I had a vague hope that last fortnight’s sooner-than-expected Newspoll portended a return to a (usually) fortnightly rather than three-weekly schedule, but apparently not. Essential Research should be along this evening though, hopefully including its monthly leadership ratings. Then there’s this:
• Roy Morgan has published results of an SMS poll conducted on Friday and Saturday from a sample of 1423, which asked if respondents were still up for the COVID-19 vaccine in light of recent developments (only 17% were not, increasing to 24% when those who would only settle for Pfizer were included) and, most interestingly, if they approved of Scott Morrison’s handling of “all COVID-19 related issues”. In the absence of a non-response option, the latter question recorded 49% approval and 51% disapproval. I’m aware of two past polls that specifically asked about leaders’ rather than governments’ handling of COVID-19, both from Newspoll – one in April and one in July – from which the weakest result was 61% approval and 36% disapproval for Daniel Andrews in the July poll.
• Sarah Elks of The Australian reports that Andrew Laming has declined Scott Morrison’s invitation to sit out the preselection for his Brisbane seat of Bowman, and is “collecting evidence in an effort to disprove a series of allegations against him”. The report notes he has an incentive in a $105,600 reward available to to MPs who “retire involuntarily”, which would not be granted if he went gracefully. Laming will also need to pass muster with the Liberal National Party’s “candidate suitability panel” if his nomination is to proceed to the stage where local party members have a say.
• In a piece for The Conversation, Benjamin Reilly of the University of Western Australia evaluates the likely impact of optional preferential voting, as mooted by the Coalition members of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The conclusion is that Labor would only have won about half of the 36 seats it won on preferences at the 2013, 2016 and 2019 elections after trailing on the primary vote, and that few if any members of the House of Representatives front bench would have got their foot in the door.
• I have a guide up for the Upper Hunter state by-election in New South Wales on May 22, though it’s still at a preliminary stage since most of the candidates haven’t been announced, together with a Tasmanian state election guide that has lately been supplemented with a page for the Legislative Council contests.
The message they sent to the alleged victim was pretty clear: go away.
____________
C@t
She did.
In the worst possible way!
SFF guiding policy which has probably developed very little.
https://www.shootersfishersandfarmers.org.au/nsw_policies-new
It is an obvious veneer.
Torchbearer @ #88 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 9:55 am
I hope your nephew recovers quickly and well, with no Long Covid. 🙂
Ven
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad sound a dangerous lot.
Ven says:
Monday, April 12, 2021 at 10:07 am
Scott@10:01 am
How about that between Hawke and Keating after Kirribilli pact and Rudd and Gillard after Rudd lost PMship.
In both instances ALP is kept out of power for atleast a decade after ALP lost power. Whereas, LNP is still in power after Abbott and Turnbull are gone from political scene.
———————————————————
Hawke/Keating , Rudd/Gillard haven’t really gone beyond politics like Abbott and Turnbull camps
They are still attacking each other today
It wasnt very developed to start with. They are a loose gathering of some interesting people. Policies will generally, for now, be mostly based on each individual MPs moral compass rather than party platform.
Morrison has said there will be no more numerical target, undertaking or achievement announcements on vaccination.
If any manufacturing or distribution company were to say that about its business, its reputation and share price would collapse!
Shoebridge ruffling the feathers of sections of the Hindu community is possibly a sign that he knows what he is talking about. Weren’t the RSS the mob that assassinated Gandhi?
BK @ #101 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 10:10 am
The seemingly impenetrable institutional walls can be very hard to scale when ‘they’ want them to be.
BK
Let’s hope that Morrison’s ‘business’ collapses in the same way!
Simon Katich @ #107 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 10:17 am
And wanting to overturn Howard’s gun laws.
BK @ #108 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 10:17 am
Governments as well ❓
“I’m sweating like a chiropractor in a medical malpractice suit”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkYeFPUyrs
Newsltd and the Abbott camp wouldn’t have liked turnbull praising Gillard and gave Abbott a whack with her speech
poroti@10:13 am
“The Vishwa Hindu Parishad sound a dangerous lot.”
It only sounds but they are actually not.
Scott@10:14 am
Remember Rudd and Gillard did not want to sit together for Whitlam funeral services.
Ven says:
Monday, April 12, 2021 at 10:24 am
Scott@10:14 am
Remember Rudd and Gillard did not want to sit together for Whitlam funeral services.
———–
Yes, but have not been attacking each other in public outside of politics as Abbott and the Turnbull camps have been
Got no doubt the Abbott camp in Peta Credlin will attack Turnbull about what he has said about Abbott and co today in the senate hearing
pritu@10:17 am
Like the white Supremacist who went and killed people in 2 places of worship in NZ in 2019 does not represent to White Australians, the person who killed Gandhi does not represent RSS.
I hope you all picked this up this morning. She also criticised the government complete lack of planning for transport and traffic snarls that will ensue at large vax centres.
KayJay says:
Monday, April 12, 2021 at 8:16 am
“National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer by detecting the early signs of the disease. Eligible Australians from 50 to 74 years of age are sent a free, simple test that is done at home. Find out how the program works and how to do the test.
I never received the test and am glad that my GP studied a blood test that sent me for a colonoscopy. This test could extend your life.”
I was sent the test despite the fact that I had been diagnosed with Bowel Cancer two years prior and had initial treatment and was under going ongoing monitoring in the form of scans and scopes. Surely the data in the system should have identified that I didn’t need the test kit.
Kevin Rudd wrote, in The Guardian:
Be careful what you wish for, Kevin.
Just above here there are some references to a Fran Kelly interview of CMO Paul Kelly this morning, noting that he seemed not to know very much at all about the logistics of certain vaccines as at today’s date.
The CMO was also on ABC News 24 this morning. The man was raving, to the point of incoherency.
Michael Rowland asked him a straightforward opening question about how he felt, having just had the entire vaccination scheduling policy rug pulled out from under him. In reply, Kelly launched into an upbeat “Around The Grounds” style report of which minor bits of the rollout were progressing swimmingly. I’m surprised he didn’t offer district netball or hockey scores, the better to pad out his excruciating 5 minutes on-air.
We DID get what his uncle and aunty (and I think the old lady down the street) had told him regarding their personal circumstances, some guff about “twenty-million” this and “ten-million” that which had been ordered, or “secured”, or “would soon be on its way”. He did everything but pop a bottle of Moët on the spot, things were so fabulous.
In short he continued with the bullshit misinformation campaign that’s gotten him, his boss Murphy, and his political masters in such deep doo-doo already.
Kelly has learnt nothing. It was one of the most confusing and disinformative interviews I’ve heard come out of this fiasco so far. I thought Brendan Murphy on 7.30 the other night was bad, with his “first jabs for everyone by October” humbug (two days before we found out that all bets were off); or Hunt, high-fiving himself about our “record-breaking” rollout numbers just around some corner or other. But there’s a new champ today – Paul Kelly, CMO of Australia – clueless, gormless and witless, yet another product of Scott Morrison’s nasty habit of picking winners with neither consultation nor reservation, functionaries who will owe him bigtime in the future, as he was and is their first and only patron.
And then there’s Brendan Murphy.
Way back in January last year, when Brendan Murphy first appeared, fully-formed out of nowhere as the CMO, I looked him up (as I’d never heard of him before then). I saw that, until the coronavirus came on scene, he had been due to be sworn in as head of the federal Health department. Working on the basis that anyone, plucked from relative mainstream obscurity but filling that high a position in a Morrison government, must have been hand-picked by Morrison himself, a real “ScoMo protégé”, I sounded a warning of “icebergs ahead” during his incumbency. It wasn’t a difficult prediction. It’s how Morrison operates – picking relative nobodies who will therefore owe him future favours – and it’s why most things Morrison gets involved in turn to shit… for him, and for everyone else.
ScoMo has taken Dr Paul Kelly, a relatively obscure but apparently competent academic and epidemiologist, and Dr Brendan Murphy, reputed a urologist, and turned them (as he turns almost everyone he promotes) into blithering idiots. They utter promises they cannot keep, brag when they should be hanging their heads in shame, and make fools of themselves on national television and radio as stool pigeons for this terrible, so-called “government”.
Such a waste of time and energy.
“You have voted first one for a party who’s only contribution to political life in the last 20 years is to help keep the Liberals in power.”
Oh please. The only reason Labor are even remotely competitive is because of Greens preferences.
…and let’s not forget that the last time Labor were in government federally, it was only because the Greens and independents kept them in power. Reality.
If anyone helps the Liberals, it’s Labor when they team up with them and One Nation to pass their conservative agenda and leave people in poverty while giving tax cuts to billionaires.
A vote for Labor is a vote for the Coalition’s agenda.
ALP and LNP run in seats they are unlikely to win because they need to get the HTV for the Senate into voters hands. It’s also a good place to blood young potential candidates for safer seats. There’s also examples like the recent WA State and the Queensland State election that Newman won when previously unlikely wins occur.
I’m not a fan of OPV for lower House seats. People should be able to make decisions.
Any sign of the little Hunt this morning? Is he still predicting rainbows and roses?
‘Remember Rudd and Gillard did not want to sit together for Whitlam funeral services.’
Gillard has said that this was a total media beat up.
lizzie @ #121 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 10:33 am
But Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt had not one, but two, large OLED screens to bring with them to display the vaccination numbers with! 🙄
“ But IMO, it was due to Chris Minns and LOP comments on Asians that were ruthlessly exploited by LNP that won the election for LNP in 2029.”
In hindsight I don’t think the election was necessarily to be won before that last week played out, but perhaps minority government was achievable. Everything had to go Daley’s way – ‘the rage’ against stadiums and the general LNP arrogance had to translate into a lift in Labor’s primary and – critically – for there to be a very low exhaust rate. Whilst the comments and performance of the leader and front bench in that last week did not help, the accumulated lead in the saddlebags of that terrible last term in government, and the circumstances surrounding the change in leadership at Xmas time – twice in a row – and in each case immediately before election, were too much to overcome. As it turned out ‘the rage’ in the community split four ways -each of the ‘establishment’ parties (Liberals, Nationals, Labor and the Greens) suffered a dip in their primary vote (with Labor suffering least worst) and it was unfocused – as it dissipated by a high exhaust rate (less than 2011 admittedly, but still at 2015 levels and historically very high).
Bucephalus
Yep, go the ‘full PV’. If it is all to hard to do a full PV once every few years then you really are a slack arse.
Scott@10:27 am
You seem to forget the Rudd camp allegedly leaking of Gillard comments on confidential cabinet briefing during 2010 election campaign costing ALP majority in HOR and placed Gillard fate in the hands of Greens, which resulted in the introduction of Carbon price and total and complete villification of best Australian PM after Hawke on both sides of politics.
And the whiteanting of Gillard from inside federal ALP.
Apparently Morrison has offered federal government support (whatever that means) to people affected by the cyclone in WA.
History says that support will be a long time coming. Just ask the bushfire victims.
Ven
Like the white Supremacist who went and killed people in 2 places of worship in NZ in 2019 does not represent to White Australians, the person who killed Gandhi does not represent RSS.
_____________________________
That analogy is ridiculous. It would make sense if you claimed that the Christchurch perpetrator did not represent all White Nationalists or, alternatively, that the Gandhi assassin did not represent all Hindus. But your formulation above is comparing berries with citrus.
Q: Surely the data in the system should have identified that I didn’t need the test kit….
Just a question, what data and what system? The Health Department that sent the test doesn’t track peoples individuals diseases or health….it doesn’t keep a database of this. It keeps macro information from a public health and budgetary perspective of reportable disease and through clinical coding, thats all.
In the context of today’s Senate Enquiry. 3 min video of Turnbull vs Paul Kelly (Murdoch). Kelly was white with anger.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1326279626763735041
Scott@10:27 am
You seem to forget the Rudd camp allegedly leaking of Gillard comments on confidential cabinet briefing during 2010 election campaign costing ALP majority in HOR and placed Gillard fate in the hands of Greens, which resulted in the introduction of Carbon price and total and complete villification of best Australian PM after Hawke on both sides of politics.
And the whiteanting of Gillard from inside federal ALP.
___________________________
Rudd has always denied the Cabinet leak bastardly – although not the other bits of bastardly (though he never admitted to them either). I personally think the leaker was not Rudd or an associate but Lindsay Tanner, who had an abiding hatred of Julia Gillard.
zoomster@10:55 am
It may be a media beatup. But those 2 gave a chance for media beatup because they did not sit together and people knew they disliked each other, one more intense than other.
The whole point of preferential voting is that the candidate most preferred by voters is elected.
That a candidate can be elected from 2nd or 3rd position after primary votes are counted, highlights it’s importance in determining the majority opinion of an electorate.
If OPV makes this less likely, then we are retreating towards 1st past the post, which doesn’t sound like it’s advancing our democracy.
zoomster says:
Monday, April 12, 2021 at 10:55 am
‘Remember Rudd and Gillard did not want to sit together for Whitlam funeral services.’
Gillard has said that this was a total media beat up.
_____________________________
They weren’t exactly mates by then. Why should they sit together? The beat-up was drawing attention to something that was quite reasonable and Gillard’s comment was fair. What she said was that they were courteous to each other – as befitted the occasion – not that they had kissed and made up.
Looks as if I’d be well advised to accept AZ Vax if it’s offered, because it may protect others who can’t receive anything for months.
lizzie says Monday, April 12, 2021 at 11:11 am
It may well protect you too.
Torchbearer@11:02 am
Australia had White Australia policy till late 60s, which was supported by both major parties. Aborigines were not part of Australian electorate till late 60s.
What does that mean? Does it mean all Australians were racists? No they were not.
Keating once said that Australia was lucky that they were not ostracized like South Africa because of those policies
Theo Andelini, this might shock you and other Greens posters here but, if I were a German citizen, the Green Party would get my vote in the upcoming election.
The traditional centre-left party, SPD are a limp party nowadays with very questionable policies and their leader is a dud and there’s no way I’d support the CDU/CSU (especially with the slightly more reasonable but still conservative Merkel retiring as Chancellor.)
bc
I know. I was thinking at a community level.
Yes.
People have literally murdered political enemies in the past.
Rational Leftist@11:19 am
You forgot one thing. German Greens are not ” Watermelons” like Australian Greens
Rossmcg @ #132 Monday, April 12th, 2021 – 11:02 am
Offering support does not = delivering support.