Family First the second

Fragmentation on the right continues apace, with even former Labor folk now joining in. Also: a new poll records a big thumbs-down for the weekend’s lockdown protests.

Miscellaneous developments of the week so far:

• Former South Australian state Labor MPs Tom Kenyon and Jack Snelling have quit their former party over “moves to restrict religious freedom” and announced their intention to reactivate the Family First party and field candidates at the state election next March. The original Family First was folded into Australian Conservatives when Cory Bernardi joined it in 2016 and wound up at his behest after its failure at the 2019 federal election. Kenyon and Snelling have long been associated with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association sub-faction of the Right, which is in turn associated with Catholicism and social conservatism, and includes among its number the party’s state leader, Peter Malinauskas. Paul Starick of The Advertiser reports this has the approval of party co-founder Andrew Evans; presumably this explains it obtaining the old party’s database of 6000 supporters, as reported by David Penberthy of The Australian. Whereas the old party consistently directed preferences to the Liberals, Snelling has ruled out preference deals with either major party.

• In other party split news, Peta Credlin writes in The Australian that Ross Cameron, who held Parramatta for the Liberals from 1996 to 2004 but is these days noted as a staple of Sky News after dark, “could head the Liberal Democrats’ NSW Senate ticket”. Earlier reportage on the matter said only that Cameron was involved with the party’s strategy and candidate recruitment.

• Tom Richardson of InDaily reports Matt Burnell, an official with the Right faction Transport Workers Union, has been confirmed as Labor’s candidate for its safe northern Adelaide seat of Spence, which will be vacated with Nick Champion’s move to state politics. Burnell reportedly scored 88 union delegate votes and 68 state conference delegate votes, each amounting to a third of the total, to just two and seven respectively for rival candidate Alice Dawkins, daughter of Keating government Treasurer John Dawkins. The rank-and-file membership ballot that made up the remaining third went 140-42 to Burnell.

• Peter Law of The West Australian reports that first-term Liberal MP Vince Connelly, whose seat of Stirling is being abolished, “looks certain to contest Cowan, which is held by Labor’s Anne Aly”. By my reckoning, the seat has a post-redistribution margin of 1.5%, making it a seemingly unlikely prospect for the Liberals at a time when polls are pointing to a Labor swing in the state upwards of 10%.

• Phillip Coorey of the Financial Review reports a poll conducted on Monday by Utting Research from 1600 respondents in New South Wales found only 7% supported Saturday’s lockdown protests, with fully 83% opposed. The poll also suggested Scott Morrison’s standing is continuing to tumble, with 37% satisfied and 57% dissatisfied (the state breakdown in last fortnight’s Resolve Strategic poll had it at 46% apiece). By contrast, Gladys Berejiklian maintained 56% approval and 33% disapproval, while the state’s chief health officer, Kerry Chant, recorded 70% approval.

• Emma Dawson, the executive director of the Per Capita think tank who appeared set to ran as Labor’s candidate against Adam Bandt in Melbourne, has announced her withdrawal. Dawson said this was for “personal and professional reasons”, although it followed shortly upon her criticism of Labor’s announcement that it would not rescind tax cuts for high income earners if elected.

• Craig Emerson on election timing in the Financial Review:

The December quarter national accounts are scheduled for release on March 2, 2022. Morrison might feel confident that the economy will bounce back in the December quarter from the September quarter’s negative result. But would it be wise to take a chance on a double-dip recession being announced during a federal election campaign? That would be a catastrophe for the Morrison government: marked down for its refusal to accept responsibility for quarantine, presiding over the slowest vaccine rollout in the Western world, and forfeiting any claim to be superior economic managers … But an April or May election would face the same risks, since the March quarter national accounts would not be released until after the election must be held … A late-February election might be the best bet, though the federal campaign would overlap with that of the South Australian state election scheduled for March 19.

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.

2,483 comments on “Family First the second”

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  1. I predict that the Family First revival is likely to have its biggest effect, if can get anyone elected, on the SA Legislative Council. A sort of later-day DLP reducing chances of an ALP+Greens majority after SA best washed out of the system after the 2024* election.

    *Presuming no early election bring forward or delaying (the SA Legislative Council has a minimum term) this.

  2. Puffy,

    Re the Refugees team at the Olympics.
    I agree as I’ve been looking out for them after seeing them proudly march at the opening ceremony.
    But then I too am probably overthinking it!
    Further, while the Titmus story is exciting and grabbing the headlines , its Owen Wright and Kaylee McKeown who affected me more, both showing amazing resilience after the struggles they faced outside the pool.

  5. Well well well, another failure by Torquemada (aka Don Farrell.) Two of his favourites decided to take their ball and go home and form another party because they didn’t get their way on everything. But it’s understandable, they’re disillusioned with not helping the poor and working class enough… no wait, the party isn’t Jesusy (i.e. hates queers and abortions) enough for them.

    I am so glad we ceded two inner city seats (Adelaide and Norwood/Dunstan) to the Liberals and allowed the Liberals to frame themselves as a party of reason and ok to support if you have left-leaning views, just so we could save Kenyon back in 2010. Well worth it.

    I am guessing the outrage from the Labor warriors will be absolutely minimal over this, compared to what it would be if they were leftist members defecting to the Greens or starting a new left-wing/socially progressive party.

  8. And also, I am not surprised by the Spence outcome. For the record, I voted for Dawkins on the member ballot because, while not perfect (publicly airing the dirty laundry was a bit silly and she could’ve done better to not make a case that seemed a tad entitled), she was at least well qualified and Burnell seems like an absolute phony (not to mention he wouldn’t stop trying to bug me on the phone to get my vote – a thing I absolutely hate.) Whatever. They got their man.

    (Note: this was a Right v. Right battle, so it wasn’t a huge battle for the soul of the party or anything.)

  11. I am guessing the outrage from the Labor warriors will be absolutely minimal over this, compared to what it would be if they were leftist members defecting to the Greens or starting a new left-wing/socially progressive party.

    Well, you would be wrong. As a woman who believes in a Woman’s Right to Choose, Voluntary Assisted Dying, Same Sex Marriage and anything else the DLP Right of the Labor Party believes in, I’m more than comfortable with these religious extremists who want to impose their non socially progressive views on the Labor Party to take their bat and ball and find a new home in another political party that really should be named The Father Knows Best Party or The Religious Right Party.

    And, as for posters who think they can post a massive generalisation about other posters on this political forum, they don’t impress me much either.

  13. Interesting to see that NSW voters give Scomo a net satisfaction of -20, yet Gladys, despite her and her government’s scandals, and her government’s role in creating the Covid crisis in NSW, sits on +23. I’d imagine Liberal diehards will blame the crisis on working-class people in Western Sydney from non-Caucasian families. But everyone else is looking for someone in authority to blame, and it looks like they’ve settled on Scomo.

  14. Here’s an article for Puffy the magic Dragon and for the rest of us to read about the Refugee team at the Tokyo Olympics:

    Rose Nathike, a South Sudanese refugee living in Kenya, says sport has changed her life.

    The UN Refugee Agency estimates that at the start of 2021 there were more than 82 million displaced people in the world. Twenty-nine of them have been selected for this year’s IOC Refugee Team competing at the Tokyo Olympics.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-29/rose-nathike-rufugee-runner-sport-olympic-games/100332182

  15. Simone Biles: What are the twisties in gymnastics?

    In gymnastics, it can cause a person to lose their sense of space and dimension as they’re in the air, causing them to lose control of their body and do extra twists or flips that they hadn’t intended. In the worst cases, they can find themselves suddenly unable to land safely.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57986166

  16. Christian Porter may yet face a coronial investigation…

    ‘The South Australian coroner has been given access to an unredacted copy of the ABC’s defence in its defamation case against Christian Porter as part of an investigation into the death of the woman who accused him of raping her three decades ago.

    Porter strenuously denies the allegations.

    As the SA coroner continues to weigh up whether to hold an inquest into the woman’s death at her home in Adelaide in June last year, the New South Wales federal court on Wednesday varied a suppression order on the ABC’s defence in the now-defunct defamation case brought by the former attorney general.

    The orders allow the court to release the redacted 27 pages of material to members of the South Australian coroner’s court, including the “state coroner and senior counsel assisting the state coroner, Stephen Plummer, and such other persons as each of them may authorise for the purpose of the investigation into the death of a person referred to in the unredacted defence”.

    A spokeswoman for the coroner said in a statement that the counsel assisting “requested the material from the federal court of Australia as part of the ongoing investigation”. She said no decision had been made on whether to hold an inquest.

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/28/court-allows-secret-parts-of-abc-defence-in-christian-porter-defamation-case-to-be-seen-by-coroner

  17. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    Rob Harris reports that the nation’s peak organisation on affordability and secure housing for Australians on low incomes has accused federal Labor of rejoining a “list of enemies” against increasing home-ownership in favour of benefiting wealthy landlords.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/list-of-enemies-affordable-housing-advocates-say-labor-abandoned-them-20210728-p58dsc.html
    Jess Irvine says that young Australians should score Labor’s housing policy gymnastics harshly.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/young-autralians-should-score-labor-s-housing-policy-gymnastics-harshly-20210728-p58dse.html
    National cabinet will start creating the path out of lockdowns this week when the country’s leaders look at how many Australians must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to end economically damaging restrictions. (What’s so different with the situation now compared to a year ago?)
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/vaccine-push-to-pave-the-way-for-country-to-reopen-20210728-p58dtb.html
    The Australian’s Yoni Bashan begins this assessment with, “Something appears to be profoundly broken with Gladys Berejiklian’s crisis cabinet. Dysfunctional, deeply fractured, these guardians of the state’s pandemic response have spent the past month dithering over numerous strategies that have yielded higher case numbers, further restrictions and the pain of prolonged lockdowns.”
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/covid19-nsw-cabinet-is-the-crisis-as-it-dithers-and-dallies/news-story/5986431a933a6416a47a25c28e9a434b
    The state is going to take a long, long time to recover from its current crisis. It’s just no one wants to concede that publicly yet, writes Jennifer Hewett who says NSW has crossed the line from commendable optimism to unjustified delusion.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/nsw-faces-months-in-lockdown-not-weeks-20210728-p58dsh
    Alexandra Smith criticises Berejiklian over her offering little comfort to those struggling because of the lockdown. And she’s had enough of Gladys’s “green shoots”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/berejiklian-offers-little-comfort-to-those-struggling-because-of-lockdown-20210728-p58dsm.html
    Excluding the most vulnerable from Covid payments isn’t just cruel – it jeopardises public health, argues Alison Pennington.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/28/nsw-must-quash-the-covid-outbreak-and-it-cant-without-fair-and-just-income-support
    The Conversation wonders if the Morrison Government’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout program is one of Australia’s biggest ever public policy failures.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/public-policy-failure-of-coalitions-vaccine-rollout,15345
    A new study has shown that the Pfizer vaccine had a sky-high efficacy rate of about 96 per cent against symptomatic COVID-19 for the first two months, but then declined about 6 per cent every two months after that.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/pfizer-biontech-s-covid-19-vaccine-gets-slightly-weaker-over-time-20210729-p58dvm.html
    Clinical immunologist Graeme Stewart believes that we can boost confidence in AstraZeneca by minimising the already tiny risk.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-can-boost-confidence-in-astrazeneca-by-minimising-the-already-tiny-risk-20210723-p58cdu.html
    Major banks are warning up to 300,000 jobs in Sydney will be lost due to extended lockdowns, as prices for staples rise at double the rate of wages growth.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/one-in-10-workers-to-lose-job-in-sydney-as-food-prices-surge-20210728-p58dor.html
    Worrying signs as non-urgent elective surgery has been suspended in at least three major Sydney hospitals with COVID-19 exposures taking their toll on staff numbers and facilities work to free up resources for a potential surge.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/icu-cases-reach-highest-level-as-non-urgent-surgery-suspended-at-major-hospitals-20210728-p58dq1.html
    Sarah Martin reports that NSW is lagging behind many other states and territories when it comes to vaccinating its elderly population with fewer than 40% of over-70s fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/29/just-39-of-nsw-residents-over-70-are-fully-vaccinated-against-covid-despite-push-for-jabs
    Economist Stephen Hamilton declares that the new federal government support is JobKeeper in all but name.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/new-government-support-is-jobkeeper-in-all-but-name-20210728-p58dsj.html
    And the SMH editorial says that the federal government’s disaster payments will cut down on the multibillion-dollar waste in last year’s economic response to the pandemic.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/new-covid-disaster-payments-are-better-than-jobkeeper-20210728-p58dsw.html
    Michelle Grattan says that Morrison has shaken the money tree again in a bid to avoid a second recession.
    https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-morrison-shakes-money-tree-again-in-bid-to-avoid-second-recession-165245
    Now that Australia’s inflation rate is 3.8%, John Hawkins wonders if it time to worry. He think not.
    https://theconversation.com/now-that-australias-inflation-rate-is-3-8-is-it-time-to-worry-165098
    Liam Mannix explains how new modelling from multiple sources suggests Sydney’s lockdown is still not tight enough to stop the case numbers from growing.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/scientists-split-over-whether-sydney-s-lockdown-is-tight-enough-to-tame-outbreak-20210728-p58dpk.html
    Dr Cressida Gaukroger argues that the vaccinated should have more privileges. She says it might feel unfair, but vaccine passports are a good idea – even if you can’t get one.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-the-vaccinated-should-have-more-privileges-20210727-p58d8m.html
    We’ve heard of R numbers and moving averages. But what are k numbers? And how do they explain COVID superspreading? Biostatistician answers the questions for us.
    https://theconversation.com/weve-heard-of-r-numbers-and-moving-averages-but-what-are-k-numbers-and-how-do-they-explain-covid-superspreading-164858
    Thousands of residential aged care workers are at risk of missing their mid-September deadline for vaccination, nearly six months after they were given priority in the vaccine rollout, reports Rachel Clun.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/thousands-of-aged-care-workers-at-risk-of-missing-mandatory-vaccine-cut-off-20210728-p58dt6.html
    Police are monitoring the online planning of further anti-lockdown protests and are pre-emptively approaching organisers to warn them against going ahead with the “selfish” events.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/police-track-plans-for-more-anti-lockdown-protests-organisers-warned-20210728-p58dqy.html
    George Christensen and Craig Kelly, amongst others, have been spruiking false information about the pandemic, about vaccinations and about the lockdown, giving comfort to those who have proved more than a little capacity for anarchic behaviour. Given these exponents of controversy in service of self-promotion sit on government benches, one might have expected censure from the Prime Minister. There has been none, writes George Browning.
    https://johnmenadue.com/rights-law-breakers-scott-morrison-sky-news-and-the-covid-lockdown/
    COVID-19 health restrictions that limit gatherings at Parliament House have thwarted a new plan to challenge Michael O’Brien for the state Liberal Party leadership, writes Annika Smethurst.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/liberal-leadership-challenge-stalls-as-plotters-forced-to-keep-their-distance-20210728-p58drd.html
    New energy market rules intended to ensure the lights remain on while ageing coal generators exit the market have triggered a backlash from Australia’s renewables sector, report Katherine Murphy and Adam Morton.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/28/renewables-industry-blasts-unacceptable-australian-energy-market-rules-it-says-will-prolong-coal-plants
    Australian farm profits could be slashed by up to 50 per cent over the next three decades without more climate change adaptation. A new Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences report has modelled the potential impacts of climate change on farmers, explains Paul Coughlan.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2021/07/29/climate-change-damage-farm-profits/?breaking_live_scroll=1
    CommSec’s latest State of the States report scores Tasmania in first place over eight key indicators – economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements. This is the sixth quarter in a row that Tasmania has taken the top spot. By now, it clearly isn’t a fluke, says Michael Pascoe.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/07/28/tasmania-economy-art-mona/
    Anthony Galloway writes that Australia’s biggest unions have joined with business groups to oppose the federal government’s new laws overhauling the management of critical infrastructure, saying the bill in its current form is poorly designed and will cost jobs.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/laws-to-protect-critical-infrastructure-are-attack-on-workers-actu-20210728-p58dqt.html
    Michaela Whitbourn writes that an Afghan villager giving evidence in war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial has told the Federal Court he will tell the truth even if he dies, as a second villager supported his account of an incident in the village of Darwan involving a “big soldier”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/second-afghan-villager-tells-roberts-smith-defamation-trial-about-big-soldier-20210728-p58dpl.html
    And she tells us that the South Australian Coroner’s Court has been granted access to suppressed parts of the ABC’s written defence to a defamation claim brought against it by federal Liberal minister Christian Porter, as the court investigates the death of a woman who accused him of raping her in the 1980s.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/abc-defence-in-porter-defamation-case-can-be-given-to-sa-coroner-court-orders-20210728-p58drk.html
    IKEA pays no tax in Australia despite surging sales in the pandemic. IKEA versus Nick Scali. Both sell furniture, only one pays tax. Michael West looks at the quintessential case of multinational tax bludging.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/bludging-off-australia-ikea-versus-nick-scali-both-flog-couches-one-is-robbing-us/
    John Frew tells us that the ABC is continuing to deny a right-wing bias by The Drum.
    https://johnmenadue.com/the-abc-continues-to-deny-right-wing-bias-by-the-drum/
    In a move to provide affordable broadband to customers, the CBA has acquired stakes in two telco providers, paving the way for other businesses, reports Paul Budde.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/commonwealth-bank-moves-into-nbn-market,15341
    Rio and BHP will shower their shareholders with cash, again, this year. But there are clouds appearing as a more threatening future moves rapidly towards the mining giants, warns Stephen Bartholomeusz.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/rio-and-bhp-shareholders-should-enjoy-the-cash-deluge-while-it-lasts-20210728-p58dn3.html
    Her’s Peta Credlin’s weekly offering of bile.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/conservative-vote-splinters-as-senior-liberals-walk/news-story/551b95c4103a02d38093a29d18254d01
    The Washington Post tells us the opening day of the House select committee investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol proved to be as clarifying as it was compelling, with emotionally powerful testimony from four officers who felt the fury of the mob and who called for a full examination of the role that former president Donald Trump played in fomenting the riot.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/on-january-6-committee-hearing-law-officers-became-truth-seekers-20210728-p58dj2.html
    The ‘Boris effect’ is a symptom of Britain’s decaying political system, opines Rafael Behr.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/28/boris-effect-britain-political-prime-minister-voters
    The extreme heat currently scorching and burning through the western United States has sparked a debate in Washington about the capacity of centralised power grids to deal with the exigencies of climate change.
    https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/microgrid-power-for-a-greener-future,15342
    Our universities are in crisis and Richard Fine examines if they are no longer fit for purpose.
    https://johnmenadue.com/our-universities-are-in-crisis-they-are-no-longer-fit-for-purpose/
    Duncan Fine writes that calls have been getting louder to ditch the daily prayer in the Victorian parliament, led, not for the first time, by the Reason Party’s Fiona Patten who argues that as parliament represents a modern, multi-faith society it should not be so powerfully and symbolically tied to one small group.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/parliament-s-paradox-does-your-work-day-begin-by-reciting-the-lord-s-prayer-20210727-p58d8k.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Matt Golding


    Alan Moir

    Mark David

    John Shakespeare

    Andrew Dyson

    Peter Broelman

    Glen Le Lievre

    Mark Knight

    Where does bloody Leak get off?

    From the US










  19. From the smh:

    National cabinet will start creating the path out of lockdowns this week when the country’s leaders look at how many Australians must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to end economically damaging restrictions.

    It’s the virus that is economically damaging, regardless of whether we put in restrictions or not. Funny, not a mention of health.

  20. This is wrong:

    George Christensen and Craig Kelly, amongst others, have been spruiking false information about the pandemic, about vaccinations and about the lockdown, giving comfort to those who have proved more than a little capacity for anarchic behaviour. Given these exponents of controversy in service of self-promotion sit on government benches, one might have expected censure from the Prime Minister. There has been none, writes George Browning.
    https://johnmenadue.com/rights-law-breakers-scott-morrison-sky-news-and-the-covid-lockdown/

    Craig Kelly has been sitting as an Independent MP on the Cross Benches. Though he probably still votes with the Coalition most of the time.

  22. “Whereas the old party consistently directed preferences to the Liberals, Snelling has ruled out preference deals with either major party.”…

    The few and insignificant remaining Neoliberals in the ALP are leaving the party? Of course, the ALP is NOT Neoliberal, it’s Social Democratic….
    But Alpo, Albo is a “coward” he “sold the ALP ideals”, he should have been as bold as Shorten…. Ha, ha, and lose the lection just like Shorten did (twice)?… Those cartoons are written by Neoliberals, fearful that this time around their luck is running out….
    First objective: Win the election. Defusing the Murdoch propaganda will be needed, if that means that the Social Democratic program should be introduced in an Evolutionary (rather than Revolutionary) manner, so be it. Losing and getting more Coalition hard-core Neoliberalism-Conservatism-Denialism is infinitely worse.
    To the true left wingers who keep wingeing about Albo (they always winge no matter who the ALP leader is, anyway): Stop wasting your time and rally to defeat the Coalition, the only true, solid Neoliberal side of politics around.
    To the Liberal party supporters pretending to be “disappointed socialists”, spreading confusion and disunity within the ALP, I say: Piss off, you losers…. your luck is over.

  24. This kind of thing is why the self-appointed Labor gate-keepers on PB are in damage control, personally abusing and inventing fictions about anyone who speaks up:

    But several Labor MPs told this masthead they had received criticism from party members on social media and in phone calls to electorate offices following Monday’s decision, with several caucus members asking how Labor would justify the change in positions to voters ahead of the next election.

  25. It’s fairly consistent for those self-appointed curators of bona fide Labor discussion to defend “speaking your mind” when it comes to, say for example, Joel Fitzgibbon and the issues he raises, while shouting down anyone raising anything even a little left-ish. The double-standard on show is appalling.

  27. “a poll conducted on Monday by Utting Research from 1600 respondents in New South Wales … suggested Scott Morrison’s standing is continuing to tumble, with 37% satisfied and 57% dissatisfied”…

    Ha, ha, ha…. it’s “raining” on ScuMo’s “master plan”: Whatever seats he may lose in Qld and WA, he was expected make it up in the “gold standard” NSW….

    Nope, in NSW there is only “iron pyrite” (fools’ gold) standard and the prospect for ScuMo and his Gang are not looking good there. Added to the expected wins by the ALP in both Qld and WA (according to Newspoll), plus the solid results expected in Vic and the Territories, I can only say that this generation of failed Neoliberal Coalition politicians is going to exit our lives with a very big kick in their collective political-a..e!

    It was about time!!!

  28. The Greens will never criticise the Liberals, except in a muted ‘same same’ way, because they work with them to defeat Labor.

  30. I am a regular viewer of The Drum, and I think John Frew has a bee in his bonnet over political representation which is far too simplistic. Part of the program’s interest, for me, is that it is not simply a collection of politicians, but represents diverse communities. I have learnt a lot from it.

    I’d agree with the ABC Editor, who wrote

    These values are to ‘try to represent a balanced set of views on the issues of the day’ and ‘part of that balance is political perspective and that the Drum never features elected politicians’. Further, the program ‘seeks to spotlight diverse communities and neglected voices, to better represent modern Australia, as well as those who may have a political background but also now are not bound by the party line.’

    https://johnmenadue.com/the-abc-continues-to-deny-right-wing-bias-by-the-drum/

  31. Alpo,
    Morrison is still a good chance in NSW, especially if the upswing in the economy manifests and all comes good before the election.

    Though a look over the pond to America demonstrates that the economic recovery is hostage to circumstance at any given time.

  32. “frednksays:
    Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 7:56 am
    So now the Greens have worked out the legislated tax cuts are unfair. Perhaps they could have pointed that out at he last election instead of running their gas guzzler convoy.

    Oh and do note, no mention that they are Liberal tax cuts. The Greens really are the dizzy limit. And so predictable.”…

    Unfortunately, the Greens are mainly vote scavengers, which is fine but they should be ideologically consistent and scavenge votes at the expense of Liberals, Nationals and LNP. Scavenging votes at the expense of the ALP is equivalent to rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic: you may feel more comfortable, but it doesn’t alter the fact that you are doomed.

    In any event, the historical mission of all Greens voters is to vote their local Coalition party LAST in their ballot paper. That’s the only ideologically-consistent voting pattern for them. If they vote the ALP last, they are not Progressive but Buffoonish…..


  33. clem attlee says:
    Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 8:00 am

    What’s the point of electing a Labor government, if they are as right wing as the coalition?

    So you haven’t read Labors policy documents, I am not surprised few have. And that is the reality of politics. The Greens and the Liberals always there to criticize the specifics.

  34. DisplayName @ #25 Thursday, July 29th, 2021 – 7:54 am

    It’s fairly consistent for those self-appointed curators of bona fide Labor discussion to defend “speaking your mind” when it comes to, say for example, Joel Fitzgibbon and the issues he raises, while shouting down anyone raising anything even a little left-ish. The double-standard on show is appalling.

    What a simplistic perspective. It just completely ignores the more than a little ‘left-ish’ beliefs that Labor supporters here have.

  35. “clem attleesays:
    Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 8:00 am
    What’s the point of electing a Labor government, if they are as right wing as the coalition?”…

    …. Wrote a Liberal supporter…?

    Sorry clem, from the perspective of any Hard Socialist, even if the ALP is regarded as “bad”, the Liberals/Nationals/LNP are far, far….. far WORSE!

    Therefore, even a Hard Socialist should vote his/her local Coalition party LAST…. That’s all what’s needed to send ScuMo and his Neoliberal-Conservative-Denialist gang packing…

  37. Alpo
    I do hope the clear ideological difference between the Green Voter and the Green leadership will be the Green’s undoing.

  38. DisplayName @ #24 Thursday, July 29th, 2021 – 7:50 am

    This kind of thing is why the self-appointed Labor gate-keepers on PB are in damage control, personally abusing and inventing fictions about anyone who speaks up:

    But several Labor MPs told this masthead they had received criticism from party members on social media and in phone calls to electorate offices following Monday’s decision, with several caucus members asking how Labor would justify the change in positions to voters ahead of the next election.

    They’ll justify it because the party members, who likely rang up, are the ones who skew the party left, when the majority of the electorate, which actually are the ones who elect governments, are not.

  41. Morning all. Thanks BK. On Berejiklian and that Maguire scandal:

    “Berejiklian can’t be expected to read every email that passes her desk – can she(?).”
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-29/premier-s-office-warned-of-liu-and-uwe-in-2018/100312594

    No, with an army of staffers to do her correspondence, Gladys can’t possibly be expected to read a letter from one of her MPs in two years.

    With Obeid now sentenced, it is time to move onto prosecuting the succeeding team of corrupt rorters in NSW. They are no better. ASICs role in this story is also appalling. They did literally nothing.

  42. C@t

    What a simplistic perspective. It just completely ignores the more than a little ‘left-ish’ beliefs that Labor supporters here have.

    Huh? How can I be ignoring them when I’m pointing out that raising them gets you called a “Green” or a “concern troll”.

  44. “DisplayNamesays:
    Thursday, July 29, 2021 at 7:54 am
    It’s fairly consistent for those self-appointed curators of bona fide Labor discussion to defend “speaking your mind” when it comes to, say for example, Joel Fitzgibbon and the issues he raises, while shouting down anyone raising anything even a little left-ish. The double-standard on show is appalling.”

    Nobody is shutting down any Progressive (left-wing) argumentation in the ALP. What’s over is any support for Neoliberalism and that’s why one after another the few remaining Neoliberals are living the party.

    Joel was a prominent frontbencher, now he is a simple backbencher, what did you say about the “double standard”? What’s worth taking on board from Joel’s whingeing is this: You can’t get rid of coal in coal mining regions without replacing the lost jobs with new ones in other industries from day one. Nobody votes to become unemployed!!….. Albo and the ALP have taken that message on board and their plan is explicitly focused on both jobs and climate change policies, not just climate change and good luck to you finding an alternative job.

    In spite of all that, expect Murdoch and his mates to lie like there is no tomorrow, hoping to show the ALP as: “Neoliberals” to the lefties, turn around…. and “Dangerous Socialists” to the centrists and undecideds…. hoping that the ALP will lose votes from everywhere… It did work in 2019, but it’s unlikely to work in 2022…. (admittedly, Covid is going to help in De-Moronising quite a few Voters this time around).

  45. National cabinet will start creating the path out of lockdowns this week when the country’s leaders look at how many Australians must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to end economically damaging restrictions. (What’s so different with the situation now compared to a year ago?)

    Yes! And why wasn’t this modelled last year when they were ordering vaccines?

    Just outright incompetence, the scale of the vaccine bungling just keeps getting bigger and bigger each day there’s new info.

  46. The picture gave me a bit of a lol. The pose was looks familiar, brings some dictator to mind , Saddam Hussein ?

    Pointing with a finger is considered rude in some cultures. (Ditto standing too close to people, forcibly shaking their hand etc.)

  47. Alpo

    Nobody is shutting down any Progressive (left-wing) argumentation in the ALP.

    I would hope so, but then my comment was referring to PB.

  48. DN’s had half a dozen dreary whinges already this morning about how unfair life is for the Greens on PB. Obviously, someone is not coping with lockdown or there’s glass in his Vaseline jar. HTFU Princess!

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