The Australian ($) today provides Newspoll findings on state leaders’ handling of the coronavirus, from samples of around 520 for each mainland state plus 309 for Tasmania. The poll finds all concerned riding high, including three who strongly outperformed Scott Morrison’s ballyhooed 68% approval and 28% disapproval on the weekend. These are WA Labor Premier Mark McGowan, at 89% approval and 6% disapproval; Tasmanian Liberal Premier Peter Gutwein, at 84% approval and 11% disapproval after three months in the job; and Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews, at 75% approval and 17% disapproval.
Morrison was also matched on approval and bettered on net approval by NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian (69% approval and 23% disapproval) and SA Liberal Premier Steven Marshall (68% approval and 21% disapproval). Only Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who faces an election in October, was below the prime ministerial par (55% approval and 39% disapproval). With due allowance for small samples, I believe McGowan’s ratings may be a record for Newspoll, or indeed for any other Australian pollster, and that Gutwein’s might have been too if not for McGowan’s.
The leaders record even stronger ratings on the specific question of handling the coronavirus outbreak: 77% rate Berejiklian as having done well, compared with 18% for badly; Andrews is at 85% and 11%; Palaszczuk is at 72% and 23%; McGowan is at 94% and 4%; Marshall is at 82% and 11%; and Gutwein is at 89% and 8%. Equivalent results are also provided for the Prime Minister, and here too Western Australians are most positive, at 73% approval and 23% disapproval, with 85% rating Morrison had handled coronavirus well compared with 14% for badly. In New South Wales, Morrison scored 67% approval and 30% disapproval, and 82% well and 16% badly for coronavirus; in Victoria, 72% approval and 26% disapproval, 83% well and 14% badly; in Queensland, 67% approval and 28% disapproval, 81% well and 17% badly; in South Australia, 70% approval and 27% disapproval, 83% well and 15% badly; and in Tasmania, 64% approval and 31% disapproval, 81% well and 18% badly.
As reported in The Guardian, the weekly Essential Research coronavirus poll provides us with a third set of small-sample findings on mainland state governments’ handling of the crisis, ranging from about 80 respondents in South Australia to 320 in New South Wales. The latest results produce combined very good and good ratings of 77% for the Victorian and South Australian governments, 76% for Western Australia, 67% for Queensland and 63% for New South Wales. The table below records the progress of this series over its three weeks, together with an averaged result which again shows Western Australia highest at 77%, followed by 74% for Victoria, 72% for South Australia, 61% for Queensland and 60% for New South Wales.
Essential Research also finds confidence in the federal government’s handling of the crisis continuing to rise, with 70% rating it good or very good, a measure that earlier progressed from 45% in late March to 65% last week. Seventy-three per cent now say they consider themselves unlikely to catch the virus, compared with 57% at the peak of concern at the end of March. In response to a list of options for budget repair, 64% supported preventing companies in offshore tax havens from receiving goverment support, but only 32% favoured removing franking credits and negative gearing, and 18% supported death duties.
On the COVIDSafe app, the weekend’s Newspoll found 21% saying they would definitely take it up, 33% that they would probably do so, 21% that they would probably not, and 18% that they would definitely not. Apart from the lower uncommitted rating, this is broadly in line with an Australia Institute poll of 1011 respondents on Thursday and Friday which had 45% saying they would and 28% that they wouldn’t. Essential Research also weighed in on the question, and found 53% saying it would limit the spread of the virus, and 46% that it would speed removal of distancing restrictions. A full set of results from Essential Research should be with us later today.
UPDATE: Full Essential Research report here.
I wonder how the four year long investigation into 56 allegations/incidents involving allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan are coming along?
Boerwar
To kill like that would take a certain sort of person. One that should never ever be held up as an example to admire.
EGT
2 things.
First, is IV administration of remdesivir really necessary to get the dosage needed for prophylaxis?
Second, remdesivir is a reformulation of tenofivir (the PrEP drug) which is well tolerated.
Has anyone done a study yet on people using PrEP in its daily pill form to see if its protective?
p
Agreed.
Australian nationalism makes a poor moral blanket when it used to cover 20 or so cold blooded murders of unarmed men, including patients in a hospital, and including witnesses.
When the Japanese did the same to Australian patients and Australian staff in hospitals forty years later there was no such moral confusion.
Ned Kelly was a common criminal and murderer. His adoption of a piss weak Fenianism was on a par with modern criminals who tell you that their only problem is that “society” is out to get them.
But the home made suit of armour was pretty groovy IMO. I’m with Sid Nolan on that.
BW you should really apologize for what you said about Ned Kelly. That really is not ok.
poroti @ #2898 Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 – 4:44 pm
At first I thought he was spruiking the AFL app.
Crazy times.
meher baba you moron. What do you know about Ned Kelly? Fight me.
And Morant was a war criminal. i saw the stupid, dishonest movie when I was young and impressionable and even then I was totally unconvinced.
Keith Payne is my hero .
nath
Bugger, I picked you’d have asked, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGVgfjnLqc
Poroti. I gets angry when Ned is defamed. As Ned himself said about himself: ‘a better man has never stood in a pair of boots’ and I believe him.
Was Ned related to Cook?
I believe I am very ill.
I have agreed with everything Boerwar has written in the last couple of pages.
Morant & Kelly were murders who deserve no public acclaim.
Jack Thompson appeared to be a reasonable advocate
nath: “meher baba you moron. What do you know about Ned Kelly? Fight me.”
Put your suit of armour on, pal.
Kelly and his family were major players in an organised network of horse thievery (and, to a lesser extent, cattle thievery). It was a great business proposition for them: the idea that they were somehow “driven” to it the sectarian malevolence of the police and other authorities is a total nonsense.
Kelly and his cronies robbed and terrorised small farming families, small businesses and banks throughout the northeast of Victoria and into NSW. Like organised crime networks everywhere, they attracted their own collaborators: but those who crossed them could face reprisals. And, of course, there were the murders of police.
Kelly’s plans at his last stand at Glenrowan were to derail a train and murder everyone on board. He held a large number of terrified hostages (albeit with a few sympathisers among them) for a prolonged period.
I could also go into Kelly’s racist attitudes towards the Chinese, but why bother.
More generally, the histories of bushranging in Australia have long been highly sanitised. In among the idolisation of the likes of Kelly and Ben Hall, they have neglected to mention, or have severely played down, the many cruelties these gangs perpetrated on the isolated people living on rural properties: including gang rapes of isolated women (including young teenagers).
Bushrangers were just garden variety criminals who rode around on horses. They were similar sorts of characters to those who grace our maximum security prisons today: most of whom imagine themselves to be some sort of “rebels” as well.
meher baba
Which of course were sooooo different from the rest of the population 😆
Or drives a car into a crowd.
meher baba @ #2916 Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 – 7:16 pm
To be honest, I read the post after this one and thought, jeez, Mike Kelly racist, who knew.
Then I read this post.
Mundo gets it now.
Alpha
Agree on Geoff Hunt.
Confessions @ #2907 Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 – 6:51 pm
Two big tattooed men in an embrace.
Am I missing something.
meher baba says:
Saturday, May 2, 2020 at 7:16 pm
nath: “meher baba you moron. What do you know about Ned Kelly? Fight me.”
Put your suit of armour on, pal.
Kelly and his family were major players in an organised network of horse thievery (and, to a lesser extent, cattle thievery). It was a great business proposition for them: the idea that they were somehow “driven” to it the sectarian malevolence of the police and other authorities is a total nonsense.
____________________
If you had read Ned Kelly by Ian Jones you would understand more about what you write about.
Of course the malevolence of the police was a total nonsense. I bet you believe that the Sydney Drug Squad didn’t control the drug trade in NSW during the 60s to 80s?
Morant was a habitual liar and a petty thief.
He had a habit of pissing off instead of paying his debts.
He misrepresented his connections.
In other words, he was a con man with psychopathic inclinations.
But all is not lost…
Morant was English, not Australian.
The Bushveldt Carbineers, in which Morant served, was not an Australian unit. It was a British Army unit. Most of the troopers were British.
SK
Agree with you. Cook did some great stuff, but mapping the east coast of Australia was just a tiny thing. And others, such as you quote, are equally praiseworthy.
The adulation of Cook seems to have been brought about by the same mindset that almost deifies Scott of the Antarctic.
Amundsen is only ever a footnote in the story in Australia.
I was luck enough in 2001 to attend a small meeting in Hobart where I was put up at lovely old hotel near the wharf. It had some great photos of Amundsen and his crew, just after they made it back to Hobart. Apparently the management of the hotel thought they looked so ragged they tried to turn them away at first, but have dined out on it since. It was the first time I had ever heard of Amundsen Australian connection, and really appreciated Amundsen’s achievements.
I stayed there again in 2011. Still a nice hotel, but taken over by a chain and modernised. Not quite the same feeling. Mind you, I am not saying no to the modern amenities such as insulation, air conditioning and good wifi.
I went to school with a kid with the surname Kelly. His nickname was Ned. Lovely chap. Instead of a bushranger he became a park ranger. Always makes me chuckle.
Seems someone to get patriotic about.
Never heard of the Dhofar Rebellion until now.
At the trailer park soiree tonight, most surprisingly, dear moderator was mentioned apropos of an article he recently wrote – he couldn’t recall which. Anyway, he had the temerity to suggest that Dear William might be a closet Tory. I corrected him accordingly?
If you like dark Swiss chocolate, try Frey. Woolworths sell it.
https://www.chocolatfrey.ch/en
SK in the truly ugliness of war some do some remarkable deeds. Those are the heros.
David Axelrod
@davidaxelrod
·
6h
Before
@JoeBiden
was selected VP by
@BarackObama
, vetters for the campaign scoured every aspect of his record, career and life. Tara Reade or complaints of sexual harassment or assault never came up. I know. I was there.
Here are my recollections:
Obama team fully vetted Biden in 2008 and found no hint of former aide’s allegation
Had any credible issue been raised, you can be sure Biden would not have been the nominee. Obama would not have tolerated it, even if he and Biden were close then, which they were not, writes David…
cnn.com
nath
Australia may have dodged a bullet with Ned Kelly.
One Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, whose brother, Alexander Ulyanov was hanged by the Tsarist regime in Russia in 1886 for conspiracy, wreaked a terrible vengeance on the regime that murdered his brother.
D&M
yes, you can feel the history in Hobart. I was reading a book about Mawson last I was there. On a walk along the wharf to Mawsons hut/museum I passed Dick Smith. Whacko! I felt like I was surrounded by explorers.
As for davidwh’s hero, I once did a little research on Private John Leak VC (WW1). He is buried in the local cemetery where I was researching someone else (who was a hero in a smaller way – another time). The beauty of modern heros is you get to know a little more than just the razzle dazzle. Hero’s have failings, they are complex and multidimensional. Their great achievements have visible costs, on themselves and others, that are important for context. But they are worthy of note regardless. Scott is a very good example. When I read about him it seemed to me he was a fool. But people who know more than me explain he had qualities that should be remembered. Mawson too had failings. As does Dick Smith. But they are real people…. they, and us, are greater for learning about them.
Heroes, please.
We are spoilt here. Two local chocolatiers sell the wares. And down the road is Haighs. Being from NSW it was Mrs Katich who introduced me to Haighs rocky road.
I never got why people treated Kelly as a hero, I always figured it was an eastern states thing. As for Cook, he’s only famous in Australia because he “discovered” the east coast of Australia. It seems very few people east of the WA border know much about Australian history prior to Cook.
oooops
Look over there…
Simon Katich
A hero in my ‘wee un’ days was Charles Upham. Greedy bugger helped himself to not 1 but 2 VCs . Mind boggling bravery…………………or stupidity, the two at times may be interchangeable.
SK
Interesting perspective. I have felt very differently about Dick Smith at different stages of his careers and life, and mostly I feel positive, even if I do not agree with what he is saying at the time. I was an early and long-time subscriber to Australian Geographic.
My positive feeling towards Dick Smith comes from the fact that he knows how to get a debate going in society, and how to popularise the idea of debate around important issues. He invited debate, and was never ad hominem (as far as I remember).
I really miss this sort of leadership in debate. Today we have Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson.
Picking ponies instead of huskies?
bc
Yep, over on the best coast Cappy Cook is a bit of a ‘Who?’ 🙂
Has anyone tried the Lindt 99% cocoa? I like various brands of 70% cocoa dark chocolate and once tried the 85% but found it a bit much. But then Lindt makes 85%, 90%, 95% and 99%.
I wonder if the Chinese would be interested in taking over the West Gate tunnel project.
Would get Pallas off the hook.
davidwh:
[‘SK in the truly ugliness of war some do some remarkable deeds. Those are the heros.’]
I’m not so sure. Most of those in their youth who are sent to wars are naive, unaware of the consequences that behold them later in life. Meanwhile, those who sent them are unaccountable.
Also, bc thanks for the musical parody links. They have led to much merriment in my currently freezing Sydney household.
Each year, I think, I will seal those big draughty cracks in my (almost Georgian) terrace, before next winter. I will again try and convince some air-conditioning installation person that it is possible to install a system without violating heritage laws – every other bloody house in the street has one!
But, probably this year as in all other years, I will work in my coat (like I did last night), go out when it is sunny, and by September, start forgetting how friggin’ cold a Sydney winter can be, even if it is only for 4 weeks spread over 3 months.
And how those ponies were picked (if you believe Oates).
citizen @ #2938 Saturday, May 2nd, 2020 – 8:13 pm
I’ve tasted straight cocoa powder and unsweetened baking chocolate before. Very much disrecommend both. 75-85% tends to be the sweet spot.
It depends what you drink with it. A good smooth whiskey blend and a very bitter dark chocolate works for me.
Mavis
Yep and as years have gone by what was behind a rellie, who was actually at Gallipoli, grabbing me one day and saying “If there is ever another war don’t you be stupid enough to go” has become more and more clear.
If I were to guess where William sits on the spectrum, I would put him next to Sheldon Cooper.
SK 😀