It’s not exactly news that I’ve got BludgerTrack going to the extent of running leadership trends, which I launched about a month ago, but under the circumstances (and for the want of much else to blog about, which I’ll get to shortly) I thought it worth drawing attention to again. Newspoll and Essential Research both provided new sets of numbers this week, and while some have questioned the value of polling in high summer while holidays are being had and fires are being fought, they were interesting in their consistency: Newspoll recorded a 19% drop in Scott Morrison’s net approval while Essential had it at 14%, and both found Anthony Albanese opening slight leads on preferred prime minister.
All of this comes through loud and clear in the trends you can see on the sidebar (or in closer detail at the link below). Morrison’s post-election bounce was already coming off before the fires, but the trend has now become a freefall he must hope will reverse in fairly short order. By my reckoning, out of 673 preferred prime minister results published by Newspoll as far back as 1987, the incumbent has led in 519 (77.2%) and the Opposition Leader in 140 (20.8%), with thirteen (1.9%) being tied. However, this hasn’t offered much of a guide for the leaders’ future prospects. Malcolm Turnbull had an unblemished record, as did Kevin Rudd in his first tenure (Tony Abbott took the lead in the first two polls before the 2013 election), while John Howard trailed in early 2001 and for much of the second half of his first term, as did Paul Keating more often than not before the 1993 election.
Peter Dutton’s view on climate change has changed due to the current disasters. He is now firmly in favor of it.It is increasing his chances for replacing Scrott and it dents Josh’s vanity project aka Teh Surplus.
GG
It worries me that Robert’s philosophy of life relies on personal profit. I’m wondering what profit he may be getting (swindling?) out of his position. Don’t trust him.
Interview with Rick Wilson. Among many other things he says he had been doing polling and many Democrats said they thought after Trump had been impeached they thought that was it, he was gone from office. An indication of just how disengaged ‘low information’ voters are, even those rusted onto a political party.
(interview starts at the 7m mark)
https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101875432/republican-strategist-rick-wilsons-plot-to-save-america-from-trump
“There is more detail in The Canberra Times.”
***
Updated version of this paywall blocker gets you past the new CT wall…
Chrome: https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-chrome
Firefox: https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-firefox
So Christensen paid back $2K, which he was not entitled to. And he only paid it back after being investigated and forced to.
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/jan/20/george-christensen-pays-back-2100-after-audit-finds-he-misused-travel-expenses
They hounded Peter Slipper out of parliament for less than half of that. There was a time when taking your employer’s money without correct authorisation might get you sacked, or charged with theft. Even in parliament. But standards have fallen pretty low in Canberra in the current era.
And I assume in light of this precedent that every Centrelink recipient who gets overpaid is given a grace period to repay without penalty?
lizzie @ #2202 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 9:32 am
That’s one part. But, the Government’s issue going forward will be that the services required of Centrelink in this crisis have been systematically excluded from the suite of services they provide. So, dissatisfaction, frustration and anger is bound to increase over the coming months.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/your-government-does-not-want-corruption-investigated-20200119-p53son.html
Stephen Charles, QC, a former judge of the Victorian Court of Appeal, is a board member of the Centre for Public Integrity.
zoomster
Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 9:17 am
Comment #2095
I “Googled” to find a little info regarding the older lady. The ads for Trivago are loved/hated and commented on by many.
Watching commercial TV is an art form which must be mastered. The object should be to watch two programs alternately. While one is displaying a series of ads one should switch to program two until the ad break and so on.
When the tennis is on one channel, cricket on another and movie “Unforgiven” (last night) one can happily coast along quite comfortably.
The difficulty, for me, is the requirement for subtitles to display on other than sport. Having a “Kindle” reader handy usually fills in any gaps.
Toodles. 😎☕
George Monbiot video “Oligarchs are gaming Democracy”. Worth a watch.
https://www.facebook.com/DoubleDownNews/videos/2505562666430699/
“And I assume in light of this precedent that every Centrelink recipient who gets overpaid is given a grace period to repay without penalty?”
Bwa-hahahaha…not in the warped and twisted reality that is the LNP. Only LNP pollies get that benefit.
Here’s a handy guide for students of Body Language.
zoomster @ #2170 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 8:58 am
I hope she told some whoppers 😉
Huh! Watch this space.
GG
This will be sheeted back to Stuart Robert whose tenure as minister has been about reducing costs by digitalization, reducing contact visits with staff, using a phone service and cracking down on entitlements.
__________________________________
It started long before that. Robert has just carried. Tudge is one of the chief architects but the rot really started the day Abbott became PM and the biggest leaner in Parliament at the time lectured all of us about ‘lifters’ and ‘leaners’.
“It’s Like a Foreign Language”: Donald Trump’s Encounter With the Constitution Did Not Go Well
While being filmed for a documentary, the president stumbled through his chosen passage, taking his frustration out on everyone around him, Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig write in A Very Stable Genius.
Whatever the reason for Trump’s discomfort with the reading, several watching agreed on this much: He behaved like a brooding child, short-tempered, brittle, and quick to blame mystery distractions for the mistakes. “I didn’t expect this, but I felt sorry for him,” another witness said. “
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/donald-trump-disastrous-encounter-with-the-constitution-very-stable-genius
Re GG @9:46. I don’t think that Morrison experiences a few of those, certainly not humility or remorse. Maybe not empathy. Perhaps the relevant squares are also indigestion.
Sooo, McConnell doesn’t want them to be heard, they won’t be heard.
zoomster,
On hotel pricing – yes its definitely a thing.
https://traveltips.usatoday.com/rack-rate-hotels-107299.html
Steve777
I didn’t find those descriptions very accurate, either. Not enough smug, sanctimonious, supercilious.
lizzie @ #2202 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 9:32 am
You don’t mean this Stuart Robert do you? Perish the thought lizzie.
It’s all so easy. Try it on, and just pay it back if you get caught. Nothing to lose; everything to gain. Robbers and thieves the lot.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/12/stuart-robert-repays-nearly-38000-for-home-internet-bills
Even the bastards think Scott’s a bastard.
As I understnand it, Senator questions must be put in writing and are read out by Roberts.
Does Labor have a detailed policy re a federal ICAC?
What might a National Integrity Commission look like?
April 2018:
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2019/April/National_integrity_commission
Senior Labor figures including Anthony Albanese argued against anti-corruption watchdog
August 2019: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/senior-labor-figures-including-anthony-albanese-argued-against-anti-corruption-watchdog-20190801-p52d15.html
lizzie @ #2190 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 6:21 am
That reminds me of the end of financial year rush.
You would receive lots of quote requests from Government departments looking to spend any unspent monies.
The only requirement on receiving an order was that it was invoiced in that financial year.
Greensborough Growler
Lies are Sin!
Barney
Once upon a time, in a land far away (my youth), I worked for a government body, looking after the accounts. The final month in each financial year was spent in transferring money around to prove that it had all been spent according to estimates.
I’ve heard more than one person refer to it as War World.
@SisterOMalley
·
2m
Its just over half of the city area- hardly a crisis.
The more hard surface, fewer green space & trees- the hotter the microclimate, & greater need to aircond.
They are planning for the future with climate part of the plan so no wonder the dinosaurs at the Oz are critical.
Greg Jericho
@GrogsGamut
·
*Everyone* who voted to end the carbon price should have their names listed on a wall of shame for future generations to remember and condemn.
And you don’t get a pass for now coming out after you have left parliament and say the Govt should lead in climate change.
Well, all I can say is, thank goodness for Telstra! Maybe, along with Optus, the only ISP who you can go to after an electrical storm, because they have a Telstra Shop at your local shopping centre, and purchase a new Modem after your old one got zapped by a lightning strike which jumped the Surge Protector powerboard the day before.
This, in comparison to other ISPs where you have to ring up and request a new modem and wait 7-10 working days for it to be shipped out to you.
Telstra may do a lot of things wrong, but all ISPs do. They also do a lot of things right.
Greg Jericho
https://twitter.com/GrogsGamut/status/1219397363430645760
“And never forget – we had a price on carbon. It was working, living standards were growing, our economy was adapting.
The then the LNP trashed it.”
Albanese and Labor seem to have forgotten it.
lol…new hash tag for scomo…..#CrimeMinister
Wow. Even the Oz starts to question the bullshit cult of surplus.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/our-nation-can-prosper-without-a-budget-surplus/news-story/423d3177f35cf4a675a972b5e73c5fe6
I like the Trivago ad person. I am willing to forgive her association with 400,000 plus breaches of the consumer law.
In the light of the current environmental crisis, a decent leader would call a moratorium on land clearing, logging and new coal mines.
I can always dream…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/inside-the-race-to-protect-threatened-species/11877990?pfmredir=sm
lizzie
“The more hard surface, fewer green space & trees- the hotter the microclimate, & greater need to aircond.
They are planning for the future with climate part of the plan so no wonder the dinosaurs at the Oz are critical.”
I would criticise both sides here. Townhouses done badly are a blight on the suburb and its amenity. But so are McMansions on single blocks, if they build to within one metre of the boundary and have a “backyard” less than five metres wide. Bad quality development is a problem, whether medium or low density. In an era of over inflated property prices with politicians reluctant to burst the bubble, we have gone too soft on developers under the delusion it helps “affordability”. It does the opposite.
There need to be rules on the facade facing to the street, amount of site coverage and green area in both cases (townhouses and detached houses), and those rules need to be enforced. Brisbane has a huge problem with too low population density, so this is precisely the wrong answer to the problem IMO. They need to force developers to do medium density properly, rather than keep taking their donations and let them do medium or low density badly. Even in Los Angeles these days they do medium density better than Brisbane.
https://www.citylab.com/design/2014/12/in-los-angeles-density-that-doesnt-overwhelm/383798/
sonar @ #2235 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 10:23 am
He started the overly-familiar characterisations of his name, so, what comes around, goes around. 🙂
Socrates
The spreading suburbs full of McMansions west and south east of Melbourne are shocking examples of developers in control.
Shellbell @ #2237 Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 – 10:35 am
I find her annoying as hell. She does that Millennial smug sass thing and lays it on with a trowel. So I advised my son, who is going to live in America, to give the website a big swerve. Also because of their illegal ways of sucking customers in. 🙂
lizzie
I am not a fan of what Australian state governments (Labor and Liberal) have done with managing property development in recent years. If Labor does not know what competent development policy is, as usual, they would be well advised to look across the ditch to see it done competently. See NZ examples of good quality medium density housing here. Not a blot on the landscape in sight.
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/more/towns-and-cities/medium-density-housing
Lizzie
“The spreading suburbs full of McMansions west and south east of Melbourne are shocking examples of developers in control.”
Yes. Those suburbs are future ghettos. And they will cost a fortune to government to service so far out.
“I find her annoying as hell. She does that Millennial smug sass thing and lays it on with a trowel. ”
Yes. That German word for most slap-worthy face is quite apt.
Shellbell says:
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 10:35 am
I like the Trivago ad person. I am willing to forgive her association with 400,000 plus breaches of the consumer law.
Can’t stand the smart-ass. Advert for a web site screwing over the customer and the business. What is there to like.
https://vimeo.com/288285200
I concur. Gabrielle Miller is one of our loveliest exports.
Disclaimer: I do admit that I am a fool for a beautiful brunette. They can do no wrong.
https://www.google.com/search?q=trivago+girl&client=ms-android-hmd-rev2&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ACYBGNSEsiohCBYIMiJure_1vLsLTVW83w:1579562843807&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2itKRqpPnAhXazjgGHVCzChQQ_AUoAXoECBEQAQ&cshid=1579563116124&biw=360&bih=625&dpr=2#imgrc=MW_Z_dWO1HToaM
Socrates
Australian architecture is at times ordinary but looking at those NZ pictures, they don’t seem much different from what is found here.
London and Paris seem to get the blend between new housing and respecting their heritage far better than Australia does.
There must be thousands of unhappy people. Why didn’t we turf out this government?
Scummo the Slime Minister?