As a new financial year dawns, it’s all happening on Poll Bludger — in addition to this post, there is:
• A new post by Adrian Beaumont on Britain’s Batley and Spen by-election, French regional elections and the New York City mayoral election;
• A post on the new draft state redistribution for Victoria, including my calculations of party vote shares for the new boundaries;
• A post on the federal redistribution for Victoria, which has now been finalised, and which likewise comes with an accounting of party vote shares under the new boundaries, and some analysis of how the changes affects the Greens prospects in Macnamara and Higgins; and
• The regular bi-monthly donation drive.
Further developments:
• The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party has preselected Jacinta Price as its Senate candidate at the expense of incumbent Sam McMahon, who came to the position at the 2019 election. Price is the deputy mayor of Alice Springs Council and head of indigenous research at conservative think thank the Centre for Independent Studies, and ran unsuccessfully for the CLP in Lingiari at the 2019 election. McMahon was in the news last week after her unsteadiness while in the Senate chamber prompted allegations she was drunk, although she insisted she had in fact been suffering symptoms of severe hypertension.
• The mayor of Alice Springs, Damien Ryan, has been preselected by the CLP as its new candidate for Lingiari, which will be vacated with the retirement of Labor veteran Warren Snowdon. Labor’s new candidate is Marion Scrymgour, former Deputy Chief Minister and current chief executive of the Northern Land Council.
• Federal parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has published the report from its inquiry on the future conduct of elections operating during times of emergency situations. After considering the recent experiences of Queensland council elections, the Eden-Monaro by-election and general elections in Tasmania and the Northern Territory, it offers fairly modest recommendations: to give the Electoral Commissioner the power to extend pre-polling periods and allow for no-excuse postal and pre-poll voting (which exists de facto in any case) should the circumstances demand it, and to change the Electoral Act to change the date of an election in an emergency, giving better effect to a power that already exists under the Constitution.
• July 24 has been set as the date for Queensland’s Stretton by-election, which will fill the vacancy created by Labor member Duncan Pegg’s resignation after a terminal cancer diagnosis in May, followed weeks later by his death. The by-election will be contested for Labor by James Martin, a former electorate officer to Pegg, and for the Liberal National Party by Jim Bellos, a police officer and former Queenslander of the Year. Labor’s margin in the seat is 14.8%; I’ll be publishing a guide to the by-election soon-ish.
Sceptic @ #1485 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 6:36 am
I’ve fully received the Sinovax.
My only concern was how my vaccine status would be treated by other countries and the impact that would have on travelling to another country.
I’m looking for the opportunity to get a booster of another vaccine, but none are available here yet and also I’d want to await the results from the booster trials first.
I’ve read that China is currently doing such trials with Sinovax, so it will be interesting to see what that shows.
lizzie @ #560 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 9:56 am
I bet there was a photo that someone didn’t take of another person making the curry too.
I don’t bother with Insiders anymore. The program now exists to normalise political behaviour that is not conducive for good government. Just commentators too scared of biting the hand that feeds them.
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C@tmommasays:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 7:21 am
Bondi Beach during Lockdown yesterday:
”
IMO, ‘Lockdown’ of Central coast should be lifted soon because
1. No cases are reported from that region as far as I know.
2. It is a ‘stay at home’ order’ and not ‘Lockdown’ are they following it in Central coast?
Griff @ #2114 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:03 am
Yes it’s overwhelmingly a Govt-journo network of self-preservation these days.
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Climate change is having a disastrous impact on both the Queensland environment and the health of its residents, writes Todd Green.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/queensland-beautiful-one-day-gone-the-next,15255
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You haven’t seen anything yet.
Griff
Well, someone has to keep an eye on them. It’s our duty!!
As usual with climate models, reality turns out to be even more dire than the worst that has been predicted by the models …
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/02/canadian-inferno-northern-heat-exceeds-worst-case-climate-models
As the third most intelligent species on the planet, you’d think we would be able to learn from experience, wouldn’t you? 🙁
Order a stay at home lockdown with the lot.
Is it a pizza ?
Ven, “I said yezterday and repeat it today: Sydney siders are free spirits”
I hope Covid Delta will make allowances for that.
Your response elicited an audible chortle, lizzie 🙂
Player One @ #2119 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:08 am
It won’t stop the conservative capitalist establishment from suppressing the environmentalist voices.
Griff
If I can bring a little sunshine… 😆
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C@tmommasays:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 8:05 am
Apparently Morrison’s mate, Commissioner Mick Fuller, isn’t going to be standing in Hughes for the Liberal Party(from Peter FitzSimons’ column):
Well, well, well. The announcement by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller that he would be standing down early next year at the age of 53 instantly set the hounds running the rumour mill thundering fast . . .
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I wonder who was running that rumour mill thundering fast at PB? 🙂
I thought the three panelists were good, including David Crowe (car park rort the worst of the worst). Speers as usual a pretty pathetic sycophant. Birmingham was the very model of a lying obfuscating Minister.
The issue of the indigenous population and vaccination got a good run.
All up, worth watching.
Ven @ #565 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:06 am
Not following Stay At Home Order much. Shops busy but not packed. Though certain shops (non essential) have closed. Sport isn’t being played on the weekend and there seem to be fewer tourists up this way for the school holidays.
I did wear a mask yesterday when I met with someone I didn’t know who was selling a 2nd Hand car, as did the person selling it, so I think it’s kind of been a horses for courses type of lockdown.
ItzaDream @ #576 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:14 am
I agree. I didn’t listen to Simon Birmingham’s interview (thank the lord and pass the mute button) because there was no point. Seems that was the correct thought to have because apparently Pork and Ride is aok with him.
Is anyone else a teensy bit tired of the constant repeats of needles, arms, and bottles of vaccine?
Now there’s an idea.
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lizziesays:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 8:35 am
As soon as authorities try to keep figures quiet, suspicions arise.
Peter Murphy
@PeterWMurphy1
·
22m
Why are NSW Premier @GladysB and @NSWHealth keeping it quiet that there are #AgedCare residents in Baulkham Hills in Sydney who now have Covid? And why is the media not insisting on detailed daily Covid figures?
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Peter, Peter Peter look at me
When you talk to the dd ‘Woman who saved Australia’, you talk with respect and when you talk with respect you don’t ask for any details because that is disrespectful to ask for details.
Good Morning
I also thought Insiders was good today. It was made clear the states are now running the show. That it’s the Feds failure on quarantine and vaccination that is the cause of our problems with returning stranded Aussies home.
That led to sensible discussions on supply which led into the appalling lack of vaccination for Indigenous people and aged care and frontline workers like the Limo driver in Sydney.
Victoria got a shout out for its programme of vaccination having a high vax rate for Indigenous people in contrast to the above mentioned failure.
Pork and ride Julia Banks and Barnaby Joyce got a good run.
It’s interesting the reporting on the situation in Indonesia.
I wonder how many of these writers realise that Indonesia is more than just Java.
If you took their reports as a gauge, none of them.
Java contains just over half of Indonesia’s population and yet accounts for nearly 65% of recorded cases.
If you focus in on Jakarta and West Java the picture is even more stark.
You could not pay me enough to travel to Jakarta, the situation is very concerning, but to say it represents the situation in the whole country, that is very misleading.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-04/indigenous-covid-vaccine-pastor/100263770
I was listening to Sam Harris last night (fan boy, big time) and one expression jumped out at me –
“the misalignment of wisdom and power”
It’s 3 hours on Consciousness, AI, Jiu Jitzu, Religion, the Meaning of Life, and Love.
The scroll bar has topic times.
https://youtu.be/4dC_nRYIDZU
I’m not suggesting you watch it all, but he’s a great mind, imo.
‘Barney in Tanjung Bunga says:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 10:25 am
It’s interesting the reporting on the situation in Indonesia.
I wonder how many of these writers realise that Indonesia is more than just Java.
If you took their reports as a gauge, none of them.
Java contains just over half of Indonesia’s population and yet accounts for nearly 65% of recorded cases.
If you focus in on Jakarta and West Java the picture is even more stark.
You could not pay me enough to travel to Jakarta, the situation is very concerning, but to say it represents the situation in the whole country, that is very misleading.’
______________________________________________
It has been that way since the Sailendra were around and about.
I am curious about how accurate the reported non-Javan stats are.
C@tmomma @ #2117 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:16 am
tbh, it was probably the first time (I don’t watch TV news) that I’ve actually steeled myself and with gritted teeth, heard him out. Hewson (see previous post) was spot on – just appalling bald faced dereliction of public duty.
Why would Indigenous people trust whitefellas with their health and existence?
How has that gone to date? How is the life expectancy KPI coming along?
This distrust is not isolated. It is a consistent theme in colonial situations.
Pork and Ride (guytaur)
Very good.
Barney
Good luck with finding a booster. I hope that for you and millions of others that is a solution to the travel problem.
The other place western journalists tend to talk about particularly Australian ones is Bali of course.
I think for Australia it’s trying not to talk too much about the negatives like palm oil and environmental damage that can damage the relationship.
For Australia I think this is good. We don’t have Murdoch tabloids screaming about those terrorists in Indonesia out of proportion to the actual threat.
Yes, good luck Barney.
Itza
Better. Mr Albanese used it in his National Press Club speech 🙂
The on-going discussion regarding China has, unfortunately, boiled down to “China Bad” v “China Good” stuff.
Having been to China a few times…tourist and family visits…..over the years, the progress that China has made to improve the standard of living for ordinary Chinese is astounding…
The fundamental issue for the Chinese government is social stability/control and this is seen, and largely accepted by the Chinese people, as preferable to chaos and weakness.
This does not alter the fact that the system of government they use – a rock-solid, one man dictatorship – is anathema to those who believe in democratic styles of government.
The worry is that what seems like a good idea to the Chinese in China they might think, is a good idea for the rest of the world…………..
boerwar @ #2126 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 8:29 am
Like Australia, the fight seems to be led by the provincial Governments. The federal leadership has been a joke, so I would be more confident of the provincial numbers especially now the initial problems with testing are no longer an issue.
I’m glad that some can derive value from Insiders. I am simply frustrated by the lack of calling truth to power. At least the old timers told us when they got annoyed at politicians obfuscating or when they saw corrupt practices. They seem to have been shifted away from the public eye these days. Off to the Saturday Paper or New Daily or independent journalism blogs.
How are panellists chosen for Insiders? Does Speers run his own patronage network? 🙂
You might enjoy some of the Sam harris I linked to. In the section on AI, and FSD cars, he’s talking about the problems with apes (us) driving cars, killing 40,000 other apes a year in the USA.
Tricot
Your good v bad China posts point is interesting.
When was the last time you saw a single Bludger post (apart from some of mine) about the US or the West more generally that said anything at all positive?
Bludger posts that are almost universally critical of the West, of the US, of Australia and of Liberal Democratic ideals.
There was a time when there were virtually no Bludger posts about China at all. A curious gap. We now at least have some balance as to subject matter.
What % of the population would even know about Pork and Ride? 10%
Or Gladys illegally shredding documents? 1%
Or care.
BiTJ
Thanks.
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Steve777says:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 9:19 am
Simon Birmingham is a grub. It’s Morrison and his government who have been politicising the pandemic!
Propaganda 101 – accuse your opponents of what you yourself have been doing.
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That is called projection. Republicans especially Trump are very good at it.
Trump projects on it on to others because he knows how it is done. For example, take the ‘Big lie’ that 2020 election was stolen from him because he was trying to do that by influencing Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania.
ItzaDream @ #2137 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:41 am
I’ll have a look. However, I’m not sure Americans would even make it into the top ten most intelligent species.
I find the seamless and gormless propagandising of politicians like Simon Birmingham the most disconcerting of all. The Doublespeak just oozes out of his mouth, not like the poison that you and I know is emanating from that man’s forked tongue, but like fairy floss for the mind.
boerwar
You’re making things up again.
There have been plenty of positive posts about the US since Biden replaced Trump, and while there are also plenty of comments criticising the actions of various states, who has criticised Liberal Democratic ideals?
Display Name.
Yes. Especially with people pushing back on pro China propaganda by pointing out elections changing leaders gives democracy an advantage over authoritarian models.
NSW government talking point for today.
Aged care workers and residents vaccination rollout the responsibility of the Federal government.
boerwar @ #2138 Sunday, July 4th, 2021 – 10:44 am
What bollocks. In the days before you started your ridiculous anti-China propaganda war, I and others posted fairy regularly here about China and in particular its efforts to tackle global warming. Some positive, some negative, but all generally informative.
The main difference you have made is that you have polarized the debate to the extent that it is now antagonistic, boring and content-free.
Harris, like Ferguson, is full of himself and v occasionally full of sh!t.
I do like to read and listen to both – I will watch itzas link tonight. They are insightful, fearless and enjoyable/easy to read/watch. But I won’t get as carried away with their brilliance as they allow themselves to be.
Griff:
I gave up on Insiders a while ago. I only watch it these days if there’s an informative panel.
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Rex Douglassays:
Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 9:57 am
You just can’t trust the Libs with taxpayers money.
John Hewson
@JohnRHewson
·
10m
Finance Minister Birmingham defends Morrison Govt’s pork barrelling as fundamental to our parliamentary democracy.
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You can name it as ‘park barrelling’ instead of ‘pork barrelling’. 🙂