Two bits of polling news to report, neither of which are from Resolve Strategic, which had hitherto been appearing in the Age/Herald on the third Wednesday of each month. That leaves:
• Essential Research’s fortnightly report does not include the monthly leadership ratings, which are the series’ main point of interest outside of its quarterly dump of voting intention numbers. However, it does feature the regular ratings on governments’ COVID-19 responses, which finds the federal government’s good rating up three from its nadir a fortnight ago to 41% and its bad rating steady on 35%. The New South Wales government’s good rating is at a new low of 42%, which is down five on a fortnight ago and compares with 69% eight weeks ago. Victoria’s is up two to 56% and Queensland’s is up six to 66%; from their particularly small sample sizes, Western Australia is up five to 87% and South Australia is down five to 68%. The poll also finds 75% support and only 10% opposition to mandatory vaccinations, with no distinctions to speak of by party support. Also featured are further questions on COVID-19 that tend to the personal rather than the political, and questions prompted by the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report last week. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Sunday from a sample of 1100.
• JWS Research has released its occasional True Issues survey, in which the federal government’s performance index score (by which 50% would indicate an even balance of positive and negative responses) is down six points since February to 52%. Fifty-seven per cent now rate Australia’s COVID-19 response as very good or good in comparison with the rest of the world, down from 79%. For the federal government specifically, the drop is from 56% to 38%; for state governments in aggregate, it’s down from 64% to 53%. A question on issue salience, in which respondents were asked to list three issues of particular importance, finds “hospitals, health care and ageing” reigning supreme on 59%, up from 45% in February, with economy and finances a distant second on an abnormally low 21%.
Other news:
• Phillip Coorey of the Financial Review on “a school of thought that it would be better to not wait for another budget and go in March instead”:
Waiting until May and launching an election campaign with a budget that would be a sea of red ink does not have the same appeal as 2019, when the budget predicted a return to surplus and contained generous tax cuts. The March theory is based on the hope that there is some semblance of normality in society following the Christmas break, due to vaccination levels being high enough and nobody in hard lockdown.
• Graeme Orr of the University of Queensland law department pokes many a hole in the government’s legislation whose intention is to give the existing major parties dibs on the words Liberal and Labor, and notes the proposed hike in the minimum membership requirement for party registration from 500 to 1500 is rough on regionally focused parties but little obstacle to parties formed by “wealthy interests”.
• Paul Sakkal of The Age reports the Liberal preselection for Casey, which will be vacated with Tony Smith’s retirement, has attracted a field of six: Roshena Campbell, barrister, Melbourne councillor and wife of Herald Sun journalist James Campbell; Grant Hutchison, managing partner of local law firm Hutchinson Legal; Aaron Violi, former staffer to Senator James Patterson and current executive with a company that provides online ordering services to restaurants; Andrew Asten, principal of Boston Consulting Group and former ministerial chief-of-staff to Alan Tudge; Donalea Patman, founder of For the Love of Wildlife, which campaigns against hunting in Africa; and Ranjana Srivastava, an oncologist. The report relates that Campbell and Violi are aligned with state Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien and party president Robert Clark, while Hutchison and Asten are in the rival Josh Frydenberg/Michael Sukkar camp.
• Charlie Peel of The Australian reports there are three candidates for Liberal National Party preselection to succeed George Christensen in Dawson: Whitsunday mayor Andrew Wilcox, former Mackay councillor Chris Bonanno and “the relatively unknown Chas Pasquale”.
”
sprocket_says:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 8:00 am
This guy is evil – looks after himself whilst his people are denied the basic protections…
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday, the governor’s office announced in a release.
”
What is with people with name Abbott?
Victoria records 24 local COVID-19 cases, Melbourne lockdown tightens with public transport freeze
Victoria has recorded 24 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, 18 of whom were in quarantine while infectious.
Contact tracers have linked 20 of the cases to existing clusters in Melbourne’s Delta outbreak.
Victoria processed 39,832 test results on Tuesday and delivered 27,173 vaccine doses at state-run sites.
Melbourne’s lockdown, which will run until September 2, has been tightened further with the cancellation of late-night weekend public transport.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-18/victoria-new-covid-cases-melbourne-lockdown/100385882
Victoria has recorded 24 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, 18 of whom were in quarantine while infectious.
Contact tracers have linked 20 of the cases to existing clusters in Melbourne’s Delta outbreak.
Victoria processed 39,832 test results on Tuesday and delivered 27,173 vaccine doses at state-run sites.
Melbourne’s lockdown, which will run until September 2, has been tightened further with the cancellation of late-night weekend public transport.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-18/victoria-new-covid-cases-melbourne-lockdown/100385882
Ven
It is fashionable for the West to do self-loathing and to glorify China as that cartoon does. I am not sure why this pathology exists but we see it on a daily basis.
China spends around trillion every four to five years on defence spending.
China is engaged in the biggest naval construction program in peace time history ever.
China’s armed forces have around 900,000 more persons than those of the US.
Given that China’s return per dollar is much more than that of the US, the relative defence spending is a lot closer in terms of output than the gross figures suggest.
China does so in gross and flagrant violation of the Greens’ Disarmament and Peace Studies policies.
I notice that Berejiklian has knocked off breast screening.
I am due for my PSA monitoring test but there are huge queues outside my pathology testing centre which is doing Covid testing.
Another gift to the nation from Morrison, Hunt, Berejiklian and Hazzard: killing people softly.
On ABC 774: A/Prof Margie Danchin of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute tells @LaTrioli says Melbourne’s playground shutdown needs to be reconsidered & more nuanced plan to protect children’s physical & mental health needed.
______________________________________
They tried that approach in Nuanced South Wales.
Covid thrives when you bend the rules or have loopholes.
It’s 2 weeks and it should work and will give us back 2 months or 2 years of kids playing on playgrounds…
Alpha Zero
Delta does Nancy in the playground?
I have noticed that it is kids under about 10 who are most likely to behave as if social distancing rules do not exist. They don’t get it and nor can, or should we, expect them to.
Covid playgrounds are dangerous playgrounds.
Thanks Max on Wilsons Prom. Never been there but looks very nice.
I need to check out where regional starts on that side of Melb.
I know the line is at Little River on the western side.
Simon Katich @ #46 Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 – 8:50 am
I wonder how much the lack of action in bring helpers out of Afghanistan will ‘turn off’ the military types in the LNP support base. It is a double edged sword in not bring refugees here which some will like.
Morrison has failed the children of Australia, who are now getting dangerously sick from Covid.
HE SHOULD RESIGN !!
sprocket_ @ #NaN Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 – 7:48 am
The sooner the better.
Sabra Lane
@SabraLane
·
25m
And now the confirmation: Australia’s evacuation mission to Afghanistan has begun, with an RAAF transport plane flying into Kabul.
Flight tracking websites have recorded the C-1-30 Hercules heading from a military base in the Middle East towards Afghanistan overnight.
UK Cartoons:
Steven Camley on the threat to women’s rights in #Afghanistan #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout
Brian Adcock on the threat to women’s rights in #Afghanistan #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout
Dave Simonds on #BidenDisaster #kabulairport #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Patrick Blower on #BidenDisaster #kabulairport #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Guy Venables on the fall of Kabul #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Graeme Bandeira on #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Graeme Keyes on the fall of Kabul #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
PAUL THOMAS on the fall of Kabul #kabulairport #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Morten Morland on #BidenDisaster #kabulairport #TalibanTakeover #Terrorists #pullout #Afghanistan
Bore War, you can spout off Chinese military stats until the cows come home, but there is one that stands out, apart from some border skirmishes with India and Vietnam, they have not invaded any other nations since their inception in 1949. BTW, don’t quote Tibet. Tibet is Chinese territory. The US….?
This is interesting …
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/17/andrew-forrest-company-drops-wa-canning-basin-gas-exploration-plans-over-climate-concerns
I am a bit cynical – announcements like this are sometimes cover for abandoning a project that turned out to be non-viable anyway – but if this is an indication that Australian fossil fuel companies are finally waking up to reality, it could be a positive development.
It certainly seems like BHP is also making some significant moves, by shifting its fossil fuel assets over to Woodside, perhaps preparatory to dumping them altogether. Kind of like a failing bank setting up a “good bank” with all the useful assets and a “bad bank” with all the dud ones.
”
boerwarsays:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 8:59 am
Ven
It is fashionable for the West to do self-loathing and to glorify China as that cartoon does. I am not sure why this pathology exists but we see it on a daily basis.
China spends around trillion every four to five years on defence spending.
China is engaged in the biggest naval construction program in peace time history ever.
China’s armed forces have around 900,000 more persons than those of the US.
Given that China’s return per dollar is much more than that of the US, the relative defence spending is a lot closer in terms of output than the gross figures suggest.
China does so in gross and flagrant violation of the Greens’ Disarmament and Peace Studies policies.
”
It is fact that US spent trillions of dollars in multiple wars in last 20 years and its infrastructure had been badly neglected. Where was a President like Eisenhower who built modern infrastructure in US?
At the sametime China’s quietly built it’s infrastructure by lepas and bounds making it the largest economy in another 5-10 years. China also did not go to any war except with India in last 20 years and have to beat a hasty retreat. Yes they did a lot of sabre rattling because nobody on the east of China called their bluff.
Halle Berry in leather – who wouldnt.
Meow! 🙂
No, it’s not Stalin who wrote this, or Hitler, or Mao, or any of the other great psychopaths of world history. It’s not even an exhausted Rudolph Hoess, as he stares out his office window and sees another trainload of Jews trundle into Auschwitz’s marshalling yards…
It was Chris Uhlmann.
Damn those hand-wringing intellectuals, and those weak-kneed cognoscenti. Let’s us give thanks that Chris is not one of them: dilettantes all, as they mawkishly go about, valuing human life above ideology… Chris’s ideology, that is.
He infers we should regard Sweden’s 14,000 dead – the equivalent of 34,700 if it had happened in Australia – as a “success”, putting families deprived of fathers, mothers, grandparents and children to one side, for the moment.
For myself, though, I prefer to regard herr Uhlmann as the failure, right up there in the “abject” class: as a citizen, as a “journalist”, and as a human being.
‘clem attlee says:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:23 am
Bore War,..’
_________________________
You routinely start your posts with personal abuse. Which is why I routinely ignore what follows.
Just had a meeting with work with a client in NZ. They were laughing at Scott Morrison specifically. Basically saying that even though they may act in haste and then have to jump around at least they’re not waiting for the opinions of seven different people before possibly doing anything when there is an outbreak.
U.S. COVID update: Nearly 177K new cases, including Florida backlog, and 1,316 new deaths
– New cases: 176,787 …………………………… – New deaths: 1,316
– In hospital: 88,481 (+3,742)
– In ICU: 21,914 (+1,047)
640,071 total deaths now
C@t @9:30
No way! I’m outa here!
phoenix
In those stats do they do a breakdown for Democrat and Republican voters?
Vem
‘…
It is fact that US spent trillions of dollars in multiple wars in last 20 years and its infrastructure had been badly neglected. Where was a President like Eisenhower who built modern infrastructure in US?
At the sametime China’s quietly built it’s infrastructure by lepas and bounds making it the largest economy in another 5-10 years. China also did not go to any war except with India in last 20 years and have to beat a hasty retreat. Yes they did a lot of sabre rattling because nobody on the east of China called their bluff.’
_______________________________________
The cartoon presented a fake and, IMO, pathological binary. This pathology is widespread among the Left in the West. Nor do I find it comprehensible that elements in the West, and particularly among the Left, find necessary to downplay China’s multiple and ongoing military aggressions.
Since 1945 China has:
1. Captured and colonized Inner Mongolia.
2. Conquered Tibet.
3. Fought a colonial war of oppression in Xinjiang.
4. Invaded Korea and set up a satrapy there.
5. Fought the Russians along the Ussuri River.
6. Fought the Indians along the Line of Control on numerous occasions. These fights have ranged from border incursions to full scale main force battles.
7. Invaded Vietnam.
8. Captured territory in the South China Sea off Vietnam.
9. Captured territory in the South China Sea off the Philippines.
10. Captured territory in the South China Sea off Malaysia.
11. Used armed force to destroy democracy in Hong Kong.
12. Provided funds and arms to revolutionaries in Nepal.
13. Invaded Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor.
14. Placed the world on notice that it will invade and conquer the democracy of Taiwan and backed this up with almost daily incursions of armed forces into Taiwan’s air- and sea- space.
15. Provided funds and support to rebels in India’s north-eastern provinces.
If the West has ANY geopolitical sense at all it would understand that the Taliban are now shit-scared of China. And they are right so to be. China is an extremely dangerous militaristic, imperialistic neighbour.
“Tibet is Chinese territory”
You remind me of my late uncle from San Diego, having an argument with his wife about the Mexicans (who she derided but was happy to hire cheaply as gardeners). The conversation talked to US ownership of California and he told her, real dead pan.
“We stole it, fair and square”.
”
phoenixREDsays:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:39 am
U.S. COVID update: Nearly 177K new cases, including Florida backlog, and 1,316 new deaths
– New cases: 176,787 …………………………… – New deaths: 1,316
– In hospital: 88,481 (+3,742)
– In ICU: 21,914 (+1,047)
640,071 total deaths now
”
And the numbers are not weekend dumps. I don’t see the Cud Chewers, the sprockets and others criticizing US Admin like they did to Trump, Bolsanaro, BOJO, Orbin, Mortison and Modi. These big numbers are despite high vaccination rates (or high for a big country)
Dr Sanjay Gupta, on CNN, brought up an interesting philosophical point.
Should people in 1st World countries be considering taking a booster shot from those in other countries who haven’t been able to even get their first vaccination shot yet?
Cud Chewersays: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:44 am
phoenix
In those stats do they do a breakdown for Democrat and Republican voters?
***************************************
Not that I am aware of Cud Chewer ……. there is a state by state list of statistics on :
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Maybe someone can help out ……
Another example of pathological thinking is some sort of notion that China’s military invasions have been bloodless or somehow morally justified whereas those of the West are not.
The Left in the West would be totally clueless that China killed more Tibetans during the invasion phase than the US killed Taliban in the entire Afghanistan War. Further, during the colonization phase hundreds of thousands of Tibetans were murdered subsequently. China’s battle casualties in the invasion phase were roughly similar to those of the US during the Afghanistan War.
This sort of blindness to the facts must be pathological. It is certainly not rational.
More whataboutism from borewar. He cannot get past his Grouper Cold War mentality.
The notion that the Sino-Vietnamese War was by way of a minor border skirmish is another example of pathological thinking.
It was a full scale armed invasion of Vietnam by China.
China’s casualties alone were between three and ten times as high as US casualties in the whole Afghanistan War.
Yes, note how many negative cartoons have been produced about the Afghanistan situation from Australia, America and Britain, three countries which have a free press. Compared with the number, which would be zero or less, coming out of China critical of its extensive military forays.
Covid has exposed the Great Dividing Range on so many levels, in so many places, making a mockery of many a hypocritical politician and the bevy of journalistic mouth pieces only willing to spruik their insular nonsense.
No better example exists than the unfortunate nation having to masticate a PM so lacking in leadership characteristics, fawning to big business in an attempt to gain faux political gravitas.
Are the voters capable of rectifying their folly?
This is a fantastic comment made about Chris Uhlmann’s Economy Uber Alles, otherwise mischaracterised as ‘Freedom’, article:
OP #66
I have read all the comments here thus far. Fascinating that there appear to be none from people who have actually suffered COVID and required hospital treatment, or who are suffering long-COVID. Or from folk who have watched a loved one suffer and need an ICU bed. Not even from people who have endured 14-day isolation via being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. No one has written it seems who’s been in Aged Care lock-down or worked in such a facility through an Outbreak. No nurse or doctor or Disability care worker seems to have contributed to the debate Mr. Uhlmann’s column inspires. . No one from a vaccination or testing site has expressed a view.
As a person working across a few of the above areas, let me say this: SOME of your comments are a slap in the face. Why are we bothering to care? If any of Mr. Uhlmann’s supporters fall ill and need hospital care, they will expect a bed to be available, no doubt and the attendance of medical experts and nurses. And please, don’t sit in judgement on those people, disadvantaged by our social systems, who fall ill, folk we NEED to keep working outside their homes, as many who write here sit IN comfy homes in magnificent isolation, preaching wailing and casting about for people to blame. Let’s ask ourselves instead why we let our governments be so unprepared for a pandemic that’s been predicted for a long time? We did that.
Punditry is for those with too much time to spare. Lest I be thus accused, I am off to work…via public transport. I feel still inspired, challenged and oddly fortunate to be actively involved in fighting the impact of this virus, at the coalface, not a martyr, but a bloke doing the job he signed up for. Well, I feel a bit less like that since making the mistake or reading some of these comments.
The COVAX scheme is designed to allow developing countries to access vaccines …
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/17/australia-pfizer-purchase-from-vaccine-sharing-covax-stockpile-under-fire
Clearly, the LNP’s cunning plan to turn Australia into a third world country is finally paying dividends!
C@t
On the issue of boosters, I have no problem personally with getting a booster. Its not the only ethical conundrum we have. Its not even the biggest, when you consider how we’ve cut back aid on other preventable diseases that are bigger killers.
What we should be doing is manufacturing vaccines and shipping them to Africa. Problem solved. In any case, supply is continuing to ramp up so the problem poor countries will have come next January is not supply of vaccines but money and logistics.
A booster program here in Australia may make the difference between effective herd immunity (with public health measures) and a spiralling out of control epidemic.
Cud,
I guess so. However, I believe that we should prioritise vaccinating other countries who haven’t had a first dose, first, until such time as we can have that oversupply that enables everyone to be vaccinated, 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses.
Goll
Covid has exposed the bankrupt nature of the basic idea underlying “Liberal values” – and conservative “thought” in general. The idea that success is driven by virtue, not luck.
Tens of thousands of years of civilisation taught us that cooperation, not competition is the key to a better life – and that means having rules and not being “freedom” driven. But the conservatives are just a bunch of narrow minded, selfish pricks trying to undo civilisation.
Cud Chewer says:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:48 am
So like how America stole Hawaii and Australia ?
Goll @ #84 Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 – 10:09 am
Seriously, I doubt it.
Remember America and the west told China to sort out it’s covid19 problem:
Tom Fowdy
@Tom_Fowdy
·
47m
Mainstream media: “China should abandon zero covid and learn to live with it!”
US deaths today: 1316
C@t
By the time the logistics are sorted out, it’ll be largely irrelevant. I do agree we need everyone to be vaccinated, but there’s also a ‘hesitancy’ amongst certain decision makers (and experts) to recommend and formalise boosters. And that’s another dangerous trend in itself. Just as certain parties took their time admitting that masks made a difference.
If the WHO cared enough about poor countries, it’d be lobbying for faster manufacturing. In fact it should use some of its power to push back on the vaccine makers regarding IP.
For that matter, Australia could afford to order a billion doses and ship those directly to Africa. I’m sure it would get a volume discount.
With Operation Sovereign Shame – Australian rescue flights to Afghanistan – finally starting, Morrison will no doubt paint it as a mission half-accomplished. But in reality the delay will cost lives, as this tweet from a journalist based in Afghanistan shows:
“Frud Bezhan فرود بيژن
@FrudBezhan
·
3h
Taliban have put up checkpoints at entrance to #Kabul airport, residents tell me.
That’s preventing thousands of Afghans who have travel docs from leaving.
As @WSJ
reports, some evacuation flights leaving nearly empty.
Window of opportunity closing for Afghans to escape.
Socrates
Morrison’s, Payne’s and Dutton’s Operation AfghanKiller.
AfghanKiller goes with Morrison’s and Berejiklian’s CovidSpreader.
Cud Chewer @ #93 Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 – 8:21 am
Is that anything like the magical hundreds of millions of vaccines that Australia have ordered that haven’t been seen yet.
The WHO has been advocating for vaccines for developing countries since the beginning, yet richer countries continue to corner the vaccine market leaving little for anyone else.
Taylormade says:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:12 am
Thanks Max on Wilsons Prom. Never been there but looks very nice.
I need to check out where regional starts on that side of Melb.
I know the line is at Little River on the western side.
—————
No worries Taylormade. The Prom is a magical place. If you don’t mind a decent walk (a few hours return) the track from Mt Oberon to Sealers Cove on the east side is one of my favourites. But just the drive down to Tidal River or the short walks at Norman Bay and Squeaky Beach are memorable. I think the metro zone ends at Mornington Peninsula. My rellos at Phillip Island are classified as regional. Enjoy!
Taylormade says:
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 9:12 am
Thanks Max on Wilsons Prom. Never been there but looks very nice.
I need to check out where regional starts on that side of Melb.
________________________________
Once you are out of Yarra Ranges and Cardinia, then you are out of Melbourne…
Well, we have wonderful spring sunshine once again. Must go out and get some.