Together with the usual suite of questions on coronavirus, the latest weekly Essential Research survey offers findings on the government’s robodebt the recent disturbances in the United States. The former make grim reading for the government, or might do if Newspoll hadn’t suggested the debacle had made no difference on voting intention: 74% say the government should apologise to those negatively impacted, with only 11% disagreeing; 66% support interest and damages for those who wrongly repaid money, with 13% disagreeing; 55% supported a royal commission, with 23% disagreeing; and only 32% agreed the automated notifications were a good idea “even if it was poorly implemented”, with 43% disagreeing.
Regarding the protests in the United States, the propositions that “protesters are right to demand better protection and treatment of African Americans in society” and that “the protesters want to loot and cause property damage, more than they want social change” both received majority support, though far more emphatically in the former case, with 80% agreeing and 11% disagreeing, compared with 54% and 33% for the latter. There were likewise large majorities in favour of the notions that “authorities in America have been unwilling to deal with institutional racism” (78% to 10%) and that the death of George Floyd pointed to “wider discrimination against minority cultures in society” (72% to 16%), while only 33% considered Floyd’s death isolated and not illustrative of institutional police racism, compared with 54% who disagreed.
As for coronavirus, the number who are “very concerned” maintains a steady decline, down five to 27%, with quite concerned down one to 48%, not that concerned up six to 21% and not at all concerned up one to 5%. Approval of the government’s handling of the matter is little changed, with 70% rating it good (up two) and 12% poor (steady). Small-sample state breakdowns provide a further increment of support for the notion that the Western Australian government has done best out of the crisis, with the good rating at 84% and poor at 6%, with other states ranging from 67% to 79% on good and 8% to 13% on poor. Queensland respondents were most likely to say their government was moving too slowly in easing restrictions, although even here the result was only 23% compared with 63% for “about the right speed”. The poll was conducted online from Thursday to Sunday from a sample of 1073.
Elsewhere, yesterday’s declaration of candidates and ballot paper draw for the July 4 Eden-Monaro by-election revealed a field of 14 candidates. Along with Labor candidate Kristy McBain and Liberal candidate Fiona Kotvojs, there are starters for the Nationals (Trevor Hicks, who won a preselection vote on Saturday), the Greens, Shooters Fishers and Farmers, the Liberal Democrats, the Christian Democrats, Help End Marijuana Prohibition, the Science Party, Sustainable Australia, something called the Australian Federation Party and three independents.
Bucephalus @ #289 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 12:45 pm
hmmm:
they seem nice
Shorter version:
“I understand markets and economics and that guy doesn’t, so there! Everybody ignore him and look at me. I’m Mr. MeSeeks!”
I’m not counting that as a proper rebuttal of anything. Economics is a made-up discipline anyways; it’s just looking at what people (tend to) do and then describing it with overpriced words. 🙂
Rex Douglas @ #291 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 2:51 pm
I didn’t. I said the WA government shouldn’t allow it.
However I’m certain that nothing within the laws and rules obliges BHP to seek to destroy cultural sites in the first place, nor to proceed with actually doing so if given permission.
Businesses need to gain some ethics, and stop seeking to do things they know they shouldn’t be doing, regardless of what nonsense the laws and rules technically allow.
mundo says:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Scrooter’s a hard nut to crack.
——————-
Shorten has no problem in cracking Morrison , in fact Morison has no answers when being relentlessly counter-attacked by Shorten
Jeezus freaking kerrist! Is mundo still licking Morrison’s boots!?!
frednk @ #277 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 2:00 pm
Wouldn’t it be deadset ironic if Alex stood for Labor preselection.
Won a seat and became leader within a few months…then Labor wins and viola! Labor Prime minister Turnbull.
Scott @ #301 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:06 pm
A shame he couldn’t crack him 12 months ago.
South
They should be hammering this.Shouting it from every roof top and not just using the word “suicide”. If you discover something was faulty , causing injury and death yet ignored that information and insisted people keep using your “dangerous” product would that not be at least manslaughter ?
mundo says:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:09 pm
A shame he couldn’t crack him 12 months ago.
—-
He did crack Morrison and had the Newsltd Hacks wetting themselves , they were saved by the unintelligent gullible voters
Bec Carver:
[‘…to say nothing of the bobble headed ventriloquists’ dummy speaking in third person tongues with Mundo’s hand jammed up its arse…’]
You don’t hold back.
C@tmomma says:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:01 pm
If you don’t like the Cato Institute there are plenty of others showing the significant errors in his work.
Shorten is in full flight at the moment , shame the labor leadership is not doing this counter-attacking on important matters like this
Yesterday when i seen Albanese leaning towards Morrison i thought this maybe change , but no i was incorrect it seems Albanese is still appeasing the media.
Shorten should step up with Bellowing , do not quiet down
I know this is totally off topic but would like people’s views on wether mutual obligations for Jobseeker could or should be opened up to allow the unpaid tasks of caring for their elderly relatives to stay at home to count as volunteering. Also there are a large number of women, who were working pre virus who are trying to juggle paid work, unpaid Childcare to help their children get ahead as well as daily care for relatives eligible for home assistance but unable to access a package.
Could or should the government look at a way in which these people can get some financial recognition for the contribution they make that saves the government billions.
The fin has been down at news corp sewer levels for a long time but that article today, by Aaron Patrick is deeply deeply worst of sky after dark bad.
Ah, the old Clayton’s apology, “Sorry for the hurt, blah, blah, blah.” Coming soon, however, to a benefit recipient near you, Robodebt 2. Nastier and more secretive.
I wonder if Scotty from Marketing will apologise for his repulsive and woefully ignorant, “No slavery in Australia.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2020/jun/11/australia-coronavirus-latest-updates-economy-gdp-health-nsw-victoria-queensland-border-morrison-politics-live
How long before Morrison demands that CNN stops writing articles like these?
(I know that these articles are highlighted in the edition of the CNN website aimed at this part of the world but they are still available to people in the rest of the world.)
BLM protesters should start mining operations at the Canberra War Memorial, the Sydney Opera House, etc…
The Prime Minister has apologised to people who financially suffered because of the Government’s failed robodebt scheme, saying he regrets any hardship that was caused as a result of the program.
The Government announced at the end of May it was scrapping the scheme and would pay back $721 million worth of debts raised.
“I would apologise for any hurt or harm in the way that the Government has dealt with that issue and to anyone else who has found themselves in those situations,” Scott Morrison said.
“The business of raising and recovering debts on behalf of taxpayers is a difficult job.
“Of course I would deeply regret any hardship that has been caused to people in the conduct of that activity.”
The scheme saw hundreds of thousands of people issued with computer-generated debt notices, some of which made demands for payment from people who did not owe the Government any money.
The apology came after Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter said he could not apologise because of ongoing litigation over the scheme.
“The system was flawed. I’m not going to use that word because … as Attorney-General I can’t use the sort of language in the context of the litigation,” he said on Insiders on Sunday.
The aim of the LNP, as on almost all State Institutions like the ABC, is to run them down to such an extent that their eventual privatisation or suppression will be relatively painless (for the LNP).
The aim is to have a media without Australian voices or culture. All run by and for the profits of North American corporations and their colonial agents.
So Morrison apologises for “any hurt or harm caused by the Government’s handling of the controversial robodebt scheme”. Too little, too late. Now, wait for the damages’ claims against the Cth, with the taxpayer picking up the tab, when all along they knew it was a crock. If Morrison accorded with Westminster conventions he and the odious Robert would resign, and whoever else was connected to this inhumane scheme.
Scott @ #307 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:14 pm
Oh good. Mundo feels better now.
Bill cracked Scrooter but Scrooter gets to stay Prime minister because unintelligent gullible morons didn’t respect the crackage.
Or something…..Mundo’s head hurts.
Mavis @ #320 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:34 pm
If the opposition ‘accorded with Westminster conventions’ they’d crucify him.
Rakali:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:33 pm
[‘The aim of the LNP, as on almost all State Institutions like the ABC, is to run them down to such an extent that their eventual privatisation or suppression will be relatively painless (for the LNP).’]
You’re dead right there. They tried their cunning plan on the High Court when, from memory, Mason was CJ. Moreover, it appears Ita’s in witness protection.
Scott @ #310 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:19 pm
Lazarus rising?
mundo @ #300 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:04 pm
Labor are not hungry enough to use such aggressive tactics. Especially Albo.
It shows in everything they do – or rather, everything they fail to do.
Kronomex @ #317 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 1:27 pm
Yep, not,
Sorry for wilfully being complete bastards to thousands of people who are less powerful and well off.
Assantdj @ #314 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 1:26 pm
Mutual obligations should just go, they are simply cruel and even more so in the recession and likely following depression.
Mavis says:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:15 pm
Nope. Guess not. lol
Its alright tonight’s my dress up night, you know the little black number with the pleated front, short as hell… with the heart shaped cutout. Matching heels, sheers and a ball gag.
I’ll remember my place quicker than a face flashes in the sky.
Daddy’s rifle in my hand felt reassuring
He said, Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing
But when the first shot hit the docks I saw it coming
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black
And my face splashed in the sky
mundo says:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:37 pm
[‘If the opposition ‘accorded with Westminster conventions’ they’d crucify him.’]
I’m guessing a little work was done behind the scenes to force an apology. But you’re right.
Labor should keep hammering this, calling for at least Robert’s resignation.
Bec Carver:
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 3:44 pm
You’re certainly a character, who should post more often.
The Prime Minister has apologised to people who financially suffered because of the Government’s failed robodebt scheme, saying he regrets any hardship that was caused as a result of the program.
And that’s it!?! Too bad, so sad!?!
Robodebt is Pink Batts on steroids! Morrison, Porter, Tudge and Robert should be run out of town on a rail! But not one of them will lose their job for it, let alone government, due to the lavish election ad campaign they will run at the next election, funded by the rubes/taxpayer, aided and abetted by Clive Palmer’s astroturfed political party and the Coalition media mouthpieces, I’m sorry to say (but hopeful otherwise nevertheless).
And freaking mundo, and the rest of the PB cabal, on both the Left and the Right, who come here day after day to attempt to talk down the Labor Party, think Labor can break through the wall of sound that the Coalition and their media megaphones have perfected!?!
All I’ll say to that is that if they think they have the answers they should be out there spending every waking moment trying to get rid of a government that can behave like this, above.
I’m not holding my breath because it’s easier to take lazy pot shots at Labor for them.
And, yes, I would be if I physically could. Because the Morrison government is a threat to democracy in Australia. It’s as simple as that and we should all be fighting THEM tooth and nail.
WWP: “Mutual obligations should just go, they are simply cruel and even more so in the recession and likely following depression.”
OK, so we just say to people in their early 20s “that’s it, you can have welfare payments for life, don’t worry about getting trained, don’t worry about trying to find work, just give up and stay on the susso for the rest of your life.”
Add that to the idea of basically giving up on policing the places where Indigenous people live and we are heading towards a wonderful society, with a growing underclass with an incredibly low rates of upward mobility.
Our forthcoming Chinese overlords will be laughing their heads off at our self-destructive decadence.
Buce says ““ The technical flaws in Piketty’s argument are pervasive. When you dig, you find them. The fundamental problem is that Piketty does not understand how markets work. In keeping with his position as a man of the left, he has a vague and confused idea about how supply responds to higher prices. Startling evidence of Piketty’s miseducation occurs as early as page 6.””
Oh well done Buce you googled to find some actual evidence for your point of view that isn’t God’s word. But really it would have been more convincing if you had actually explained “Picketty’s miseducation” rather than just pointing us in the direction of a libertarian critique. Surely you can summarise the article and present the gist of it?
And I wonder how, if the flaws in his argument are “pervasive” why one should have to dig to find them?
It’s unbelievable that even a man of the left – such reprehensible creatures determined to destroy western civilisation – who had done so much work on his thesis could have “a vague and confused idea about how supply responds to higher prices”. So there is a set in stone rule about how supply responds to higher prices that everyone should understand and Piketty missed this?
Wiki presents all the criticisms of Piketty’s work and the responses that criticise the criticisms. It’s a good idea to do a Greg Hunt and wiki things as a start to researching the latest ideas.
Also, Crooked Timber has a very interesting post on the demise of the “Bleeding Hear Libertarians” blog that I was very interested in when it started but which had nothing but whiney rich boys and girls sounding off on their own personal likes and dislikes about the poor.
I think that this Conversation article and the comments are a good response to your response that tries to discredit Piketty on the basis of a Cato Institute publication. Try and read it around the log in your eyes and brain.
https://theconversation.com/piketty-has-redefined-capital-after-200-years-of-confusion-25770?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs6Pho4P56QIVmQVyCh1YBAb1EAMYASAAEgIYYvD_BwE
Re the Cato Institute, it seems that there has been a split and now there is the Niskanen Centre that competes with Cato for the libertarian money.
From Wiki; “The Niskanen Center was founded in early 2015 by Jerry Taylor.[8] At its launch, the center was composed primarily of former staffers of the Cato Institute who departed in the wake of a 2012 leadership struggle pitting Ed Crane against the Koch Brothers for control of the libertarian think tank.[9] Taylor[10] and vice president Joe Coon[11] publicly aligned themselves with Crane during the dispute. Both departed shortly after Crane was replaced by John Allison as Cato’s president as part of the settlement with the Kochs.
“Funding for the center includes donors who seek to counter libertarian conservative hostility to anti-global warming measures. North Carolina businessman Jay Faison, a Republican donor, made an early contribution to the Niskanen Center to spur public climate education [12] but has ceased all ties to the organization in recent years. Some supporters of the Niskanen Center are more traditionally aligned with left-libertarian causes. They include the Open Philanthropy Project, which supports the Center’s work to expand legal immigration,[13] the Lawrence Linden Trust for Conservation, which provided the Niskanen Center with a grant “to develop and analyze a potential economy-wide carbon tax”,[14] and a $400,000 operations grant from the Hewlett Foundation.[15]”
Bec Carver,
Nice work. 🙂
Bec Carver
I love your turning phrases,very stimulating. Please post more often.
Re Piketty: I have his book, but haven’t been able to stay awake long enough to read much of it. I suppose I should give it another go. If I do, I’ll post what I think on here. But, at 800+ pages, don’t hold your breath.
C@t
It is, no wonder Labor are going at it tooth and nail, really hammering the message.
Out in the car I heard part of a speech in the Senate by a very fired-up Labor Senator (could have been Katy Gallagher, but unsure) who was tearing into the LNP for their immoral treatment of robodebtors.
Shame that they were probably either not listening or playing with their mobiles. Yes, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Talk of ABC cutting back on News. Well, they already have so many repeats of the same bits all through the day that any more cutting back would emasculate it altogether.
poroti @ #338 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:57 pm
And they have to keep hammering it every damn day, like the Coalition did with Pink Batts, from now until the next election!
For Beausyphilis,
Since you are keen on quotes from the Holey Babble, try this one, which has the advantage of being unequivocal, and an absolute command from Gawd Allmitey, and go and follow it.
“Deuteronomy 20:16–17
But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded.”
There are lots of Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria, but you could just go over to Osborne, to find a restaurant to burn down, and a few tribespeople to massacre. The Lord your God has commanded, after all, so there is no excuse. You would not want to be a blasphemer, would you?
meher baba @ #337 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 3:56 pm
I’m sure you could find an Abridged version, meher baba. Maybe an Economics 101 crib? 🙂
Morrison’s apology (just saw it) was still patronising, to me.
lizzie @ #344 Thursday, June 11th, 2020 – 4:03 pm
No doubt perfunctory and calculated as well. Cue the media fawning over it in 3..2..1…
Just watched the Ch. 7 afternoon telly news.
Second story was some bloke wrapping the day in Canberra, talked about Scrooter gettiing tough with protesters and how great Australia’s economy is compared to all the other losers in the world…..nothing about Robodebt apology. Nothing. Didn’t happen.
Now here’s an article performing a pretty entertaining vivisection on the Labour Party (Scotland Branch).
“Now, I find myself wondering if some in the SNP have also studied the Oxford method and deployed it to reduce the Labour Party in Scotland to a political end-of-pier act, good for little other than providing a semblance of diversity at Holyrood and holding the jackets.
So steep and rapid has been the descent of Labour in Scotland that you are tempted to suspect an unseen nationalist hand. Yet, closer inspection reveals the main cause of its slump to have been mere stupidity, albeit on a scale rarely before seen. This party is to politics what Gerald Ratner was to marketing.
Just when you think it must surely have tired of this foolishness and a generation wandering aimlessly in the political desert, it reveals that it hasn’t quite reached rock bottom and feels it still has some way to go.“
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18506774.tory-infiltration-explanation-labours-failures/
C@t
Jane Norman ABC assures us he apologised. That girl is so shallow.
“Playing with their mobiles.”
Code for ❓
C@tmommasays: Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 4:01 pm
It is, no wonder Labor are going at it tooth and nail, really hammering the message.
And they have to keep hammering it every damn day, like the Coalition did with Pink Batts, from now until the next election!
******************************************************************
This is a very hard message to get up to public exposure in an almost totally controlled Murdoch Media …..