Having waited rather too long for a new blog post topic to fall into my lap, here’s one that falls back on the regularly updated tracking poll of Anthony Albanese’s approval ratings maintained by US pollster Morning Consult, which maintains the exercise for twenty leaders internationally. While these numbers have been basically steady since June, they suggest that Albanese ended the year on something of a high, with his approval registering at either 59% or 60% after easing to 55% in November, and his disapproval down since that time from 32% to 28%.
As for when the polling treadmill will crank back into action, I note that the Age/Herald had a Resolve Strategic poll in the third week of last year, although that may have reflected the imminence of a federal election. Newspoll and Essential Research took a fortnight longer to resume regular transmission.
Boerwar says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 6:57 am
‘Ven says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 2:31 am
Why the Dutch apology for slavery leaves a bitter taste in my mouth
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/14/dutch-apology-slavery-reparation-caribbean?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16737101004329&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2023%2Fjan%2F14%2Fdutch-apology-slavery-reparation-caribbea‘
——————————-
Thanks. Good article, IMO.
From the previous thread:
Macca RB @ #4021 Sunday, January 15th, 2023 – 7:04 am
We hope to pick up Terrigal with a wave election. Otherwise we’re happy to eat away at the margin and get close for next time.
You’ve also got to remember that the seat across the water from ours, Mackellar, elected Teal, Sophie Scamps. Our candidate is a male in that mould. A member of the local Terrigal Board Riders and a Physiotherapist.
Btw, we’ve heard that Lucy wants to run again at the next federal election! 🙄
Good morning Dawn Patrollers. I’ve coarsened the filter to its Sunday setting, but this is all I could come up with.
Anthony Galloway writes that Peter Dutton says Anthony Albanese should release a draft bill on the model for an Indigenous Voice to parliament if he doesn’t plan to legislate it before this year’s referendum, following the Coalition’s approach in the lead-up to the same-sex marriage vote.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/essential-to-release-draft-bill-on-voice-before-referendum-dutton-20230113-p5cca0.html
Galloway says that much of the public debate over whether Peter Dutton should allow a free vote on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament ignores one thing: In the Liberal Party, the backbench always gets a free vote. This will be a critical point if Dutton does end up binding his shadow cabinet to voting against the enabling legislation, supporting the ‘No’ side, or a combination of both.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-backbenchers-will-be-free-to-back-the-voice-regardless-of-dutton-s-decision-20230113-p5ccg2.html
Three issues will decide if Labor’s climate policy is a success – what the government does next is key, writes Adam Morton.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/14/carbon-credits-are-about-to-play-a-central-role-in-australias-climate-response-thats-problematic
Australia’s performance in fighting Covid has declined as scientists say researchers are set back by inadequate data systems. Deaths are rising more than predicted, strain on hospitals too. Michael Sainsbury reports the latest on a pandemic which just won’t go away, amid heightened concerns over Long Covid, vaccine impact and the threat of new strains.
https://michaelwest.com.au/long-long-covid-australias-pandemic-performance-needs-a-booster-say-experts-as-deaths-rise/
Glad there are no elections to be held in Victoria this year, John Faine is brimming with optimism.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/can-you-smell-the-optimism-in-the-air-20230113-p5cca8.html
Anthony Albanese says the fact the Coalition and the Greens are raising concerns about the government’s new climate laws shows it has achieved the right balance between reducing emissions and not punishing heavy industries.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/pm-defends-climate-laws-suggests-he-can-t-meet-greens-demands-20230114-p5ccig.html
The current WTO rules were negotiated during the Uruguay Round without China involved or even in mind. The expectation was that China would evolve into a market economy and WTO rules would apply. China has not evolved as expected; should China change its state-controlled economy, or should WTO rules be rewritten to accommodate China, wonders Gary Sampson.
https://johnmenadue.com/to-what-extent-would-engaging-china-in-multilateral-trade-discussions-within-wto-help-in-a-reset-with-china-weekend/
Christopher Knaus writes about the school principal who gave up everything to blow the whistle on a paedophile priest. George Pell hung up on him.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/a-school-principal-gave-up-everything-to-blow-the-whistle-on-a-paedophile-priest-george-pell-hung-up-on-him
Why did so many people dislike Cardinal George Pell? It is possibly because he had the opportunity to show leadership but chose instead to reflect power and intransigence. He could have shown compassion and been a unifying force. Instead, he will be remembered as a divisive and damaging figure, writes Tony Smith.
https://johnmenadue.com/incompatible-minds-a-reflection-on-george-pell/
Donations made to some of Sydney’s top private schools almost doubled between 2016 and 2019, as 20 schools drew in almost $340 million in contributions from parents and alumni over a six-year timeframe. And STILL we shower these schools with public money!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-top-private-schools-rake-in-millions-in-donations-20221208-p5c4x1.html
Donald Trump called the writer E Jean Carroll a “nut job” in video testimony last year and falsely claimed she had enjoyed being sexually assaulted – prompting her lawyer to ask if he was admitting he had raped her, according to freshly unsealed testimony.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/14/donald-trump-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit-nut-job
Serial liar George Santos is the politician Americans deserve, declares Moira Donegan.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/14/george-santos-politician-americans-deserve
Cartoon Corner
Peter Broelman
Joe Benke
Matt Golding
From the US
Now Peter Potatohead is demanding that the government release to the Coalition the Exposure Draft of the legislation that will be brought to parliament if the referendum succeeds, for the Voice. What an arrogant prig!
Ergo, why then should the government do it when the precedent set by the Coalition was one of deception? Not meaning that the Albanese government would be deceptive, but they could say, what’s the point when it may be subject to change and amendment after the referendum when it finally comes before parliament?
ven
I should add that one of my uncles did his national service in the Dutch Army in Suriname. He was injured in a military vehicle rollover. He spent the rest of his life on compo.
Food for thought for those who call for Australia to divest its armour:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/14/tanks-will-help-kyiv-break-deadlock-but-its-ukraine-allies-now-face-a-fork-in-the-road
Net Fwxyzed by …, https://m.facebook.com/thejuicemedia/videos/173372838258055/
The debate about the Voice to Parliament Referendum seems to be coming down on two sides when you look at the Galloway article. People are either falling in line behind the Coalition ‘detail’ position, using it as a high hurdle for the government to get over before they support it. Or there are those who understand that a Referendum to change the Constitution is a matter for a philosophical question to be answered, with the detail sorted out later in parliament if the referendum is answered in the affirmative. So, there’s really no point in anyone looking at the Draft legislation until we get an answer from the people.
“C@tmomma says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7:28 am
Now Peter Potatohead is demanding that the government release to the Coalition the Exposure Draft of the legislation that will be brought to parliament if the referendum succeeds, for the Voice.”
It’s clear that the official position of the Coalition will be to oppose the Voice no matter what. Albo should simply continue with the activities that are leading to the referendum and start a government-sponsored media campaign of information to directly tell the people what this is all about…. in detail.
Albo should also focus more on appealing to Moderate Liberals, than to worry about obtuse hard-conservatives.
But beyond that, there is the issue of the Greens who seem to be split between the Thorpe’s side, who wants Treaty+Social-change+Voice (= I want it all and I want it now!), and those who are happy with the Voice and then use that to address all other problems, step by step. The Greens are known to always work hard to present a unified position on any issue. If they adopt Thorpe’s stance, they are risking to sink the Voice…. I hope Bandt doesn’t commit such an act of political suicide.
Thanks BK
“ Christopher Knaus writes about the school principal who gave up everything to blow the whistle on a paedophile priest. George Pell hung up on him.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/a-school-principal-gave-up-everything-to-blow-the-whistle-on-a-paedophile-priest-george-pell-hung-up-on-him”
And regardless of being illegal, Pell’s actions and inaction are unarguably immoral.
“C@tmomma says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7:43 am
The debate about the Voice to Parliament Referendum seems to be coming down on two sides…”
Unfortunately, the current stance of the Coalition simply indicates their adoption of the “Abbott Strategy”: Reject any initiative of the government in the hope of defeating them. A defeat for the government is a victory for the opposition. The current rabble in the Coalition couldn’t care less about the future of the country, they are only concerned about their electoral future. But in any event, we do know that there are moderate Liberals and so Albo should appeal to them. If the Coalition splits on the Voice, the “Yes” will win (provided that the Greens don’t mess things up).
”
”
Don’t get it.
Alpo,
I am putting my trust in those who are leading the ‘Yes’ campaign for the Voice to Parliament. Of course, the PM and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and Tim Gartrell, the PM’s Chief of Staff, who also led the ‘Yes’ campaign for the SSM Plebiscite, but also, in a very strategic position because he knows the Coalition mind inside and out, Mark Textor.
Morning all. Thanks for the roundup BK. I think Cronus sums up well the real reason why there is so little sympathy for George Pell.
“ And regardless of being illegal, Pell’s actions and inaction are unarguably immoral.”
Pell felt entitled to aggressively promote his view of religion and morality, even when on climate change, it disagreed with the official position of his own religion. In decisions like moving paedophile priests on and the Melbourne response later, his focus was on legality and cost control, not morality. His hypocrisy and lack of moral leadership was glaring.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-backbenchers-will-be-free-to-back-the-voice-regardless-of-dutton-s-decision-20230113-p5ccg2.html
Iow, playing politics with a very important issue that should see our political leaders rising above it.
”
Boerwarsays:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7:37 am
ven
I should add that one of my uncles did his national service in the Dutch Army in Suriname. He was injured in a military vehicle rollover. He spent the rest of his life on compo.
”
Someone once told me that that a country should not be subjected to colonization but India atleast should be thankful that they are colonised by Britain and not by either Dutch or French or Portuguese.
Do you know that Britain plundered 44 Trillion Pounds worth of wealth (in current worth) from India from the time they colonised India until 1938.
And that is the reason no one should support Russia. They are violent colonisers.
”
Cronussays:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7:54 am
Thanks BK
“ Christopher Knaus writes about the school principal who gave up everything to blow the whistle on a paedophile priest. George Pell hung up on him.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/a-school-principal-gave-up-everything-to-blow-the-whistle-on-a-paedophile-priest-george-pell-hung-up-on-him”
And regardless of being illegal, Pell’s actions and inaction are unarguably immoral.
”
Cronus
Religion usually addresses the issues concerning morality.
How and why a person should behave in a moral and ethical way comes from scriptures, whether that is relevant now or not is another topic altogether.
BK @ #3 Sunday, January 15th, 2023 – 7:24 am
Albo is surely taking the piss here …
No, you moron, you should listen to what the Climate Scientists are saying.
“Player One says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:28 am
…No, you moron, you should listen to what the Climate Scientists are saying.”
1) Are you suggesting that Albo and the ALP are ignoring scientific advice?
2) Scientists look at science focusing on a specific issue (climate change in this case), politicians must look at the broader picture and combine both the needs for specific action on climate change and safeguarding the economic wellbeing of the people here and now.
Who is the real “moron”?….
Q: 44 Trillion Pounds worth of wealth (in current worth) from India from the time they colonised India until 1938
Indeed, I saw somewhere that India’s share of world GDP went from around 30 percent just before the British arrived and was down well below 10 percent by the time they left.
Thanks C@t.
Does our local, Terrigal, candidate have a name?
My wife, through her medical connections may know him, or may be a current patient of his physio practice.
Is the ABC still mourning Pell’s death? It’s a really weird outfit these days.
Alpo @ #20 Sunday, January 15th, 2023 – 8:39 am
Ummm. That would be anyone who thinks consulting “industry” and “economists” is more important than consulting “scientists” when it comes to addressing climate breakdown.
Yet another Greens position on the Voice referendum. They are up to their sixth position now.
1. The Greens support the referendum.
2. The referendum is not worth the money.
3. The Greens will not support the No campaign.
4. The Greens will only support the referendum IF the government implements all the recommendations of the RCIDIC and that is a firm ‘maybe’.
6. The Greens will not support the referendum unless negotiations for the Treaty and the Makarrata have been implemented.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/blak-greens-say-they-wont-support-indigenous-voice-without-treaty-negotiations
Q. What is the difference between Bandt and Dutton?
A. Dutton is seeking to wreck the referendum by refusing to adopt a position. The other is seeking to wreck the referendum by adopting multiple positions.
Faine
The Andrews government exploited the advantage of incumbency in every possible way. The public service is required to be neutral and independent, but the singular focus with which departments approached November 2022 was ample evidence that political neutrality is more an ideal than the reality.
_____________________
Couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Although he could have singled out the VEC for special recognition. They were very helpful.
”
C@tmommasays:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:20 am
And that is the reason no one should support Russia. They are violent colonisers.
”
As you know I am currently in Europe and I visited quite a few castles and palaces. I tried to understand the mindset of various Kings and Queens in difficult times.
What I found was that most of them (almost all of them) did not want to settle things diplomatically. They wanted to win that argument either by hook or crook (war). That is the reason these kingdoms were in constant state of war in the medivial times . As far as I know only Switzerland seem to have played their cards well.
Putin is behaving exactly like a medivial European King/ monarch/Emperor rather than a leader of modern country by waging war and killing people indiscriminately.
How can I support that. I never supported it earlier and will not support now. I was just pointing to USA hypocrisy.
Interesting read about the unusually overlooked changing role of grandparents.
One more obscure finding:
Studies from America, Britain, China and Japan suggest that a child around grandparents is more likely to be obese, though whether this is due to spoiling or other factors is unclear.
https://www.economist.com/international/2023/01/12/the-age-of-the-grandparent-has-arrived
‘Ven says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:18 am
”
Boerwarsays:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 7:37 am
ven
I should add that one of my uncles did his national service in the Dutch Army in Suriname. He was injured in a military vehicle rollover. He spent the rest of his life on compo.
”
Someone once told me that that a country should not be subjected to colonization but India atleast should be thankful that they are colonised by Britain and not by either Dutch or French or Portuguese.
Do you know that Britain plundered 44 Trillion Pounds worth of wealth (in current worth) from India from the time they colonised India until 1938.’
——————————————
India is, arguably, a colonial power. Kashmir, Sikkim and the north-ease territories refer.
Ven
“ Religion usually addresses the issues concerning morality.
How and why a person should behave in a moral and ethical way comes from scriptures, whether that is relevant now or not is another topic altogether.”
Having been raised catholic, become disillusioned with it as a young man (partly by Pell and others like him), I went back to uni to study philosophy and ethics. So my view on this statement is mixed.
We get taught morality/ethics/right from wrong by a range of sources including family, school (secular or religious), religion, some professions, and even sporting teams we belong to. For me family and studying philosophy gave me much better tools to understand morality than my religion did.
Our motivation to act in a moral way comes from personal character and values, and sometimes from habit, developed heavily by family and the groups we associate with in society. I don’t think scripture (christian or otherwise) does the motivating for most people. I don’t think the promise of divine reward or punishment really works on adults, as George Pell’s life demonstrates.
I have spent time in Scandinavian countries that are majority atheist and yet I found most people in them very moral. It was the values they shared which did that. Atheists celebrate christmas with loved ones too. Its a pagan festival after all. Historically notions of right and wrong in societies predate religion.
This is not to say that there are not religious communities that are genuinely moral. I met some wonderful people in the catholic church that are still my friends today. But I think that comes as much from family background and the nature of the schools than anything they heard on Sundays.
Ven @ #12 Sunday, January 15th, 2023 – 8:04 am
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11601319/Harry-claims-William-Kate-TOLD-wear-Nazi-uniform-angry-escaped-blame.html
”
Torchbearersays:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:40 am
Q: 44 Trillion Pounds worth of wealth (in current worth) from India from the time they colonised India until 1938
Indeed, I saw somewhere that India’s share of world GDP went from around 30 percent just before the British arrived and was down well below 10 percent by the time they left.
”
2% of world GDP.
Rishi Sunak might do some good sending tanks to Ukraine, even more so by pressuring Germany to do the same.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-15/uk-to-supply-tanks-to-ukraine-as-russian-missiles-hit-kyiv/101856444
“Boerwar says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:45 am
Yet another Greens position on the Voice referendum. They are up to their sixth position now.”
The Greens are playing with fire on this referendum for the Voice. If they sink it because they want it all and they want it now or else they prefer to have nothing, expect a significant shrinkage of their primary vote at the next federal election.
I can only hope that the more intelligent members of the Greens caucus will make rationality prevail.
Torchbearer @ #21 Sunday, January 15th, 2023 – 8:10 am
Deliberate, forced deindustrialisation would do that.
There may be some argument that Britain got better at producing, say, cotton, and that played a part. But there is little doubt that British guns and b@stardry were predominantly to blame. Sure, it may have been worse under Leopold. But that isnt saying much.
“Socrates says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:56 am
Rishi Sunak might do some good sending tanks to Ukraine, even more so by pressuring Germany to do the same.”…
You don’t need to be a genius to understand that this is a war between the EU and allies and Putin’s Russia, fought on the land of Ukraine, by the Ukrainian people. If Putin wins (god forbids), the EU and allies’ situation will become extremely shaky and open to further negative influence by the victorious Russian tsar.
They better send those tanks and advanced weapons to Zelenskyy fast!
I think the Gordian Knot that The Greens leadership have tied around themselves wrt their position on the Voice is that they are afraid to be classified as being derogatory towards their Indigenous spokeswoman if they countermand her position. That it would be a bad look for the WASP leadership to be criticising their Blak Woman spokesperson. So what do they do?
BREAKING: Classified material found at President Biden’s family home in Delaware
Yet another Greens position on the Voice referendum. They are up to their 7th public position now.
1. The Greens support the referendum.
2. The referendum is not worth the money.
3. The Greens will not support the No campaign.
4. SH-Y announced that she would vote ‘Yes’, so I will count that as yet another Greens position.
5. The Greens will only support the referendum IF the government implements all the recommendations of the RCIDIC and the Stolen Generations RC and that was accompanied by a firm ‘maybe’.
6. The Greens will not support the referendum unless negotiations for the Treaty and the Makarrata have been progressed.
7. Waters announces that the Greens do not have a formal position but that the formal position that does not exist definitely includes ‘progress’ on the Voice, Makarrata and the Treaty if the Greens are to support the referendum.
Imagine ‘negotiating’ with this shower?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/blak-greens-say-they-wont-support-indigenous-voice-without-treaty-negotiations
Q. What is the difference between Bandt and Dutton?
A. Fuck all. They are both wreckers.
Alpo
Yes that is obvious even from Australia. Putin would believe he can do anything if he wins. But its good to see some acknowledgment of it.
Final thought, the opinion polls on leaders in Williams’s lead in are nothing less than Albo deserves.
Morrison took long holidays over January, even during floods and bushfires. Albo has gone to PNG two weeks after Christmas to sign a treaty important for our security. It isn’t just the integrity and humanity of Albo. He is working really hard.
Have a good day all.
The killer punch; how the West used force, tariffs/subsidies and taxes to impose its products and grow its wealth (at the expense of the indigenous industry) during colonisation then, via the Washington consensus (IMF, World Bank loans scheme) forced developing countries emerging from colonisation to remove all its trade barriers, drop restrictions on foreign ownership and privatise government services.
Sounds like a job for First Dog On The Moon’s ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot. 🙂
The Greens, via Thorpe, have basically rejected the legitimacy of the Statement from the Heart.
Legitimacy matters. It is going to be crucial for the Voice, the Makarrata and the Treaty.
Given that the Greens are basing their entire Indigenous policy legitimacy on the BlakGreens, it is time for the Greens to make public the following. All indigenous people in Australia are entitled to know the following:
1. Who are the BlakGreens members. How is it representative?
2. What is the process for selecting (and/or excluding) members of the BlakGreens?
3. What is the process for selecting leadership/spokespersons of the BlakGreens?
4. What decision making processes do the BlakGreens use to arrive at a consensus on their policies?
‘…
Thorpe said her position on the voice was being guided by the Greens’ First Nations group, commonly known as the Blak Greens. Its convenors are Goreng Goreng, a Wakka Wakka woman, who was a Greens Senate candidate at the May election; and Dominic Wy Kanak, a Torres Strait Islander man and councillor on Sydney’s Waverley council.
….’
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/15/blak-greens-say-they-wont-support-indigenous-voice-without-treaty-negotiations
Comparative percentages need to have their assumptions clarified.
Percentages of percentages apply.
For example, the US had around half of the world’s economy when the British finally lost control over India.
While it is sort of interesting to speculate which colonizers have been (or are) the most evil or the least evil this tends to distract from the ethical core of colonialism: it is evil.
They’ve only signed a “joint statement of commitment” at this point; the full Bilateral Security Treaty should be signed in H1 2023.
“Player One says:
Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 8:45 am
…Ummm. That would be anyone who thinks consulting “industry” and “economists” is more important than consulting “scientists” when it comes to addressing climate breakdown.”
What? Are you suggesting that the ALP don’t consult scientists? Or that whatever the scientists say, they simply ignore them putting the benefits of “industry” and “economists” first?
Look, if you analyse the situation objectively, I bet that you will reach these conclusions:
a) The Coalition: Industry and the economy first and above all, climate change second (but in reality, anthropogenic global warming is just a hoax).
b) The Greens: Global warming first and above all, we will then see how we adjust the economy to the new policies. Sacrifices will be needed, however, for the sake of the planet.
c) The ALP: Global warming is real and policies to address it are being implemented. However, the policies must limit the economic (= jobs) costs of the transition.
The majority of Australians (see primary votes of single parties) voted for (c), and after the election even the Greens accepted to moderate their ambition of carbon emissions targets to the one taken to the federal election by the ALP.
I think it is good for prime ministers to take decent holidays.
This sets a good example about work/life balance.
Whoops. I missed this one:
Two hours before Thorpe’s tweet, the party leader, Adam Bandt, wrote on Facebook that the Greens wanted “progress on all elements of the Uluru Statement”.
“Now is the time for the Labor Government to have some ambition. Treaty now.”
——————————————————
Position 8. Wrecker Bandt announces that he wants a Treaty ‘now’.
Boerwar @ Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 9:17 am
The Blak Greens were initiated by Lidia Thorpe. We know that a couple of members have resigned based on the modifications made to the sequence in the Uluru statement. Not much else.
See: https://www.smh.com.au/national/greens-position-on-uluru-statement-loses-aboriginal-voices-20220420-p5aer8.html
And it isn’t Bandt that is the wrecker here. He is simply weak and cannot manage Thorpe. We haven’t heard recently from Sarah Hanson-Young, who got out of the blocks early in October to state that she is in full support of the Yes vote. Will Bandt be the next Meg Lees?
Edit: spelling