With regard to the American presidential horse race, Adrian Beaumont offers all the latest in the post below. Closer to hand:
• Tom McIlroy of the Financial Review ($) reports Labor is credited with a statistically insignificant lead in poll of Eden-Monaro conducted by the Australia Institute. Based on response options that listed only party names, the poll reportedly had Labor leading 51.1-48.8 based on preference flows from 2019. No primary votes are provided in the report, but I expect to have that and other detail for you later today. A question on the most importat issue drew modest responses for both coronavirus (7.3%) and bushfire recovery (8.6%), with the agenda dominated by the economy (28.9%), climate change (23.4%) and health (14.0%). UPDATE: After exclusion of the 9.0% undecided, the primary votes are Labor 39.8%, Liberal 34.3%, Nationals 7.3%, Greens 6.7% and One Nation 6.5%. The polling was conducted by uComms.
• The Lowy Institute has a poll on the strategic implications of coronavirus, which records a general expectation that the crisis will tilt the international balance to China (37% more powerful, 36% just as powerful, 27% less powerful) at the expense of the United States (6% more powerful, 41% just as powerful, 53% less powerful) and Europe (5%, 46% and 48%). Respondents were asked if Australia and various other countries had handled the crisis well and poorly, and with the qualification that the uncommitted responses seem implausibly low, Australians consider their own country’s response (43% good, 50% fairly good, 6% fairly bad, 1% very bad) to have been well superior even to that of Singapore (23%, 56%, 15% and 3%), never mind China (6%, 25%, 25% and 44%), the United Kingdom (3%, 27%, 49% and 21%), Italy (2%, 13%, 44% and 40%) or, God forbid, the United States (2%, 8%, 27% and 63%). Respondents were slightly less favourable to the concept of globalisation than they were in a similar survey a year ago, with 70% rating it mostly good for Australia (down two) and 29% mostly bad (up five). The survey was conducted online and by telephone from April 14 to 27, from a sample of 3036.
• The results of a Greens internal referendum on giving the party membership a way in electing party leaders landed in the awkward zone between clear majority support and the two-thirds super-majority required for change. Members were presented with three head-to-head questions between each combination of two out of three options: the status quo of decision by the party room; the “one member, one vote” approach of having the matter determined entirely by the membership; and a Labor-style model where members provided half the vote and the party room the other half. The two questions inclusive of the status quo produced very similar results, with 62.0% favouring one-member one vote (3721 to 2281) and 62.6% favouring the Labor model (3510 to 2101). The Labor model recorded a narrow 3014 (50.95%) to 2902 (49.05%) win over one-member one-vote, but this would only have been operative if the favoured model recorded two-thirds support in head-to-head comparison with the status quo. According to Rob Harris of the Age/Herald, the response rate was 46% out of the party’s 13,143 eligible members.
Brrrr! It’s a cold morning.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
David Crowe examines the path that Albanese is setting out for the Opposition.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-struggles-for-traction-as-pandemic-plays-out-20200514-p54szk.html
And John Kelly says that with an election not due until mid-2022, something Labor can count as a blessing, the Coalition will be hard pressed to explain to an impatient electorate as to why things are taking so long to improve.
https://theaimn.com/aussie-politics-in-2022/
Shane Wright reports that the jobs market is set to deteriorate even more despite a record drop in the number of people with a job as concern grows about the home construction sector.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australians-told-to-prepare-for-even-worse-as-job-numbers-crash-20200514-p54t10.html
A review of the $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme next month will consider extending its September 27 cut-off date, tightening eligibility for some workers and targeting industries hit hardest by coronavirus restrictions.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/review-to-consider-extending-jobkeeper-beyond-september-20200514-p54t46.html
Liny Edwards writes that something has changed in the Liberal Party since John Howard was prime minister. She says key business lobbies now have such a grip they can frogmarch the government towards political suicide. It’s a bit of a worry!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/fend-for-yourself-people-a-tone-deaf-government-plays-dangerous-politics-20200514-p54sxg.html
International trade consultant Alistair Nicholas opines that the recent trade bans could be part of a strategy by China to diversify its sources of imports – something far more ominous for Canberra policymakers and our exporters. He says that we need to speak diplomatically until we have alternative markets to counter-balance China’s possible trade retaliation.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/put-down-the-megaphone-or-china-might-opt-for-other-imports-20200514-p54svj.html
Phil Coorey writes that Scott Morrison’s China strategy is to deal with the trade issue on its merits without escalating Beijing’s retaliation over the virus inquiry into a full-on stoush and without trading away Australia’s values.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/patient-pm-will-not-bite-back-at-china-s-payback-20200513-p54sp7
But Stephen Kirchner writes that Simon Birmingham should be wary of inviting Beijing to take Australia’s anti-dumping regime to the WTO. We are pushing the rules as it is he says.
https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/birmingham-on-thin-ice-challenging-china-to-take-australia-to-the-wto-20200514-p54sso
Hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers could have wage rises delayed for up to six months after the Fair Work Commission revealed it was looking at deferring minimum wage increases for stressed companies operating under the JobKeeper scheme.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/wages-rises-for-lowpaid-face-delay-to-help-companies/news-story/06cdc706b5d2808f14bebdb1b150e644
Through Michaelia Cash’s gritted teeth the government has extended the lifting of mutual obligation requirements for 1.6 million JobSeekers after the unemployment rate hit 6.2 per cent.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/jobkeeper-jobseeker-to-adjust-after-record-jump-in-jobless-20200514-p54sxm
Jennifer Hewett explains how a lot of jobs won’t be there when JobKeeper ends.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/a-lot-of-jobs-won-t-be-there-when-jobkeeper-ends-20200514-p54t12
The huge drop in hours worked paints a more accurate picture of the devastation of the labour market than the official unemployment figures explains John Kehoe.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/1-8-million-workers-have-hours-cut-20200514-p54suh
The “wage scarring” effect of massive unemployment means workers could lose almost a year’s income in the long term if recovery is not speedy, an economist warns.
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/the-huge-jobless-rise-could-cost-everyone-a-year-s-pay-20200514-p54sy0
Michael Pascoe proclaims, “It’s official. The economy was weak before the COVID-19 crisis”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/14/michael-pascoe-wages-coronavirus/
Rex Patrick has had enough of senior public servants evading or not answering reasonable questions.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6756966/accountability-is-being-eroded-by-public-servants-evading-answers-patrick/?cs=14350
New research by the Reserve Bank showing renewable energy investment fell sharply last year is fuelling calls for federal and state governments to back changes to help the industry rebound and drive a post-pandemic recovery.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/15/australias-reserve-bank-fuels-call-for-post-pandemic-renewables-push
Polling conducted on Tuesday in the marginal south eastern NSW seat sees Labor leading the Liberals 51.1 per cent to 48.8 per cent, based on preference flows from the 2019 federal election.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-ahead-in-early-eden-monaro-poll-20200514-p54stb
Malcolm Turnbull and his publisher Sandy Grant are continuing to investigate the mystery of who exactly received a leaked version of the former prime minister’s biography A Bigger Picture. They seem to be having considerable success.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/turnbull-s-sleuths-unravel-the-links-of-canberra-cabals-20200514-p54t3e.html
NSW health authorities will look at the deaths of people who had earlier recovered from COVID-19 to determine if the virus was a contributing factor.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw-health-to-examine-deaths-of-people-deemed-to-have-recovered-from-covid-19-20200513-p54smw.html
Dana McCauley tells us that experts are warning the current mental health system is ill-equipped to respond to a forecast 30 per cent spike in mental illness in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, calling for a boost to services, similar to the response provided for COVID-19 patients.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dysfunctional-mental-health-system-needs-boost-in-wake-of-pandemic-experts-20200514-p54t2k.html
Michael Pascoe is unimpressed with Morrison’s penchant for jumping onto the Trump bandwagon.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/05/15/morrison-dutton-coronavirus/
Garry Linnell exposes a sneaky HR move designed for companies to cut costs.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/people-entertainment/2020/05/14/garry-linnell-hr-move/
ME Bank has a lot to answer for given the lack of dividends it has paid to shareholders, lack of transparency and poor treatment of customers says Adele Ferguson.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/me-bank-s-gobsmacking-botch-was-a-systemic-failure-20200514-p54t1j.html
Isabelle Lane writes that coronavirus restrictions are easing around Australia, but medical experts have warned against complacency, flagging the possibility of a second wave of infections if precautions are not maintained.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/05/14/coronavirus-complacency-as-restrictions-ease-around-australia-experts-warn-its-not-over/
More than 50,000 people have emptied their superannuation accounts under COVID-19 emergency measures, prompting concerns about the long-term financial impact on young people writes Adrian Rollins.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6757068/super-alarm-sounded-as-50000-empty-retirement-funds/?cs=14225
Household finances face a serious impact in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown, economists have warned, as loss of earnings, falling house prices and job insecurity combine to reshape the economy in a way not experienced by Australians for decades.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/15/australian-households-face-grim-financial-outlook-as-coronavirus-unemployment-rises
Each year, Michael West Media puts a call into the minister responsible for money-laundering, reports Michael West. Each year, we get the same answer. Besides, franking credits, negative gearing, the gig economy, IR and superannuation settings, and climate change, even Federal money-laundering policy has been skewed in favour of older, wealthier Australians vis-a-vis the younger and poorer. Being born wealthy is not opportunity, it is chance, yet this has become a greater determinant of personal prosperity than ever.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/opportunity-lost-how-successive-government-policies-disadvantaged-young-australians/
The formation and unwinding of partnerships pitching to buy Virgin from administration looks like a head-spinning speed dating exercise writes Elizabeth Knight.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/promiscuous-virgin-bidders-flirt-with-partnerships-20200514-p54t2c.html
Building a stronger infrastructure to handle further crises will be best left to experts in various fields with less political interference, writes Paul Budde.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/digital-infrastructure-in-post-pandemic-era-should-be-left-to-experts-not-politicians,13894
Pauline Wright is concerned that Australians’ personal freedoms could be under serious threat with the new ASIO bill.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/14/australians-personal-freedoms-could-be-under-serious-threat-with-the-new-asio-bill
Julia Gillard has backed calls for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic but says it should not be about pointing fingers. She has just been named the next chair of UK-based health foundation Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest investors in medical research including epidemics and the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/05/15/coronavirus-julia-gillard-china/
Yes, carbon emissions fell during COVID-19. But it’s the shift away from coal that really matters say these two energy experts.
https://theconversation.com/yes-carbon-emissions-fell-during-covid-19-but-its-the-shift-away-from-coal-that-really-matters-138611
NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue has dismissed suggestions that he will use the company’s recently announced $4.1 billion in private financing to accelerate upgrades to the National Broadband Network.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/nbn-co-in-no-rush-to-use-extra-funds-on-network-upgrades-20200514-p54t17.html
Australians forced to study and work from home are putting a record level of strain on the National Broadband Network, but experts warn the network needs urgent updating to keep up with demand says Cait Kelly.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/05/14/nbn-coronavirus/
Bob Carr writes that while the world looked the other way, corporate giants have abandoned coal.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/while-the-world-looked-the-other-way-corporate-giants-abandoned-coal-20200514-p54ssj.html
Paul De Barro is deeply worried that 92% of Australians don’t know the difference between viral and bacterial infections.
https://theconversation.com/deeply-worrying-92-of-australians-dont-know-the-difference-between-viral-and-bacterial-infections-138619
While the Government offered assistance to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s the banking sector that will really benefit, writes Kyle Mervin.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/morrison-governments-stimulus-banking-sector-will-reap-the-benefits,13891
George Pell’s friend Gerald Ridsdale had his time in prison increased yesterday after he was sentenced for more sexual abuse of boys in western Victoria.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/more-jail-time-means-gerald-ridsdale-is-likely-to-die-in-custody-20200514-p54sxy.html
Like the shock jocks it encourages and applauds, there is always one rule for the Morrison Government and its allies and another for everyone else, writes Michelle Pini.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/jones-and-morrison-doing-right-by-our-countrys-double-standards,13893
As the coronavirus crisis takes its toll of professional sport, there may be a ripple effect down to the grassroots explains Greg Baum.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/greg-baum-on-the-ripple-effect-down-to-the-grass-roots-half-back-to-the-future-20200514-p54t2j.html
To understand just how well Australia is doing with its prudent approach to the pandemic, consider Sweden, the poster child of shutdown sceptics. Australia’s economy is doing better, write three leading economists.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-sound-economics-behind-australia-s-health-first-covid-response-20200514-p54st7.html
The New York Times posits that the pandemic will change the car industry forever.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-pandemic-will-change-the-car-industry-forever-20200514-p54srb.html
The London Telegraph outlines how the handling of COVID-19 has led to a very British disaster. It’s not a very pretty picture.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-handling-of-covid-19-has-led-to-a-very-british-disaster-20200514-p54ssd.html
While Dr Anthony Fauci retains the faith of a strong majority of Americans, opposition from Republicans has crept up steadily over the past month or so. The idiots are putting their trust in Trump.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/republicans-increasingly-doubt-anthony-fauci-while-trusting-trump-20200514-p54ssc.html
Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for US unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions. The wave of layoffs has heightened concerns that more government aid is needed to sustain the economy through the deep recession caused by the viral outbreak.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/thirty-six-million-have-sought-us-unemployment-aid-since-virus-hit-20200515-p54t6s.html
Stephen Bartholomeusz reports that the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has offered a chilling perspective on the outlook for the US economy in the coronavirus pandemic as he’s running out of tools to stop the downturn.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-fed-pleads-for-help-as-it-warns-of-long-term-us-recession-20200514-p54swb.html
Charles Grant identifies six negative trends that have been accelerated in Europe as a result of the pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/14/how-coronavirus-is-reshaping-europe-in-dangerous-ways
Americans should brace themselves for the risk that they will suffer their “darkest winter in modern history” due to the ongoing federal government failures in addressing the coronavirus pandemic, a recently ousted public health official turned whistleblower warned the US Congress.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/14/rick-bright-testimony-coronavirus-trump-ousted-whistleblower
Trump is ushering the US into failed state status as he applauds a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision striking down a coronavirus lockdown order, as hundreds of people gathered at the statehouse in neighbouring Michigan to protest the governor’s restrictions there.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-applauds-wisconsin-ruling-striking-down-lockdown-order-20200515-p54t6v.html
“Arseholes of the Week” nomination goes to the trucking company involved in Victoria’s Eastern Freeway accident that has racked up 35 fines after a police investigation uncovered 16 of its drivers were overworked and fatigued, and 19 trucks had defects.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/05/14/connect-logistics-safety-breaches/
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
David Pope
Cathy Wilcox
Jim Pavlidis
John Shakespeare
Matt Golding
Fiona Katauskas
Simon Letch
Glen Le Lievre
Johannes Leak
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/730feaf4fd54d4e4def058ac665f88d9?width=1024
From the US
And yet it feels like things are moving at the speed of light. I have to keep reminding myself we’re only in May whereas it feels like it should be October-November.
The good ship Liberal and Greens and all who sail in her loose another wedge.
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/while-the-world-looked-the-other-way-corporate-giants-abandoned-coal-20200514-p54ssj.html
At this stage Labor does not need a leader and leadership team to keep appeasing Labor’s opponents such as the media, hence why Albanese and his deputy on current form ,is doing no good for the labor party.
The Labor party needs a leadership team to call the libs/nats and the pro coalition media corrupt like behaviour out, how it is damaging the economy and hurting Australians living standards.
No matter what you think of Shorten , at least Shorten was doing the job as an opposition leader
We need a revolution against large corporates!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/fend-for-yourself-people-a-tone-deaf-government-plays-dangerous-politics-20200514-p54sxg.html
Morning all
Much thanks BK for todays news.
I ventured outside for just a minute. It was freezing!
You have to wonder if the disastrous handling of the pandemic in both the US and UK, was deliberate. They could not have done worse if they tried.
On the Greens leadership vote, I’m surprised so few members participated. Given the Greens are purely an activist political party you’d think more of their members could turn out to participate in generating progressive change for the party they’ve chosen to join.
Sweet jebus
Tom Joseph
@TomJChicago
·
27m
Slurring, impaired, nonsensical & sociopathic- Trump does a Dementia Tour de Force saying- “Doctors running into death just like soldiers running into bullets”..”it’s a beautiful thing to see.”
He’s a wreck my friends. He must be removed to beat COVID-19.
Good morning and thanks to BK for the Dawn Patrol.
Coolish in Newcastle
12℃ at present likely top 18℃
Met my new GP yesterday. I am delighted with him. Steady progress back to full stand by for mowing status by early next week.😇
Good morning, KayJay. Good to see you recovering.
Good morning all and thank you, BK.
BK’s comment: ‘International trade consultant Alistair Nicholas opines that the recent trade bans could be part of a strategy by China to diversify its sources of imports – something far more ominous for Canberra policymakers and our exporters. He says that we need to speak diplomatically until we have alternative markets to counter-balance China’s possible trade retaliation.’
China has had a key strategy of diversifying supply sources for decades. In terms of key export destinations, Australia has willy nilly done the opposite.
Which strategy is smart and which strategy is dumb.
Back in the saddle, eh KayJay?
I blame KayJay! 😆
Last night at 12.30am my son was carried off in an ambulance to the local hospital. He had woken me at midnight complaining of stabbing pains in his right hand side about level with his heart and up to his shoulder. Oh noes! I thought. He’s having a heart attack! (he’s all of 24 but with a unique physiology, to say the least). So away he goes and I stay home to wait on the outcome, not wanting to go along and sit around and catch something myself.
Then I get a phone call from him at 3.45am. Can I come and pick him up from the hospital? Sure, not a problem. It seems it wasn’t a heart attack but it may be gallstones! Which we will further investigate today. At the moment, however, he is getting some well-earned sleep.
Never a dull moment at Chez C@t!
Morning all and thanks BK for another thorough wrap up. The story about the ironically named Fair Work Commission is disturbing, and points to that bodies stacking by individuals biased towards pro-business agendas.
“ Hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers could have wage rises delayed for up to six months after the Fair Work Commission revealed it was looking at deferring minimum wage increases for stressed companies operating under the JobKeeper scheme.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/wages-rises-for-lowpaid-face-delay-to-help-companies/news-story/06cdc706b5d2808f14bebdb1b150e644
Obvious question 1 – how can firms be unable to afford a raise to minimum wages when they are now getting JobKeep payments which are a substantial proportion of them? Many grocery retailers and transport/logistics firms are doing increased trade now. They aren’t all distressed; only in industries related to entertainment and tourism. CBD and clothing stores are empty. Local food stores are not.
Paw-den me: Polite cats line up, follow social distancing guidelines
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/good-news/2020/05/14/stray-cats-line-up/
Last night the WA Premier held a Town Hall online and answered questions direct from members. A range of issues were discussed, but the best question IMO was about his Auslan interpreters. He said one of them has only ever communicated in Auslan, having been raised by deaf parents. He said she thinks in Auslan which he thought was incredible, but I would’ve thought that would be natural if that was the only language you communicated with.
Anyway, he has committed to doing more of those events, so good to see governments and political leaders embracing technology that is accessible by more and more people.
The ABC making sure they can’t be accused of lefty bias.
[Michael Rowland
@mjrowland68
· 2h
Former Victorian Premier @BracksSteve reckons the ALP should almost ‘ignore’ the union movement.
Do you agree unions are now less influential?
Or do they still have an important role to play. Let us know. (starting with you, @sallymcmanus.]
C@t:
Gallstones? Honestly, your kids certainly don’t do things by halves! 😀
BK thanks for highlighting this article on investigations of the trucking firm behind the fatal police crash on the Eastern Freeway. As I said at the time, people should suspend judgement on the driver till they understand what his employer was doing. Sadly it sounds a lot like some of the cases involving runaway truck crashes on the Adelaide Hills SE Freeway a few years ago. The managers involved in those crashes deservedly faced court. And we have not seen a similar crash since (in SA).
Lazy regulators do the community and employment no favors by letting trucking companies with bad safety records stay on the road. It does not create or “save” jobs. All they do is undercut jobs from the good operators that are following the rules. If this lot closes the work will transfer to other companies, and they will hire more drivers. There is a high demand for skilled truck drivers at present.
BK @ #13 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 7:57 am
Pleased to be able to read your Patrol for real. In hospital I was hallucinating so that I vaguely wondered why the bed screens wouldnt scroll up when I issued a sort of mental command and I was seeing some sort of weird script concerned with who knows what slithering within my mental view.
Crazy, huh. I expect PB today to be just like that script.😇
Confessions @ #19 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 8:20 am
I know right! 😆
KayJay
To get in an earlier ‘mow’ try………..
Confessions @ #3 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 7:30 am
5-6 weeks of hysteria and all that mawkish brotherly love crap in the media will do that to you.
Victoria @ #9 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 7:52 am
Guess what, he’s going to be re-elected.
C@tmomma
Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 8:13 am – NEW!
Comment #14
Certainly ma’am. But is it not heartening when the well trained and efficient ambo’s/paramedics pull up at the front door. Good luck.
‘Michael Pascoe proclaims, “It’s official. The economy was weak before the COVID-19 crisis”.’
Quick! Someone tell Labor there may still be time to use this to their political advantage.
Don’t forget who was the Transport Minister who tried to bring dodgy trucking companies into line. Anthony Albanese.
The trucking industry were another powerful business lobby who ganged up against Labor and with the Coalition when Labor were in power and quickly set about watering down the rules Albanese had put in place as soon as Abbott was elected in 2013.
This is yet another example of business’ motto:
‘Life is cheap when there is a profit to be made’
David Squires on … bidding farewell to a stubborn virus
https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2020/may/14/david-squires-on-bidding-farewell-to-a-stubborn-virus
But is it not heartening when the well trained and efficient ambo’s/paramedics pull up at the front door
Yes, very cool, calm and collected and full of COVID-19 questions! 😀
C@t
Goodness me.
Gallstones are painful!
Send my best wishes to your son.
Thanks, Vic. I will. 🙂
Stubborn virus?
More like a loathsome pox.
mundo @ #23 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 8:30 am
Afraid Labor has missed the bus on this one.
The media is saturated with news that the virus has smashed the economy and the government keeps saying it as well…obviously.
So, missed this bus, but there’ll be another one along soon.
Try and get on it fer crisakes.
poroti
Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 8:27 am – NEW!
Comment #23
My house really is an old fibro place with a lovely custard colour job.
Just for info – where is your spotter hiding? In the gum tree behind the fenced off house, right?
Breakfast and tablets. Over.
Cat
Albanese’s efforts were good but Transport regulation is mainly a State issue. But the company behind the Melbourne crash is based in NSW. Andrew Constance needs to show some action there.
Likewise the SA spate of truck crashes largely stopped after Jay Weatherall started prosecuting the managers sending out untrained drivers in unroadworthy trucks in court. The power to prosecute them for breaching their duty of care had existed for years but almost never been used. Once they were used, the industry soon got the message. We haven’t had a runaway truck crash on the SE Freeway since.
Inside word on education thinking in Victoria.
All teachers return to classroom on Tuesday 26th may with students, prep, 1 and 2. VCE/vcal
Rest of students return Tuesday 9th June.
Term ends 26th June
If the experiment shows up clusters etc.
Term 3 will return to remote learning.
Vic:
It’s mandatory for students to return to school next week, but the premier said last night that 85% of students have returned to school already.
Soc,
I believe the efforts by Albanese to clean up the trucking industry were done in concert with Tony Sheldon and the TWU so as to try to effect a nationally co-ordinated effort.
I’d also add that Andrew Constance will be useless. As he has been up until now.
KayJay
You know that old tree just over from you ? Well it is not as dead as it appears.
Lest I seem harsh on trucking companies, their profits are actually UP now, not down. Fuel prices are at record lows, and demand is high as retailers rebuild run down stocks. So they have no excuses. They should be hiring more drivers, rather than working people till they crash.
Speaking of transport regulation, Simon Birmingham is correct to say that the cruise industry should NOT be restarting in its current form. It has structured itself to sidestep many national laws. All the causes of the Ruby Princess debacle are still there. There were covid19 outbreaks on over 40 cruise ships world wide. They pay no tax, low wages and divert tourist dollars from domestic resorts. That industry should not be allowed to restart without hefty legal reform.
Have a good day all.
Didn’t Labor somewhere back in the day try and address the ‘tired truckies’ problem ? Ferocious campaign against it of course .
“and a Labor-style model where members provided half the vote and the party room the other half.”
***
Oh, the vote for Albo but be given Shorten instead model? That worked really well! Not.
Or how about the vote for Rudd but be given Gillard model? No? Perhaps the vote for Gillard but be given Rudd model is more your cup of tea.
The Greens had a vote and have decided to keep our current model. There’s nothing “awkward” about it, despite what some in the media might desperately want you to believe.
Let this sink in. Only approx 28% of all Greens members voted to change. The remaining %72 either voted against change or abstained from the vote, which is by default supporting the status quo.
We Greens will not be lectured on democratic processes by Labor, a party ruled by the impulses of the Faceless Men and conservative Right Faction power-brokers.
China favouring USA over Australia for barley? Good luck with that.
‘We could cut off the whole relationship’: Trump ramps up China trade tensions
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/we-could-cut-off-the-whole-relationship-trump-ramps-up-china-trade-tensions-20200515-p54t7t.html
The media “forgot” that Neville Power is a director of Strike Energy when describing his appointment.
https://www.hungrycharley.com/445950329
Fess
Will be interesting to see how the school situation plays out
Labor – again with the mixed messages:
Albanese dismisses calls from AWU boss Daniel Walton to stand up to China
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/albanese-dismisses-calls-from-awu-boss-daniel-walton-to-stand-up-to-china/news-story/f25cf180014301df6dd705617321e0e1
poroti @ #43 Friday, May 15th, 2020 – 9:00 am
Yes he did. And yes there was.
lizzie,
Scott Morrison is adept at sneaking people like that in to the business of government. He uses the trick of familiarising them with the great unwashed by his use of colloquial reference to them with a nickname or blokey reference to them. In this case with his referral to Power as ‘Nev’. Everyone trusts someone called, ‘Nev’, don’t they?