More affairs of state

More evidence of a tight contest looming in Queensland while Mark McGowan reigns supreme in Western Australia; and a parliamentary committee in Victoria kicks the upper house electoral reform can down the road.

Not every state this time, but half:

Victoria

The Victorian parliament’s electoral matters committee has tabled the report of its inquiry into the 2018 state election, of which the greatest item of interest is a full chapter devoted to reform of the upper house electoral system. Together with Western Australia, Victoria is the last hold-out of the group voting ticket system that is electing ever-increasing numbers of preference-harvesting micro-party candidates. This reached a new height at the 2018 election, at which parties other than the Coalition, Labor and the Greens won 10 out of the 40 seats in the Legislative Council, including two elected with less than 1% of the vote. However, the report recommended only that a further parliamentary inquiry be held into the matter. The report also recommends no change to the two-week period for pre-polling, which the Liberals and Nationals called to be shortened.

Queensland

Polling of the marginal state seats of Currumbin, Mansfield and Aspley by YouGov for the Australian Conservation Foundation shows a combined two-party result of 52-48 for Labor, compared with an almost exact 50-50 for these three seats in 2017. The primary votes are Labor 37%, LNP 37%, Greens 10%, One Nation 4% and 10% don’t know, compared with 2017 election results of Labor 41.2%, LNP 38.4%, Greens 10.6% and One Nation 8.5%. The poll was conducted from August 17-19 and targeted 200 respondents in each of the three electorates.

Western Australia

A poll for The West Australian by Painted Dog Research showed Mark McGowan with an approval rating at 91%, up four from an already stratospheric result in June. Support for the state’s border closure was at 92%, up from 89% in May. The poll was conducted from a sample of 837, with field work dates not provided.

Northern Territory

As related in the dedicated post, the CLP sneaked home in an eighth seat in the Northern Territory election as the count concluded last night, producing a final result of Labor 14, CLP eight, Territory Alliance one and independents two.

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.

1,560 comments on “More affairs of state”

Comments Page 20 of 32
1 … 19 20 21 … 32

  2. Matthew Gertz@MattGertz
    ·
    12h
    Since his RNC speech nine days ago decrying leftist “cancel culture, speech codes, and crushing conformity,” Trump has called for the firings of Fox’s Jennifer Griffin, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, and CNN’s Chris Cuomo, and urged his supporters to harass the owner of The Atlantic.

  3. 41 today, 84 Same time last Week.
    The plan is working.

    I am so surprised that the business council types aren’t viewing through the long lens towards Christmas.

    If the virus is eliminated before Christmas, it will be a big retail bump, tourism can happen. If we follow let’s open now. We can look to the UK or France at the minute as to what is happening there…

  4. Alpha zero

    As Andrews keeps saying. We could pretend the virus has gone and open up the city. We would have sunshine and fun for a few weeks, and then we would be on the road to an even worse wave than we currently are in.

  6. Maude Lynne @ #947 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 6:54 am

    Had Labor not passed the package they would have most certainly been demonised.

    Having passed them Labor has still been demonised.

    Since the end result is the same, why not be an opposition and stick up for the 99% of people who’ll get no benefit whatsoever from these tax gifts to the wealthy.

    When people see that not only are they getting bugger all, they also have to wait until they do their tax returns next year to even get that pittance, it might resonate with voters.

    Instead we get the millionaires in parliament (on all sides) voting to increase their own wealth. Not a good look, no matter what the Murdooch/Stokes/Costello/IPABC media cartel says.

  9. lizzie @ #908 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:35 am

    @GregChinery
    · 26m
    #abcbreakfast has this morning been wall to wall Dan Andrews is destroying Vic & Australia. Nothing about how he’s trying to save lives. OTOH, it’s high fives all around to the LNP with the as yet to be proved securement of vaccines that do not exist.
    Ita’s stamp is everywhere.

    Distilled down to….LNP good, Labor bad.
    Some things will never change.

  10. lizzie @ #913 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:50 am

    Mike Carlton
    @MikeCarlton01
    ·
    5m
    What is this silly notion that “business leaders” must be consulted on how to defeat a pandemic ?
    It’s as silly as asking epidemiologists how to run an airline or a supermarket chain.

    The ABC is doing vox pops with small businesses. “Do you think these new restrictions will bring down the virus numbers?”

    And AM had Sabra Lane interviewing Rob Scott, CEO of, you guessed it, Wesfarmers, opining about how little the Victorians had consulted with business leaders compared to NSW and how their po’ team members in Victoria were doing it tough. 🙄

    Sabra did put one pointed question to Scott, to the effect, would you rather people die from the virus and are you prepared to wear that cost? He blew straight past that one! Then went on to bluff and bluster about the ‘tragic cost’ on the mental health of his 6000 team members in Victoria.

    Sheesh! You’d think that the employees getting a break to enjoy Spring was killing them! Not to mention the JobKeeper Wesfarmers is getting. But he wanted to make the point that his supermarkets have had 10000000 customers and not one case of COVID-19, so why should they be penalised by the roadmap? Hmm, maybe it’s because restrictions have been tight enough in Victoria to prevent them?

  12. Victoriasays: Monday, September 7, 2020 at 8:54 am

    PhoenixRed

    Any idea yet as to the number of tests?

    *********************************************

    Daniel Andrews was on Virginia Trioli this morning – and don’t hold me to this – but I think he said was over 30,000 tests

  13. Victoria @ #954 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 9:04 am

    Alpha zero

    As Andrews keeps saying. We could pretend the virus has gone and open up the city. We would have sunshine and fun for a few weeks, and then we would be on the road to an even worse wave than we currently are in.

    I wish Dan Andrews would ask Scrooter the serious question ‘when will he open Australia’s boarders?’ the international boarder closures are killing the tourism sector.
    What does he have to lose.

  14. Alpha Zero @ #953 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 9:03 am

    41 today, 84 Same time last Week.
    The plan is working.

    I am so surprised that the business council types aren’t viewing through the long lens towards Christmas.

    If the virus is eliminated before Christmas, it will be a big retail bump, tourism can happen. If we follow let’s open now. We can look to the UK or France at the minute as to what is happening there…

    I heard that South Korea is also having a second wave mediated via another Evangelical church group.

  15. mundo

    I meant an emotional boost of confidence, not a political one. It would have been very disheartening if the infections had risen again.

  16. Q: the business fury is palpable….people suffering lock down fatigue….etc etc….

    Assertions looking for a story. Polls have shown nothing but support for lockdowns. I have been to 3 states in the last 2 months, and business owners seem to have a pretty stoic ”this sucks but is for the greater good” attitude. Sure conflict makes better headlines, but the media should be a bit more responsible.

  19. Lockdown fatigue is all well and good. But I am certain, and the damn business community ought to be as well.
    If the virus is out of control, people will not go out and spend money.
    Its actually happening in red neck USA, where they supposedly dont even take the virus seriously.
    The narrative by the business community with the aid of the media, is purely political.
    And again I say, a pox on those who have politicised a pandemic.

  20. I was horrified at the front page of the Hun today.
    All whinge from families and businesses about the lockdown.
    Not going to help with cooperation and giving ideas to the idiots that want to protest.
    For once not 3/4 Harvey Norman ads

  21. James Dunstan
    @snowycats
    ·
    1m
    @LaTrioli
    Fine interview by Virginia with Premier – let him talk & questions relevant. Premier is so across the issues and so incredibly hard working.

  22. Torchbearer @ #956 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:17 am

    Q: the business fury is palpable….people suffering lock down fatigue….etc etc….

    Assertions looking for a story. Polls have shown nothing but support for lockdowns. I have been to 3 states in the last 2 months, and business owners seem to have a pretty stoic ”this sucks but is for the greater good” attitude. Sure conflict makes better headlines, but the media should be a bit more responsible.

    It’s not about us, we’re just thinking of the suffering of our poor customers.

    After all, their mental health would be improved hugely with a bit of retail therapy.

  23. ‘The federal government will scrutinise Victoria’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and has warned extensions to the lockdown will result in more job losses.’

    Come on Albo, Jimbo, time to wake up boys, off to work now.
    There’s lots to catch up on.

  26. Professor Brendan Crabb, director and CEO of the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, was pleased the Victorian government’s roadmap was “evidence-based, rather than politically driven”.

    “There was enormous pressure to act a bit more politically on the community sentiment – we’re all desperate for a more ‘normal’ life,” he told The New Daily.

    “It was a very sensible, evidence-based and ultimately quite strong response, dictated by the numbers and the evidence much more than by a strict date.”

    When asked about the effect restrictions would have on businesses, Professor Crabb said the roadmap would ultimately boost economic strength.

    “If we have a third wave, they’re smashed,” he said of business owners.

    This idea that it’s health versus economy is a faux argument: The two are linked.’’

    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/09/07/victoria-lockdown-extension/

  30. The Greens supporters here who spend all their energy bagging Labor are not doing their cause any good. I speak as someone who once was a keen Greens supporter. Time to grow up guys.

  31. Lizzie

    And using the terminology strangulation is particularly disgraceful. Cos people dying from this insidious virus, suffer terribly.

  32. The litmus-test for the Andrews road-map will be simple:
    Will I be having Xmas lunch with all of my extended family together?

  33. The mineral council is in trouble with members threatening to leave over their disconnect from reality.

    The business council seems to be trying to go the same way. Business owners die to. Some even realize dead customers and workforce are of little value.

    They and the state opposition are really getting hard to take.

  34. My offspring have friend whose parent is a health worker at the Frankston hospital.
    They had a big outbreak and hundreds had to isolate etc.
    Hence the hospital was under great pressure requiring people to work double shifts etc.
    Anyhoo the staff have barely coped and are having breakdowns every day.
    Imagine a virus out of control. This would be every hospital.

  35. victoria

    I was thinking – if Australia was in World War 3, would the media be constantly repeating sad stories of the suffering of soldiers and whinging about hard conditions, or would they be morally bound to support them and strengthen the nation’s courage?

  37. Lizzie

    My guess is our media would be reporting based on who was in power.

    I am certain if the fibs were in charge in Victoria, the Oz and Herald Sun reportage would be different.

  38. Victoria

    Imagine a virus out of control. This would be every hospital.

    This what Andrews was describing yesterday and Sutton weeks ago.

  41. Alpha Zero @ #972 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:45 am

    The litmus-test for the Andrews road-map will be simple:
    Will I be having Xmas lunch with all of my extended family together?

    I don’t see why this is the case.

    I think it was the SA CMO the other day who said it was unlikely that things will have returned to normal by Xmas and that’s in SA.

  42. Lizzie

    Yes they have. And if you speak to anyone at all connected to the health services, they will tell you this.

    But the media is focussed on political games and helping vested interests.

  43. @UrbanWronski
    ·
    10m
    Shadow health minister Chris Bowen calls the federal call to improve tracing “a particularly ironic development [when] the Morrison Government’s COVID-Safe app has been a dismal failure”.
    Patently inadequate but for Scotty it’s about the optics; doesn’t give a stuff about others.

  44. AlphaZero

    “Will I be having Xmas lunch with all of my extended family together?”

    Shit, I hope not.

    The only time I catch up with ‘extended family’ is at weddings and funerals. There’s a reason for that.

  47. Lots of use of ‘decarbonising the economy’ and all clean and green . However they do not mention how the hydrogen will be produced. Which of course means it will use coal. Which means shit loads of CO2 being produced. What a con job. The basic equation is
    CH (coal) + O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 + other species
    The CO will be further combusted to CO2 so for every Hydrogen we get 2 CO2.

    NSW will pursue large-scale hydrogen production as part of its attempt to tackle the COVID-19 economic crisis, with Newcastle and Port Kembla identified as critical hubs for tens of thousands of new export jobs.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/enormous-opportunities-nsw-s-green-economic-recovery-from-covid-19-20200906-p55srz.html#comments

  50. C@tmomma @ #980 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:52 am

    Barney in Tanjung Bunga @ #923 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 8:10 am

    C@tmomma @ #898 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 5:35 am

    zoomster @ #905 Monday, September 7th, 2020 – 7:29 am

    Stolen from facebook, as a timely reminder to us all:

    “Big Brother is not watching you. No one is. You’re boring.”

    Except if you live in China.

    Really??

    Do tell.

    You can read any one of these 47400 articles if you like.

    Which articles?

    They may want to do so, as would many other Countries, but they do not have the ability to do so.

    I was talking yesterday to a colleague who recently moved from China and he made reference to the number of times he had to report to the police when he travelled within the Country.

    So if they can’t automatically keep track of a relatively small number of foreigners, it’s highly unlikely that they can do so for their own people.

Comments Page 20 of 32
1 … 19 20 21 … 32

Leave a Reply

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