Essential Research seems to have a new routine of discreetly slipping out federal voting intention numbers without trumpeting them in their weekly report. Labor is on 35% (up two), the Coalition 30% (down one), Greens 13% (steady), others 17% (steady) with 5% undecided (down one). The “2PP+” two-party measure has Labor steady on 51%, the Coalition up one to 44% and undecided down one to 5%. The weekly report has the monthly personal ratings for Anthony Albanese, which have him unchanged at 60% approval and 27%.
A forced response question on a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament runs 63-37 in favour, in from 65-35 in August. Respondents were presented with four questions querying their understanding of the issue, which found 25% holding the incorrect view that the proposed body would be able to block parliamentary legislation, with 26% believing otherwise and 50% not sure. Forty per cent expected 2023 would be a better year for Australia, compared with 24% for worse and 25% for no difference. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Sunday from a sample of 1042.
Roy Morgan’s weekly video informs us that their latest federal two-party numbers have Labor’s lead out from 54.5-45.5 to 56.5-43.5.
There’s the starting point for the education campaign. You can bet this is what the ‘No’ people will campaign on.
@wranslide and others on the upcoming NSW election
I live in Coffs Harbour (the state seat at least), and sadly I think Gurmesh Singh will hold it for the nats. He’s pretty well liked, is very active in both traditional and social media, and as a local member he’s actually pretty good
Having said that, Tony Judge is a local councillor and is running for Labor, and he’s a thoroughly decent man and an excellent candidate, but he needs to build more of a public profile ASAP to be in with a shot. Incumbency is a huge advantage here.
To my knowledge no serious independents have publicly nominated for the seat as yet. Caz heiss got within a bees dick of taking Cowper off the nats in May. To the north in Page (where I live, the northern beaches of coffs are in page with the rest in Cowper) I actually volunteered for hanabeth Luke. Our campaign was delayed by several months because of the Lismore floods, so it was only really in March that she was able to get started. I think she did an amazing job to get as many votes as she did in the circumstances
A little bit of finality is avoid thing
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/brittany-higgins-settles-personal-injury-claim-against-the-commonwealth
I read this fascinating article about Elon Musk, Twitter and Right Wing information warfare and what is the best tactic for Progressives to counter it, last night by Greg Sargeant in The Washington Post. I’ve unlocked it so you can read it all for free but here’s an important excerpt:
https://wapo.st/3hp4Ubu
C@t:
Sounds like Musk is simply using the News Ltd approach to garnering new subscribers.
Today at the Royal Commission:
Counsel: “Mr Morrison, what did you know about the legal concerns with robodebt when it was being devised and implemented at your request?”
Morrison: “I don’t accept the premise of your question.”
Counsel: “(sigh!) This is going to be a long day.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/14/scott-morrison-in-the-spotlight-what-will-the-former-pm-be-asked-at-the-robodebt-royal-commission
‘fess,
Yes, except for the social media age. Murdoch has already tied up the TV watchers and newspaper readers but Musk has seen what the successful RW trolls like Alex Jones have achieved and so is bringing it to a global platform, Twitter.
south @ Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 12:10 am:
Macarthur ,
Strategic bombing only work hardens a populace. The winter will be cold for Ukraine and they’ll be fighting fit and strong on the other side of it. It’s was a mistake for Russia to cut off their power.
For a confidence interval of 95% for the Ukrainian population of 43M, you need a sample of about 10600 people.
Edit, sorry missed that last margin of error, the sample is probably up around 20K.”
===========================
south, thank you very much for this. And I absolutely agree about the counter-productivity of Russia’s strategy here. But it maddens me to think of the suffering and loss Ukrainians are suffering because of Putin’s stubborn spitefulness in persisting with it.
Among the fragmentary facts emerging in the wake of the Wiemabilla ambush …
… the Train brothers’ father is “a Christian pastor”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/australian-police-try-to-understand-conspiracies-that-led-to-shooting-deaths-of-two-officers-and-four-others
Excellent! Patriot missile defence systems for Ukraine from the US!
“The US is finalising plans to send the Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine which could be announced as soon as this week, according to US officials.
The plan is awaiting approval by the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, before it is sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. Approval is expected, two US officials and a senior administration official told CNN.
Once the plans are approved, the Patriots are expected to ship quickly and Ukrainian forces will be trained to use them at a US army base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, officials said.
The Patriot defence system is widely considered one of the most capable long-range weapons to defend against incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, CNN writes. It can potentially shoot down Russian missiles and aircraft far from their intended targets inside Ukraine.
As Russian forces have launched waves of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, Kyiv has pleaded with its western allies for additional, sophisticated air defence systems. Recent attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure have put renewed pressure on the Biden administration to send these systems.
The “reality of what is going on on the ground” led the Biden administration to make the decision, an official said.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/dec/13/russia-ukraine-war-live-us-sends-first-power-equipment-to-ukraine-eu-breaks-hungary-stalemate-to-approve-18bn-aid-plan
Thanks for The Guardian article about the questions Morrison needs to answer, OS, but likely will cavil at or twist his way through, today at the RC. I think this one suggests something very important:
To me, alongside reversing the onus of proof for welfare recipients to prove to the Coalition government’s satisfaction that the debt they levied on you was wrong, the Coalition also redefined what it was to be a ‘welfare cheat’. By their characterisation, anyone who was proven by their methods to have made a mistake when claiming welfare was ipso facto a welfare cheat. I seem to remember that, as well as the ‘you will go to jail’ rhetoric the Coalition loved to say that ‘you will not get a penny more than you are entitled to’, or wtte, and that, ‘this is the taxpayers’ money’. Lots of really horrible things to say publicly, meant to demonise, diminish and negatively characterise them to the rest of the population.
#weatheronPB
Still dense hanging leaves,
pierced here and there by the sun,
frame a lone dove’s calls.
‘The DealBook newsletter suggests that he’s trying to boost “conservative engagement” and “help Twitter’s business” by “winning over right-leaning users and conservative politicians.”
Why is there this pervasive idea that the far right – because that’s what Musk is targeting, not ‘conservatives’ – is greater in numbers than the centre (or indeed, the left)?
Musk, like Trump, is wooing (according to this analysis) the Jan 6 types.
It’s possible (I don’t live there, I don’t know) that there’s enough of them in America to build an empire around, but I’d suggest the recent US elections – and indeed, our own recent ones – suggests that there aren’t.
I’d assume the opposite – that wooing far right extremists puts the majority of the population offside.
Ardently so.
Why is there this pervasive idea that the far right – because that’s what Musk is targeting, not ‘conservatives’ – is greater in numbers than the centre (or indeed, the left)?
zoomster,
I don’t think it’s correct to say he’s going for the extremes of the RWosphere but those areas that have become popular and lucrative for guys like Joe Rogan. They love taking the piss out of people who take it all too seriously. The kind of people who, when called out, use the defence of, I was only joking. However, it’s a way of engaging a younger demographic to that which Murdoch has courted and then advertising to them because, as we have seen in this country with the Tradies and the sports crowd, it’s a large number of people and they have a large disposable income which they love to spend.
Busy day ahead, but on Musk and twitter (and other social spaces), sometimes I like my instincts. Since Mr Musk bought Twitter as his personal platform, I’ve slowly turned away from it. I’m increasingly “turned off” by it, to use a now ancient phrase. There’s a parallel in other social spaces.
And while triggering may be deliberate, the motivation probably varies from immediate self-gratification (in the rush in having manipulated someone) to calculated long-term campaigns of distraction and misdirection. Nowadays I see twitter as a place that occasionally pops something new and a place to observe as a thing in itself. I’m not engaged.
Oh, and they don’t necessarily vote in America. 🙂
The Dawn Patrol will be late this morning. I have just arisen after a day in which I admit I overdid things in many ways, I need to read the date on my birth certificate!
“Ukraine must take into account the new territorial “realities” that include Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin has said. Ukraine’s president said on Monday that Russia could begin to withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine to show they are capable of abandoning their aggression. In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there could be “no question” of Moscow beginning to pull out its troops by the end of the year.”
=================================
Peskov has revealed much more of Russia’s ultimate pessimism about their invasion than perhaps he realises. He has shifted the timeframe for Russian withdrawal from “never” to “definitely not by the end of this year” – that is: absolutely definitely not in the next 18 days. I think Western advocates for the futility of Ukrainian resistance may not need to maintain their defeatism for very much longer!
C@
Murdoch seems to have declining influence – and his papers declining sales – precisely because that’s the demographic he’s targeting.
As I said, I don’t know why there’s the assumption that they’re worth it.
BK:
If you wanted to start winding back on the Dawn Patrol and give yourself a day or two off each week, I’d be happy to step up for you. Just let me know.
Essential’s results are a little surprising, in that I’d not expect the Liberals to get to 44% on a 2PP + measure at the moment- ie something like 46% in real 2PP. Essential has never been a bouncy poll though.
zoomster @ #NaN Wednesday, December 14th, 2022 – 6:59 am
I gave you a reason.
Also, I can only make that assumption based upon the direction he’s steering Twitter in. As I said, that’s been the growth area of consumers, of media and product, around the world in the 21st century. Sure, there’s a new Gen Z socially aware demographic but the Millennial bump is where he’s aiming at. I believe.
This could possibly be the most historically significant news story of this decade so far – and that includes Covid and Ukraine:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/13/us-scientists-confirm-major-breakthrough-in-nuclear-fusion
“Scientists have confirmed a major breakthrough has been made that could pave the way for abundant clean energy in the future after more than half a century of research into nuclear fusion.
Researchers at the US National Ignition Facility in California said fusion experiments had released more energy than was pumped in by the lab’s enormous, high-powered lasers, a landmark achievement known as ignition or energy gain.
The technology is far from ready to turn into viable power plants – and is not about to solve the climate crisis – but scientists hailed the breakthrough as evidence that the power of the stars can be harnessed on Earth.
Dr Arati Prabhakar, the policy director at the White House Office of Science and Technology, said: “Last week … they shot a bunch of lasers at a pellet of fuel and more energy was released from that fusion ignition than the energy of the lasers going in. This is such a tremendous example of what perseverance really can achieve.”
Fusion energy raises the prospect of plentiful clean power: the reactions release no greenhouse gases nor radioactive waste by-products. A single kilogram of fusion fuel, which is made up of heavy forms of hydrogen called deuterium and tritium, provides as much energy as 10m kilograms of fossil fuel. But it has taken 70 years to reach this point.”
Macarthur says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 6:25 am
Excellent! Patriot missile defence systems for Ukraine from the US!
——————————————————————————————
Good news, and sensible.
Yes, BK, if you want to take a day or two off here and there over the holidays, just put out the call. 🙂
Cronus @ Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:08 am:
“Macarthur says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 6:25 am
Excellent! Patriot missile defence systems for Ukraine from the US!
——————————————————————————————
Good news, and sensible.”
==========================
Yes, you and I were both scratching our heads yesterday at the delays thus far. I didn’t think any of the suggested reasons for denial of these systems held much water.
The White House has kicked off its daily briefing with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who has been joined today by a special guest: Cyndi Lauper.
The pop legend is set to perform at the 3:30 pm signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, which will protect same-sex and interracial marriage rights.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/dec/13/biden-marriage-act-nuclear-fusion-energy-politics-live
🙂
Confessions says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 5:38 am
Respondents were presented with four questions querying their understanding of the issue, which found 25% holding the incorrect view that the proposed body would be able to block parliamentary legislation, with 26% believing otherwise and 50% not sure.
———
There’s the starting point for the education campaign. You can bet this is what the ‘No’ people will campaign on.
——-
That’s true. I take some comfort in the fact that the real campaign, including the education component, has not started. With less visibility at the moment it’s easier for people not to focus- and misconceptions will hopefully be corrected over time.
On the other hand some misconceptions will flourish and be amplified by the far right, however cogent the education campaign, based on what we’ve seen with COVID. I was reminded of this when a family member told me about a friend of hers – who was up till 2020 a down to earth, sensible health professional working in aged care. She bought into the antivax conspiracy theories of friends in her conservative Christian church, refused to get vaccinated and hasn’t worked since. Apparently 5G and the hegemonic aspirations of the Left are major preoccupations for her. I’ve no doubt the Voice will be seen as another element in the conspiracy, and the existence of a public education campaign will be perceived as evidence of that.
Morning all. Best wishes BK and take it easy.
There is plenty of interesting reading in the mean time. I think you could sell tickets to Morrison’s RC appearance today.
https://michaelwest.com.au/a-royal-commission-into-scott-morrison-he-sold-off-the-farm-in-secret/
Meanwhile in Congress, lawmakers are working through a heap of legislation that both parties would like to get passed before the year ends and the new Congress begins.
Of particular importance to the waning Democratic majority is a measure to reform the Electoral Count Act and stop the type of legal plot attempted on January 6, and a White House request for tens of billions of dollars more in aid to Ukraine.
Politico reports that Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer says both could be included in a massive government funding bill the two parties are inching towards an agreement on
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/dec/13/biden-marriage-act-nuclear-fusion-energy-politics-live
Although our hopes might be high, my expectations about gaining anything of value from Morrison at the Robodebt Commission are very low. I expect lots of plausible deniability, prevarication, deflection, inability to recall, shedding of responsibility and blaming of others. Everything we’d expect of a narcissistic psychopath.
You can weave into a conspiracy theory just about any issue and you don’t even have to try very hard to do it. You just need the right tools and the right vehicle to drive your newly-fashioned message down the internet highway and into people’s brains via their amygdala.
Cronus,
I agree with you. Morrison didn’t become Prime Minister by not being talented at something and that talent was pulling the wool over people’s eyes and using words to guide them in the direction he wanted them to go in. He will be a formidable opponent today at the RC and a frustrating witness.
For any interested in nuclear fusion derived power, I came across an Australian effort not too long ago, with the marketing/promotional name of HB11. (Sounds like a really soft lead pencil.) It too uses lasers to compress a pellet but this one consists of regular Hydrogen (not the rare Deuterium) and a common nonradioactive isotope of Boron (B11). The reaction generates alpha particles (electrically positive Helium nuclei) that can be captured to generate electricity directly without heat transfers or turbines. And that makes power engineering simpler and cheaper.
I don’t know if the physics stacks up, but it’s a different approach. Maybe we don’t have to try to imitate the Sun.
musks pandering to the ault right makes litle sense given his otherj ob is teslers and the right are the most skepdicle of evs plus trump him self has no interest in going back on twitter any way dont think musk is targeting yunger people at all on nsw election think the nationalsw il l be safe in cofs labor could retain lismore though
lavbor has aproblim in south west sydney still have not preselected candadates in fairfield Cabramatter and paramatter otley to name a few this is bad just a few months out
Late Riser @ Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:31 am:
“For any interested in nuclear fusion derived power, I came across an Australian effort not too long ago, with the marketing/promotional name of HB11. (Sounds like a really soft lead pencil.) It too uses lasers to compress a pellet but this one consists of regular Hydrogen (not the rare Deuterium) and a common nonradioactive isotope of Boron (B11). The reaction generates alpha particles (electrically positive Helium nuclei) that can be captured to generate electricity directly without heat transfers or turbines. And that makes power engineering simpler and cheaper.
I don’t know if the physics stacks up, but it’s a different approach. Maybe we don’t have to try to imitate the Sun.”
===========================
LR, I’m not a scientist of any manner or form, but I think if that program doesn’t already have ARC funding it ought to. This is what our Government ought to be subsidising. I wonder if that program you refer to is still running?
C@tmomma says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 7:27 am
Cronus,
I agree with you. Morrison didn’t become Prime Minister by not being talented at something and that talent was pulling the wool over people’s eyes and using words to guide them in the direction he wanted them to go in. He will be a formidable opponent today at the RC and a frustrating witness.
——————————————————————————————
Agreed C@T, and he is more than adept at defending the indefensible. Given his value system it’s hardly surprising but also this value system talks so much about empathy, rendering his words and actions as the perfect example of lived cognitive dissonance.
Antony Green coming off the long run over on the Victorian thread. Has just given William a nice old whack.
Argentina into the final with a 3-0 smashing of Croatia.
Scott Morrison approved tens of billions in foreign takeover deals after secretly being appointed Treasurer last year, compromising Australia’s national interest. Sydney Airport, electricity giants AusNet and Spark Infrastructure. All gone. Michael West reports.
Revelations that former prime minister Scott Morrison was secretly appointed Treasurer alongside Josh Frydenberg are unnerving in the extreme. FOI requests have established that Morrison wanted to be Treasurer in order to control the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
FIRB is the body in Treasury which makes the decision, supposedly in the national interest, on approving foreign takeovers and takeover activity last year in the wake of Covid was frenetic.
“We are advised the Treasury swearing [appointment of the PM to Treasurer] relates to FIRB,” says an email dated April 21, 2021. Why? Why did Morrison want control of FIRB? Okay, our headline suggestion of a Royal Commission into one man might be having a lend but surely, given the weight of evidence mounting against the former PM as to his undermining of Australia’s democracy, this latest news warrants at least a parliamentary inquiry.
https://michaelwest.com.au/a-royal-commission-into-scott-morrison-he-sold-off-the-farm-in-secret/
I’m a bit sceptical about nuclear fusion. To get it to work you need pressures and temperatures like to core of the Sun – and a means of safely containing all this. It’s, to say the least, a major hurdle to getting something working at the scale needed. It’s been 30 years away since the 1950s. Not that I’d be surprised to see the usual suspects using this breakthrough as another distraction. We just need to keep burning coal while the boffins sort out a few technical issues.
There are many good reasons to expect the December quarter 2022 data to be the peak in inflation.
There are a wide array of indicators showing that inflation will not only fall through 2023 but will drop back towards the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target about as quickly as it rose from below 2 per cent to 8 per cent in 2021 and 2022.
In no specific order, those indicators are:
Commodity prices rose around 165 per cent from early 2020 through to the middle of 2022. This extraordinary price boom fed directly into production and distribution costs, which in turn spurred the surge in inflation. Since that peak, the Commodity Research Bureau index of commodity prices has dropped 18 per cent, a move that will not only cap but will lower business and other costs.
Within the commodity price falls, from the recent peaks in US dollar terms, oil is down 38 per cent, copper down 22 per cent, wheat down 43 per cent, steel down 30 per cent, cotton down 42 per cent and lumber down 71 per cent.
Supply chain issues led to shortages of many goods in 2021, which fed into prices as demand remained strong. These issues are largely fixed. Freight shipping costs have fallen 80 per cent from their peak and are now broadly at pre-pandemic levels. Delivery times are also at pre-pandemic levels, semiconductor chips are no longer in short supply and motor vehicle production is also back to normal. These trends will show up in flat to lower retail prices, particularly in a competitive environment.
Slower global and domestic economic growth is the other key to lowering inflation. With a downturn in demand, businesses will be reluctant or unable to pass on higher prices and may even discount – lower inflation in other words – to maintain their market share.
The RBA, Treasury and financial market economists are all forecasting lower inflation over the next 12 to 24 months. The hot debating point is how quickly inflation will fall and the low point it will eventually reach in the down cycle.
There is more than the usual amount of uncertainty regarding the trajectory for that disinflation given the complex mix of factors that feed into inflation pressures, both up and down.
The RBA is forecasting inflation to fall but to remain a little above 3 per cent, the upper bound of its target, in both 2023 and 2024.
This looks too high given the mix of disinflationary pressures noted above. It is distinctly possible, if not probable, that by the end of 2023 inflation will be tracking nearer 2 per cent – especially if commodity prices continue to track lower on the back of the global slowdown. It could be even lower.
If this turns out to be the case, the pressure on the RBA monetary policy settings will turn 180 degrees – from tightening policy to easing it.
It is too early to sensibly or constructively be forecasting interest rate cuts but watch out for the markets to move in this direction as the evidence builds that shows inflation is falling.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-rising-but-good-news-2023-024741758.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr
Good morning Dawn Patrollers – a bit of a rushed job today.
Luke Henriques-Gomes lays out a lot of questions he would like to see Morrison asked at the royal commission today. They are rippers.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/14/scott-morrison-in-the-spotlight-what-will-the-former-pm-be-asked-at-the-robodebt-royal-commission
Ross Gittins describes 2022 as the year our trust was abused to breaking point.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/2022-the-year-our-trust-was-abused-to-breaking-point-20221213-p5c5tv.html
As 2022 comes to a close, Australians can enjoy a reprieve from the algorithms of fear and outrage, says Peter Lewis.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2022/dec/13/as-2022-comes-to-a-close-australians-can-enjoy-a-reprieve-from-the-algorithms-of-fear-and-outrage
Some of the nation’s most respected economists have called on the federal government to reconsider the size, shape and timing of the $254 billion stage three tax cuts, saying they pose a risk to the budget and will push up inflation. Shane Wright refers to full-page advertisements in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Wednesday, 100 financial experts – including former competition watchdog chair Allan Fels, the architect of HECS Bruce Chapman and tax expert Miranda Stewart – signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arguing the cuts in their current form were unaffordable.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/top-economists-urge-government-to-rethink-stage-three-tax-cuts-20221213-p5c5u9.html
The Albanese government operates from political strength in seeking parliamentary and public support for its energy price caps – but its intervention in energy markets, both short term and longer run, is fraught with risks that will raise alarms about regulatory overkill, says Paul Kelly.
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/pms-energy-policy-wins-the-politics-but-there-are-lots-of-risks/news-story/6345d78de4867d88a21a48f14d6bb11d
Paul Bongiorno says that a politically charged Albanese bracing for a high-voltage end to the year. A good read.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/12/13/energy-albanese-greens-bongiorno/
Anthony Albanese will meet gas industry representatives ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary vote on a price cap and code of conduct, but is standing firm against threats by Shell and Woodside Energy to defer or reduce investment. The government is also accusing the federal opposition of siding with the gas companies against households and small business after indicating it will vote against the legislation, writes Phil Coorey.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pm-to-meet-gas-industry-but-holding-firm-against-threats-20221213-p5c5tn
Anthony Albanese’s latest plan to subsidise foreign coal and gas companies is just absurd, opines Richard Denniss.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/14/anthony-albaneses-latest-plan-to-subsidise-foreign-coal-and-gas-companies-is-just-absurd
Scott Morrison approved tens of billions in foreign takeover deals after secretly being appointed Treasurer last year, compromising Australia’s national interest. Sydney Airport, electricity giants AusNet and Spark Infrastructure. All gone. Michael West reports.
https://michaelwest.com.au/a-royal-commission-into-scott-morrison-he-sold-off-the-farm-in-secret/
The next two days could well decide the outlook for the US economy and, with it, much of the rest of the world’s, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz. Today in the US, November inflation data will be released. It will be followed on Wednesday by this year’s final meeting of the Federal Reserve Board body that makes interest rate decisions, the Fed’s Open Market Committee.
https://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/the-two-days-that-could-determine-the-fate-of-the-global-economy-20221213-p5c5ut.html
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has settled a compensation claim with the Commonwealth after launching civil legal action. Her legal team confirmed the parties settled the claim last night after a day of mediation.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/higgins-commonwealth-reach-settlement-in-compensation-case-20221213-p5c63i.html
Over 14 years as a criminal defender in Canberra and the region, I’ve had hundreds of clients, perhaps a couple of thousand. I’m still waiting for the first one who will get the decided benefit of having the police “run dead” in his or her matter, writes criminal lawyer Andrew Fraser.
https://johnmenadue.com/lehrmann-case-pointing-finger-at-police-blows-smoke-over-manifold-incongruities/
Ben Cubby reports that GPs are sharing tactics for maximising Medicare billing on doctors-only Facebook groups, including sharing a list of so-called “little frauds”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/little-frauds-debated-on-doctors-only-facebook-groups-20221111-p5bxku.html
Concession holders in eastern states and South Australia will get the lion’s share of the $1.5 billion the government is promising in bill subsidies after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory did not need as much help responding to the energy crisis, writes Lisa Visentin.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hardest-hit-east-coast-states-to-get-lion-s-share-of-bill-subsidies-20221213-p5c5w8.html
Michael Read writes that a blowout in public hospital wait times has pushed almost 760,000 Australians to sign up for private health insurance, marking a sharp turnaround in an industry that observers have long warned was in a membership “death spiral”.
https://www.afr.com/politics/surgery-wait-times-push-760-000-on-to-private-health-cover-20221213-p5c5uh
The Guardian tells us that police in Australia examine conspiracy theories behind shooting deaths of two officers and four others.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/australian-police-try-to-understand-conspiracies-that-led-to-shooting-deaths-of-two-officers-and-four-others
This article in The Conversation explores how the Queensland shootings highlight increase in anti-police sentiment around the world.
https://theconversation.com/queensland-shootings-highlight-increase-in-anti-police-sentiment-around-the-world-196476
Matthew Knott writes that a senior US congressman says Australia should not give up hope of purchasing nuclear-powered submarines off-the-shelf from the United States, insisting the strained American shipbuilding industry can rise to the challenge of the AUKUS pact.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ready-made-nuclear-subs-still-a-stop-gap-option-for-australia-20221213-p5c5uc.html
According to Patrick Hatch and Matt O’Sullivan, Labour shortages, material price hikes and an overstretched construction industry are tipped to inflict budget and schedule blowouts on Victoria’s major infrastructure works.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/state-warned-on-risk-of-megaproject-delays-and-budget-blowouts-20221213-p5c5yr.html
Rachel Clun and Clancy Yeates tell us that digital wallet providers like Apple Pay will soon face oversight from the Reserve Bank, opening the door to breaking the digital wallet monopoly and allowing banks to enter that market. The central bank will also get powers to intervene to keep the stock exchange trading in a crisis under government changes to modernise the country’s financial systems.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/new-reserve-bank-powers-coming-for-digital-wallets-and-asx-payments-20221213-p5c60c.html
Lucy Cormack reports that opponents of poker machine reform are targeting NSW voters with a mysterious “robo-call” campaign that includes untested claims about the impacts of cashless card technology amid an increasingly contentious political dispute over the state’s lucrative gambling industry.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/listen-mysterious-robo-calls-deployed-by-pokie-reform-opponents-in-new-tactic-20221213-p5c5y0.html
Meanwhile, eleven current and former directors and executives of embattled casino giant Star Entertainment Group could be slapped with fines of more than $1 million each and banned from sitting on company boards if the corporate regulator proves its claims of widespread breaches of the law. Looks like ASIC means business.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/asic-takes-action-against-11-star-executives-20221213-p5c5tb.html
Elizabeth explains why Star’s corporate board stars are being sued by ASIC.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/governance-questions-why-star-s-board-of-corporate-stars-are-sued-by-asic-20221213-p5c5wy.html
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s blockbuster prosecution of 11 Star Entertainment Group executives and directors for allegedly breaching their duties under the Corporations Act sends a shot across the bows of all boards of public companies, declares the editorial in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/asic-s-star-line-up-a-shot-across-directors-club-bow-20221212-p5c5qn
Another day of revelations in the Brian Houston trial.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/crime-news/2022/12/13/houston-vague-about-abusing-children/
Australian universities now self-identify as deeply integrated units within the agencies of the State, the Australian Defence Force, and industry. They have become part of an encompassing strategy of Sinophobia and Australian fantasies of long-range attacks on China, says Michael McKinley.
https://johnmenadue.com/identity-breakdown-and-the-universities-from-academies-to-government-agencies/
A swath of everyday products and services has been accused of potential “greenwashing” after a new report found two-thirds of green claims made to shoppers came with no easily accessible evidence to back the claims. John Collett explains how consumers prefer to purchase from businesses that are environmentally responsible, however, they can be deceived by greenwashing, which is where companies overstate or lie about their green credentials.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/two-thirds-of-companies-in-misleading-greenwashing-claims-20221209-p5c50i.html
Eryk Bagshaw writes that coronavirus hotlines are overwhelmed in Beijing, hospitals are running out of beds in Guangzhou and medical facilities in Hebei province are relying on one-third of their staff to keep them running. COVID-19 is running rampant throughout China. It’s Covid take-off!
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/covid-is-running-rampant-in-china-and-its-hospitals-are-overwhelmed-20221213-p5c5wi.html
Rob Harris tells us that the European Union has struck a political deal to impose carbon tariffs on imports of polluting goods such as steel and cement, in a world-first scheme which aims to support its domestic industries against those from countries with weak climate laws.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/eu-becomes-first-major-economy-to-legislate-world-first-green-tariffs-20221214-p5c63w.html
After more than 50 years of false starts, nuclear fusion is finally taking a resolute step closer to becoming the world’s newest energy source. Yesterday the US Department of Energy announced that scientists at a laboratory in California managed for the first time to generate more electricity from a fusion reactor than they needed to trigger it.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/us-says-scientists-have-made-breakthrough-in-nuclear-fusion-energy-20221213-p5c5sz.html
The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent in November, indicating that the worst increases in the cost of living have probably passed.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/us-core-inflation-slows-giving-fed-some-breathing-room-20221214-p5c63s
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
David Rowe
Cathy Wilcox
Simon Letch
John Shakespeare
Fiona Katauskas
Mark Knight
Spooner
From the US
Taylormade,
Good on Anthony Green. I know who I’d take the word of.
“To get it to work you need pressures and temperatures like to core of the Sun – and a means of safely containing all this.”
——–
That’s true if you’re fusing Hydrogen with Hydrogen. Check out the HB11 link (https://hb11.energy/) for a simpler approach using Hydrogen and Boron. But again, I’m not up on the physics.
But I gotta go.
Sohar says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 8:06 am
Taylormade,
Good on Anthony Green. I know who I’d take the word of.
———
While I’m not sure why anyone would have scurried over here and breathlessly reported Antony Green’s comment in any case, it’s a misrepresentation in my opinion.
William’s intro mentioned ABC projections of LC outcomes based on the raw ABC calculator numbers. Antony pointed out that in each case he has comments on those raw numbers on the ABC results page that qualify them, and that’s the reason he goes to the effort of making those comments.
Steve777says:
Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 8:03 am
Well this is the second such experiment I can recall in the last year, so they are at least starting to make progress.
Obviously there are huge engineering challenges in continuing to progress this, so anyone suggesting that we could go directly from fossil fuels to fusion has no credibility at all.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced bipartisan legislation to ban China’s popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance amid US fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content.
The legislation would block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, Rubio’s office said in a news release, adding that a companion bill in the US House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bill comes as scrutiny of TikTok has grown in Washington in recent weeks, after a failed bid by the Trump administration to ban the video-sharing app. At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok’s US operations raise national security concerns, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.