The latest fortnightly Essential Research survey includes the pollster’s monthly leadership ratings, which find Scott Morrison up three on approval to 66% and down two on approval to 25%, Anthony Albanese down four on approval to 40% and up four on disapproval to 39%, and Morrison holding a 53-24 lead as preferred prime minister, out from 50-25. There was also a six point increase in the government’s good rating on COVID-19 response to 67%, with the poor rating steady on 15%.
As it did a fortnight ago, the poll also asked about the mainland state premiers from the small sub-samples in the relevant states: Gladys Berejiklian was at 75% approval (up seven) and 17% disapproval (down four); Daniel Andrews at 65% approval (up four) and 28% disapproval (down five); Annastacia Palazczuk at 65% approval (steady) and 27% disapproval (up three); Mark McGowan at 87% (up nine) approval and 7% disapproval (down five); and Steven Marshall, who was not featured in last fortnight’s polling, at 60% approval and 21% disapproval. State government handling of COVID-19 was rated as good by 82% of respondents in Western Australia, 76% in South Australia, 75% in New South Wales, 71% in Queensland and 59% in Victoria.
Respondents were asked how much attention they had been paying to recent news stories, with 73% saying they had closely followed the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, 68% the US presidential election, 36% the allegations of sexual misconduct raised by the ABC’s Four Corners, and 29% Joel Fitzgibbon’s resignation from the shadow cabinet. It also finds an easing in concern over COVID-19, with 27% rating themselves very concerned (down three), 44% quite concerned (down two), 23% not that concerned (up three) and 6% not at all concerned (up two). The peak of concern was in early August, when 50% were very concerned, 40% quite concerned, 7% not that concerned and 3% not at all concerned.
The poll was conducted Wednesday to Monday from a sample of 1010.
Was Firefox banned? Not that it makes any difference to me as I never read his/her comments.
I recently tracked down – via archive.org (Sydney Morning Herald, a Century of Journalism) – a conversation between a settler who spoke the local Aboriginal dialect and the local Aborigines, dating from 1842.
They make a deal; the settlers can graze their sheep without harassment, and the Aboriginal people can fish, camp and hunt freely.
Every time I read it, I think of opportunities missed….
Good point about the adoption of the Reverse Onus of Proof re Robodebt by Karen Middleton.
c@tmomma: “He was actually quite an effective spokesman in that interview.”
As I went on to say. However, when asked about his future prospects, he got pretty guarded: it sounded like he might be in the line of fire for a demotion to the outer ministry or even removal from the frontbench altogether.
“So we must assume that any aggressive troll who pops up is just Firefox in disguise?”
***
People who have opinions which differ to yours are not trolls, Lizzie.
And I am not the aggressive one – that would be how I would describe a war criminal.
It’s also how I would describe people who resort to personal attacks when the political debate isn’t going their way. They are utter cowards. If you knew the truth about the people you have chosen to align yourself with you would not have done so, I guarantee you that.
William Bowe @ #1319 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 2:10 am
I’m not sure Boris would fare well if he was subject to an election.
Good quality panel on Insiders this morning.
Yes, this has been a very good Insiders discussion this morning.
“Was Firefox banned? Not that it makes any difference to me as I never read his/her comments.”
***
Then why ask?
…but I would actually like to know the answer to that lol. I don’t think I did anything worthy of a ban and this is the same account so it isn’t banned, but I wasn’t able to post with it for awhile. Not sure. *shrug*
zoomster @ #1402 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 9:50 am
Absolutely. I mean, fancy passing up the chance to establish mineral and water rights up front … thank goodness such amateur agreements were not common!
Shows precisely why you need governments if you want to legitimize theft on a national scale.
Tony Abbott’s “precious gift” (don’t put out until he’s put a ring on it)
is surely one of the highlights of Australian political oratory
David Templeman is renowned for speaking in traditional Aboriginal or other language or signing in Auslan when he opens events concerning those constituencies. He is quite talented.
https://johnmenadue.com/ministerial-war-crimes/
They why, how and what all matter.
Australia’s processes for authorising war are too loose (though the GWOT did start in response to a very real 911, so not eyeRaq, Arab Spring, etc), reasoning at the time clear, and at least it has been crystal clear which PMs etc were involved along the way. (Even TDJT is pulling more troops out before Inauguration Day. Post the Neuremburg and Tokyo Tribunals it has been pretty clear the apportioning of accountability.)
How the war, asymmetric or not, was conducted goes with command and leadership responsibility. (After Vietnam, America certainly had a clear out.)
And then there is what the troops got up to once off their bases, and on patrol.
Oakeshott Country @ #1411 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:01 am
Why didn’t he allow women he had romantic relationships with, prior to his marriage to Margie Abbott, to adopt that position then? Or why didn’t he adopt it himself pro-actively?
Confessions @ #1412 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:02 am
He also has a very sweet voice. 🙂
Firefox
Your speciality is leaping to conclusions. I have not “chosen to align myself” with anyone. I am far more an interested spectator who reads the blog for entertainment and does not appreciate aggressive language.
Lizzie
I don’t know that you can call FireFox a troll.
Even if you disagree that casting Biden as a war criminal for voting for the Iraq War. A fool or dupe who with access to intelligence should have known better is a fair argument to make as the best light to see Biden’s Iraq vote.
That doesn’t make the FireFox one that Biden is a war criminal wrong
By voting for the war. By voting for the drone programme known to kill mass civilians.
For the doubters just look at the Collateral Damage video Wikileaks released. There was good reason that many admired and respected Julian Assange for a time.
“I have not “chosen to align myself” with anyone. I am far more an interested spectator who reads the blog for entertainment and does not appreciate aggressive language.”
***
A wise move, and I understand why you enjoy reading and participating in PB. While we may not always agree politically, I have nothing against you personally at all, Lizzie, and think you are one of the nicer people on this blog. None of my more aggressive posts made in self defence have been directed at you. You can rest assured though that the people who they are directed at are most certainly deserving of them. They deserve to be challenged and confronted head on, which is exactly what they should expect if they choose to stoop to such low levels.
Cat
“Also, just for balance, could someone point me to a globally-electrifying speech that a recent Liberal leader and PM has made?”
I have just done a few searches on variations of “famous speech, Liberal Party leader”. Most hits were to Menzies, one or two to Howard. But I did find these famous quotes:
Tony Abbott
” I would do anything for this job. The only thing I wouldn’t do is sell my arse, but I’d have to give serious thought…”
“I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons.”
“No one, however smart, however well educated, however experienced, is the suppository of all wisdom. ”
Malcolm Turnbull
“There’s no global institution or infrastructure more important to the future prosperity and freedom of our global community than the Internet itself.”
Scott Morrison
“Public hospitals should be for the poor – everyone else should have private health insurance.”
“If you have a go, you get a go.”
“This is coal – don’t be afraid, don’t be scared.”
Inspiring stuff. Have a good day all.
zoomster @ #1402 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 8:50 am
So, what did the Aborigines get out of it?
Lizzie
A good example. I disagree with the politics of Tulsi Gabbard.
However she got onto the Democratic vote stage because like Sanders like Warren and others they know that the US has to tackle its Industial Military complex.
The fact Biden was forced to admit he got the vote wrong shows the pressure the truth brought to the debate.
The Forever Wars is a phrase that resonates with American voters and is one of the real issues Donald Trump used to con people into voting for him.
The Americans The British The Europeans and us Aussies also have this to contend with. The Europeans seem to be the closest to addressing this. Even they have many problems to overcome.
It’s Time
Apparently honey was high on their list.
Simon Katich @ #1361 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 5:37 am
I thought parents only wished for good things for their children?
Lizzie
It’s also worth remembering that Simon Crean got the Labor party to back him on opposing the Iraq war for very good reasons.
Simon Crean and the Labor party had less access to intelligence insight than Senator Joe Biden had.
Firefox:
Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 9:53 am
[‘And I am not the aggressive one…’]
Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 10:25 am
[‘None of my more aggressive posts…’]
Even if taken out of context, these assertions appear to be at odds.
It’s Time @ #1420 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 7:33 am
Probably a safe haven where they didn’t have to fear the possibility of being massacred.
Simon Katich @ #1328 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 6:32 am
Not equivalent because in 2016 you had Hillary ahead in the popular vote by 3 million while trailing in the EC due to ~70K votes showing up in the “wrong” places. It made sense, democratically speaking, for Hillary to have won. And because Trump was constantly (and dishonestly) declaring that he’d had the biggest win ever (which would have precipitated a lot of “actually, no…” responses, from the media and elsewhere).
In 2020 you have a similarly narrow EC margin backed by a huge margin in the popular vote. It makes sense for Biden to win either way you look at it. If the narrow margin does anything, it highlights just how distortionary the electoral college has become and how urgently it needs to be reformed. Nor has Biden been on Twitter boasting about how much he won by.
As an aside, it is/was common for U.S. history/civics classes to frame discussion of the electoral college as roughly “yeah it’s weird and technically can produce unexpected/undemocratic results, but it’s almost always produced the same result as the popular vote”. So there is a sense over there that whomever gets more votes should win, and that we put up with the electoral college because 1) it’s accurate enough, and 2) it’s really hard to change. Though that was all in the late `90s, before Bush (and Trump).
Barney, I have come to the realisation that there is only so much a parent can do to sway and protect their children.
But don’t worry for her…. feel sorry for the LNP.
Judge throws out Donald Trump’s bid to stop Pennsylvania vote certification
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-22/judge-throws-out-donald-trump-bid-in-pennsylvania/12908360
Detroit voters sue Donald Trump over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-22/detroit-voters-sue-donald-trump-unsubstantiated-fraud-claims/12908186
ar – it is not a comparison of legitimacy. It is merely a comparison of how narrow the win is. And what it takes to flip it.
Barney in Tanjung Bunga @ #1426 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:54 am
White Man’s Burden 🙁
Trump receives ‘total shellacking’ in Pennsylvania court — judge tosses out his ‘shoddy legal arguments’: legal experts
President Donald Trump’s campaign lost again in court on Saturday.
Trump was urged to “stop the shenanigans” after the ruling.
“Huge loss for Trump in the big federal court challenge. Scathing opinion. Calls it meritless. This thing is way over,” former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained.
University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck described the ruling as a “total shellacking.”
As expected, Judge Brann has dismissed the Trump campaign’s broad-based challenge to Pennsylvania’s election results, including its effort to throw out *all* mail-in ballots. And he has a few choice words for Trump’s lawyers along the way.
From the judge on the merits: “Plaintiffs’ only remaining claim alleges a violation of equal protection. This claim, like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together from two distinct theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/11/trump-receives-total-shellacking-in-pennsylvania-court-judge-tosses-out-his-shoddy-legal-arguments-legal-experts/
0 locals in NSW, 11 new cases in hotel quarantine
11 cases in NSW
All in hotel quarantine- this number is rapidly growing
15 days with no community infection
Simon Katich @ #1430 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:09 am
That’s true.
In terms of what the media did and why, however, 2016 and 2020 are different. Biden’s EC margin is less of a story because he was expected to win and he got enough votes to win with or without the EC.
“Dan Andrews@DanielAndrewsMP
Just to reiterate:
Inside Bunnings = mask
Bunnings carpark if you can keep 1.5m apart = no mask
In the Bunnings sausage sizzle line = mask
Onions = on top of the sausage
I can’t be clearer than that.”
SK
“She asked me yesterday why sound echos – it is not an object, how can it bounce back off things. Sheesh.”
That’s a really great question! It’s quite easy to demonstrate that a transverse wave does “bounce” and to get a look at what is happening at the boundary. Also a good chance to introduce the idea that particles and waves can exhibit the same behaviour.
a r @ #1435 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:32 am
Umm, EC = electoral college? If so, you seem to misunderstand. The Presidency is won in the electoral college. The popular vote is almost irrelavent. Hillary won the popular vote but wasn’t president because of how the electoral college panned out.
William Bowe:
Is the average voter one who always turns out? Or one who (traditionally) turns out to votes when/if motivated? or a completely new Trump turnout voter?
Trump’s COVID response drove turnout of the new Trump voters in proportion to the incompetence (and malfeasance, perhaps even more so) of that response, because the worse it got, and the worse the pandemic became, the more it:
– owned the Libs
– owned the Blue States
– owned the quacks (what would they know)
– owned the shysters
– leveled the playing field down to the level of stupid
All of this was and is celebrated by the new Trump “base”, and drove them to vote. The worse the response got, the more they voted (state by state).
There are people who are quite happy to have lung cancer, so long as it’s not COVID: “I would die for that man”. The more the Trump “martyrs” died, the more the loyalists turned out to vote for the leader of their death cult….
Of course the crisis (and the incompetence) has anti-Trump effects as well. Some of those who always vote switch to voting against Trump (from I or conventional R), and anti-Trump disposed irregualr votes are motivated actually to vote.
Any other major crisis and example of incompetence could have had a similar effect, though it’s difficult to see what other sort of crisis could be mishandled in such a way as to involve such a level of malfeasance leading to death as a pandemic offering the opportunity to withhold state support whilst attempting to profit from the situation. It seems to me that incompetence mishandling a pandemic is somewhat unusual in its potential to drive up new Trump turnout, whilst other examples of incompetence (with less inherent malfeasance directed at the onwing the Libs etc) would have a lower pro-Trump turnout effect, amongst other differences.
It’s Time @ #1438 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:40 am
Yes, and that’s 1) newsworthy and 2) bad optics for Trump and the electoral college both.
Popular support may not be mechanically relevant to selecting the next president, but the US public certainly considers it meaningful.
Trumps finished. He just doesnt know it yet. He looks as lame as a turkey sitting on a pile of Paxo listening to Xmas carols.
“It’s also worth remembering that Simon Crean got the Labor party to back him on opposing the Iraq war for very good reasons.
Simon Crean and the Labor party had less access to intelligence insight than Senator Joe Biden had.”
***
That’s exactly right, but yet some Laborites now want to give Biden a free pass over the exact same war that they were rightly condemning Howard over. Again, how politically convenient.
And remember, Howard would never have followed the US into war had Biden and the other Dems not granted Bush the authority to use military force. They had the majority in the US Senate and could have stopped the invasion before it even began. But Because Biden backed Bush, Australia was dragged into a war which resulted in up to two and a half million completely unnecessary deaths.
Bush, Blair, Howard, Biden, Clinton, etc… are all war crims and should be called out as such.
guytaur
Biden did not “just vote” for the war in Iraq. He actively worked to clear the way for it to happen. He got to choose all 18 witnesses in the main Senate hearings on Iraq. Guess which ‘witnesses’ he favored’. From Sen. Durbin’s comment I think we can safely assume Biden was also aware of what Durbin knew about the crud fed to the public..
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/17/joe-biden-role-iraq-war
a r @ #1440 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 10:43 am
Yet Trump’s legitimacy was never questioned. Americans are quaint in their doublethink on democracy. They can get all agitated about voter suppression and turning out the vote but ignore the disproportionality of their electoral college system.
steve davis @ #1440 Sunday, November 22nd, 2020 – 8:46 am
You don’t leave the presidency, the presidency leaves you.
This will inevitably and eventually sink in with Republicans.
Giuliani has made himself look like a right tit by representing the orange fool. Must be getting big dollars
Biden’s past mistakes are far less interesting to me than the question of whether he can win the outstanding Senate seats and whether he’s then prepared to ram through reform.
steve
Giuliani must be getting paid in cash. He must know that Trump is going out backwards when the banks move on him.
Speaking of the US vote results, this was just tweeted by Bernie Sanders:
“In 2016, when Trump won MI, PA and WI by 77, 000 votes, it was part of his “landslide” victory.
In 2020, when Biden won MI, PA and WI by 255,000 votes, and won the popular vote by 6 million, it was “voter fraud.” ”
I agree with William on Trump and Covid. He blew it. Covid has been a political gift to leaders who have responded to it well. Qld Labor was facing defeat in the polls 12 months ago, but Anna Palaszczuk dealt with it well and enlarged her majority. Same with Ardern in NZ (not facing defeat but expanded ot a record majority).
Trump jumped to an initial assessment of Covid that was wrong in his usual random fashion but, also as usual, he arrogantly stuck to it and ignored the expert advice. Victim of his own hubris, like 250,000 other Americans. Trump has made a career out of disrespecting science, and it caught up with him.
“This will inevitably and eventually sink in with Republicans.”
***
Mmmm the problem is that they’ve been whipped into such a frenzy and think they have been cheated out of a win. They are going to throw the kitchen sink at getting some nutcase elected in 2024, possibly one of Trump’s kids, or go back to a “traditional conservative” Republican in the mold of Bush, Pence, etc… It’s not going to be pretty.