Not a creature was stirring

Chisholm and Kooyong court ruling imminent; comparison of American and Australian political attitudes; and a merry Christmas to all.

At what’s normally a dull time for electoral news, the Federal Court has decided to beat Santa to the punch by announcing its judgement in the challenges to the Chisholm and Kooyong results at 2:15pm today. I’ll add a dedicated post when that happens, but for the time being, here’s the latest thread for general political discussion, it being long past time for a new one.

Two other items of news I can think to mention: the United States Studies Centre has published a report that compares survey results on political attitudes in Australia and the United States, which reaches the intuitive conclusions that Australians are both less conservative and less polarised by partisanship; and GhostWhoVotes offers a neat presentation of the states’ House of Representatives seat entitlements based on current population numbers, six months out from the final determination.

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.

782 comments on “Not a creature was stirring”

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  1. RI:

    I have a theory, based on life experience, as to why so many talented people die way before their time:
    it must be f…ing hard to maintain the facade of being exceptional – the expectations being beyond the norm – eg, Callas. We average people having no such problems?

  2. Caballe was 85 when she died – a very good innings for her. My favourite performance of hers was as Liu on Zubin Mehta’s recording of Turandot in the early 1970s, with Sutherland as Turandot. The purity of her voice brought out the character perfectly.

  3. Merry Christmas Bludgers!

    Thanks to all for their contributions throughout the year and I look forward to joining the conversation more often after my post election absence from the blog.

    All the best to all Bludgers for the new year.

  4. Flanagan is certainly correct when it comes to Labor being Morrison-lite. As I am sure many who want action also believe.

    For all the crocodile tears some seem to bleed around here. The Beetaloo gas field that NT Labor, Albo and the Morrison Canavan caravan want to see done, against the wishes of traditional owners, is likely to raise Australian emissions by another 6% alone just from extraction. Not to mention the unity ticket of ALP and LNP for the Galilee basin carbon bomb. Australia might even exceed the total global carbon budget all on our own with such dickheads in govt and a few found here

    Seems like ever more tripe here to be suggesting the ALP will be any better than Morrison or even Barnacle on climate and emissions.

  5. Quoll

    Seems like ever more tripe here to be suggesting the ALP will be any better than Morrison or even Barnacle on climate and emissions.

    I guess we will just have to wait until the Greens are in a position to form government then. Any thoughts on how long that will take?

  6. The Green political strategy has been a failure, all-told. While they have won Senate seats they have alienated the overwhelming majority of the electorate, including echelons that have in the past been loosely G-positive. They should dissolve themselves for the sake of the environment and social justice.

  7. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/25/2020-set-to-be-year-of-the-electric-car-say-industry-analysts

    The electrification of the global vehicle fleet – which will carry stacks of on-board storage – will really change the electricity market. In Australia, it should mean the early retirement of coal and gas powered generators in favour of power supplied by solar and wind, which is far cheaper than power from obsolete fossil fuel sources.

  8. Hope you all had a lovely Christmas .

    Thank you Talyormade.

    Not Sure Thanks! you are right because unused leave is a liability instead of costs.

    On usernames

    I don’t get why people take them so seriously. When i use to write on the Guardian i choose a name that was a pisstake at Tony Abbott and despite never writing anything positive about him yet there were “nuff nuffs” who claimed that i must be a rightie because of the username.

    There are three booths in Toorak with the combined ALP/Green vote between 25% to 35% and at the last state election the Liberals nearly lost one Toorak booth to the Greens and there are more ALP voters in Toorak than there are Liberal voters in Broadmeadows.

  9. Here’s a new term.. “coal rolling”..

    https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-targeted-road-rage-coal-roll-dashcam-video/

    Two points: First, the “deplorables” actually exist. It may not be polite but there are a lot of people out there who belong in caves and you can guess who they vote for.

    Secondly it reminds me of a tune that when I first heard it I thought it was way too over the top.. Now?

    (language warning)
    “folks.. I’d like to sing a song about the American dream…”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs

  10. Ukraine whistleblower under constant threat of violence from Trump fans — and gets driven to work by armed guards

    The government official who filed a whistleblower complaint that led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump at times has to be driven into work by armed guards due to threats of violence against him by Trump supporters.

    The Washington Post reports that the whistleblower is accompanied by armed security officers when threats against him spike — a phenomenon that is “often seemingly spurred by presidential tweets.”

    The Post also reports that the whistleblower is just one of many national security officials who are now seen as “enemies” by the president and his loyalists — and some of these “enemies” were appointed by the president himself.

    https://www.rawstory.com/2019/12/ukraine-whistleblower-under-constant-threat-of-violence-from-trump-fans-and-gets-driven-to-work-by-armed-guards/

  11. What else is bloody new with Scummo and Crony Co. Inc, why do something practical when they can have…drum toll…an inquiry. Yay!

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/political-stunt-federal-government-launches-bushfire-inquiry-to-probe-state-policy-20191223-p53mh3.html

    Words will be said, money wasted, and blame dished everywhere but on themselves. Promises will be made and then hidden under the huge growing pile of broken promises and ultimately nothing will change.

  12. Kronomex @ #778 Thursday, December 26th, 2019 – 8:02 am

    What else is bloody new with Scummo and Crony Co. Inc, why do something practical when they can have…drum toll…an inquiry. Yay!

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/political-stunt-federal-government-launches-bushfire-inquiry-to-probe-state-policy-20191223-p53mh3.html

    Words will be said, money wasted, and blame dished everywhere but on themselves. Promises will be made and then hidden under the huge growing pile of broken promises and ultimately nothing will change.

    As I said days ago.
    The Quiet Hawaiian has it all worked out.


  13. rhwombat says:
    Wednesday, December 25, 2019 at 6:36 pm
    ..
    Redgum’s words and the Herd’s images of I was only 19. I had never thought of it as an Australian Christmas song, but it exemplifies something deep and mutual in the pain and fortitude of the front line grunt, be they Diggers or Fireys, that the managers and marketeers will never reach. A week ago I posted words to the effect that Scummo was having his Port Arthur, and may be looking at his Vietnam. I was at school during the Vietnam Moratorium, but the political guerilla war we are now fighting with the Denialists resonates.


    I agree, and i think that is why the current generation will find solid support from their grand parents. We may not agree on how to solve the problem, but denying it isn’t happening isn’t one.


  14. Not Sure says:
    Wednesday, December 25, 2019 at 7:54 pm

    Frednk is presumably drunk, given it is Christmas, so might be forgiven.
    ..

    No mate stone cold sober and cannot thus be forgiven ( and not an excuse anyway).

    I hold the view that posting a link to an article by some right wing nutter posting rubbish as if it has any sort of value is at best an act of stupidity, at worst a deliberate act of trying to float a meme that is rubbish.

    I do not know what the solution is but this sort of activity is one of the ways the Liberals won the last election and a solution needs to be found.

    It is interesting that that sort of activity has suddenly increased given Morrison’s troubles. TTT duped or deliberate act of truth sabotage, I don’t know. We all post anonymously so it impossible to judge.

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