Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China

A major souring in Australians’ attitudes to China but little change on coronavirus (at least since last week), according to the latest Essential poll.

Another week, another Essential Research coronavirus poll — this one focusing on attitudes to China, which have notably soured. As related by The Guardian, respondents were asked if they had a favourable or unfavourable view of China’s influences on Australian life, which produced a net rating of minus 30% on trade, compared with plus 1% last August, and a net rating of minus 40% for Chinese business operating in Australia, down from minus 21%. There were also scores of minus 26% for defence, minus 36% for politics and minus 9% for culture. Conversely, the United States scored net positive scores, albeit that these were quite a lot bigger for defence (plus 29%), business (plus 15%) and trade (plus 14%) than politics (plus 2%) and culture (plus 7%).

Asked which relationship would be more beneficial to strengthen, 42% favoured the US and 18% China, compared with 38% and 28% last August. Respondents had two bob each way on trade in that 53% thought Australia “needs to do all it can to avoid a trade war with China”, with 17% opposed, but 48% felt Australia should impose retaliatory tariffs, with 22% opposed. The poll found “more than half” believe China’s trade sanctions against Australia were motivated by the government’s call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

The poll continued its weekly suite of questions on coronavirus, recording no change on the government’s handling of the crisis, which was rated positively by 73% and negatively by 11%. Levels of concern little changed on last week (79% either very or quite concerned, down one, and 21% either not at all or not that concerned, up one). A divide appears to be opening on restrictions, with higher responses for both lifting them as soon as possible (up five to 14%) and holding off (up two to 27%). The poll was conducted Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1087; a full report should be published later today.

Note that below this post is a dedicated thread for the Eden-Monaro by-election, which you are encouraged to use if you have something specific to say on that subject.

UPDATE: Full report here.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

2,091 comments on “Essential Research: coronavirus and attitudes to China”

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  4. And now this (and they say it’s okay for kids to go back to school and behave like before COVID-19 on the buses and trains, ie packed in):

    Two students diagnosed with COVID-19 attended their eastern suburbs private schools for up to two days while infectious, despite temperature checks on returning pupils being conducted.

    The two children – a 10-year-old from Moriah College and a 12-year-old boy from Waverley College – were the only new confirmed cases detected in the 24 hours to 4pm on Wednesday, NSW Health reported.

    The two students were among 11 new cases nationally, which include a 30-year-old central Queensland man who was not tested for coronavirus until after his death.

    The two children attended class despite Moriah College introducing daily temperature checks for all staff, students and visitors and Waverley College also conducting temperature checks on students.

    The two cases highlight the deficits of the strategy as a safeguard against COVID-19. Public hospitals have conducted temperature screening at their entrances since March.

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/covid-positive-students-were-infectious-in-class-despite-daily-temperature-checks-20200527-p54x0w.html

    Not to mention MIS-C!

  6. Ah, so the Waverley College student had no temp but then mild symptoms:

    A spokeswoman for Waverley College said their COVID-positive student did not come to school while symptomatic.

    “The College was grateful he got tested and did not come to school, even though his symptoms were very mild,” the spokeswoman said.

  7. Cud,

    Sorry if this has been explained previously, but what’s with the “active cases” data on the covid19data website?

    Victoria reports 64 active cases. They’ve had 66 new cases in the last ten days, so assuming they’re all still active, that would require all previously-reported cases to be resolved.

    NSW reports 376 active cases. They’ve had 160 new cases in the last 38 days, and I would have thought that almost all cases older than that would be resolved.

    Either way, there’s clearly a difference in the way the various jurisdictions are counting / reporting these cases. Is there an obvious explanation that I’ve missed?

  8. Spray

    I’ve been wondering that myself. Clearly NSW just takes its time checking up on people.
    I’m pondering the possibility that if you’re picking up more people with mild symptoms (as is possibly the case with Victoria) then perhaps these people are also going to clear the virus sooner. But you’re right, its supsiciously quick.

    Itd be nice if someone in the media asked aobut these sorts of things.

    Also, NSW Health has been playing silly buggers with its database. They actually walked it backwards last weekend (taking the most recent couple of days off the end). Today they “updated” it but only till the 23rd. Now covid19data is using the new data but showing cases from the database that are on the 23rd as being on the 25th. Whereas before, covid19data would take the date in the database and add one day, presumably to match with when a case is announced. I’m tempted to email them about it.

  9. C@t

    Perversely, school kids may act as sentinels because they are more likely to be srutinised and taken for testing even with mild symptoms. Ill wind and all that.

  10. “Twenty-eight Moriah students and three teachers were identified as close contacts. At Waverley, close contacts include 44 students and 10 teachers. All will need to be tested and self-isolate for 14 days.”

    I’m deeply suspicious about their classification of “close contact” given the way the virus can spread indoors. Also even given their classification, that’s a lot of people. Not to mention all the secondary contacts. If this goes back to a parent…

  11. They say the 30yo who died had a “complicated” medical history and had been sick for weeks before dying suddenly so it’s hopefully not likely to be a pointer to more deaths in the young.

  12. A reminder for earlier rising Space Bludgers that at 6.30 tomorrow morning NASA and SpaceX will be livecasting the blast off of the prosaically named “Crew Demo-2”: a SpaceX mission to the ISS, this time (for the first time) with actual, live astronauts on-board.

    This will be NASA’S first manned mission since the final Shuttle flight, and the first manned mission facilitated by a private company.

    Link is here: https://youtu.be/vG-2t6znLU4

    Blast off is at 6.32am AEST, but be early if you want good seats.

  13. BB

    This is something I’m very interested in but I’m probably not going to watch it live – unless I wake up ridiculously early, again..

  14. This seems a weird coincidence..Regarding the 30 year old miner, .from the ABC

    “ Queensland Health is investigating whether Mr Turner’s death is connected to another recent COVID-19 infection in a Rockhampton nurse, which sent an aged care home into lockdown.

    The woman tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month after working for more than a week — with symptoms — at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre.

    In a statement, a Queensland Health spokesperson acknowledged the nurse travelled to Blackwater, but suggested the two had not had contact.

    “The [nurse] travelled to Blackwater in the second week of May but did not interact with other individuals there,” the spokesperson said.”

  16. I hope the school kids weren’t using public transport to get too and from school . Would also be interested to know how much public exposure the widow of the Blackwater man had. Let’s hope she wasn’t an aged care worker.

  17. Cud Chewer

    Sounds like a online hookup gone wrong…
    ————-
    Possibly….. it does not say why she visited Blackwater!

  18. BB

    This is something I’m very interested in but I’m probably not going to watch it live – unless I wake up ridiculously early, again..

    Best for you to get some sleep, Cud. We’ll let you know if anything happens.

    By the way, I take your point made earlier that elimination or no elimination, we still need to lock down borders. It’s logical and obvious (which is probably why I missed it!).

    Just can’t see how we’re going to test 100%, or thereabouts, of the population.

    On that score, your rolling “10% at a time” idea was interesting, but I see diminishing returns kicking in towards the last few deciles.

  19. “Debt-hit states told to rein in spending”(Oz headline)

    Austerity talk already.Never ceases to amaze as usual.

  20. Mmm. Austerity.
    Morrison is going to try and force the states to come to heel.
    After they ‘accidentally’ reintroduced the virus into Fremantle by concealing the sickness on board ship.

    Morrison’s Gov’t are evil
    Looks like they are aiming for the Swedish Solution, and NSW are the guinea pigs.
    Sweden has ongoing case and death rates comparable to USA ( in % terms).
    Hang on. It’s going to be a rough ride in NSW

  22. steve davis @ #1469 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 1:12 am

    “Debt-hit states told to rein in spending”(Oz headline)

    Austerity talk already.Never ceases to amaze as usual.

    So, THAT’S the point of National Cabinet. Scott Morrison gets to tell everyone what to do. State Premiers and Territory leaders just become his vassals.

    Megalomaniacal bastard.

  23. Blast off is at 6.32am AEST, but be early if you want good seats.

    The astronauts climbed aboard ahead of schedule.

    Weather was 50/50 (possibly 40/60) for launch; the backup windows are on Saturday and Sunday.

    Update: Sounds like they’re going to scrub the launch due to the weather.

  25. SpaceX @SpaceX

    Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC

  27. Five coronavirus patients died in a hospital fire in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Wednesday, a fire service official said.

    How unlucky are some people!?!

  28. I just read the emails sent between Indian Ocean Shipping Agencies (IOSA), who are responsible for the Al Kuwait virus-laden ship docked at Fremantle, the Federal Dep’t of Agriculture, Water & Environment (AWE), and the WA Dep’t of Health

    The Master of the ship informed Operations (OPS) at IOSA of 3 sick crew on May 18. Apparently they responded well to antibiotics.
    Then on May 22 another email from Master to OPS stating one had a high temp.
    OPS then, at 9:55am on May 22 wrote to an unknown (it’s redacted) email address at AWE.

    Federal AWE then wrote to an unknown (again, redacted) email address at WA Health at 10:39am (44 mins later), telling them, including quotes from the emails from OPS, AND stating the ship was due to dock less than 4 hours later, at 2:20pm.

    Dereliction of duty by
    1. IOSA in failing to tell Federal AWE about sickness on May 18
    2. AWE in failing to ring up WA Health on May 22 when they knew the ship was due to dock in 4 hours (it was now urgent).
    https://theaustraliannewscorpau.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/email-wa-health.pdf

    Yet, somehow this is now all the fault of WA Health (according to Murdoch’s propaganda sheet) because WA Health was “told” less than 4 hours before it docked.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/coronavirus-red-flags-missed-on-crew-members/news-story/b1437337c610b3df7ed77966d1939591

  29. ‘Trump jinxed the launch’: President slammed for bringing bad luck to SpaceX

    On Wednesday afternoon, the SpaceX launch — set to be the first manned spaceflight from U.S. soil in nearly a decade — was scrubbed due to inclement weather in Florida.

    Commenters on social media blamed President Donald Trump and the first family for “jinxing” the launch with their unnecessary visit to the Kennedy Space Center — similar to how he was blamed for jinxing an Alabama football team by paying a visit to the game a year ago.

    https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/trump-jinxed-the-launch-president-slammed-for-bringing-bad-luck-to-spacex/

  30. More Eric Cartmanesque (South Park) behaviour by Scott Morrison and Christian Porter (“Screw you, I’ll do what I want!):

    Workplace laws will be put to Parliament as soon as this year under a Morrison government plan to proceed with changes even if an ambitious reform plan fails to secure a consensus with unions and employers.

    Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter said the government would take legislation to Parliament “one way or the other” without insisting on a high level of agreement in five new working groups that will negotiate a new regime.

    The declaration raises the stakes in the debate on wages and conditions just as Prime Minister Scott Morrison puts federation reform on the table at a meeting with state and territory leaders this Friday.

    While Mr Morrison has called on unions and employers to “put down their weapons” and agree on changes, the government revealed on Wednesday it would go ahead with its own plan without requiring agreement.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/workplace-reform-will-not-need-perfect-deal-government-20200527-p54x1j.html

  31. Berejiklian has contradicted Dr Kerry Chant.

    Berejiklian: There will be a second wave

    NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has denied claims NSW has defeated coronavirus, saying reports that NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the virus was effect­ively contained were taken out of context.

    Asked on Sky News if she believed there would be a second wave of the virus, Ms
    Berejiklian agreed. She also said NSW school closures would be the “new normal” under coronavirus easing, after two private schools in Sydney’s eastern were closed for cleaning following positive cases among students.

    So for all those people running around in NSW celebrating the lifting of restrictions, just remember, we’ll get a second wave.
    What’s more, apparently there will be no containment this time, so we can expect a veritable explosion of cases.
    No doubt Gladys is safe in her bunker. Too bad if you have to travel by PT. Extra bad luck if you are school staff.
    Talk about callous.

    Yes, it’s the OZ again – sorry. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/coronavirus-australia-live-news-weve-defeated-covid19-nsw-chief-health-officer-kerry-chant-says/news-story/c411258719cc4de130c9af14b02e7c6f

  32. C@t
    Scrott will be this Cartman when it comes to negotiation and “cooperation’. He’s getting the build for it too.

  33. Scott Morrison gets to tell everyone what to do.

    ScoMo can try to tell everyone what to do.
    The state and territory leaders can then tell him how it’s gonna be.

  35. There’s a good chance the coronavirus will never go away.

    Even after a vaccine is discovered and deployed, the coronavirus will likely remain for decades to come, circulating among the world’s population.

    Experts call such diseases endemic — stubbornly resisting efforts to stamp them out. Think measles, HIV, chickenpox.

    It is a daunting proposition — a coronavirus-tinged world without a foreseeable end. But experts in epidemiology, disaster planning and vaccine development say embracing that reality is crucial to the next phase of America’s pandemic response. The long-term nature of covid-19, they say, should serve as a call to arms for the public, a road map for the trillions of dollars Congress is spending and a fixed navigational point for the nation’s current, chaotic state-by-state patchwork strategy.

    With so much else uncertain, the persistence of the novel virus is one of the few things we can count on about the future. That doesn’t mean the situation will always be as dire. There are already four endemic coronaviruses that circulate continuously, causing the common cold. And many experts think this virus will become the fifth — its effects growing milder as immunity spreads and our bodies adapt to it over time.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/27/coronavirus-endemic/

    Our workplace is going to be reviewing our coronavirus response, partly in preparation for a second wave, but also because we know we could’ve done better with how we responded, and we want to be as prepared as possible in the event of another emergency. The prospect that this could happen again at some time is more realistic if the virus is going to be with us for years to come.

  36. So how goes the Covid 19 poster child for many RWNJs ? They’ve already had 4200 dead, equivalent to about 10,000 here so they’ve already produced a BoJo level result. But it could get much much worse for them.

    Prof. Rod Jackson: Has Sweden made a fatal mistake with Covid 19 coronavirus?

    ………..Instead of 40 out of every 100 people already being infected, it would only be about 4 in 100 people. This would mean that at the current rate of infection, it would take more than two years for Sweden to reach herd immunity and an additional 56,000 lives could be lost in the process

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12335221

  37. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    Steve Bracks proposes five key planks of what should be done to come out of the recession and set Australia up for the future. It’s quite a good contribution.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/another-economic-crisis-and-the-cupboard-appears-bare-20200527-p54wv2.html
    Industrial relations laws could go to Parliament as early as this year even if an ambitious reform plan fails to win consensus between unions and employers say David Crowe and Nick Bonyhady.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/workplace-reform-will-not-need-perfect-deal-government-20200527-p54x1j.html
    The Australian understands ­that increasing the ability of casuals to request permanent employment shapes as a key olive branch to ­unions ­as the government establishes a new definition of casual employment to protect companies from billions of dollars of backpay claims.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/awards-up-for-grabs-as-unions-offered-olive-branch-on-casuals/news-story/41881c1455ec2df333a2705ac4df3382
    Also in The Australian Sally McManus has written an op-ed putting the case for unions in the recovery process.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/seat-at-the-table-a-chance-to-create-stronger-economy-together/news-story/1a10e91b881ece0404c03525ae5e34aa
    Phil Coorey writes that the ACTU faces pressure from the broader labour movement to safeguard the legislated 12 per cent superannuation guarantee.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/labor-flags-super-pledge-for-work-deal-20200527-p54wrn
    The AFR’s Andrew Clarke examines what he describes as Morrison’s tilt at history.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/morrison-takes-a-tilt-at-history-20200527-p54x07
    Jennifer Hewett looks into the realities of the “gig economy”.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/the-reality-behind-the-unions-claims-of-insecure-work-20200527-p54wy3
    And the AFR explains how retailers will push for changes to strict roster limits, award classifications and the approval test for collective agreements as part of a fresh bout of industrial relations reform talks to restore jobs during the post-pandemic recovery phase.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/retailers-name-top-areas-for-ir-reform-20200527-p54wvc
    In the middle of this contribution from Niki Savva on the difficulties Morrison will face as they all get around the table she says, “Morrison’s lack of ideology, his policy flexibility, which at its kind­est interpretation means he can shift position at will and at its unkindes­t means he stands for little, is not shared by sections­ of his party, particularly the capital-C conservatives. So when he reaches the crunch points, he will come under pressure to throw out red meat to satisfy the bloodlust of the base and those who cater for it.”
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/not-too-hot-or-cold-pm-seeks-goldilocks-formula/news-story/56ae8736ab73a0004bfec81e8d12b183
    Michael Pascoe says that the Prime Minister’s National Press Club speech on Tuesday was mostly an amalgam of Coalition platitudes and folksy phrases without much meaning – his image shapers remain locked in “Daggy Dad” slogan mode. He goes on to unpick what was said and what questions he didn’t answer.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/27/scott-morrison-speech-pascoe/
    The virus did not infect a healthy economy – it knocked out one that was already sick opines Greg Jericho. As usual he regales us with copious charts to make his point.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2020/may/28/the-virus-did-not-infect-a-healthy-economy-it-knocked-out-one-that-was-already-sick
    Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe will shed light on Australia’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic when he faces the Senate COVID-19 inquiry today.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6772412/regulators-to-face-virus-inquiry-questions/?cs=14231
    Thousands of predicted COVID-19 deaths never eventuated – was it poor modelling or our response asks Dana McCauley. I was waiting for this. GFC response all over again!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/thousands-of-predicted-covid-19-deaths-never-eventuated-was-it-poor-modelling-or-our-response-20200527-p54wsn.html
    Mike Foley reports that decorated former firefighter and climate action advocate Greg Mullins told a Senate inquiry yesterday that current fire chiefs have been effectively gagged from raising the bushfire risks created by global warming with politicians.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/some-things-were-out-of-bounds-fire-chiefs-gagged-on-climate-change-warnings-to-government-commission-told-20200527-p54wxv.html
    In what is often a political kiss of death Pru Goward says Morrison’s move on IR is “an enormously courageous decision”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/industrial-reform-will-be-pm-s-everest-it-won-t-resemble-hawke-s-accord-20200527-p54wx5.html
    Annastacia Palaszczuk and Gladys Berejiklian have traded barbs over the opening of Queensland’s borders, but political insiders revealed the frosty relationship has been brewing for years writes Mark Ludlow in the AFR.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/qld-nsw-premiers-just-don-t-like-each-other-20200527-p54wv3
    Australia’s banking sector is a haven for government ministers, prime ministers, state premiers and a slew of top bureaucrats. Michael West Media’s investigation into this most mollycoddled of industries begins today. It exposes, not those who have “taken the money and run”, but those who have run for the money.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/revolving-doors-want-a-high-paid-job-at-the-bank-become-a-politician/
    Peter FitzSimons is really, really concerned about the latest NRL performance enhancing drug issue.
    https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/death-wish-drug-taking-bronson-xerri-allegations-truly-beggar-belief-20200527-p54x0e.html
    Sarah Danckert has another NRL story. This time it’s about the betting plunge on the Dally M coach of the Year Award.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/another-two-grow-super-staff-stood-down-amid-dally-m-scandal-20200527-p54wxp.html
    The Australian Strategic Policy Institute warns that our universities must rethink their broken business model or risk failure.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6771137/our-universities-must-rethink-their-broken-business-model-or-risk-failure/?cs=14258
    Australia’s big four bank shares have staged a massive rally worth about $17 billion, as investors seized on potential signs the domestic economic damage inflicted by coronavirus may be less dire than feared. But APRA has some concerns.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/banks-surge-in-17-billion-catch-up-rally-20200527-p54wut.html
    Joel Fitzgibbon reckons Morrison is chasing votes at the expense of exports.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/morrison-is-chasing-votes-at-the-expense-of-exports-20200527-p54wre
    One of the weirder moments of the COVID-19 crisis has been watching a conservative government introduce universal free childcare – if only temporarily writes Jess Irvine.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/free-childcare-has-shown-the-benefits-of-generous-government-subsidies-20200527-p54wwl.html
    Euan Black tells us that infrastructure specialist IFM Investors is itching to plough billions of dollars of investor money into nation-building projects that create jobs and generate returns for their superannuation fund owners.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/28/ifm-investors-investment/
    Mike Foley tells us that regulators are considering urgent changes to prevent electricity retailers going broke as tens of thousands of customers register for hardship provisions to defer bill payments.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/financial-contagion-from-coronavirus-may-infect-electricity-market-20200527-p54x1w.html
    The Australia-China Relations Institute’s James Laurenceson provides a reality check on the government’s exhortations to Australian companies to diversify their exports away from China.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/reality-check-on-finding-new-export-markets-china-s-demand-dwarfs-the-rest-20200526-p54wpf.html
    Rising geopolitical tensions, especially between the US and China, could test the muscular global rally and hopes for a V-shaped economic recovery.
    https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/geopolitical-time-bomb-ticks-under-market-rally-20200527-p54wxy
    Mark Bucky says he dreamed that Scott Morrison woke up one day and was filled with regret. He was so overcome with regret that he wrote a letter of apology to the people of Australia. The gist of his imaginary letter went something like this, he writes.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/scott-morrisons-repent-a-letter-of-apology-to-australians,13933
    A dispirited John Lord has a bit of a spit over what a “couldn’t care less” lot we are.
    https://theaimn.com/what-a-couldnt-care-less-lot-we-are/
    Amanda Meade reports that News Corp Australia is poised to cut hundreds of jobs as it moves towards digital-only publishing for many of its local and regional papers and more copy sharing among its metropolitan mastheads the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/may/27/news-corp-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-in-move-towards-digital-only-publishing
    Amid reports Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is considering large grants for new home buyers, economists have told The New Daily that taxpayers would get better bang for their buck funding more social housing.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/28/social-housing-not-subsidies/
    A new trial has begun in Victoria this week to evaluate a potential vaccine against COVID-19. It’s based on a flu shot and these two researchers explain why it could work against the coronavirus.
    https://theconversation.com/the-vaccine-were-testing-in-australia-is-based-on-a-flu-shot-heres-how-it-could-work-against-coronavirus-139380
    There could be great benefits to a more interactive approach to education, particularly for Indigenous communities, writes Paul Dutton.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/the-future-of-the-education-system-post-covid-19,13934
    The Guardian’s Michael McGowan reveals that the New South Wales government has quietly paid out millions of dollars to more than a dozen former schoolchildren who it admits were abused by a paedophile teacher who rose through the ranks of the state’s public school system over three decades while preying on young Indigenous boys.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/28/nsw-government-secretly-paid-millions-victims-teacher-paedophile-cletus-oconnor-indigenous-men
    According to the London Telegraph the pandemic sent shockwaves through the oil industry but there are reasons to believe the worst has passed.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/the-demise-of-oil-may-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-20200526-p54wcb.html
    Wuhan has launched an absolute blitz of COVID-19 testing of the whole population there.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/how-wuhan-is-testing-6-5-million-people-for-coronavirus-in-days-20200527-p54wud.html
    Idiot Trump has threatened to regulate or shut down social media companies after Twitter added fact checks to two of his tweets.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/big-action-trump-threatens-social-media-after-twitter-fact-checks-him-20200528-p54x3j.html
    And now the French government has cancelled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of COVID-19.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/france-bans-controversial-drug-to-treat-covid-19-20200527-p54x3a.html
    Samantha Dick tells us that a top Australian health official has slammed Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis as an “unmitigated disaster”.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2020/05/28/coronavirus-trump-csiro/
    The coronavirus has laid bare the reality of America’s racial caste system says Malaika Jabali.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/27/coronavirus-america-racial-caste-system
    The numbers are in — the Trump-Radical Republican response has been great for corporations and the one-percenters, not so good for Americans, writes DCReport editor-in-chief, David Cay Johnston.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-rich-are-making-out-like-bandits-in-this-pandemic-were-talking-us-but-same-goes-for-us/
    Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. How f***ing stupid! Then again it IS America.
    https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/only-half-of-americans-would-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-poll-20200528-p54x42
    Boris Johnson has faced down Tory rebellions before, but this one about Dominic Cimmings is different says Katy Balls.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/27/tory-rebellion-force-johnson-dominic-cummings-lockdown

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    David Pope

    Cathy Wilcox

    Matt Golding



    Andrew Dyson

    John Shakespeare


    Fiona Katauskas

    Peter Broelman


    Johannes Leak
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6398d73cae54653ac6470ad2b9973775?width=1024

    From the US














  38. One of the biggest forums for discussion about “Energy” and the Greens are excluded.

    How irrelevant are the Greens?

  39. What is the pint of the groups? Isn’t this a typical example of the Morrison gov pretending to consult but still doing whatever they want and they will then blame unions and Labor for “standing in the way”?

    Christian Porter said the government would take legislation to Parliament “one way or the other” without insisting on a high level of agreement in five new working groups that will negotiate a new regime….
    While Mr Morrison has called on unions and employers to “put down their weapons” and agree on changes, the government revealed on Wednesday it would go ahead with its own plan without requiring agreement.

  40. From the Bracks article

    “Third, the Commonwealth should directly invest in infrastructure. Through compulsory superannuation, Australia has more than $3 trillion of funds under management. Of this, about $360 billion is available for infrastructure investment. Yet due to the rate of return required by funds, a large portion of this investment heads overseas. The Future Fund should become a real sovereign wealth fund and fund the differential required for superannuation funds to invest in Australian infrastructure. If this was in place from the start of the Future Fund’s existence, we would already have a very fast train from Melbourne to Sydney and there would have been no need for Chinese investment in the Port of Darwin.”

    Kinda gives the lie to the idea that there isn’t enough money to build high speed rail or that doing so would mean not investing in other important rail infrastructure.

  41. It is a real pity that, unlike NZ, government documents are not available within about 2 months. If NZ at the date in the article was getting such reports you can be sure Australia was and probably earlier. It would be interesting to match up what the Scrott government had been told versus the ‘Off to Footy” stuff we were being given.

    MATT NIPPERT continues his series mining the Pandemic Papers, thousands of pages recently-released Cabinet documents,………

    On Wednesday, February 5, Grant Robertson’s phone rang. The finance minister was ……..Jones said the spread of 2019-nCoV through China’s population and its economy was devastating and…………..Even back then it was clearly much worse than Sars, and if it got out of China we were in trouble.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12335374

  42. Greensborough Growler @ #1519 Thursday, May 28th, 2020 – 5:39 am

    One of the biggest forums for discussion about “Energy” and the Greens are excluded.

    How irrelevant are the Greens?

    ” rel=”nofollow”>

    Incredible. I’ve said all along that the pandemic has sidelined minority voices as people want to hear from decision makers not stunt makers. But perhaps the pandemic exacerbates Bandt’s inability to cut through normally.

  43. The Labor way

    Grattan Institute’s head of household finances Brendan Coates said the Rudd government’s Social Housing Initiative showed investing in such schemes was a more effective way of stimulating the economy.
    Social housing generates an immediate economic boost while bridging a shortfall in affordable housing “that is contributing to growing rates of homelessness,” he said.

    Howard’s way

    On the other hand, subsidies for home buyers typically only help vendors and developers, as home values rise when buyers have more money to bid up prices.

    This is why property groups lobby politicians to introduce such measures, while governments typically prefer them to building more social housing, as the latter affects their budget bottom line.

    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/28/social-housing-not-subsidies/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20News%20-%2020200528

  46. There should be enough data from the return of students across Europe for a working hypothesis on this being a cause of spreading of disease if that is correct.

  48. Confessions

    I’ve said all along that the pandemic has sidelined minority voices…………….people want to hear from decision makers

    Labor seems to fit that bill at the moment.

  49. 12 month pay freeze for public servants NSW. Nurses, teachers, and police.

    Ged Kearney
    @gedkearney
    ·
    30m
    Austerity has kicked in. So bloody predictable and shortsighted of neo-Libs. Cutting the pay of the most stable consumer base in the state is not good economics as well as showing total lack of respect. #auspol

  50. lizzie,

    Sophia Wang is an expert on carbon capture and storage.

    Could be a good discussion without the carping Greens negativity.

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