As the silly season reaches its apex, such news and relevant information as I have to offer:
• A poll by Utting Research on federal voting in Western Australia, published yesterday in The West Australian, is broadly in line with other polling from the state in crediting Labor with a lead of 55-45, a swing of 10.5% compared with the 2019 election. The primary votes are Labor 46%, Coalition 39%, Greens 7%, One Nation 3% and UAP 1%. The poll also has Scott Morrison at 28% approval and 46% disapproval (which is quite a bit worse than his 45% approval and 51% disapproval from the state in the last quarterly Newspoll) and Anthony Albanese at 21% and 44%, while Mark McGowan has 75% approval with no disapproval rating provided. The poll was conducted last Wednesday from a sample of 650.
• US pollster Morning Consult’s monthly tracking polling for various international leaders’ personal ratings has Scott Morrison at 43% approval and 51% disapproval, respectively down three and up five on a month ago.
• The Australian reports the dispute over the New South Wales Liberal Party’s highly incomplete federal preselection process rumbles on, with St Vincent’s Hospital cardiologist Michael Feneley winning the endorsement of John Howard in his bid for preselection in Dobell – putting him at odds with Scott Morrison, who favours Jemima Gleeson, who owns a chain of coffee shops and a preacher at the HopeUC Pentecostal church in Charmhaven.
• David Crowe of the Age/Herald reports that “the Omicron wave has wiped out the idea of a snap election campaign as soon as next month”, hitherto rated “an outside chance for some Liberals who believed it was safer to go to an election in March than to wait until May”.
Gas/energy prices have shot up in the UK . The UK’s establishment newspaper tackles the issue and ask……
😆 😆 😆 Such handy hints.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/were-swapping-a-40k-nanny-for-a-10k-au-pair-preparing-for-the-cost-of-living-squeeze-cgpb3ssbl
[‘A silver four-wheel drive and a white van have just departed the CBD offices of Novak Djokovic’s lawyers under police watch.
Victoria Police officers closed off a section of Flinders Lane about 2.45pm before the two vehicles exited the building in front of a pack of photographers and journalists.
A man speaking on his mobile and covering his face with a cap could be spotted in the back seat of the four-wheel-drive which drove off towards William Street.
It is unclear whether the man in the vehicle was the Serbian tennis star, who had been granted permission in court last night to remain with his legal counsel under the watch of two Australian Border Force officers until 2pm (AEDT) this afternoon.
It is not yet known whether the tennis star will be returned to Park Hotel in Carlton, where he was detained last week, or taken to a new guarded location.’] – SMH
It seems that authorities think that Djokovic is a flight risk.
citizen @ #2880 Saturday, January 15th, 2022 – 2:14 pm
Jeez. Only an imbecile who never leaves the air-conditioned comfort of their inner city house or apartment could even suggest that. Climate change means just that … change. It does not just mean “hotter” (except on average … although having said that, records broken with 50+ degree days, anyone?).
Putting more heat energy into the atmosphere means more frequent, and more violent weather of all types. This year has been worse than most in many places. Hotter in some places, wetter in others, drier and colder in others. With more frequent and more damaging floods and storms widespread. Crops and businesses destroyed. Lives lost. And yes, bushfires as well – in WA and Victoria.
We are not “weathering the climate storm” at all – it is just that the damage is conveniently being obscured by Covid. And while we may eventually recover from Covid, there will be no recovery from climate change. And things are likely to get a lot worse a lot more quickly than most people seem to realize.
Griff
From the very beginning of the pandemic, Mary-Louise has been months ahead of other experts, and has always been proven right, yet the decision-makers in Oz have ignored her. We need her.
Lizzie
That is so sad. Hopefully her tumour is benign and treatable.
Brain cancer and tumours are something very close in my sphere
My OH has 3 cousins from same family, all have had tumours over the years that have been managed well. 2 were operable, one inoperable but being controlled by botox and other meds.
On the other hand, this week I had funeral for someone I considered an aunt, who passed away from brain cancer.
We also have a friend who is dealing with malignant brain cancer.
Mary Louise McClaws is such a lovely person.
I followed and trusted her advice throughout this pandemic. I wish her all the best.
Why does this Djokovic saga have to play out in Melbourne town. We have had enough drama throughout this pandemic. Sigh…….
Instead of backing the non-vaxxers, if he wanted to support something worthwhile with his money, he could take up the defence of the asylum seekers.
The Age 14/01
Djokovic was not arriving empty-handed. Along with a tennis bag stuffed with new racquets, he had a visa granted on November 18, a medical exemption approved by separate Tennis Australia and Victorian government expert panels, a travel declaration lodged on January 1 with the Federal Department of Home Affairs and a Border Travel Permit issued by the Victorian government.
_____________________
Looks like the Victorian government did its best to get him here.
I think that in some of his recent photo-ops Morrison’s using the Doris Day lense – a smear of petroleum jelly:
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/22377329368412897/
Latest on dkojovic
Lana Murphy
And just like that – Novak Djokovic is back in detention. He arrived at the Carlton hotel minutes ago and will spend at least one night here ahead of his Federal Court hearing tomorrow at 9.30am @9NewsMelb https://t.co/fMi0c0wU8Y
lizzie @ Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 3:48 pm
Completely agree. She provided a voice of reason, backed by strong expertise and an international reputation. Her truths should definitely be listened to by our political class, both earlier and now.
Mavis
I thought a coloured filter. His topknot has suddenly turned brown!
Deborah Snow must have twisted herself into pretzels to spend 2 hours in Sqovid’s company
The long-winded puff piece epitomises the man, long winded press conferences which say nothing
Got to say Deborah Snow looks very hot for a 67 year old.
Taylormadesays:
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 3:54 pm
lol, we know for a fact that the Victorian government did not have anything to do with the Visa or medical exemption.
TA & BF & Feds.
I was very sad to read Prof Mary-Louise McLaws news re her brain tumour
Mary-Louise said she had a persistent headache on Thursday. Hopefully she has caught the tumour quickly
I will miss her quiet sage advice, hopefully Prof Raina McIntyre can fill in
lizzie:
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 3:58 pm
[‘Mavis
I thought a coloured filter. His topknot has suddenly turned brown!]
He could be on “Grecian 2000”. When I used it my hair went a yellowly orange but I failed to read the instructions.
Oh dear he has been forced to wear a mask:
Well spotted by this SMH reader/commenter, on the Debbie Snow article:
Many of the comments reflect my own experience of the piece: read through the first 30 paragraphs, started skimming for another 30 or 40, then began skipping forward, only to see it ended as it had begun – a blancmange of platitudes, quaint aphorisms, lack of emotional intelligence, uninteresting anecdotes, and near complete lack of self-awareness – finally giving up.
Re. Morrison’s self-assessment… the “Dunning-Kruger Effect” comment up-thread was SPOT ON.
ABC News tagline says
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES CONFIDENT COVID PEAK IS APPROACHING
The Reff is 1.0 in Victoria – halving case numbers every 279 days
Reff could be approaching 1 in NSW but they really don’t know
Reff is 1.4 in SA – doubling every 4 days
Reff is 1.6 in NT – doubling every 3 days
A poll of the players in the Open might have been more realistic, but perhaps not the result the lawyers wanted.
Taylormade
So the federal govt granted him a Visa and he had medical exemptions.
So why does Morrison and co want him out of the country now?
A question the govt needs to answer.
Perhaps taylormade could answer it
—-
The reason to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa is ‘health and public interest’ — so why did the Morrison Government grant the visa in the first place? It should have simply denied the visa and avoided the hysterical mishandling which is damaging Australia’s reputation.
Nikki Savva summed it up best. Morrison waits for a problem to become a crisis before mishandling it.
I see that the English have devised a new and more efficient technique for alternating the strike.
I was speculating who might have made up Morrison’s Pandemic Advisory Committee instead of the ones he chose. Became too depressing. Gave up.
Vic – No, ScoMo waits until it is a crisis and then leaves it for a bit more just to make sure it is before taking some half measure to deal with it.
B.S.Fairman
Good point
Come Monday, if the Federal Court finds against him, Djokovic mania will be replaced by interest in the AO and attention to yet another stuff-up by Morrison. And as suggested yesterday, hardly a vote will come his way from this debacle, other than perhaps the rabid anti-vaxxers may turn on him, preferencing the Tories last; Serbian Australians likewise, who, according to the 2016 census, number 73,901.
There is no tension around what Morrison is going to do.
It is always the same.
Wait for a fuck up. Wait. Wait some more. Fuck it up some more.
Terrible news re Mary-Louise McLaw. Her tweet had a note of finality about it. It doesn’t sound good.
Steelydan says:
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Not even worth doing the obligatory stuff anymore like the budget reply, ovoid it.
I met with a group of ABC workers in a fire drill once 2 out of seven had Che Guevara T shirts on they weren’t even ALP they were hardcore greens.
“A survey by the University of the Sunshine Coast, for example, found that ABC journalists intended to vote in the recent elections 41 per cent for The Greens, 34 per cent for Labor and only 16 per cent for the Coalition. A survey published by the Australian Journalists Review came to a similar conclusion yet at the same time Newspoll found that Australians intended to vote 46 per cent for the Coalition, 31 per cent for Labor and only 9 per cent for The Greens, with others at 14 per cent—a massive divergence between the Australian electorate and ABC journalists.”
That is to say, 41% + 16% = 57% of the media-cratic estate would have been campaigning 24/7 for the success of Australia’s Reactionaries, the LNP.
What is in fact very amazing is that Labor manages to win elections at all, ever. The institutional bias against working people and their political instruments is profound.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
This comes about if you spend your entire life believing you are part of the chosen ones..
Geoff KitneyDec 28, 2021 – 11.30am
It’s time for Scott Morrison to govern, except he never will
Politics for Morrison’s Coalition is about scheming to stay in power, while Australia starts regressing into its old insular ways.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/it-s-time-for-scott-morrison-to-govern-except-he-never-will-20211227-p59kaj
Mavis @ #2908 Saturday, January 15th, 2022 – 3:56 pm
They’ve got an app for that these days. 🙂
Not to mention in the photo which accompanied the Deborah Snow article, Morrison looks like he has mascara on!
Wall to wall mismanagement, confusion, delay, disorder in the public domain: business as usual under the management of Morrison and the other dimwits currently purporting to be a government.
you may be farked when Mark goes after you
Mark Kenny
@markgkenny
·
6h
Christ there’s some dismally shallow gov stenography going on this morning. The gov is deporting Djokovic as a threat to health and good order when it’s own parliamentary majority (no less) is made up of MPs who have advocated even stronger anti vax views. Yet no expulsions?
Like others on here, I also think our international reputation has suffered as a result of Morrison’s mishandling of the Djokovic saga, our inhumane treatment of refugees. Former Canadian PM Harper, who Morrison shares a lot in common with, was heavily defeated in 2015, holding only 99 seats out of 338. Labor by 10.
Head should go back and slot that one!
C@tmomma:
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 4:39 pm
[‘They’ve got an app for that these days.’]
I must keep abreast with new technology.
lizzie @ #2934 Saturday, January 15th, 2022 – 4:39 pm
If that’s the best the dark side can come up with, all I can say is lol. Also he looks okay without a suit jacket on:
*cough* in Queensland.
Loris says:
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 3:39 pm…
…..He was asked if had ever had a “dark night of the soul”. He responded of course and goes on to list several crises his government had to deal with. This shows he has no idea what a “dark night of the soul” really is. I wonder if he even has a soul?
Well that at least makes sense, there being no such thing as a “soul” in the tombs of the eternally deceased.
This question seems to be to have been completely pre-scripted. What journalist in their right mind, doing the job of inquiry and reporting, would ask such an idiotic question of a known god-bothering fool? The media in this country is chockablock full of sycophants and apologists.
Deborah Snow has a portfolio of anti Labor articles going back a long time.
Whether you approve of Mark Latham she has been an attack dog for the Libs for a long, long time.
It would have been nice for her to address Morrison’s disinterest in doing anything anything about gender issues and rapes in parliament House.
She’s a shill for hire.
https://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1147732.htm
I also think our international reputation has suffered as a result of Morrison’s mishandling of the Djokovic saga, our inhumane treatment of refugees.
Our government’s behaviour at climate conferences in Rome & Glasgow sunk our reputation, but this will have reinforced the trashed reputation
Handling of Omicron & Delta will have reduced us to laughing stock
The Serbian PM said that Morrison should have cancelled Djokovic’s visa before he came to the country and that he didn’t was because it’s all been staged to help him in his election campaign.
Which, I wouldn’t put it past him.
Mark Kenny
@markgkenny
How can a court take seriously the claimed grounds for his unfitness to stay when said grounds were not previously stated nor used to reject his highly publicised application for entry?
The bottom line is that the idea that Djokovic is to have a valid visa cancelled on the basis his presence could incite protests is transparent nonsense. It says, loudly, “we’ve got nothing else”.
Deborah Snow did manage to winkle this embarrassing moment out of Morrison:
The Serbian PM said that Morrison should have cancelled Djokovic’s visa before he came to the country and that he didn’t was because it’s all been staged to help him in his election campaign.
Agreed
If you listen to the questions asked at the Victorian Covid press conference the day Djokovic was expected to arive you could be forgiven for thinking that Morrison was out to hang Dan Andrews and the minister on duty (Jaala Pulford) was answering the questions very carefully