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).
poroti
“Also be on the look out for “Global headwinds””
That would be coronovirus and US-China trade war. The bushfires we can blame on arsonists, of course. So the rise in unemployment is completely outside the government’s control. Yada yada yada.
Elizabeth Warren Is Destroying Bloomberg At The Nevada Debate
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) came to the debate ready, and she has taken Mike Bloomberg apart piece by piece and linked him to Trump.
Warren said, I”d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians, and no I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg. Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women. And of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk.
Look, I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is, but understand this. Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another.”
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/02/19/elizabeth-warren-is-destroying-bloomberg-at-the-nevada-debate.html
Palmer ReportVerified account @PalmerReport · 1m1 minute ago
Democratic debate so far:
Warren – probably winning
Bernie – old man yells at cloud
Amy and Pete – spending too much time fighting each other
Biden – did the moderators forget he’s up there?
Bloomberg – wishing he hadn’t qualified for the debate
Rick WilsonVerified account @TheRickWilson
Brief memo to the Democrats on stage:
This election will be a referendum on Trump. That is ALL it will be.
Stop wasting time on policy. Show us what you’ve got against the Main Enemy.
Sigh, what else is new…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/prime-minister-spelling-bee-grant-delegated-legislation/11977454?section=politics
Firefox @ #1245 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 1:46 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD4csGWPo6o
That should be knockout blow on Bloomberg.
phoenixRED @ #1253 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:04 pm
For a start I’d be calling him Dirty Don. It covers a multitude of his sins. He certainly has no qualms about calling anyone else whatever the hell he wants!
Queensland state politics:
Done with brutality of politics, rebel MP Miller quits to force by-election
Disenfranchised Labor backbencher Jo-Ann Miller has quit parliament, forcing a by-election in her Ipswich seat of Bundamba.
https://inqld.com.au/news/2020/02/20/political-conduct-in-spotlight-after-another-bullied-state-mp-quits/
—————-
Is our state slowly going broke, or are we just heading in that direction?
https://inqld.com.au/opinion/2020/02/20/is-our-state-going-broke-or-just-heading-in-that-direction/
Trad is delivering her next Budget on 28 April, six weeks earlier than normal, presumably to give the Government more time to spread the good times around before the next state election on October 31.
Pre-poll election budgets are never about slashing and burning or tightening belts. They’re about winning votes.
But this one also has to be about convincing business, investors and the credit rating agencies, that the Palaszczuk Government has a credible plan for steering us back in the right direction.
And it’s got to be more than words or more clever shuffling around of money.
To quote Hemingway once more:
“Never confuse movement with action.”
————–
Experts to confront the threat of Queensland election cyber attack
https://inqld.com.au/politics/2020/02/20/new-system-expert-advice-to-confront-threat-of-queensland-election-cyber-attack/
Trump delights in Bloomberg ‘getting pounded’ at debate: ‘We’re going to win’
President Donald Trump seemed to be aware of what was happening at Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate even though he was speaking at a rally in Phoenix.
Trump said that he heard that newcomer Mike Bloomberg “was getting pounded tonight.”
“I hear they are pounding him,” Trump told the crowd. “He spent $500 million so far and he has 15 points so far.”
He added: “The DNC is going to take it away from Bernie again. That’s okay because we don’t care who the hell it is. We’re going to win. We have to.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/02/trump-delights-in-bloomberg-getting-pounded-at-debate-were-going-to-win/
The next installment of the Ballad of the Bush Bandit is on its way, folks.
Adam has covered the bit about taking GMO cotton off farmers, taking 605 Gigalitres of water licences off farmers, showering farmer with regulations to force them to provide ecoystem services…
…I wonder which Greens Agriculture policy Adam will connect to farmers with next?
I can comprehend a lot of things, but I cant comprehend or understand why someone murders their own family in such horrific circumstances. It’s just beyond me. It’s been going on since the year dot and we still can’t prevent such tragedies. Why ?
New commissioners added to lead royal commission into deadly bushfires
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/bushfire-royal-commission-terms-set-hazard-reduction/11982764
Bloomberg is playing rope a dope
Bloomberg hasn’t been knocked out at all because he can point to the fact he is a major employer of women journalists and analysts. By the sounds of it Warren has her mojo back.
Seniors rule
Elizabeth Warren ……70
Joe Biden…………………77
Bernie Sanders ……….78
Mike Bloomberg …….78
And if Donald Trump (73), and then VP Pence (60) were to die, Nancy Pelosi (79) would be next in line to be president.
So it’s strange that anyone should sling off at Bernie’s age.
sprocket_ @ #1262 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:25 pm
I hope you mean Trump.
Americans are less ageist but the issue with Bernie is more his health than age.
And to contradict….which one to believe…..Morrison – continuing to re-frame global heating as a security issue… “Keeping Australians safe…the practical action required to do so”
——-
Bushfire royal commission to look at mitigation but not climate change
Scott Morrison says inquiry will explore how national response could include military, as well as the role of climate adaptation and hazard reduction
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/20/bushfire-royal-commission-to-look-at-mitigation-but-not-climate-change
The RC is due to report by 31 August 2020.
Maude Lynne @ #1264 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:26 pm
I just want someone younger than 70 to be the nominee. Is that too much to ask for? You know, someone that shouldn’t die in office or suffer any of the other illnesses of advancing age.
Mexicanbeemer @ #1263 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:25 pm
What do you make of this ..?
Let’s see the detail before getting excited…
Australia’s growing geopolitical exposure has just enjoyed a quantum leap.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/duterte-has-broken-up-with-the-us-military-what-does-that-mean/11972172
Not to worry. A light mobile force will save the day.
Only catching parts of the debate, but here is my take:
Amy – too nice, even when she is being critical
Pete – too young, though he is good with the quip
Joe – sinking
Bernie – will be in the last 2 *
Elizabeth – last throw of the dice, being in Las Vegas, she has gone all in
Mike – will be in the last 2 *
* who is big enough an asshole to put the shiv into Dotard – these 2
Rex,
I think Labor’s 2050 plan is to do the following:
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.
I have no idea where they got this list from however 😉
Rex
I would need to know more about the allegations.
The bar for sexual harassment is very low because literally two people can be talking about someone and if a third person doesn’t like the tone then that could be grounds for sexual harassment since the law is designed to protect the person that feels harassed instead of the intent of the person said to be doing the harassment.
It is starting to look good, ATM.
Labor to go to zero/50.
Labor to refuse government funding for new coal-fired power.
Labor to let thermal coal export market die a market death.
Labor to avoid paying compensation to the Adani Family.
Greens to kill off $60 billion coal export industry on day one*.
Greens to pay massive compensation to Adani Family.
Greens to cause massive power disruptions with immediate closure of all coal-fired power stations*.
Greens faking Zero/30.
*We know this because the Greens have stated time and again time and again that coal has no future. Tomorrow is the future. Day one of the Greens Government is the end of coal exports and coal-fired power stations. Simple as that.
Pegasus
Qld has pushed SA out of the lead to claim the title of state with the highest unemployment rate. Well done! Though Anna might not crow about this.
https://indaily.com.au/news/local/2020/02/20/sa-no-longer-has-the-countrys-highest-jobless-rate/
So much for all those jobs Scomo was going to protect. Ironically Qld is one of the places that would benefit most from the short term construction boost that a major investment in renewable energy projects would bring. Coal mines once running employ very few people.
Or are the Qld jobs figures the Greens fault? After all, they have no seats in Qld parliament and are in opposition at Federal level. Bob Brown personally sacked thousands of Queenslanders in every town he visited as the convoy rolled north.
Labor to announce net zero emissions target by 2050 and will oppose taxpayer funding of new coal power
Exclusive: Anthony Albanese is expected to confirm in speech on Friday that Labor will oppose using Kyoto carryover credits
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/20/labor-to-announce-net-zero-emissions-target-by-2050-and-will-oppose-taxpayer-funding-of-coal#img-1
Rex Douglas @ #1255 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:14 pm
I didn’t watch it but presumably it’s worse than pussy grabbing?
Pegasus @ #1267 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 2:28 pm
Has the report been leaked yet ❓ 😇
edit
Bill Palmer again :
Thus far, tonight’s Democratic 2020 primary debate is contentious, spirited, and at times downright chaotic. There’s a temptation to get lost in the details and the haze. But the big picture is this: we’ve got four highly qualified and highly suitable candidates on stage, along with a billionaire who won’t release his taxes and a half dead guy who won’t release his medical records – and those last two guys are the ones in the lead? Wait a minute here. This can’t be right.
We’ve all pounded Donald Trump for refusing to release his tax returns and making ridiculous excuses for why he’s stalling. We’ve rightly used it as a basis for concluding that he’s hiding things so ugly, they’re even uglier than the worst that anyone would assume. We’ve also pounded Donald Trump for being in visibly poor health, even as he goes out his way to suppress his medical records, and asks us to merely take the word of some doctor who could be covering for him.
Yet now we’ve got billionaire Mike Bloomberg giving ridiculous excuses for why he’s hiding his tax returns, and we’ve got recent heart attack victim Bernie Sanders giving ridiculous excuses for why he’s hiding his medical records. How can the Democratic Party accept either one of these scenarios, when we’ve spent the past three years railing against Donald Trump for pulling the same horse crap?
These two guys can’t be the answer for the Democrats. They just can’t. Either one of them would be infinitely better than Donald Trump. But either of them would be far worse than any of the four real candidates on stage – Warren, Biden, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg – and shame on us if we don’t end up nominating one of the four.
Pegasus
Thanks for the link. Scomo’s terms for the bushfires RC are quite farcical. The RC has to investigate mitigation measures (for a climate change caused event), but not the climate change that is causing it?? Fairly obviously, the extent of climate change that occurs will determine the amount of mitigation required.
Bad, Dan, bad.
‘Socrates says:
Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 2:51 pm
Fairly obviously, the extent of climate change that occurs will determine the amount of mitigation required.’
Boom tish!
Smoko just killing time with RC so he doesnt have to do anything as usual
Rex
That is how the stupid system works, FWC requires unions to go out on strike then for the employer to move to stop that strike action.
Unfortunately I can’t watch the debate, but excellent to hear that Bloomberg appears to be getting the hammering he deserves. Just thank goodness this is happening now; my fear had been that he’d buy his way to the nomination, then this would all come out when it’s too late. I think it’s too late for Warren, but she’s certainly done a good thing today. Now the sooner she endorses Sanders the better!
Rick WilsonVerified account @TheRickWilson
You know, Mike, you can still be a hero by funding voter registration and a massive negative ad campaign against Trump.
Just sayin’.
I just learned (via the debate) that Sanders owns three houses. As a socialist, I trust he will give two of them to poor people.
Kakuru @ #1289 Thursday, February 20th, 2020 – 3:00 pm
Kill Bernie !
Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar just repeat the same old tired slogans that people are tired of. Just different faces to represent the establishment. Biden was a little more energetic tonight but still got lost up there.
Warren has been very good tonight. Destroyed Bloomberg. Could really give her a boost. She was the clear winner.
Sanders was very strong too. Got stuck into Bloomberg.
Bloomberg was terrible. Everyone ganged up on him and landed blows. He looked shakey under fire. Even when he wasn’t he was so boring and flat. I found him even more uninspiring than Biden.
The Sandersistas have glass jaws.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/20/bushfire-royal-commission-to-look-at-mitigation-but-not-climate-change
Led by Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin (Rtd) it’s most unlikely it will go anywhere near the causes of the bushfires.
Binskin, born 1960, is a Hurlstone Ag College old boy.
Joined Navy in 1978, after leaving school.
No doubt did training courses in Navy, but not noted in Wikipedia.
Will not rock Morrison’s boat.
I heard Sanders gave a spirited defence of socialism. Is there any chance someone on here who watched can give a balanced report on how that went and how it would go in a debate v Trump?
Three houses!
Do as I say, not as I Do Sanders! What is it with these Inner Urbs socialists?
C’,mon Bernie! Take the Greens New Deal Pledge.
Show ’em you are fair dinkum instead of being just another chardonnay socialist.
In fact, take just step 1 of the Greens New Deal ZeroHero Pledge:
Step 1 Reduce personal housing footprint to the world average.
For you, Global Burnie, it would be: Reduce personal housing footprint to the US average. As a starting target.
And do let us have a look at your medical records! Greens New Deal-wise, you have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Morrison doing what LNP always do.
Put more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff,
(mitigation)
never fix the fence on the clifftop.
(fix causes of bushfires.)
We can expect nothing else.
ML
‘…to changing climatic conditions…’
This rightly shows that climate conditions are not stable.
This does rather expect the RC to identify what the parameters will be as they change over time.
Whether Binny will focus on this is moot.
Maude Lynne says: Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 3:09 pm
Led by Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin (Rtd) it’s most unlikely it will go anywhere near the causes of the bushfires.
Binskin, born 1960, is a Hurlstone Ag College old boy.
Joined Navy in 1978, after leaving school.
No doubt did training courses in Navy, but not noted in Wikipedia.
Will not rock Morrison’s boat.
**************************************************
The old adage will apply :
“Never hold an inquiry unless you know what the outcome will be”
From the Yes Minister episode “The Whiskey Priest,” December 16, 1982:
“A rule of government is never look into anything you don’t have to, never start an enquiry unless you know what its findings will be.”
Scotty from Marketing will come out squeaky clean …..
Firefox
“Warren has been very good tonight. Destroyed Bloomberg. ”
So Pocahontas got a scalp. We’ll see if it boosts her numbers. I think Warren is a terrible candidate. She lacks the charisma of Sanders, while still uttering much the same anti-establishment boilerplate.