Essential Research: coronavirus and bushfires

A new poll registers fears of a second coronavirus wave and prolonged economic slowdown, and finds concern about climate change still at a high pitch.

The Guardian reports this week’s Essential Research poll has still more results on coronavirus, together with some findings on climate change. On the former count, the poll found 63% rating a second wave of coronavirus as restrictions are eased as very likely or quite likely, with only 13% rating it very unlikely; more than 60% expected international travel restrictions to remain for between one and two years; 70% thought it would take between one and two years for employment to recover; 60% expected a prolonged impact on the housing market; more than 60% expected a vaccine would be developed “over the next few years”; and 58% that the population would build resistance through exposure over that time. Despite it all, 45% said they felt very or somewhat positive about the next 12 months compared with 33% for very or somewhat negative.

On climate change, 52% now think Australia is not doing enough, down eight on November, with 25% holding the contrary view, up three. Forty-two per cent said they were now more concerned about climate change than they were a year ago, with a further 46% saying they were no more or less concerned. Full results from the poll will be published later today. (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.

2,745 comments on “Essential Research: coronavirus and bushfires”

Comments Page 53 of 55
1 … 52 53 54 55

  4. Jesus, Nicholas, cut to the chase.
    This is NOT about the donors.
    It is not about dialectical materialism.
    It is not even, for once, about the glorious future of MMT.
    It is about Sergeant Bandt taking armaments industry blood money.

  5. Blobbit says:
    [On the $200,000 donation by The McMichaels, a SA couple
    “I wouldn’t say it’s corrupt, but it’s playing pretty loose with the truth. I doubt it’s what their members would expect.”

    “Ms McMichael said the couple would continue supporting the Greens, despite the party’s approach­ to political donations and attitude towards defence and ­policing.”

    Since the Greens’ membership decides on all policy and other decisions, it would be up to them to determine whether they think the couple (or their business) fit the party’s guidelines.
    “Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters said last week the Banning Dirty Donations Bill sought to “stop all political donations from industries with a track record of seeking to influence decisions”…

    Given that this couple has donated smaller amounts over a long period (all visible on the Greens’ website), it wouldn’t seem that they’ve bought any influence.

  8. Nicholas

    Exactly. It’s obvious of course. BW et al using an anti-Greens beat-up in the Australian is unsurprising. Apparently, a party too small to be of any relevance occupies these same individuals day and night.

  9. RD

    “Urgent meeting at Sussex St tonight asking how they missed out on the $200k …?”

    lol That was my reaction too.

  10. Nicholas @ #2599 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 6:28 pm

    Ms McMichael said the couple would continue supporting the Greens, despite the party’s approach­ to political donations and attitude towards defence and ­policing. “My husband and I have made several donations to the Greens over the last few years,’’ she said. “We are sympathetic to their approach to caring for our country and its people. We will continue to support causes consistent with kindness and caring stewardship of our world.”

    This defence contractor couple are class traitors who are acting against their own class interests when they donate to the Greens. They are doing this for personal ideological reasons, not to serve their own material interests. Helping the Greens is actually not in the material interests of this couple. The Greens are not giving this couple any pro-military-industrial-complex policy in return for those donations; the Greens are maintaining their admirably anti-military-industrial-complex policies. What’s wrong with that? Absolutely nothing. All progressive change requires some class traitors.

    Self serving horseshit!

  12. Asio raids home of NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane over alleged links to China

    Labor party suspends controversial MP immediately after raid on his home in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/26/asio-raids-home-nsw-labor-mp-shaoquett-moselmane-links-china

    The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has described an investigation into allegations of Chinese government influence over a sitting NSW Labor MP as “extremely serious”, saying he had been briefed on Thursday night by security agencies.
    :::
    A source aware of the case told Guardian Australia the raid on Friday “would not be something that’s done lightly”.

    Asked about the raids, Morrison said the matters had been under investigation for some time and followed the passage of new laws to counter foreign interference.
    :::
    The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and senior colleagues were briefed on the investigation on Friday morning.

    The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said foreign interference was “a real and growing threat that we take very seriously”. He said he would not comment further because authorities “must now be free to properly investigate and do their job, free of any political interference”.

  14. It is a bit like being against prostitution because everyone knows that prostitution is evil, but still taking money from a brothel owner because the brothel owner is not actually prostituting her/himself.

  15. Nicholas @ #2599 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 4:28 pm

    Ms McMichael said the couple would continue supporting the Greens, despite the party’s approach­ to political donations and attitude towards defence and ­policing. “My husband and I have made several donations to the Greens over the last few years,’’ she said. “We are sympathetic to their approach to caring for our country and its people. We will continue to support causes consistent with kindness and caring stewardship of our world.”

    This defence contractor couple are class traitors who are acting against their own class interests when they donate to the Greens. They are doing this for personal ideological reasons, not to serve their own material interests. Helping the Greens is actually not in the material interests of this couple. The Greens are not giving this couple any pro-military-industrial-complex policy in return for those donations; the Greens are maintaining their admirably anti-military-industrial-complex policies. What’s wrong with that? Absolutely nothing. All progressive change requires some class traitors.

    Shorter version:

    I hate that we make all this money from the global murder industry, so here Greens, have some.

    OK, just as long as it’s a personal donation and not from your husbands company.

    See, the Greens can do nuance when self interest is at stake! 🙂

  16. The comments were analysed closely by CCP influence expert, Alex Joske, who is a researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Over time, Mr Joske has become increasingly alarmed at Mr Moslemane’s public comments about the CCP and dealings with Mr Zhang and Professor Chen, describing Mr Zhang as someone working closely with a Chinese group involved and “dedicated to building an alliance of people working towards the Chinese communist party’s goals”.

    Of Mr Zhang, Mr Joske says: “He is clearly trying to build his influence across both sides of [Australian] politics.”

    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-a-low-profile-nsw-mp-became-embroiled-in-an-asio-investigation-20200626-p556du.html

    So, Nick McKenzie of The Age and 9Fax, who in the Liberal Party is Mr Zhang close to?

  17. Nicholas
    Many political donors would argue they only donate because they want to be supportive but the reality is the Greens are quick to get on their high horse about other parties taking large donations despite the necessarily to fund campaigns. The Greens are hypocrites plain and simple.

  18. I am sure that there will be a groundswell of righteous outrage and nausea from Greens supporters, especially young Greens supporters of military age, who will take to the streets to demand that Sergeant Bandt hands the money back.

  20. When Bandt was talking about ‘connecting with farmers’ he actually meant ‘connecting with the arms industry’.

  21. I imagine that after this there will be such a wave of disgust among the more-principled of Greens supporters that the current polling of 10.5% will sag even further.

  23. Politics is essentially about the structures and systems of a society, and how those things determine the distribution of wealth, income, and control of productive resources.

    Politics is not about individuals demonstrating how morally upright they are.

    If it were, the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act would be illegitimate and wouldn’t count because LBJ personally said a tonne of racist things throughout his life. LBJ failed Boerwar’s irrelevant personal rectitude test. But LBJ transformed systems and structures in a positive way. Which is what counts.

    It is incredibly jejune to claim that positive changes to structures and systems are trivial or tainted because not every single action of every single individual involved in those changes aligned with the values that are nominally connected with that political project.

    Do you know who claims that politics is defined by virtue signalling and total moral consistency and unblemished rectitude by individuals? A politically naive Boomer with way too much time on his hands. That’s who.

  24. Morrison just now saying “if we could do backflips like Sam Kerr we would”.
    He could outclass her in the same proportion that she could outclass me.

  25. Nicholas
    That is fine as long as the Greens allow other parties the same room but knowing the Greens they wont because the Greens like to protest and sometimes protest a little to much.

  26. MB

    I don’t have a problem with donations from individuals who are making them in accordance with their values and principles for the advancement of progressive change..

    Donations from vested interests/companies/organisations such as the gambling industry, fossil fuel industry, etc….these donations are made to influence policy.

    There is a clear difference in intent and motivation.

  27. Why is SA letting anyone in from that shithole Melbourne where they have lost control of the virus?
    Why not shut the border to Victoria until they get their act together?

  28. ‘Nicholas says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    Politics is not about individuals demonstrating how morally upright they are.’

    Twenty thousand cutsnpastes and snarks from assorted Greens hacks on Bludger would tend to indicate that you might believe that but the rest of the Greensverse does not.

    But your POV would certainly help to explain why it was OK in some Greens supporters’ eyes for Sergeant Bandt to take blood money having previously spent some time excoriating blood money.

  29. Pegasus @ #2624 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 4:53 pm

    MB

    I don’t have a problem with donations from individuals who are making them in accordance with their values and principles for the advancement of progressive change..

    Donations from vested interests/companies/organisations such as the gambling industry, fossil fuel industry, etc….these donations are made to influence policy.

    There is a clear difference in intent and motivation.

    You should start your own laundry! 🙂

  30. Peg
    On that bases then there should be no complaints about Twiggy Gina or Rupert making personal donations because they might well sincerely support the politicians they are donating too.

  31. Dio
    Just because Bandt is in Melbourne taking blood money does not make the rest of Melbourne a shithole.
    That said, were I SA, I would be shutting the border with Vic.

  34. “Pegasussays:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 6:35 pm
    Nicholas

    Exactly. It’s obvious of course. BW et al using an anti-Greens beat-up in the Australian is unsurprising. Apparently, a party too small to be of any relevance occupies these same individuals day and night.”

    So it didn’t happen?

  36. Diogenes @ #2624 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 6:53 pm

    Why is SA letting anyone in from that shithole Melbourne where they have lost control of the virus?
    Why not shut the border to Victoria until they get their act together?

    Ah.. there’s that subconscious SA inferiority complex we Victorians love to laugh about 😆

  37. ‘Vogon Poet says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    The green intent is pure of heart.’

    Uh huh. But what about their MOTIVATION?

  40. Just hang in everybody, Bob Sprocket’s script upload is taking longer than expected. He will be along soonish to provide urgent and vigorous what aboutism therapy for Labor hacks.

  41. ‘Vogon Poet says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    We,from the greatest nation on earth, laugh about the mexicans ill founded superiority complex.’

    Careful! The Mexicans can pump the Rio Murray dry any time they choose.

  44. The Greens are hypocrites plain and simple.

    Grenade huggers, all of them.

    I’m confidently expecting mass resignations.

  45. boerwar @ #2639 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 7:06 pm

    ‘Vogon Poet says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    We,from the greatest nation on earth, laugh about the mexicans ill founded superiority complex.’

    Careful! The Mexicans can pump the Rio Murray dry any time they choose.

    Who cares, we can just block up the Darling and take the lot before it even makes it to NSW

  46. Diogenes @ #2625 Friday, June 26th, 2020 – 6:53 pm

    Why is SA letting anyone in from that shithole Melbourne where they have lost control of the virus?
    Why not shut the border to Victoria until they get their act together?

    No one in Victoria would actually notice if the SA border was closed.

    Why would you want to go there ?

  47. What is most risible is the proposition that the donors are ‘class traitors’. The Greens are not a revolutionary party by any means. They are an auxiliary outfit of the LibHeavy. They are self-sanctifying and self-gratifying bourgeois hypocrites who are opposed to the self-determination of working people, whom they both mistrust and despise. The donors have chosen well. Their coin will be sanitised before being used to traduce Labor.

  48. ‘Bushfire Bill says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    The Greens are hypocrites plain and simple.

    Grenade huggers, all of them. ‘

    Post of the day!

  49. Just watching the disgusting lack of social distancing as soccer administrators and players hugged each other after the announcement of the women’s Soccer World Cup venue.

    A very bad example.

  50. nath says:
    Friday, June 26, 2020 at 7:07 pm
    Lars I am now starting to really think sprocket has been picked up by ASIO.
    ____________________________________________
    I can see him sweating under the klieg lights denying all knowledge of the party. He’ll probably shop Bushfire Bill to save himself.

Comments Page 53 of 55
1 … 52 53 54 55

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *