Groom at the top

Eight LNP candidates nominate to fill John McVeigh’s vacancy in the Queensland seat of Groom; and the federal government says it will act to retain the Northern Territory’s two seats in the House of Representatives.

Miscellaneous developments from the past week:

• The Toowoomba Chronicle reports eight candidates have nominated for Liberal National Party preselection for the Groom by-election, of whom the front-runners are Rebecca Vonhoff, a Toowoomba councillor; Garth Hamilton, a businessman; Sara Hales, former general manager of Wellcamp Airport; and Shane Charles, former Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise chief executive. Also in the field are “Elders Rural Services’ Andrew Meara … race car driver Daniel Cassidy, Australian Lot Feeders president Bryce Camm and Doctor David van Gend”, the latter being a firebrand social conservative whom the outgoing member, John McVeigh, defeated for preselection when he succeeded Ian Macfarlane in 2016. Notably absent from the list is Senator Matt Canavan, despite a decision by the state executive to leave it to the branch membership whether the seat should go to a Liberal, as it has since 1988, or a National. The date of the by-election is yet to be confirmed.

• Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Thursday that the government would introduce a bill that will ensure the Northern Territory retains its two seats in the House of Representatives, though by what mechanism is unclear. A Labor-sponsored bill currently before the Senate provides a crude guarantee of a second Northern Territory seat (without extending the courtesy to the Australian Capital Territory, albeit that its population is such that the question does not arise), but when the same issue emerged before the 2004 election, it was dealt with through a technical tweak to the population statistics used to determine seat entitlements. The bottom line is that the Labor-held seats of Solomon and Lingiari, created when the territory first became entitled to a second seat in 2001 and respectively covering Darwin and the rest of the territory, will continue to exist despite enrolments of less than two-thirds the national norm. It also means the House of Representatives

• The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is conducting an inquiry into the “future conduct of elections operating during times of emergency situations”, encompassing “restrictions arising from a health pandemic”, “access to polling places during times of natural disasters”, “other potential drivers of social restrictions, such as future civil unrest, or international conflict” and “alternative voting methods including early, remote and postal voting”.

• The West Australian has a Painted Dog Research poll of 932 respondents in WA showing 64% want the state’s hard border maintained beyond December, with 36% favouring a resumption of travel with the eastern states.Hou

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.

590 comments on “Groom at the top”

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  4. Hat tip @antonygreen

    Nominations by Party – Queensland Elections 2020

    Australian Labor Party 93
    Liberal National Party 93
    The Greens 93
    One Nation 90
    Independents/Unaffiliated 69
    UAP/PUP 55
    Informed Medical Options 31
    Legalise Cannabis 23
    Civil Liberties and Motorists 16
    Katter’s Australian Party 13
    Animal Justice Party 13
    North Queensland First 5
    Shooters Fishers Farmers 3

    Total Candidates 597
    Average per Seat 6.4

  7. Who’s the grumpy guy whose an enema to all the lies?
    (Rex)
    Ya damn left!

    Who is the man that never sighs despite the lefty-schmef_ty replies?
    (Rex)
    He dug it?

    Who’s the crab that won’t cop out when there’s scorn all about?
    (Rex)
    Left on!

    He’s a complicated man
    But no one understands he’s Douglas
    (Rex Douglas)

  12. Didn’t know legislation prevent ABC presenting news back in the day………interesting…..
    We followed the BBC model here while it was open slather in who owned what and said what in the US. From the late 1940’s in the US until the late 80’s the US had a concept of “fair” reporting/balance on media such as radio and TV. Under Reagan that concept went the way of all flesh so that anyone who has access to a media outlet can lie with impunity in the US. This is likely why Murdoch feels so much at home there yet has little or no presence in places like NZ……
    Seriously, does anyone, at first blush, actually believe anything they read in the pulp media….and same for the electronic media?

  15. Tricotat 6:57 pm

    Didn’t know legislation prevent ABC presenting news back in the day

    Back in the day newspapers had morning and afternoon editions. Why buy the afternoon edition when you have already heard the news on the ABC. ABC news was kryptonite for the media barons.

  16. Mr Bunnings Chook Pen seems to have delusions of his own relative importance in the political scheme of things:

    Mr Morrison also hit back at comments Mr Miles had made about him, saying they were “careless and juvenile”.

    “To be here to talk to Queenslanders this week about how our budget and how our economic plans are going to get Queenslanders back into work, that may have been something that has escaped him, but it certainly hasn’t escaped me,” he said.

    “I’ve noticed that he’s made the odd remark about this and I’d encourage him to focus on doing his job and to frankly grow up,” he said.

    <a href="Mr Morrison also hit back at comments Mr Miles had made about him, saying they were "careless and juvenile".

    "To be here to talk to Queenslanders this week about how our budget and how our economic plans are going to get Queenslanders back into work, that may have been something that has escaped him, but it certainly hasn't escaped me," he said.

    "I've noticed that he's made the odd remark about this and I'd encourage him to focus on doing his job and to frankly grow up," he said.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-11/qld-state-election-2020-health-jobs-and-car-registration-pledge/12721592/

  18. ABCWashPo poll was of 1014 adults, 879 registered voters and 725 likely voters. MoE of 3.5 per cent.

    I believe they know how to conduct a proper poll of quality over quantity.

  19. I think it quite likely that by the time the ALP regains office the ABC as we have known it will no longer exist. There might be a privatised outfit called the ABC run by Liberal mates.

  21. The Freckle wasn’t invited into the tank with Scomo, just for the boys.
    The comments from Miles that annoyed Scomo, hit their mark :

    But Ms Frecklington was left twiddling her thumbs on Sunday as the Prime Minister did a few laps of the ADF’s Redbank facility in an army tank with 11 others, including two federal colleagues.

    “There were only two spots at the top,” Mr Morrison said. “I am sure there are safety issues around these things. I can only assume.”
    When asked if she was disappointed to be left behind, Ms Frecklington said: “It’s all fun, it’s just such a great privilege to be here today.”

    Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Ms Frecklington would “just do what the Prime Minister tells her to do” if elected.
    “I’ve said for some time that the Prime Minister is personally running the LNP’s campaign here in Queensland, at least it appears that way,” he said.

    “But I would like to emphasise that he is not a candidate in this election. If people vote for the LNP, they won’t get Scott Morrison, they will get Deb Frecklington.

    edit : https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/frecklington-left-behind-as-pm-embarks-on-a-tour-of-duty-20201011-p5641p.html

  23. sprocket_ @ #437 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 12:08 pm

    From Dotard’s doctor… Huge, if true..

    ” rel=”nofollow ugc”>

    Interesting. Subgenomic mRNA is an experimental technique that is sometimes used as a surrogate marker of viral replication. It is an alternative to actually culturing SARS-CoV-2 which takes about 4-5 days. Rising cycle threshold time is similar for amount of total virus, It refers to the number of PCR cycles it takes to detect the virus in samples.

    Covita the (patchily) orange-dyed shitgibbon is unlikely to be shedding transmissible SARS-CoV-2, and almost certainly won’t get much sicker, but in individual medicine absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The guy is still a walking chancre.

  24. I’ve noticed that he’s made the odd remark about this and I’d encourage him to focus on doing his job and to frankly grow up

    The “grow up” line has now been trotted out against Miles a number of times by the LNP. The first time I noticed it was when Miles got under Dutton’s skin. Now it’s Morrison. What I notice about Miles is he lacks the swagger so many politicians assume. He hesitates (thinks?) before speaking. But he communicates well, at least to me. As health minister he’s done a good job in Qld. I’m guessing his promotion to deputy premier was both deserved and an “opportunity”.

  27. Seems as though someone is getting under someone else’s thin skin. 😀

    And, ‘grow up’? From the guy who pours beer over his head, pushes out curry-making vids, builds cubby houses and chook pens instead of running the country and calls himself ScoMo. OooooKkkkk…

  30. My apologies for the double quote from ABC re Morrison and Miles a little while back. PB keeps freezing on my computer and it’s hard to post.

  31. Late Riser:

    Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    [‘What I notice about Miles is he lacks the swagger so many politicians assume. He hesitates (thinks?) before speaking. But he communicates well…’]

    Me too!

  32. Mavis
    Just a traditional Labor view
    Roy Masters claims that the current problems for NSW ALP relate to its disengagement from RL and its heartland while the Liberals, particularly Sco Mo have suddenly abandoned the Rah Rah and have a new found interest in the NRL
    (Plus I used to be in a work situation where it was COMPULSORY to pretend an interest in the Shute Shield – go Eastwood!)
    AND it’s a shit game

  33. Yay! US federal judge Robert Pitman has blocked Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decree to restrict mail ballot Drop Boxes to 1 per county in Texas.

  35. Aqualung,
    The Liberals bring talent from the state political arena to federal politics a lot more frequently than Labor seems to.

  36. Mavis @ #504 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 6:51 pm

    Late Riser:

    Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    [‘What I notice about Miles is he lacks the swagger so many politicians assume. He hesitates (thinks?) before speaking. But he communicates well…’]

    Me too!

    Idle thoughts.. Miles is younger than a lot of them. Perhaps Palaszczuk is mentoring him. Perhaps the LNP see a threat.

  38. Late Riser @ #536 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 7:02 pm

    Mavis @ #504 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 6:51 pm

    Late Riser:

    Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    [‘What I notice about Miles is he lacks the swagger so many politicians assume. He hesitates (thinks?) before speaking. But he communicates well…’]

    Me too!

    Idle thoughts.. Miles is younger than a lot of them. Perhaps Palaszczuk is mentoring him. Perhaps the LNP see a threat.

    He’s Deputy Premier so there’s an expectation that he will be Labor’s next leader.

  40. “C@tmomma says:
    Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7:58 pm
    Yay! US federal judge Robert Pitman has blocked Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decree to restrict mail ballot Drop Boxes to 1 per county in Texas.”

    One ballot box for Harris County, suburban Houston with 4 million people. These Republican crooks are just so blatant.

  44. It’s Time,

    I noticed Miles’ public demeanour a while ago and was happy when he was given the health portfolio. Though when Trad vacated the deputy spot I was surprised that Miles got the nod. That spoke to me of Palaszczuk’s instincts. In the meantime of course covid had arrived and Miles had managed things well. And he’s still in that job, which incidentally also sends a message on the importance of the covid response.

  46. citizen,
    Blunt but effective tools are a Reactionary Conservative politician’s specialty. They chafe at being held accountable and hence the attempt to stack the courts in the US.

  47. It’s Time @ #538 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 7:08 pm

    Late Riser @ #536 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 7:02 pm

    Mavis @ #504 Sunday, October 11th, 2020 – 6:51 pm

    Late Riser:

    Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    [‘What I notice about Miles is he lacks the swagger so many politicians assume. He hesitates (thinks?) before speaking. But he communicates well…’]

    Me too!

    Idle thoughts.. Miles is younger than a lot of them. Perhaps Palaszczuk is mentoring him. Perhaps the LNP see a threat.

    He’s Deputy Premier so there’s an expectation that he will be Labor’s next leader.

    He’s the leader of the left so they will probably think its their turn next. But Cameron Dick from the right will probably put up a good fight. Both very competent and good communicators so pretty good either way.

  49. I also found out today why Mitch Mcconnell is taking the Coronavirus way more seriously than Trump.

    He had Poliomyelitis as a child!

  50. Rhwombat

    Does Trump’s doctor have any ethical rules he must answer to? HE is either a real doctor or he is not. If not he should be ignored. If he is a real (registered?) doctor he should be professionally accountable. Or is the system in USA that different to here? Is the White House doctor position outside the normal rules?

    In short, is Trump’s white house doctor someone who should be treated as just another political staffer? Or are the ethical standards we are used to in Australian medicine not in force in USA?

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