window/rolling-blackouts-needed-to-teach-people-a-lesson-says-energy-ministers-wife-20181128-h18g2i

  11. Lizzie, you’re nobody if you haven’t been put through the 3rd Degree by one of those self-appointed Wikipedia busybodies.

  13. Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been appointed United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.

    Mr Carney will take up his new post once his term as governor ends on 31 January 2020.

    The announcement comes ahead of COP25, the UN’s annual climate change conference, which gets under way in Madrid on Monday.

    The governor said he was “honoured” to be asked to take on the role.

    Mr Carney said the UN climate change conference “provides a platform to bring the risks from climate change and the opportunities from the transition to a net-zero economy into the heart of financial decision-making”.
    …
    The special envoy post is a pro bono position that is undertaken essentially for free – the UN will pay Mr Carney $1 a year once he steps down as governor of the Bank of England.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50621625

  16. frednk @ #607 Monday, December 2nd, 2019 – 6:07 am

    Oh dear Labors desire to be honest and blunt about the anti Labor coalition and what they have done seems to be gaining pace.

    Will the Greens be able to wiggle out of their responsibility, or will they reflect on that they have done. The quote from Richard Di Natale and the rubbish they have written on their web site would indicate no reflection, that the Greens, the secret little party will continue to be the environmental enemy.

    “The thing that is quite clear is that neither the Coalition nor the Greens political party have learnt the lessons of the last decade,” Wong told the ABC’s Insiders.

    “The Coalition is still in denial, and division, and the Greens political party have to decide – are they actually prepared to look for change, to look for common ground, to act for change? Or are they really going to make it their political objective to take votes off the Labor party and have a political fight with the Labor party?”

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/02/labor-says-emissions-would-be-200m-tonnes-lower-if-greens-had-supported-cprs

    Going by the stuff we see here, I’d say it’s the latter. Nary a good word is ever said about Labor.

  17. lizzie
    That is a fantastic image of Three Sisters/Fire.
    Thank you.
    The fire itself is on the current RFS ‘Fires near me’ site and is listed under ‘Ruined Castle’.

  18. “Oh dear Labors desire to be honest and blunt about the anti Labor coalition and what they have done seems to be gaining pace.”

    ***

    Yawn. Nah. Labor are just whinging and blaming everyone else for their own failures as usual. What’s new?

  19. Boerwar

    The destruction in NSW is becoming a terrible tragedy which grows and grows. From Victoria, I can only watch and worry about the coming summer.

  20. lizzie @ #619 Monday, December 2nd, 2019 – 7:14 am

    Boerwar

    The destruction in NSW is becoming a terrible tragedy which grows and grows. From Victoria, I can only watch and worry about the coming summer.

    Yet we have our Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, running around like a head with its chook cut off trying to pretend everything is alright and that she hasn’t cut the funding of the RFS and the NPWS to the bone.

  21. BB

    Well, can I trust Wikipedia’s facts or not? (Although it doesn’t matter to me as I’m a nobody.)

    We’re all Nobodies compared to the Somebodies who hold the (self-appointed) title of “Wikipedia Editor”. They achieve such greatness by spending most of their lives trawling entries for offenders against Wiki Sins.

    By Wikipedia rules Einstein couldn’t have commented on, or corrected entries regarding his own Theory Of Relativity. The Editors see it as far more preferable for a third party to potentially explain it wrongly, than for the genius who thought it up to explain it properly.

    And Einstein would get given The Treatment, you bet he would. Some pompous ass would tell him he “appeared to have” a conflict of interest, to have engaged in original research and to have neglected to cite available documents on the subject. He would then be presented with a long cut-and-pasted slab of plonkingly patronising Wikipedia rules.

    Not that I personally have ever experienced such remonstrations regarding my own Wikipedia efforts, of course.

  22. We are having to filter our air to the house through the air conditioner today (air con which we are grateful to this day having been provided to us by the good burghers of PB). All doors and windows are closed and no one can go outside. Especially my youngest son who is especially sensitive to smoke and can have his asthma triggered by it. 😯

  23. From the “I thought he was dead archives”.

    Mr. Ackerman apparently manages to attack everybody in his address book.

    Ms. Julia Baird rates high in his contempt stakes. The dude wot wrote Dark Emu gets a special mention as does the book.. As for the ABC and Nine (formerly Fairfax publications) the contemptometer swing hard into the Defcon 5 level.

    As Christmas rolls around again, the luvvies will be hoping and wishing things go better for them in the next 12 months than the last.

    They didn’t get Bill Shorten in last May’s election and they didn’t even get Malcolm Turnbull, though they know that he would have won if he hadn’t been tossed out of the leadership by those who knew him best — his parliamentary colleagues.

    But perhaps the ultimate believers in hopey, wishy thinking are the staff at the ABC and Nine (formerly Fairfax) publications.

    Mr. Ackerman appears to be an unhappy soul. Perhaps unlike another journalist who claims (sort of) to be the best looking guy in the building.*

    Good morning all. Hoping for rain in Newcastle.

    *Free-to-air TV still living in the ‘70sMark Ritson
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/freetoair-tv-still-living-in-the-70s/news-story/78189ec32288e797396a8df6093836ba

    All is not as it seems in the land of TV. Nine’s claim to a 29.5 per cent share of the total audience is akin to me claiming to be the best-looking man in Australia because, compared to my fellow columnists in The Australian, I am a “hottie”. It all depends on how you define the competition.

  24. It seems Ken Wyatt may have feet of clay.

    Ms Johnson, Mr Wyatt’s fourth chief of staff in three years, was fired by the minister five weeks after she moved into his office. She had raised concerns about Mr Wyatt’s office with the office of then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and was sacked immediately when Mr Wyatt found out. She no longer works in politics.

    The experienced staffer, who worked for several other Coalition ministers sucessfully, had lodged a formal incident report on the bullying of junior staff and the impact on their mental health. She has also raised concerns about repeated procedural failures and lengthy delays in responding to mounting concerns within the community about the aged care system.
    …
    At the same time, aged care and Indigenous health specialists were prevented from consulting with stakeholders, two other former staff members confirmed. The chief of staff was barred, unusually, from accessing Mr Wyatt’s diary and his meeting requests were held in a folder handled only by Mr Wyatt and his personal secretary.

    At one stage, the folder went missing, leaving hundreds of requests unanswered two months before the aged care royal commission was called. Documents show that as of August 9, 2018, more than 250 pieces of ministerial correspondence had yet to be signed by Mr Wyatt. Health Minister Greg Hunt was increasingly relied on by the Turnbull government to run the portfolio.

    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/minister-oversaw-culture-of-bullying-says-former-chief-of-staff-20191129-p53fhk.html

  27. Well, David Rowe’s article reporting Martin Parkinson’s views about the culprits is going to set PB on fire, too.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/power-would-have-been-cheaper-regrets-and-rancour-10-years-after-carbon-scheme-defeated-20191130-p53fmw.html

    “The policy uncertainty over the last decade has meant that investors in the sector have been reluctant to make sensible long-term investments that are part of a staged transition of the sector because there’s no transition plan,” he said.

    “Secondly, relative to what we expected in 2008 and 2009, technology prices have come down much, much faster than anticipated.

    “Which means that if we had have gone down that route with the CPRS, we would either have reduced emissions far more cheaply than anticipated at the time of the CPRS or we would have been able to do a lot more abatement for the same dollar price.

    “And either of those would have been better than where we are now.”

    And Tony Wood’s assessment, referred to in the same article, argues Parkinson’s is ignoring network costs as a price driver. True, but downplays the effect of greater stability on prices.

  28. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Ross Gittins calls on Philip Lowe to rescue a PM lost in the Canberra bubble.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/rba-s-lowe-should-rescue-a-pm-lost-in-the-canberra-bubble-20191130-p53fo2.html
    Greg Jericho draws some worrying parallels between Trump and Morrison.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/30/cult-that-defines-trumps-power-is-just-a-few-scratches-away-from-the-surface-in-australia
    George Christensen has objected to the release of key documents relating to the year-long police “assessment” of his pattern of travels in south-east Asia. What have you got to hide George? Or what is it you are ashamed of?
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nationals-mp-george-christensen-vetoes-release-of-afp-travel-inquiry-documents-20191201-p53fs0.html
    Eryk Bagshaw reports that the former chief of staff to Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has accused the minister of fostering a culture of bullying in his office, saying he ignored “outrageous and unconscionable” behaviour.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/minister-oversaw-culture-of-bullying-says-former-chief-of-staff-20191129-p53fhk.html
    Shane Wright explains how the budget is taking a revenue hit while the government prepares to lift spending in key areas including aged care and in response to the drought. Slow wage growth alone will punch an $8 million hole in it.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/surplus-taking-a-hit-as-wages-and-drought-hit-bottom-line-20191129-p53ff7.html
    A prominent gay rights campaigner has written to the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW to accuse ex-Wallaby Israel Folau of homosexuality vilification.
    https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/homosexuality-vilification-complaint-lodged-against-folau-20191202-p53fvh.html
    The AFR reports that rich listers and some of Australia’s wealthiest families face tough new scrutiny from the ATO, part of a dramatic expansion of its tax avoidance crackdown and a bid to collect $3.6 billion in new revenue.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/rich-listers-targeted-by-ato-in-cash-push-20191129-p53ffz
    Anna Patty writes that a class action lawsuit against Woolworths over the $300 million underpayment of workers has begun in the Federal Court with claims the case will expose “industry-wide” problems.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/woolworths-class-action-estimates-underpayment-bill-as-high-as-620m-20191126-p53ec2.html
    Plenty of former prime ministers are giving Scott Morrison advice on China but the difficulties of managing the relationship are only becoming more obvious writes Jennifer Hewett.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/australia-s-uneasy-balancing-act-with-china-just-gets-harder-20191201-p53ftf
    Sam Maiden tells us how now Morrison has dragged the A-G into the Angus Taylor sandal.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/12/01/christian-porter-scott-morrison/
    The SMH editorial points out that the idea of linking international commerce to emissions control is growing Ain popularity – and has serious implications for Australia.
    https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/trade-deals-may-be-an-effective-method-of-enforcing-climate-action-20191129-p53fj1.html
    Matt Wade reports that, according to an Ipsos poll, the environment has for the first time surpassed healthcare, cost of living and the economy to be the number one concern for Australians.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/environment-is-prime-worry-for-the-first-time-poll-20191201-p53fu5.html
    Australian businesses are calling on governments around the world to develop international accounting rules for carbon trading, saying such a framework could lead to a carbon credit export boom.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/businesses-call-for-global-carbon-trading-rules-20191201-p53frz
    Fergus Hunter tells us that the NBN is experiencing a major surge in data consumption by households and businesses, with total downloads on the network rising 25 per cent over the past year and the average customer’s monthly use up to 258 gigabytes.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/video-streaming-drives-25-per-cent-surge-in-nbn-downloads-20191201-p53fs5.html
    Wholesale relief isn’t likely to bring lower NBN retail prices, writes Paul Budde.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/government-must-step-in-to-fix-nbn,13367
    Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas could have been stopped before his murderous rampage if the police’s elite critical response Team had been driving more powerful, four-wheel-drive vehicles. The elite forces’ VW vans get quite a pasting.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/slow-vans-hindered-gargasoulas-pursuit-says-internal-police-report-20191201-p53ft6.html
    According to Bevan Shields Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will enter the final days of the general election campaign with radically different positions on terrorism.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/ridiculous-and-repulsive-leaders-trade-blows-over-terror-laws-as-election-polls-tighten-20191201-p53fur.html
    Tony Walker has had enough of the culture warriors.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/down-with-political-correctness-unless-of-course-20191129-p53ff5.html
    The IPA reckons more regulation is not the solution to the Westpac revelations,
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/more-regulation-is-not-the-solution-to-westpac-revelations-20191129-p53fe5.html
    A former advisor to Julie Bishop explores why we are seeing more and more that citizens are the first responders to such attacks, and in increasingly innovative ways.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/taking-the-terror-out-of-terrorism-why-citizens-confront-low-tech-attackers-20191201-p53fsk.html
    Ben Butler explains why Australia lags in policing its financial sector.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/01/banks-behaving-badly-why-australia-lags-in-policing-its-financial-sector
    Nicole Hemmer writes about the practice of turning the disgraced into war heroes.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/turning-the-disgraced-into-war-heroes-20191130-p53fm3.html
    Jennifer Duke is intrigued with the changes at the top of News Ltd.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/changes-at-the-top-of-news-corp-s-papers-spark-industry-intrigue-20191201-p53fpr.html
    The royal family is braced for more revelations about the Duke of York’s connections with Jeffrey Epstein, as the BBC prepares to air a Panorama interview with his accuser Virginia Giuffre on tonight.
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/01/bbc-to-screen-interview-with-prince-andrew-accuser
    Trump won’t lose his job – but the impeachment inquiry is still essential says Robert Reich.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/30/trump-impeachment-inquiry-removal
    John race describes Boris Johnson as a one-trick pony straight out of the political wild west. Some nice prose in this contribution!
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/01/boris-johnson-a-one-trick-pony-straight-out-of-the-political-wild-west
    America is not the land of the free but one of monopolies so predatory they imperil the nation opines Will Hutton.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/01/america-is-not-the-land-of-the-free-but-one-of-monopolies-so-predatory-they-imperil-the-nation

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe has a lot going on in Morrison’s bedroom.

    From Matt Golding.

    Pat Campbell

    Mark David and yet another warning system.

    Johannes Leak also ventures into Morrison’s bedroom.
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/a987b68ed3cb39d34dd5354cdf597a05?width=1024

    From the US


  29. Victoria says: Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:26 am

    And in more positive news on the home front, my father has been moved out of ICU and into the ward.

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

    On a dreary Gippsland morning it is good to hear your great brighten up the day news, Victoria – hope things just keeping better for your father and he is home for a family Xmas …..

  30. C@t, if your air conditioner is a split system, then it merely recycles indoor air. It does have a filter, but it mainly filters out fluff (ie not very good for small particles).

    As an aside, those filters should be cleaned of fluff regularly. This is virtually universally never done. Whenever we are staying away, I check the filters and clean them. Sometimes they are completely clogged rendering the air conditioner virtually useless.

  33. Thanks, PeeBee. I’ll clean the filters. However, around here we are filter sleuths. We found another one in the vacuum cleaner the other day! It’s how we keep our appliances going for so long. 😀

  34. Thanks BK for the Dawn Patrol.

    From the BK Files ⏬⏬⏬

    Shane Wright explains how the budget is taking a revenue hit while the government prepares to lift spending in key areas including aged care and in response to the drought. Slow wage growth alone will punch an $8 billion hole in it.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/surplus-taking-a-hit-as-wages-and-drought-hit-bottom-line-20191129-p53ff7.html

    Slow wage growth will help punch an $8.1 billion hole in the Morrison government’s budget surplus plan, one of the nation’s leading forecasters has predicted amid signs the economy remains subdued in the run-up to Christmas.

    Deloitte Access Economics on Monday said the budget is taking a revenue hit while the government prepares to lift spending in key areas including aged care and in response to the drought.

    BK often leaves an Easter Egg for the unwary. The current Gummint barely notices amounts such as $8 million which would describe pin money.

    Sadly the article makes no mention of just what is plannned ( ❓ ) for Aged Care or Drought relief.

    Dark clouds over Newcastle just teasing – dammit Muriel.

  36. C@t,
    We also have sensitivities to airborne pollutants in our household. The past few weeks’ imprisonment have been … Not fun.
    We are using our air con to filter the air too.
    We also have a system installed which pumps air in through filters.

    Our state should be publishing health warnings and advice for those most vulnerable.
    Maybe redirect advertising budget from the current ‘aren’t we wonderful for building these roads and bridges’ stuff to advice that actually helps the citizens.
    Gladys…. Premier for platitudes.


  38. Firefox says:
    Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:13 am

    “Oh dear Labors desire to be honest and blunt about the anti Labor coalition and what they have done seems to be gaining pace.”

    ***

    Yawn. Nah. Labor are just whinging and blaming everyone else for their own failures as usual. What’s new?

    I don’t expect the Greens to reflect on what they have become, more secret little meetings; be dam with the environment, get Labor is the goal.

  40. Maude Lynne,
    Yes, that’s the one thing Gladys is very, very good at it, the Officer Barbrady line, ‘Nothing to see here. Move along.’ 😐

  41. Thanks again BK

    David Rowe has a lot going on in Morrison’s bedroom.

    Surely not ❗ Could it be ❓ Is that a Top Hat being used as a Gazunder * ❓

    * What is a Gazunda?
    Chamber pot | chamberpot | jordan | jerry | po | gazunder | piss pot | potty | thunder pot. a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and generally used as a toilet at night.

  44. Just in time for the Can the Plan Convoy… some further clarifications of Morrison’s MDB Panic Policy settings:

    The taxpayer-funded subsidy is around $900 (90%) per megalitre.

    One of Morrison’s MDB panic policy package elements: 25 megs per farmer, has quietly been put to bed. It has been doubled to 50 megs per farmer. But the second 25 megs would not be available until after April 1 next year. This raises the potential tax payer funded freebies to individual farmers from 25x$900 to 50x$900 with not a Robocop in sight. Not bad work if you can get it. Lifters and leaners.

    A further policy restriction has been announced. If you already have a Gig of water, you can’t apply. Not many irrigators have a Gig and the ones who do, basically the very, very large irrigators, wouldn’t notice the 50 megs and are almost certainly not using irrigation for pasture or for fodder crops. So basically this limit is a sop to smaller farmers.

    The restriction to pasture and fodder crops remains. All sorts of spy mechanisms will be used to monitor this in case the dastardly farmer decide to make a real buck out of it by growing what they would prefer to grow. This is basically Stalinist GOSsplanning on the run. In terms of the overall fodder market during the drought it will make fuck all difference at a system level. It is a political sop.

    The pasture subvention intervention will keep a few more uncompetitive dairy farmers going for another year or two.

    Socialism and the Nanny State gone mad.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-02/drought-deal-to-deliver-fodder-water-by-next-week/11754858

  45. Boerwar

    You explanation is no doubt perfectly plain to Quiet Australians, who get their water from decent conservative taps in their decent conservative homes, but to this little black duck it is incomprehensible and reads just like a ScoMo scam.

  46. The book by ‘Anonymous’ doesn’t appear to be telling people anything they don’t already know.

    The official writes that while Trump has often claimed to be highly intelligent, they say they have “seen the president fall flat on his face when trying to speak intelligently” on a number of topics on which he claims to be an expert.

    “You can see why behind closed doors his own top officials deride him as an ‘idiot’ and a ‘moron’ with the understanding of a ‘fifth or sixth grader,'” the unnamed senior official says.

    In addition to questioning Trump’s ability to recall basic terms that he has said or heard, the anonymous author also accuses the president of an “astounding” level of “intellectual laziness.”

    Asserting that Trump barely reads and has required that briefings be shorter and include fewer words and more pictures, the senior official says they are “bewildered how anyone could have run a private company on the empty mental tank President Trump relies upon every day to run the government.”

    https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-anonymous-white-house-insider-memory-1472661

  47. The article by Eryk Bagshaw about Ken Wyatt’s office is a must read. It shows what is going on under the surface sheen of the Scott Morrison government:

    ‘Eryk Bagshaw reports that the former chief of staff to Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has accused the minister of fostering a culture of bullying in his office, saying he ignored “outrageous and unconscionable” behaviour.’
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/minister-oversaw-culture-of-bullying-says-former-chief-of-staff-20191129-p53fhk.html

  48. KayJay

    Pies Akerman has a soul mate over in Seppoland. Those RWers have a real bee in their bonnet when it comes to using holidays in their Kulturkampf

    Senator Rand Paul
    ✔
    @RandPaul
    Happy Thanksgiving! Take this day to be thankful for friends and family and don’t forget the first Thanksgiving only happened when the pilgrims rejected socialism.

  50. It really is gobsmacking listening to the talk about how crap the economy is on ABC TV this morning.
    Not one single mention of the government, the prime minister, the treasurer. Apparently none of this has anything to do with Morrison or Fryo.

    No talk of the opposition.

    If Labor was in power these people would be frothing at the mouth.

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