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 4 of 32
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  1. Sharon McGowan
    @Sharon_McGowan_
    A maskless man – who repeatedly called police “Nazi dogs” is arrested at the Shrine of Remembrance, where an anti-lockdown protest is due to take place this morning @theheraldsun

  5. Zoomster

    You know exactly what I am saying. I have said it very clearly several times.

    You then go on to smear an entire political party on the basis of on ethical hypothetical that is as old as the hills to excuse the systemic unethical behaviour.

    Let’s be very very clear. The strength of success of capitalism is rewarding unethical behaviour. Greed is good.

  6. frednk says:
    Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 11:33 am

    “After education comes family, buying a home then retirement. It is saddling.

    You need to do something to remove the increasing income inequality”

    A degree holder will generally be earning more than without a degree. The lifetime increase is on average about a million dollars. Repayment hardly impacts this.

    A HECS debt has almost no impact direct material negative impact on the ability to borrow or repay a home loan and the fact that you are earning more than otherwise actually assists with buy a home.

    Stop spreading lies.

  7. Alan Baxter
    @AlanBixter
    ·
    12m
    Journalist: “Jeff Kennett says [garbage deleted here]. What do you say to that?”
    Premier Andrews: “I have absolutely nothing to say about anything that person says. Ever.”

  13. Simon Katichsays:

    And would refuse a trip to Singapore to visit various disreputable establishments.

    **********

    I presume you are referring to a certain 5 level establishment that is, err, well known for those with, err, exotic tastes?

  14. I always get a good giggle out the rants about how bad Morrison is. He’s the PM and won the last election.

    As if to prove my point, Bucephalus chimes in with another rote response …

    Can I remind him that Rudd won an election. Gillard won an election. Abbott and Turnbull, ALSO won elections. Gillard lasted the longest at about 3 years. Abbott was worst at under two years. Yet the pundits told us both of the Liberal PMs could stay in the job for as long as God gave them breath, while predicting doom and destruction right through for the Labor PMs.

    Morrison has only just made it past Abbott’s dismal benchmark. He’s got 9 months to go before he equals Rudd, then 2 months after that before he reaches Turnbull. Another year from now to beat Gillard.

    If just a week is a long time in ordinary politics, what’s a year during an unprecedented pandemic? If anything, the pandemic has bought Morrison some time. Even the Libs aren’t that irresponsible.

  15. guytaur @ #154 Saturday, September 5th, 2020 – 9:42 am

    Zoomster

    You know exactly what I am saying. I have said it very clearly several times.

    You then go on to smear an entire political party on the basis of on ethical hypothetical that is as old as the hills to excuse the systemic unethical behaviour.

    Let’s be very very clear. The strength of success of capitalism is rewarding unethical behaviour. Greed is good.

    That is how this experiment has played out, it isn’t necessarily innate in a market based society.

  16. Zoomster

    The problem for capitalism is well known. The US today has become a corporate oligarchy calling itself a democracy.

    That’s why workers voted for Trump.
    As chaotic narcissistic and authoritarian as he is he exploited the weaknesses of the US dog eat dog neoliberal system. Yes he did that by being left of the Democrats on some issues.

    Socialism could be the solution. Remember socialism is not dictatorship.
    That means keeping a two party system and remaining a democracy.

    We could horror of horrors even have a mixed economy. Australia did and was good for people at the time. The whole pure free trade was always bollocks that unions never bought into. They always wanted to increase not decrease wages in other countries.

    Plain packaging is also not pure free trade either.

  17. Looking forward to Tony Abbott shirtfronting the EU and other trade negotiators. Maybe even telling a few home truths to the local peasants.


  18. Bucephalus says:
    Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 11:42 am
    ..
    Stop spreading lies.

    Spreading lies? A dept is a debt. It is a pretty simple concept.

    I’m reflecting on where we have ended up. Australia has basically destroyed it’s means of production in the last 30 years and sold off a lot of commonwealth assets for no a lot in return ( Costello could boast the number somewhere was zero, big deal).

    We are going to have to reflect on what we are still good at and what we can still do locally. Education is something we can still do.

    Pretending that Thatchers reforms worked is definitely not the way forward. They have damaged all societies that adopted them, the increasing inequality is a measure of the damage done.

    What the thatcher reforms did not consider is the need for a strong functioning society for the rich to make money. Destroy that and all they have is a pile of paper. Actually today even less than that. A number in a bank account in a far off place

  19. guytaur says:
    Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 11:57 am
    The whole pure free trade was always bollocks that unions never bought into.
    _____________
    I don’t know about that. Remember Latham’s revelations that Bill Shorten when head of the AWU implored him to support the free trade agreement with the USA.

    When Latham remarked that he thought the AWU was opposed to it. Shorten then remarked that such talk was just ‘for the members’. Shorten has never denied Latham’s account either.


  21. guytaur says:
    Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 11:57 am

    Zoomster

    The problem for capitalism ….

    guytaur your fighting an old fight. In reality capital has very little value, heven’t you noticed returns are pretty insignificant. The value is in being able to organize stuff.

    A lot of people trying to get it right is more likely to get something right than a committee.

  22. Greensborough Growler @ #141 Saturday, September 5th, 2020 – 11:27 am

    Simon Katich @ #143 Saturday, September 5th, 2020 – 11:25 am

    ————
    Sounds like the health professionals got rolled on this one.
    ————
    They flattened commonsense along the way.

    Morrison believes in his ability to spin, trusts in the power of Murdoch in backing him and knows there is a lack of journalistic rigour in the MSM to be able to pin anything in him.

    Morrison is a balloon. Thin facade – no substance.

    Filled with laughing gas.

    And he laughs himself to sleep every night because he knows the next election is in the bag…and…well, Labor is the ‘opposition’…….Must be hard being Mrs Scrooter.

  23. Zoomster

    Then you can look at the individual who turned his back on society to demand he is given money.

    Hypocritical. Yes. Unethical? Maybe not.
    The person was aiming for self suffiency but due to the system was not able to achieve it.

    Of course that’s a red herring when discussing UBI because then the money is given without demand.

    Socialism only comes up because people think UBI is socialism.

  25. FredNK

    Of course it’s not new.

    Who said socialism has to be about committees.
    It can be about a lot of people organising for a commercial outcome.

    Just have workers on boards. Cooperatives etc.

    Spain is a socialist democracy. So is a Portugal.

    They have not exactly been the worst countries in the developed world.

    Don’t do China.

  26. Peak meat industry bodies and operators are calling for the Victorian Government to recognise business investment into proactive technology in the fight against COVID-19.

    Midfield Group in south-west Victoria is trialling a wearable contact tracing device that they say could revolutionise the way abattoirs operate in the global pandemic.

    General manager Dean McKenna said the company was the first meat processing facility in Australia to trial the device, called Smart Badge, which is attached to workers helmets or warn(sic) like a watch.

    Key points:
    Wearable contact tracing devices are being trialled at a Victorian abattoir in an Australian first for the industry
    Midfield Meats hopes the Bluetooth devices will help prevent future coronavirus outbreaks
    The Australian Meat Industry Council says meatworks and abattoirs have been unfairly singled out as dangerous

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-05/new-contact-tracing-device-trialled-at-victorian-meat-processor/12624594

  28. Aneeka Simonis
    @AneekaSimonis
    · 1h
    These two protesters are also being fined for breaching #COVID19 orders. (Can’t see the tinfoil hat.)

    One came with a tin foil hat & said she was told 5000 people were already here

    In reality there are far more police than people, at least at this stage @theheraldsun

  29. Lizzie

    Both sides seem to be beating for more extremism.

    The police process has been bad giving oxygen to the extremists on the right for their claim of Dictator Dan as they deny science.

    Nuance is not allowed. People might agree and political advantage not taken.

  30. Aneeka Simonis
    @AneekaSimonis
    · 30m
    Police have little chance of gaining control of this protest. It’s swelled into the thousands & is stopping CBD traffic @theheraldsun

  31. guytaur

    As so often happens, you’re now talking about something completely different to what I was talking about.

    At no point did I offer any defence of capitalism, the present system, etc etc etc.

    Continue down your own particular rabbit hole, I’m not interested.

  32. Bill Gates?

    Another man was arrested by police after telling officers any fines would be “unlawful”. His white t-shirt sported black hand-written scrawl about Bill Gates.

    “We’re trying to educate people, we’re trying to tell people what’s going on,” he said after police had him handcuffed.

    Another woman toting a hand-painted sign which said ‘end the lockdown, end the suffering’ told the gathered media through tears she was “asking the world to help us”.

    Police told the woman to move away, as she had already received a fine for breaking the Chief Health Officer’s stay-at-home directions.

    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/heavy-police-force-greets-anti-lockdown-protesters-across-melbourne-at-the-shrine-20200905-p55so3.html

  33. Zoomster

    As usual you try and shift the goal posts and then claim that’s not what the discussion was about.

    Just like you tried to claim demanding money was stealing.

    The discussion is about the ethics of the capitalist system.
    I addressed the ethics of the individual too.

  35. I think I’ve died and gone to hell. 😐

    BIG morning this morning. My son and his mate moved most of the furniture out of the house and into the double garage for the Removalists to take away on Wednesday morning. I cleaned in the newly-exposed areas (yuck!). So, now all we have left are our beds, the TV and the computers and modem. Oh, and the kitchen to pack up tomorrow. 🙁

  37. WeWantPaul

    It’s the anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne CBD, supported by all the tinfoil hat types you can imagine. They’ve been gathering supporters on Facebook and other means I know nothing about.

  38. ‘Another woman toting a hand-painted sign which said ‘end the lockdown, end the suffering’ told the gathered media through tears she was “asking the world to help us”.’

    The rest of the world is wondering what the fuss is about.

  39. Someone has just posted on Twitter that the Herald-Sun will exaggerate the numbers at the protest, because they have been encouraging it against Andrews.

  40. lizzie @ #185 Saturday, September 5th, 2020 – 10:51 am

    WeWantPaul

    It’s the anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne CBD, supported by all the tinfoil hat types you can imagine. They’ve been gathering supporters on Facebook and other means I know nothing about.

    Ahh right wing ratbags and racists. The police are probably on their side so no big surprise they haven’t got this under control.

    thanks

  41. guytaur

    ‘As usual you try and shift the goal posts and then claim that’s not what the discussion was about.’

    I think I know what I was discussing.

    On past form, I don’t think you do.

    ‘Just like you tried to claim demanding money was stealing.’

    Well, it can be. Depends how the demanding is done.

    Were bushrangers stealing?

    (But, of course, you missed the point I was actually making, and if I don’t bother trying to explain it to you, most posters here will be in full sympathy).

    ‘The discussion is about the ethics of the capitalist system.’

    Among other things. I certainly was not arguing that the capitalist system was ethical. The most I’d go for is ‘amoral.’

  42. Lizzie

    It’s very hard for a government to educate people when a media organisation is promoting ignorance.

    Newscorp is a threat to democracy.

    Police arrests have happened because it’s not just a few people on Facebook.

    It’s been the Newscorp LNP coalition that also destroyed Climate policy that Labor was sanely addressing.

  43. WWP

    It’s a bit chaotic because apparently the organisers have withdrawn their support and the messaging is all over the place. An example of the weird rubbish:

    cam smith
    @sexenheimer
    ·
    2h
    According to (former?) RMIT professor of complementary medicine Marc Cohen, the police have technology they can use to kill 50,000 people at once, which they might use in a false flag.

  47. If these protests do spread the virus again, Andrews and Sutton and all the people trying to contain it will be tearing their hair out in frustration. It’s maddening.

  48. Reading this mornings debate between Firefox and Zoomster tells me that Firefox is basically targeting the wrong solution to the problem because in practicably every society in recorded history there has been an elite.

    Australia isn’t anywhere near as unequal has Firefox suggests thanks to a number of well designed institutions and public policies from our universities to compulsory superannuation.

    The secret to improving Australia is to focus on those that are disadvantaged because as the first productivity commission report into the NDIS did an outstanding job of nailing the barriers faced by disabled people. That is where the inequality is created so fix that.

  50. lizzie @ #191 Saturday, September 5th, 2020 – 11:00 am

    WWP

    It’s a bit chaotic because apparently the organisers have withdrawn their support and the messaging is all over the place. An example of the weird rubbish:

    cam smith
    @sexenheimer
    ·
    2h
    According to (former?) RMIT professor of complementary medicine Marc Cohen, the police have technology they can use to kill 50,000 people at once, which they might use in a false flag.

    They should just arrest them all and detain them in a retirement village #ScottyfromMarketing is responsible for.

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