Essential Research continues to disappoint on the voting intention front, but its latest fortnightly poll does include its monthly leadership ratings, which record a recovery in Scott Morrison’s personal standing after the battering it copped during the bsuhfires. Morrison now leads Anthony Albanese 40-35 as preferred prime minister after being tied 36-36 in the last poll, which his first lead out of the six sets of results published so far this year (three apiece from Essential and Newspoll). His approval rating is up two to 41% and disapproval down three to 49%, while Albanese is respectively steady on 41% and up two to 33%.
As related by The Guardian, the poll also finds 71% want investigations into sports rorts to continue, but I suspect that should actually say 51%, as 43% favoured the alternative option that the resignation of Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie should be the end of the matter. The poll also has the unsurprising finding that concern about coronavirus is growing, although we will have to wait for the publication of the full report later today to see by how much.
Other questions produce familiar findings on energy sources (71% favour further taxpayer research into renewables, compared with 57% for hydrogen, 50% for “clean coal” and 38% for nuclear energy) and economic management (the Coalition was rated better overall, but was also seen to favour big business whereas Labor was better at managing the economy to benefit workers). The poll was conducted from 1096 respondents from an online panel, no doubt from Thursday to Sunday.
UPDATE: Full report here. It turns out the poll doesn’t really find an increase in concern about coronavirus over the past month: there’s a two point increase in “very concerned” to 27%, but a five point drop in “quite concerned” to 36%, a two point rise in “not all that concerned” to 28% and a three point increase in “not at all concerned” to 9%. I’d have been interested to see breakdowns by party support on this – Democrats in the US are far more concerned than Republicans – but no such luck.
LR
Snap.
doyley @ #3295 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:11 pm
That really big Hillsong singalong this weekend? Hoping they’d all get raptured upstairs?
Late Riser @ #3299 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 12:13 pm
Exactly. I’ve been trying to keep my glasses off other surfaces when I’m not using them, but it isn’t practical at work.
Morrison hesitated for months over a stimulus. He couldn’t face the bushfires. He’s fiddled about on coronavirus pretending he’s waiting for medical experts to tell him what to do.
In every case, the situation has got worse while he hesitated, scared of making a mistake.
He’s a complete failure and we’re all suffering.
It’s Time,
Thanks for your reply.
Glad to hear it had nothing to do with Morrison being caught with his pants down by the NZ announcement on Friday.
When we are dishing out our gongs at the annual Pollbludger awards night, I don’t think there will be any
suspense as the envelope is opened for the Bludgie.
Bushfire Bill is the deserving winner and in some ways he could be nominated for a gold Walkley, as he was so far ahead of the mainstream media curve. And is there an award for Internet blogger of the year?
Some would even nominate him for a Gold Logie or an Oscar for most humble performance of the year.
Boerwar @ #3300 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:14 pm
Just keep your glasses at least 1 metre away from other people; even when wearing them.
Confessions @ #3303 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:16 pm
How many people are coughing and sneezing at work? Coronavirus won’t just blow in on the wind.
I first read this as “ruptured upstairs”. Caused me a mental image I’d rather not have imagined.
10th March 100 cases
11th March 112 cases, 60 in NSW
12th March 126 cases, 64 in NSW
13th March 156 cases, 77 in NSW
14th March 197 cases, 91 in NSW
15th March 249 cases, 111 in NSW
https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert
Doubling rate tracking at closer to 4 days than 5 days
Given a factor of 10, real cases closer to 2,500. That’s 1 in 10,000
At a doubling rate of 4 days we’ll get to 1 in 100 by April 11.
At a doubling rate of 5 days we’ll get to 1 in 100 by April 17.
Which is precisely why people are thinking about the surfaces they come into contact with and how to prevent spread of infection.
Cud:
The more widespread the screening, the more cases are going to be found.
Garbage in, garbage out.
What to do with used tissues, lens wipes etc ❓
Should one carry a freezer bag or the like while out and about for later disposal somewhere ……. ❓
Please. 🙏
Listened to a bit on the radio re Morrison’s announcement. From the measures mentioned it sounded like “What she (Jacinda Ardern) said” 😉
And this is the photo from inside the Hillsong conference Scotty from Marketing couldn’t bear to cancel:
Shows they are stupid for just gathering there!.
lizzie @ #3176 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:24 pm
I just saw that too. Like his line on “resilience” it translates as “You’ll figure it out, mate.”
Confessions
Precisely. Which is why I posted that link to the new test strip last night. Cross fingers a) it becomes available and b) this government deigns to buy them.
It’s Time
Double bonus, spray it all over the place and you will soon learn who has not been washing their hands properly 🙂
Watching Insiders I get the feeling that these guys (health Minister and CMO) actually believe their own case statistics..
‘Late Riser says:
Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 3:27 pm
lizzie @ #3176 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:24 pm
Garbage in, garbage out.
@ScottMorrisonMP
– “So long as Australians keep being Australians we’ll get through this together.” #auspol ‘
(a) The Virus does not recognize national differences, but absolutely predictable from Morrison – scoundrels head for patriotism whenever they can.
(b) ‘…we’ll get through this together.’ So, Morrison has already scrubbed from front of mind those of us who will not get through ‘it’.
lizzie @ #3313 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 12:24 pm
That doesn’t even make sense. Is he suggesting that because we’re Australians we have nothing to worry about?!
Boerwar makes my point much better than me. 🙂
Fess
Well, all he’s recommended so far is to stop shaking hands and take a curry around to a neighbour. Why a curry should represent “Australians” I’m not sure.
On glasses, it’s funny what habits you don’t notice about yourself, like most habits I suppose, but I only realised that I have been carefully washing my reading glasses with soap for years now, as I arrived at the sink to wash them. It works better than lens wipes and gives me clean hands at the same time. Who knew? I didn’t.
CC
[What people also need to be told is that the real number of infectious people in the community is probably tenfold greater than the presently reported cases.]
They can be told that there are probably people who are asymptomatic but with the disease and therefore social distancing it is critical.
It’s pointless and counter productive to speculate on some number.
WW2 War Cabinet
There have been several statements that the Leader and other Members of the Opposition “were never members of the WW2 War Cabinet”.
This is true but is completely misleading.
After Mr Menzies lost his majority in 1940 he governed with support of two independents. To continue the Government he invited Mr Curtin to join a War Government similar to that in the UK. Mr Curtin refused and suggested establishement of an Advisory War Council as alternative. Mr Menzies established the Council consisting of the War Caninet plus LotR and three members of the Opposition. When the Menzies Government collapsed and the ALP was elected in a majority, Mr Curtin continued the Council and furhermore decided that decisions of the “Advisory” War Council were automatically decisions of the. War Cabinet unless specifically referred to the War Cabinet (which was a strict subset of the War Council consisting only of Government Ministers). The effect was that the War Council ran the War whilst the Full Cabinet ran everything not War related. This was the correct thing to do.
shellbell
Unfortunately the example shown by Dutton and Frydenberg is not helpful, nor the vague noises by Murphy and Hunt.
shellbell @ #3190 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:39 pm
I’m not convinced that it is pointless. If you understand the sampling and the disease then the estimates are statistically bounded, not speculative. And unless you provide a number (or a range) then it is easier to shrug off any advice. “There are likely 10 times as many infected as we know are infected,” is a different message than, “There may be more than we realise.”
New York City officials advised the U.N. diplomatic community on Saturday that the coronavirus has spread widely through the city and could potentially linger as a threat to the health of residents until as late as September.
“Everyone in New York should assume that they have been in contact with COVID 19,” according to a read out of a conference call with New York-based diplomats,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/14/new-york-officials-tell-un-coronavirus-has-spread-throughout-city/
This morning the CMO was shaking hands. Not a problem, apparently. He and Hunt got a pizzling from PvO on Insiders. Hunt had the arrogance and nastiness to attack van Onselen for being an ‘armchair expert’.
PvO’s last comment on Insiders just 6 hours ago was that he predicted that the advice on hand shaking would be changed in short order.
Less than 7 hours later the nation is being advised NOT to shake hands.
What changed in the national health statistics? Nothing much. A couple of dozen peeps dicing with death out of a population of 25 million is neither here nor there, statistically.
What changed in new knowledge about the role of hands in catching an infection? Nothing much. All the peasants already knew that shaking hands at an individual level, and on a population level, was just plain stupid. Stupid.
So. What did change over the past six or seven hours?
The politics.
Yet again, it is clear that Morrison, Hunt and Murphy are unfit for the tasks at hand.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-15/coronavirus-covid19-self-isolation-announced-for-australia/12057772
Fortunately pandemic response is mostly devolved to the State governments, which are all (both ALP and LP) performing well, notwithstanding the structural impediments.
I picked up an eye infection during the smoky times. It has returned.
I used to wash my glasses every morning with warm soap and water until I got my latest pair of glasses.
The optometrist said that was no good for the lenses so I stopped and started using a microfibre cloth.
Both infections have happened since I stopped the daily washing. I’m now starting to wonder if that was a mistake.
nath @ #3331 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 3:47 pm
Sounds like they’re letting it run? Good luck with that.
edit : inappropriate comment – they’ve already introduced assembly restrictions for example
Aqualung
Logic says you’re right.
Eye of Sauron?
Simon Katich
The brown one ?
Aqualung @ #3197 Sunday, March 15th, 2020 – 2:54 pm
My reading glasses are 7 years old. I wash them several times daily using foamed soap from an inexpensive dispenser. I’m always happily surprised at how much better I see after a wash. No scratches or residue are apparent. (Your mileage may vary.)
Confessions:
If accurate, then the quote from Mr Morrison is seeding the ground for the idea that if we don’t get through it’s because we the populace is “un-Australian”.
If accurate, this is precisely the wrong thing for the Prime Minister to say, and goes to character both in relation to avoiding responsibility should things go bad and to the fostering of xenophobia.
What is needed (and was perhaps intended) was to note that Australians do have some ability to come together in times of crisis, that this is one of those times, and that the National Government takes responsibility for ensuring that that aspect of the Australian character is harnessed so that we get through in the best possible manner.
I’ve long suspected that advice from his spin doctors is adversely affecting Mr Morrison’s communications, via a particularly juvenile form of politicisation (similar to, but worse than, that which afflicted Mr Rudd) . He needs to fire his spin doctors, and do so today.
Just keep your glasses at least 1 metre away from other people; even when wearing them.
Keep them in their case, clean the case and glasses regularly. Keep the case in your pocket / handbag / shopping bag etc.
Confessions says: Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 1:58 pm
Peter van Onselen@vanOnselenP
·
The government is saying “when it gets worse we will impose stricter measures”. What am I missing? Doesn’t it logically make sense to impose stricter measures now so it doesn’t get worse? Unless they concede it’s already out of control?
*****************************************************************
I have always been a bit unsure where Peter van Onselen stood politically – however he stood out on todays Insiders as one with the brains when it comes to this pandemic – calling out Morrison as ‘irresponsible” as well as putting the CMO and Hunt to the sword …..
His advice as posted by Confessions above lends further as PVO to be the one with the brains ….. all overseas experts agree – the only way to CONTROL this is to initiate a TOTAL lockdown NOW …..
LR I wash my glasses. I figured out long ago that this means the coatings last a lot longer.
Then that’s even worse. I was thinking he was implying that in Australia we don’t have to worry about the virus which is both untrue and irresponsible. But appealing to xenophobia or race-baiting takes it to a whole new level.
shellbell
Its not pointless. There’s enough data to get a fairly good idea of how the true number of cases relates to the tested/reported number of cases.
See this article.
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
And also the graph..
You can see how the detected cases lags the true cases and at this stage in the process, the ratio is roughly 10 to 1.
phoenixRed:
PvO was thinking with his academic hat on by critically thinking through the govt’s public statements to their implied conclusions, while contrasting what is being said by relevant authorities.
Been catching up on some strata work today, a planned upgrade of our fire safety systems. I didn’t think about the Virus for several hours.
It should be ready to start in a couple of weeks and in normal times would have. However, I suspect that it won’t be starting any time soon.
EGT
I get the distinct feeling that NSW isn’t performing as well and in particular, Sydney.
Please look at this short video. This man is the global authority on the spread of disease. If you are a leader (in any capacity) watch this. If you are not, watch it too.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1238865202868883461
From the ABC rolling updates – maintaining our “Australian-ness”. What a load of meaningless twaddle!
And now keeping 1.5m from others (up from 1m). No more handshakes or “something a bit more intimate”. Presumably that rules out sex in public.