With the last open thread threatening to fall off the bottom page amid a thicket of Queensland and US-specific posts, here’s a refresher. Newspoll is having an off-week to avoid Queensland election static, although Essential Research should be along with its fortnightly attitudinal results tomorrow. All I have to relate other than that is:
• There has apparently been progress in the establishing of an Australian Polling Council, potentially meaning a new age of full disclosure by pollsters of their weights and breakdowns. Its members are YouGov, Essential Research, Ipsos, uComms, JWS Research, Lonergan Research and Telereach.
• The Australia Institute has published a report on attitudes to climate change that I’m a little too busy for right now, but you can find it here.
• Kos Samaras of RedBridge Group discusses polling conducted in September showing 57% of Melburnians think the state Liberal opposition has not “played a constructive role during this pandemic.
Competition remains fierce in two of the most important battleground states, with Biden holding a slight lead over Trump in Pennsylvania and the two candidates in a virtual dead heat in Florida, according to Washington Post-ABC News polls.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
David Crowe writes that men are now suffering a bigger blow than women to their job prospects as the pandemic imposes sweeping layoffs nationwide, sparking a rethink about the “pink recession” seen in the first phase of the crisis.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pink-recession-turning-blue-trend-suggests-more-men-losing-jobs-20201101-p56aj1.html
And Katharine Murphy tells us that Labor is warning that an unemployment ‘tsunami’ is coming for Australia’s male-dominated industries.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/02/labor-warns-unemployment-tsunami-coming-for-australias-male-dominated-industries
Michael Pascoe explains why he says the Reserve Bank is about to underline how soft the Australian economy was before COVID struck.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/11/02/michael-pascoe-reserve-bank/
Matt Johnson writes that John Hewson has admonished the federal government for proposing to ease responsible lending laws, saying the move could “stoke a debt monster”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/banking/2020/11/01/lending-reforms-john-hewson/
Crowe’s collection of comments and excuses about Labor’s victory in Queensland are quite amusing in their own right.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/no-help-voters-finish-off-pm-s-fight-with-queensland-premier-20201101-p56ahi.html
Annastacia Palaszczuk has proven the power of closed borders and the curse of pandemic protectionism. In this first state election of the COVID-19 crisis, Palaszczuk has shown how the virus has elevated strongarm populist premiers as the new giant killers roaming the land, moans Pontificating Paul Kelly.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/power-of-populist-premiers-goes-viral/news-story/e7a8dbaeb1dbf0ac8a4c6d95b006533e
Phil Coorey declares that Palaszczuk is no longer the accidental premier.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/palaszczuk-is-no-longer-the-accidental-premier-20201101-p56ah7
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s election victory shows the power of incumbency when voters believe a crisis is under control. Events in the UK and the US show the reverse, says Jennifer Hewett.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/beating-the-virus-beats-politics-20201101-p56aj8
Winning was easy for Palaszczuk – but now there is nowhere to hide, writes Peter Beattie who calls of border openings.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/winning-was-easy-for-palaszczuk-but-now-there-is-nowhere-to-hide-20201101-p56ag6.html
Michelle Grattan thinks that Victoria’s pain reinforced Pałaszczuk’s winning message.
https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-victorias-pain-reinforced-palaszczuks-winning-message-149244
Josh Butler explains how Labor’s Queensland win shows Pauline’s populism is running out of puff.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/11/01/queensland-election-pauline-hanson-populism-decline/
Ben Smee reports that Queensland Liberal National party members have begun agitating for an urgent post-election state council meeting to bring to a head internecine conflicts between the party’s membership, its office bearers and its state leader.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/01/wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee-lnp-members-demand-urgent-talks-after-queensland-election-disaster
Ross Gittins writes that with the federal, NSW and Victorian governments all mired in questionable conduct but refusing to accept responsibility for their actions, a reminder of the value of ethical behaviour to the good governance of the nation is timely.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/economies-malfunction-when-we-can-t-trust-our-leaders-20201101-p56agb.html
Now Adele Ferguson reveals that the NSW government-run workers’ compensation scheme awarded contracts for critical claims-management systems worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a tender process described as “rushed” and a “sham”. What a mess!
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/multimillion-dollar-icare-contracts-were-awarded-in-sham-tender-20201031-p56ae1.html
And Alexandra Smith reports that the NSW Premier’s department paid above commercial rates for a $1 million eight-week contract for a COVID-19 economic plan that was awarded to a consulting group without going to tender.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/premier-s-department-awarded-covid-19-contract-without-tender-above-standard-rates-20201101-p56ah6.html
According to Shane Wright and Mike Foley, new research has found that if climate change goes unchecked, it would cost Australia $3.4 trillion and almost 900,000 jobs by 2070, dwarfing the impact of the coronavirus recession and devastating key industries such as tourism and mining.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/unchecked-climate-change-tipped-to-dwarf-impact-of-coronavirus-recession-20201030-p569zn.html
The Australia Post CEO has apparently done a great job, but largesse with public money is just not acceptable, writes Amanda Vanstone.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/you-can-keep-your-fancy-watches-christine-holgate-i-d-prefer-cash-20201030-p56a6w.html
Tom Rabe writes that NSW is lagging its 2021 goal for a larger share of containers to be shifted by train to Port Botany, with freight operators saying the state government is derailing its own policy and pushing more trucks onto Sydney roads.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/congestion-compounded-as-more-trucks-added-to-sydney-roads-20201101-p56aix.html
Professor John Kaldor points out that if we are to achieve our national goals of keeping a lid on community transmission without resorting to more lockdowns, our current state- and territory-based systems for testing and tracing will need to act much more like a fully integrated national system. They must operate across borders just as assiduously as they do within their own borders.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-need-unity-that-goes-beyond-open-state-borders-20201101-p56aj9.html
Caitlin Fitzsimmons explains how more people are likely to be shopping from their beds than in shopping centres, as the COVID-19 pandemic speeds up the shift to online retail.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/australians-shopping-from-bed-the-toilet-and-the-pub-20201031-p56aa0.html
Benjamin Preiss writes that there are tensions simmering in regional Victoria between those ready to welcome back Melburnians so businesses can benefit and others who fear their communities will be subjected to an unacceptable risk.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/great-divide-in-regional-victoria-about-bringing-down-ring-of-steel-20201030-p56a2z.html
The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail, say three commerce academics for The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/the-suburbs-are-the-future-of-post-covid-retail-148802
Josh Butler tells us that Anthony Albanese hasn’t suggested a figure for the ongoing rate of the JobSeeker welfare payment because, he says, Labor wants to give the government “space” to lock in a long-term increase on its own. Albo had a bit to say on other topics too, in the interview that Butler had with him.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/11/02/albanese-rudd-news-corp-trump-jobseeker/
The AIMN’s Rosemary J36 says that without transparency, corruption flourishes.
https://theaimn.com/without-transparency-corruption-flourishes/
Anne Davies reveals that Angus Taylor was told almost immediately after his office disseminated figures about the Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore’s spending on travel last year that the numbers were wrong, new documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/02/angus-taylor-v-clover-moore-whatsapp-messages-reveal-panic-as-ministers-staff-realised-figures-were-wrong
Mike Foley tells us how Joe Biden and a global pandemic might overturn global climate politics.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/how-joe-biden-and-a-global-pandemic-might-overturn-climate-politics-20201030-p56a4v.html
Hundreds of communities across Australia are hurtling towards the coal and gas cliff as politicians obsess over Cartier watches and pandemic politics. Michael West reports on the spectre of plunging demand for fossil fuels and the savage effects it will reap on regional communities.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/asleep-at-the-wheel-why-australias-emissions-policy-debacle-puts-hundreds-of-communities-at-risk/
The car industry is desperately trying to locate 90,898 cars with potentially deadly Takata airbags. Motorists who refuse to get their car fixed for free face having their vehicle registrations cancelled, and car companies face heavy fines for vehicles not accounted for by the December 31 deadline.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/more-than-90-000-cars-remain-on-australian-roads-as-takata-deadline-looms-20201101-p56ajc.html
John Kehoe reports that Labor is demanding the chairman of the besieged Crown Resorts, Helen Coonan, be dumped as the head of the federal government’s financial consumer complaints body.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/coonan-can-t-lead-financial-ombudsman-labor-20201029-p569ly
Zoe Samios and Lisa Visentin report that now the federal government is considering weakening new rules designed to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/government-mulls-weaker-tech-giant-rules-amid-fierce-google-facebook-lobbying-20201030-p56a6g.html
The Tour Down Under has been cancelled.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/organisers-cancel-tour-down-under-2021/news-story/5065daae6251a2aa22141934b46c5ea9
You don’t need hindsight to see Boris Johnson has made the same mistake twice, says Bevan Shields.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/you-don-t-need-hindsight-to-see-boris-johnson-has-made-the-same-mistake-twice-20201101-p56afb.html
Johnson’s dithering has doubled this lockdown and Britons will all pay the price, warns Tom Kibasi.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/01/johnson-dithering-lockdown-scientists-covid
The Chinese government is still playing funny buggers. Now tonnes of Australian lobsters, a $752 million annual export, are stuck at a Chinese airport awaiting clearance from customs.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-lobster-exports-feared-latest-victim-of-china-tensions-20201101-p56ak0.html
A group of Stanford University economists estimate there have been at least 30,000 coronavirus infections and 700 deaths as a result of 18 campaign rallies Donald Trump held from June to September.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-rallies-caused-covid-deaths-tens-of-thousands-of-infections-research-claims-20201101-p56ahm.html
The SMH editorial leads off by saying that after four chaotic, deceitful and divisive years, Australia, and indeed much of the world, would welcome the election of a US president who puts the interests of its people ahead of his own.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/after-four-years-of-trump-a-change-would-be-welcome-20201101-p56aij.html
In an interesting contribution, Crispin Hull says that if he wins, Joe Biden must overcome the flawed legacies of Trump, Reagan and Bush.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6990707/biden-will-have-to-overcome-decades-of-republican-mismanagement/?cs=14329
Joe Hockey thinks Trump can win.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/trumps-energy-is-amping-up-the-race-for-president/news-story/17ee8aaaff88890843043a3f123453c4
And Dolly Downer says that he would grit his teeth and vote for Trump.
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/why-i-would-grit-my-teeth-and-vote-for-trump-20201101-p56afm
Farrah Tomazin says that Barack Obama is unleashed … and he’s loving it!
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/barack-obama-unleashed-and-loving-it-20201101-p56aib.html
Even if Biden wins, we have little to celebrate, writes US expat Cole Brown. He says the election of Biden is necessary. It’s hygienic. But it’s hardly cause for hope.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/even-if-biden-wins-we-have-little-to-celebrate-20201101-p56ag1.html
Whatever happens, it will take more than promises to Make America Normal Again, writes Adam Tooze.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/01/make-america-normal-again-trump-electoral-problems
America is a failing state. And establishment politics can’t solve the crisis, says Bhaskar Sunkara.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/01/us-politics-state-government-democrats-left
Cartoon Corner
Glen Le Lievre
Johannes Leak
Mark Knight
Jim Pavlidis
Peter Broelman
Matt Golding
From the US
First laugh of the morning, although admittedly Amanda isn’t one of the current group of shysters.
Most remiss of wee Crispin to forget to include Clinton. His welfare “reform” his shocking 1994 Crime Bill , his repeal of the Glass–Steagall law . In areas of mass incarceration , criminality, welfare , and enabling bankster malfeasance ‘Bubba ‘ Clinton was right up there with Ronnie and co.
Liberals in Qld ignored the health concerns of older voters, and paid for their ignorance last Saturday.
Now a poll by Kos Samaras, reported above by William, shows older Victorian voters have similar concerns, and are not happy with the destructive role played by the state Liberals
https://kossamaras.blogspot.com/2020/10/melbourne-politically-unique-not-sydney.html
What we are missing is a poll asking “do you think the federal Gov’t has played a constructive role in combatting the pandemic?”
I predict we’d see a majority of older voters Australia wide saying “no!”
It’s a question the MSM’s pollsters may avoid asking, for fear its answer would crystallise and legitimise those people’s feelings.
Josh Butler rips James Ashby and Pauline Hanson some new ones:
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/11/01/queensland-election-pauline-hanson-populism-decline/
The biggest takeout from Queensland’s election result?
The electorate appear to have become hip to the Morrison jive.
C@t
I found that even more satisfying than the immensely rewarding Labor win on Saturday.
Once again, Morrison turned up to campaign for a woman, as he did in Eden-monaro, with “stand aside, the man is here” levels of bravado, only to crash and burn once again.
Morrison assiduously avoids situations where he has responsibility for disaster, but with these he chose, and failed.
Delicious feast, but not for him.
Health will become the next major concern at other state elections and federal elections.
Labor needs to run heavy attack ads like with mediastouch and other groups in USA did.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2020/guide/maiw/
Just look at that massive swing in the primary vote to the Greens! Incredible! Such an emphatic endorsement of the Greens and Michael Berkman.
Such an upbeat mood from all the Greens lately. The left is on the rise!!
Well, well, well, who’da thunk it?
Me.
Noely
@YaThinkN
If you ever doubted LNP were in cahoots with Clive? Face with rolling eyes
Deb is GORN!
“The internal turmoil comes as it emerged two former LNP presidents spent election evening cruising the Brisbane River with businessman Clive Palmer on his $8.3 million super yacht.”
https://sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/lnp-figures-shmooze-with-clive-as-debs-heir-become/4130828/
And the interview with James Ashby on ABC on Saturday night, where he publically displayed his unwillingness to accept responsibility for their disastrous result ( he totally lost his shit), was a highlight of a good night.
Politicising the pandemic is ok in Qld and everywhere else. Just not in Victoria, we have special rules down here.
Thanks BK. How unsuprising the federal govt has bungled the stimulus. The only surprising thing is that they’ve apparently left men high and dry!
Thanks BK for another Dawn Patrol. 😍
Why is Morrison trying to take credit for the states/territory who closed the borders keeping Australians safe, if Morrison and the corrupt foreign owned libs/nats propaganda media units had their way, the borders would be open and Australia would be in serious trouble with the corona virus infections spreading.
Taylormade says:
Monday, November 2, 2020 at 8:34 am
You donkey, it’s about leadership and acting quickly it’s not about politicising something that came out of your larse arse.
It’s also not about getting distracted by political bias media and getting the shit done
Oh btw you green donkeys – can you stop fapping on about south brisbane like your only diamond.
You claim about getting rid of one nation but it’s not you that did it.
Stop trying to take credit for everything like Scotty from Marketing does.
Perhaps somebody in the ALP, LNP, Katter’s and PHON might like to post every tweet and media release they issue, just like we are seeing for the Greens.
Morning all. Like others it was refreshing to see not only the crash of the One Nation and Clive Palmer votes but the bitter anger on James Ashby’s face when he realised that the PHON dollars per vote scamming operation had failed. No more money in the kitty for Pauline and James.
The lack of media attention on Hanson can be blamed on her failure to campaign. But that alone does NOT explain her crashing vote. If it was only due to lack of media profile then why did Clive Palmer’s vote also crash, after he spent more on advertising than possibly any other party?
There must have been other factors at play for the crash in the micro-party vote. Hanson and Palmer were both rejected by the electorate, and they cannot claim the electorate did not know who they were in rejecting them. Both have in the past received publicity and media attention out of all proportion to their actual role in politics.
Queensland election: Greens take at least two city seats – including Jackie Trad’s
Voters in Brisbane’s inner suburbs have turned out in unprecedented numbers for the Queensland Greens who have won at least two city seats at the state election, including that of Labor’s prominent left faction leader Jackie Trad.
Across four electorates spanning the Brisbane CBD and surrounding northern and western suburbs, the Greens polled more than a third of primary votes.
South Brisbane – where community worker Amy MacMahon defeated former deputy premier and treasurer Trad – was the only seat Labor lost on an otherwise successful election night.
However the Green wave – which came very close to capturing more Labor-held seats – will cause concern within Labor that the party’s efforts to pitch itself to coal country voters may have prompted a backlash among young and climate-conscious people in the city.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/01/queensland-election-greens-take-at-least-two-city-seats-including-jackie-trads
Re Poroti @8:01
” Crispin Hull says that if he wins, Joe Biden must overcome the flawed legacies of Trump, Reagan and Bush.
Most remiss of wee Crispin to forget to include Clinton.…”
Basically he needs to initiate the long process (decades) to undo the devastation borought about neoliberalism, a revival of a failed 19th century ideology that benefits the 1% (especially the .01%) at the expense of everyone else. It’s taken over 40 years to get here, hopefully the way back won’t take as long, if for no other reason that neoliberalism would prove as effective at dealing with the climate emergency as it has with Covid in the USA.
Scott @ #19 Monday, November 2nd, 2020 – 8:39 am
Mr Albanese said earlier this morning.
Zerlo @ #9 Monday, November 2nd, 2020 – 8:26 am
The LNP WILL run heavy attack ads like with mediastouch and other groups in USA did.
Labor, not so much.
Labor’s better than that. 🙂
Tragedy giving rise to interesting legal issues.
A car owner with two cars has one stolen. Is he allowed to pursue thieves and what is the consequence if he exceeds the speed limit in so doing and deaths ensue?
How does the prosecutor prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that his pursuit caused the pursued vehicle to drive at speed as opposed to the thieves wanting to avoid detection at all costs?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-01/western-sydney-two-dead-teen-injured-after-car-hits-pole/12836770
No body cares green donkeys.
Petty politics are sin of liberal sins.
citizen @ #21 Monday, November 2nd, 2020 – 5:47 am
Just like with spam to your email, you can block those nuisance comments.
Regarding the QLD minor parties…. I think in times of crises people think ‘who would I trust to solve this crisis/ get us out of this serious mess’? Would I trust Pauline or Clive to solve a complex, life or death threat?
As it turns out they also wouldn’t trust the LNP either. For good reason.
Another scandal that needs to have high attention:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/multimillion-dollar-icare-contracts-were-awarded-in-sham-tender-20201031-p56ae1.html
Confessions @ #17 Monday, November 2nd, 2020 – 8:36 am
Mr Albanese said earlier this morning.
The 2020 early vote has already reached nearly 70% of all voters in 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/01/early-voting-succeeded-beyond-our-wildest-expectations/
Victoria – no new infections or deaths – for 5th day in a row
This brings Melbourne’s 14 day rolling average down to 1.9 cases, with regional Victoria’s rolling average remaining at zero.
Over the past two weeks there has been just one mystery coronavirus case.
“South Brisbane – where community worker Amy MacMahon defeated former deputy premier and treasurer Trad – was the only seat Labor lost on an otherwise successful election night.”
***
Which is apparently the reason why the Labor Right are sulking about the success of the Greens instead of celebrating retaining gov. Their hatred of the left knows no bounds.
Oh yes the moderator is bullying me by moderating my posts :/
Firefox says:
Monday, November 2, 2020 at 9:02 am
Only green donkeys focus on 1 seat they taken off labor by lnp preferences.
One day we shall read some incisive criticism of the Liberals by Firefox. The fantasies about “Labor right” are just boring.
Another zero-zero day in Victoria.
Steve777 at 8:49 am
+Eleventy . Time to fire neoliberalism into the sun.
Hopefully voters not just in Queensland but nationwide now see Clive Palmer as the con artist he is and will continue to reject him and his so-called ”party”.
As for One Nation, why vote for a faux LNP with whacky conspiracy theorists when you can vote for the real LNP, especially given One Nation’s history of quickly collapsing into a squabbling heap when it attains a degree of electoral success.
The Brisbane greens.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/politics-gets-dirty-in-south-brisbane-in-week-one-as-greens-taunt-alp-20201008-p563e5.html
.
The party of slut shaming
I think we should make a note in our diaries to met here again just before the next Queensland election and note what the two greens elected to state parliament have actually actually achieved for their constituents in particular and the state of Queensland in general.
I am sure the streets will be paved with fairy dust from South Brisbane to Cairns and I am sure their record of success will match that of their federal counterparts. I mean just look at the stellar success stories that Bandt and his fellow citizens of Nania can boast about regarding climate action and Asylum seekers. What a high bar they have set.
Meanwhile the state labor majority government will continue to deliver for the state while the Queensland greens continue to work on ways to rort Jobkeeper and throw dirt at those they consider “ unethical” and lacking the purity of the chosen ones.
Here we go. If they can’t win the election in their own right Republicans are going to use mealy-mouthed legal avenues to cheat people out of their legally cast vote!
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/01/texas-drive-thru-votes-harris-county/
The Queensland Greens literally threw shit at Labor. That’s all you need to know about their juvenile mindset.
“One day we shall read some incisive criticism of the Liberals by Firefox. The fantasies about “Labor right” are just boring.”
***
Don’t tell me you’re trying to pull the Malcolm Turnbull “there are no factions in our party” (paraphrasing) nonsense. The Labor Right and Left factions most certainly do exist and there is a massive gulf between them. You only have to read the posts on this blog to see evidence of that.
Oh and I frequently make extremely critical posts directed at the Coalition, like pretty much every day, I’m just not afraid to hold Labor accountable at the same time. Someone has to around here. Forgive me for not subscribing to the view that a party that is propping up the rich elites can do no wrong.
Confessions
Trump is rumoured to claim victory before all the votes counted.
China has Birmo’s calls blocked, but Morrison swaggers about saying that no-one else is going to tell him what to do. Are his besties the Nats calling him out yet?
lizzie @ #39 Monday, November 2nd, 2020 – 9:07 am
I know right? It’s as if the rest of the political parties in Australia well to the Right of the Labor ‘Right’ don’t exist.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be crowing about a party whose vote went backwards by 0.5%, if I was a rabid Greenite. But, they are shameless and immature, so I guess that’s what needs to be tolerated. Like a spoilt child with no great self-awareness of how they look. 🙂