No Newspoll this week, owing to The Australian’s enthusiasm for unleashing them at the start of parliamentary sitting weeks, requiring a three week break rather than the usual two. However, we do have a extensive new poll on the bushfire crisis from the Australian National University’s Centre for Social Research and Methods and the Social Research Centre. It finds that fully 78.6% of the population reports being affected by the fires in one way or another, 14.4% severely or directly. Half the sample of 3000 respondents was asked how Scott Morrison had handled the bushfires, of whom 64.5% disapproved; for the other half the question was framed in terms of the government, with 59.4% disapproving.
Beyond that, there’s the two state/territory by-election campaigns currently in progress:
• I have posted a guide to next Saturday’s by-election in the Northern Territory seat of Johnston, which has suddenly became of more than marginal interest owing to the Greens decision to put Labor last on their how-to-vote cards (albeit that local electoral laws prevent these being distributed within close proximity of polling booths). This has been done to protest the decision by Michael Gunner’s Labor government to lift a moratorium on gas fracking exploration. The party has not taken such a step in any jurisdiction since the Queensland state election of July 1995, when it sought to punish Wayne Goss’s government in the seat of Springwood over a planned motorway through a koala habitat. This made a minor contribution to its loss of the seat, and hence to its eventual removal from office after a by-election defeat the following February. There’s acres of useful information on all this on Antony Green’s new blog, which he is publishing independently due to the ABC’s cavalier treatment of the invaluable blog he had there in happier times. There will also be a piece by me on the Greens’ decision in Crikey today, God willing.
• The other by-election in progress at the moment is for the Queensland seat of Currumbin on March 28, for which my guide can be found guide can be found here. With the closure of nominations last week, only two candidates emerged additional to Laura Gerber of the Liberal National Party and Kaylee Campradt of Labor: Sally Spain of the Greens, a perennial candidate for the party in federal and state Gold Coast seats; and Nicholas Bettany of One Nation, about whom the only thing I can tell you is that he recently deleted his Twitter account (what’s preserved of it on the Google cache reveals nothing particularly outrageous).
“the Greens don’t have the dilemma that the state Labor government has in Queensland with trying to stay in power.”
***
Which is all Labor cares about. They care about maintaining power for themselves, not protecting the planet, and will sacrifice anything to achieve that goal.
And for the 500,000,000,000,000th time, voting down the woeful CPRS was a very good thing. We forced Labor to introduce the far more effective ETS/Carbon Price.
The idea that it’s impossible to both win (or retain) power and do responsible environmental management at the same time so only one can be chosen is a false dilemma.
And they lived happily ever after.
max
Cheers
a r @ #702 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:01 pm
No, it’s a reality that requires nuance.
Queensland Labor under Anna Palacszjuk have done responsible environmental management and responsible economic management. They just haven’t gone to the idealistic extremes that some would want.
And you know what the alternative is? Electing to government a party that doesn’t give a fig about the environment.
Or is your preferred scenario that of The Greens? Who believe that ‘Magic Happens’ and they will end up with the Balance of Power?
256 Australians spend more than $1.3 million watching child sexual abuse online
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/australians-paying-to-watch-child-sex-abuse-online/11979844
————–
Milton Orkopoulos arrested for second alleged breach of parole
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/nsw-police-arrest-milton-orkopoulos-after-second-alleged-breach/11980084
Kogarah dance studio rapist Anthony Sampieri to appeal against life sentence
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/dance-studio-rapist-anthony-sampieri-set-to-appeal-sentence/11979468
Sprung, goooooooooooooorn but his final letter still manages to ignore the kid he helped bastardize into mental ill health:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/19/st-kevins-headmaster-stephen-russell-resigns-over-character-reference-for-paedophile
Jackie Trad accused of interfering in recruitment of school principal, State Opposition say matter has been referred to CCC again
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/jackie-trad-accused-of-interference-in-school-principal/11978836
Richard Denniss
Putting the ‘net’ into net zero targets: it’s time to start doing things that work. Now
The best way to hit a net zero target would have been to stop building coalmines and gas fields 20 years ago
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/19/putting-the-net-into-net-zero-targets-its-time-to-start-doing-things-that-work-now
The reality that the establishment doesn’t want to face is that we don’t have time to appease far-right climate denying extremists! Again, they don’t give a toss about the climate crisis – even after Australia goes up in smoke – all they care about is scraping the One Nation/Trump voters off the bottom of the barrel.
Ari MelberVerified account @AriMelber
Pres. Trump’s new pardons are for well-connected insiders convicted of the *same offenses* Trump and several of his advisers are accused of — serious crimes of extortion, bribery, misleading authorities or abuse of office.
Rick WilsonVerified account @TheRickWilson
Not a coincidence
‘Spineless’: Prosecutor-turned-senator bashes Republicans for complacency to Trump’s corruption
Among Trump’s pardons was at least one of his top donors, who contributed over $200,000 from his family just ahead of the announcement of the pardon. It poses the question if Trump is outright selling pardons to donors of his campaigns.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/spineless-prosecutor-turned-senator-bashes-republicans-for-complacency-to-trumps-corruption/
Africa: A year of record climate disasters
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/africa-year-record-climate-disasters
Pegasus @ #710 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:17 pm
There’s just so much sense in that article.
An excellent first step would be to put a moratorium on both fracking and new coal mines … 🙁
The thing I don’t get is that these are both so trivially easy to do. They would cost us so little, but achieve so much.
But if we can’t even take such cheap and easy steps, what hope have we of taking the difficult and expensive ones?
Firefox
Not sure which establishment you are referring to because its only really the mining industry, its workers and their local politicians whom are fighting against taking real action. Yesterday someone that people around here might call the establishment said to ignore the political noise because that is not where the solutions are coming from.
Bob Brown lost my respect when he put Tasmanian forests over climate change.
He appears to have put his particular passions ahead of the overall good.
You enabled Abbott, you idiots. When are the Greens every going to admit to a plain old fashioned, practical, mistake? And learn from it? Yes, the CPRS was weak, but don’t argue that it couldn’t, or wouldn’t have been adjusted, updated, fixed.
You enabled Abbott. Whether that could be foreseen or not, its simply a mistake and a big one. And I just want to see a Green be up front and honest and admit it.
Exactly.
Blue Knot Foundation, the national centre of excellence for complex trauma, welcomed Russell’s decision to resign.
“His resignation hopefully represents the beginning of a critical change in child safety and accountability at St Kevin’s moving forward,” its president, Cathy Kezelman, said.
“It is not acceptable to ever ignore the suffering of victims and the impact of the crime of child sexual abuse in favour of institutions and their hierarchy.”
Laus Neumann – Anatomy of a broken taboo
An election in a tiny East German state has reverberated all the way to the top of the country’s politics
https://insidestory.org.au/anatomy-of-a-broken-taboo/
“That too says something about Germany in 2020. While the rise of the AfD has made life difficult for Christian Democrats and Social Democrats, it has strengthened the Greens. It has provided motivation and oxygen to groups outside parliament that not only oppose the far right, but also fight for measures to combat climate change and for a generous asylum and refugee policy. In other words, Germany might have experienced a resurgence of the far right since 2013, but it has also seen a civil society–led backlash against the extreme right and in favour of an alternative vision of society that may otherwise have been utterly unrealistic. Watch this space.”
Gorn!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/st-kevins-headmaster-stephen-russell-resigns/11980008
zoomster @ #716 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:30 pm
If you had ever told Bob Brown that he had your respect, he probably would have wondered what he was doing wrong.
Cud Chewer @ #717 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:30 pm
Don’t hold your breath.
P1
‘But .. this is exactly what Labor expect voters to do. In a hurry. In a polling booth. With no access to any information other than a HTV card.’
What nonsense. The issue may have only begun to be discussed here, but it has obviously been widely followed in the Northern Territory, going back to the last Territory election.
There were reports leading up to the election, reports about the setting up of the process, reports about the process itself, reports about the recommendations and reports about the government’s – and environmentalists – reaction to them.
If anyone in the NT isn’t across this issue, it’s because they don’t care about it. Anyone in the NT who does will have been following it closely.
Just because we’re not across the ins and outs of it doesn’t mean Territorians aren’t and they’re the ones who will be voting.
Cud Chewer @ #717 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 12:30 pm
The Gillard – Rudd guerrilla war had nothing to do with it?! You don’t get to ignore the elephant in the room and point your finger at the mouse.
Dennis is quite right. Bang on. People are being driven out of their homes by those who consume scads of CO2 emissions while sitting around waiting for the whole world government, aided by the Australian Government, MAKING them do the right thing.
Now is the time for the Greens to revolt against government inaction!
Now is the time to walk their talk by rising up in rebellion against this hideous fate!
Now is the time for each Greens to deliver ZERO NET!
Now is the time for the Greens to STOP harming lots of Africans.
Each Greens emits scads more emissions than each African so action by each individual Greens matters a lot to each African. Thought leadership is good, in its way, but it never stopped a single CO2 molecule from entering the atmosphere.
Here is a Greens New Emissions Deal Pledge to guide the path. (Those Wonderful Greens who, like me, are sequestering twice what they emit, are of course to be congratulated!)
The Bush Bandit’s Pledge:
1. Reduce personal housing footprint to the world average.
2. Refuse to fly except in emergencies.
3. Sell car.
4. Eat low miles, low storage, low refined food, low irrigated foods and low storage energy foods.
5. Eat no dairy and no beef products.
6. Wear the same clothes and shoes until they wear out.
7. Do not use cans. At all.
8. Stop drinking alcohol. (Chardonnay Socialists will have a crises of conscience here. One bottle = 1.5 kg of CO2 emissions!).
9. Stop smoking dope. All those lights!
10.. Do not live in houses which use hardwood in construction.
11. Dispatch dogs and cats.
12. Generate and store own energy.
13. Don’t drink lattes.
14. Stop using paper
15. Reduce fashion consumption 90% by wearing clothes until they wear out. Life expectancy per item: 10 years. Plant 68 trees to offset the remaining fashion CO2 emissions.
Cud Chewer @ #717 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:30 pm
So, Abbott’s ascendancy had nothing to do with Rudd backing down on the “great moral challenge of our generation”, turning out to be an appalling and ineffective leader, getting booted by his own party in desperation, and then spitefully undermining the next leader until the party gave him another chance, which he then muffed again?
I am struggling to see where the Greens come into that picture. However, I am sure there are many Labor partisans here that will be keen to enlighten us.
“Not sure which establishment you are referring to”
***
The two establishment parties in Australia – Labor and the Libs/Nats.
It’s Time @ #724 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:38 pm
Says a person prepared to ignore a Green Elephant in the room. Details of which I will not go into AGAIN.
Pete Buttigieg answers those who question his family values: ‘I’ve never had to pay off a porn star’
Mayor Pete Buttigieg appeared on CNN Tuesday for a town hall in Nevada where he was asked about his sexual orientation. Thus far, Buttigieg is the first openly gay presidential candidate being taken seriously by both the media and the electorate.
He was asked by a voter how he would deal with the flood of personal attacks on his sexual orientation and his family.
“The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values,” he was then interrupted by huge applause from the audience. “I mean, sorry but, one thing about my marriage is it’s never involved me sending hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/pete-buttigieg-answers-those-who-question-his-family-values-ive-never-had-to-pay-off-a-star/
Cud Chewer @ #717 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:30 pm
Denying the catastrophic Labor implosion is as delusional as denying the sun rises in the east.
Far more disturbing, to me, was when the Greens would not allow the “Malaysia Solution”.
“You enabled Abbott, you idiots.”
***
Oh yes! How could I forget! The three years of Rudd vs Gillard that gifted Abbott power was all the Greens’ fault, just like everything else always is.
Mayor Pete looks a bit wet behind the ears to me. More experience as a Mayor will help his run in the future.
“Far more disturbing, to me, was when the Greens would not allow the “Malaysia Solution”.”
***
You’re damn right we wouldn’t allow that disgraceful nonsense designed to appease far-right racists. Neither would the High Court because it was illegal.
Firefox
Actually I think we can put most of the blame on Abbott’s Svengali, Peta Credlin, and the rest goes to Rudd’s ego.
“Which is all Labor cares about. They care about maintaining power for themselves, not protecting the planet, and will sacrifice anything to achieve that goal.
And for the 500,000,000,000,000th time, voting down the woeful CPRS was a very good thing. We forced Labor to introduce the far more effective ETS/Carbon Price.”
Which Tony Abbott was able to wound back in two seconds when he won the election. Labor failure to getting anything done on the original legislation also gave Abbott time to wedge Labor on the issue and frame the debate ‘as a great big tax’.
As for Labor caring about being in power. Well, yeah, what’s the alternative an LNP government that will completely show no regard to the environment and completely wind back Labor’s vegetation management laws. A Bob Brown convoy may make you feel good but it hasn’t done anything to improve the environment.
lizzie @ #732 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:49 pm
It would’ve helped had the dolt Bowen produced a ‘solution’ that was legal.
To think the dolt still sits on Labors front bench 😆
zoomster @ #723 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 1:35 pm
I don’t really want to spend time making the same points all over again – I think I have made it clearly enough for most people to understand.
However, I will just add that I think nearly everyone who has participated in this discussion here in the last few days has spent more time thinking about the policy than the average Territorian voter has, up until the time that the Greens put the policy front-and-centre on the agenda. Yet many are still unable – or perhaps unwilling – to declare their support for it. Which is what you are hoping the voters will do.
An informed electorate is usually regarded as favouring left-wing parties. But I guess that only applies when they have policies that can be defended, not policies that they feel they have to obfuscate and distract from.
Firefox
When it comes to the politicians they are trying to win the electoral support of those coal mining communities. In politics what is said to the electorate is not as important as what is actually being done by regulators and others.
Rex Douglas @ #734 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 12:51 pm
You say that after he proves he has quality zingers lined up to counter the predictable right-wing attacks about his sexuality?
Not that experience matters for being President anyways. Trump is proof enough of that.
“Actually I think we can put most of the blame on Abbott’s Svengali, Peta Credlin, and the rest goes to Rudd’s ego.”
***
Credlin is evil, no doubt about that.
lizzie,
I still remember an overwhelming sense of disappointment and disgust when Gillard uttered the words “Malaysian Solution”. That is why you vote Labor and I vote Greens.
More domestic violence in Brisbane. Shocking.
‘lizzie says:
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 1:48 pm
Katharine Murphy
@murpharoo
·
21m
AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw says in response to a question from @Paul_Karp
that Angus Taylor was not interviewed as part of the Clover Moore investigation
@PressClubAust
#auspol’
The AFP needs a major clean out.
bakunin
Do not assume anything about my vote, thank you. I am not a member of any party.
a r @ #742 Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 – 2:02 pm
He spoke well.
I noted he’s ‘me too-ing’ as much of Bernie’s agenda as he can get away with. Smart play …and a clear sign he thinks Bernie is his main rival.
“I noted he’s ‘me too-ing’ as much of Bernie’s agenda as he can get away with. Smart play …and a clear sign he thinks Bernie is his main rival.”
***
Truth be told, if he wasn’t running against him, Pete would probably be a “Bernie Bro” (in a good way)…
The accidental rivals: Buttigieg and Sanders face-off in fight neither saw coming
…
Buttigieg put a different spin on Sanders’ ideological commitment in his award-winning 2000 essay for the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest.
“Fortunately for the political process, there remain a number of committed individuals who are steadfast enough in their beliefs to run for office to benefit their fellow Americans,” Buttigieg wrote then. “Such people are willing to eschew political and personal comfort and convenience because they believe they can make a difference. One outstanding and inspiring example of such integrity is the country’s only Independent Congressman, Vermont’s Bernie Sanders.”
Asked about those words during a 2017 interview on “The Axe Files,” former top Obama strategist David Axelrod’s podcast, Buttigieg praised Sanders for his “conviction politics,” arguing they made him an effective messenger with independents and Republicans.
“I like to say, I’m like a hipster. I like to say that I knew about him before he was cool,” Buttigieg said. “Not a lot of people were talking about Bernie Sanders (in 2000).”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/10/politics/bernie-sanders-pete-buttigieg-essay-accidental-rivals/index.html