The Australian reports the first Newspoll in four weeks has Labor leading 54-46, in from 55-45 last time. The primary votes are Labor 37% (down one), Coalition 35% (up one), Greens 10% (down one) and One Nation 7% (up one). Anthony Albanese’s approval rating is down two to 55% and his disapproval is up five to 38%, and his lead on preferred prime minister is in from 56-26 to 54-28. We are told that Peter Dutton’s net rating is at minus 11 – he was at 36% approval and 46% disapproval last time (UPDATE: Now 37% approval and 48% disapproval).
The poll also finds very strong support for the proposed changes to taxation of superannuation, which the question goes to some lengths to explain. Sixty-four per cent registered support for the idea, with only 29% opposed, with breakdowns viewable here finding the proposal seemingly scoring well with every constituency other than journalists.
The poll was conducted Wednesday to Saturday from a sample of 1530.
Holdenhillbilly @ #98 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 8:02 am
Where on earth did this quote come from?
not only was toby williams on clubs nsw bord but he was director of three clubs including dewi rsl and a electorit officer to Hazard and on northern beachis cowncil as a liberal hhe is aparently close to the centre right Hawke factions mclaron jones who is close to bornwin bishop
I love the article in todays SMAge (in the Dawn Partol):
Largest survey of Catholic women reveals what they think of their church
A survey of women in the Catholic church have shown many want serious change.
Australian researchers led the global study, finding that two-thirds of Catholic women are frustrated and want radical reform in the church.
_______________________________
How about they try LEAVING the church?
It’s not for changing…
UnOz: theunaustralian.net
Thanks for the roundup BK. Some more realistic stuff on the Super Cap reform today, even if the usual suspects still can’t admit it is a good idea.
Cronus
“ Australia is negotiating its most lucrative defence export deal, with the German army planning to buy hundreds of Queensland-made armoured vehicles as Berlin builds up its military in response to Russian aggression.
Talks over the deal, which could be worth up to $3 billion, are well advanced between the Australian and German governments, and expected to support thousands of jobs in south-east Queensland and across the broader supply chain nationally. The first of the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles could be delivered to Germany next year.
A worthwhile development for Australia.
Paywalled
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/germany-in-talks-to-buy-3b-of-australian-weaponry-20230305-p5cpfy
First this link works reading on Firefox in private mode.
Second, great news! Finally some defence export wins. Building a standard design, rather than something bizarely bespoke for Australia, no doubt helps.
Third my nieces husband works for Rheinmetal, so this will make him happy and employed for years.
Finally this is a great result in terms of Albo and Penny Wong’s efforts to reengage diplomatically with Europe after Scomo and the AUKUS sub snub. It is a benefit of being trusted again. It would be great if Australia could take the final step and sign an FTA with the EU.
BK
“And the big question is whether or not he settles some scores.”
That is a given. Along with varying emphases on different syllables in the words assure, assured, reassure, reassured, reassuring.
Finally in the pantheon of dubious folk who have given evidence that they were heroes in all of this, Mr Turnbull will seek his placement at the top.
#weatheronPB
Damp grass cools my feet.
Sun warms the back of my neck.
Everything feels right.
Flaneur @ #104 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 8:22 am
Ta.
south @ #53 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 12:56 am
Well, you certainly wont find any renters representative or first home buyer on the PCA board.
C@tmomma @ #60 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 6:21 am
What burns you people is not that I am living the dream, it is that I am living it in accordance with what I espouse here. This gives me a degree of legitimacy in pointing out the flaws in both the COALition and Labor climate policies. Which, by some not-so-astonishing coincidence, turn out to be the same.
Has it never occurred to you that the root cause of your anger is not me, it is your own cognitive dissonance concerning your beloved Labor party?
Instead of dealing with that, you resort to nasty and bitter snark and personal attack. You in particular, C@t – you can never resist throwing yourself on top of a pile-on, can you?
Take your blinkers off and look around. You might be astonished at what you see.
Socrates says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 6:47 am
Morning all. Am I correct in understanding the Newspoll has a majority (54%) of Liberal supporters in favour of the super cap?
____________
The ‘weakest’ support for the super cap was among ‘other’ parties at 50% (‘other’ opposition was 44).
So, a win in every demographic Newspoll cared to measure and only the ‘other’ category was a single-figure margin.
How should a clear-headed journo assess this poll? Albo is clearly in trouble, Dutton triumphant, ALP back bench skittish, Chalmers and Tanya circling… of course!
The PCA do have the obligatory but worthless social responsibility wash on their mission statement.
I worked for a company that went through a restructure which included rebranding and adding mission statements like that. ‘Dedicated to our local communities’ or wtte. Then they sacked every staff member whose job they could offshore. I knew some of the execs well – one had the guts to admit that private school fees at the top schools dont pay for themselves.
Corporate Social Responsibility. I have stopped laughing at that one.
Cronus says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 6:56 am
And in yet another case of well-deserved schadenfreude, it seems PETA Credlin didn’t get the superannuation memo either.
“ Labor’s superannuation tax increase is a case study in how not to make policy. First, it’s a broken promise. Second, it wasn’t well thought through. And third, no one can explain it.”
Seems the voters had no trouble whatsoever understanding the well thought through and easily explained changes.
Paywalled (don’t bother wasting your reading time)
https://www.couriermail.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CMWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Fnews%2Fopinion%2Fcredlin-super-tax-confusion-makes-government-look-incompetent-and-dishonest%2Fnews-story%2Fd1c34a039dab4e315c75e8d3d8c0ae37&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-groupb-test-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append
____________
Peta is right. No one can explain it…to her.
Cronus says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 7:22 am
“ Australia is negotiating its most lucrative defence export deal, with the German army planning to buy hundreds of Queensland-made armoured vehicles as Berlin builds up its military in response to Russian aggression.
Talks over the deal, which could be worth up to $3 billion, are well advanced between the Australian and German governments, and expected to support thousands of jobs in south-east Queensland and across the broader supply chain nationally. The first of the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles could be delivered to Germany next year.
A worthwhile development for Australia.
Paywalled
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/germany-in-talks-to-buy-3b-of-australian-weaponry-20230305-p5cpfy
____________
1. We’re selling combat vehicles to Germany? KUDOS!
2. But I thought our industry couldn’t build a canoe…?
Cognitive dissonance about Labor? What’s that, you ask?
Well, I’m glad you asked …
https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/03/06/climate-carbon-target-kohler/
The article concludes …
I urge everyone to read the whole article. It is not long, but it may prove something of an eye-opener.
For a mob who like to pitch to the rabid patriots, their dissing of Australian industry (covertly to attack unions for personal/political gain) isnt too many steps below treasonous. The plaque of attacks on the Collins (more to attack Beazley than unions but you get the drift) was high on that list but extended to many areas of manufacturing.
Thanks BK.
Ruling out scrapping the $48 billion a year capital gains tax break on the sale of family homes limits the genuine conversation we need to have about overhauling the tax system, says the editorial in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/we-have-tax-politics-not-reform-of-taxation-20230301-p5coln
____________
Yes, Fin, let’s recommend a policy direction guaranteed to end the incumbent govt, which happens to be…let me think…oh, yes – a Labor govt!
Can anyone recall the Fin calling for this act of political seppuku during the previous govt?
In scanning the headlines at the Costello rag this morning, the lead headline is a letter sent by the outgoing IBAC Commissioner, assumed urging government to change the makeup of Committees, notably the powerful Integrity and Oversight Committee, to have a Chair who is not of the governing Party and for the government not to have a majority on such Committees.
By extension, why have elections?
Why not have a perpetual parliament of equal numbers among whoever is endorsed to stand?
The government is the government, elected at elections, elections which, in Victoria, are held every 4 years on set dates.
What we see in fact is references to IBAC used for Party political purposes, particularly by the non Labor demographic, a demographic perpetually in opposition (why?) Noting that branch-stacking is against ALP Rules and Regulations, there being no such Rule or Regulation in the Coalition where branch-stacking is presented as democracy (see Bastiaan, Sukkar and the former Member for Menzies and the Liberal Party internal review, concluding nothing to see because no Rules have been broken)
And the committees would be so impeded, used for Party political purposes and to attack a government.
IF the Coalition and those who travel under the label of “Greens” seek relevance, win the election and take control of the House of Government.
Then we will see what they do in regard these Committees.
The Costello media, by promoting as it does and publishing opinion of who it publishes, so the likes of who we now see as the Liberal Party candidate for Aston, Brandis described as a former High Commissioner to the UK and federal attorney general (leaving out Liberal Party politician), McGuiness and, whilst out of the Parliament, the current Leader of the Opposition in Victoria among others, then Faine for balance (except Faine is balanced) describes itself and its political bias.
Then Smuthurst, Sukkel and La Grund (among the stable of others), the latest contributions instructing that Andrews should learn from the former Scottish Leader and no doubt implying that Andrews is a dictator and then describing the circumstances in the Office of Ryan, where the senior employee refused to undertake interactions with constituents, which is core function for MP’s and then complaining at the work hours (noting the work hours of the MP, so you would expect the Chief of Staff to near replicate those hours, not be a 5 day a week, 9-5 employee).
A political bias at odds with public opinion according to election results.
Being published or presented in media invites opinion as to the political bias of those published or presented (including TV, controlled also by Costello, Murdoch and Stokes).
Snappy Tom @ #114 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 8:58 am
Well, it might be able to, but it hasn’t done so yet. From the article:
The failure of government to prevent Robodebt is a timely reminder of the importance of a functioning and effective public service, writes Paul Begley.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/robodebt-scandal-shows-a-public-service-in-abject-decline-,17290
____________
“The failure of government to prevent Robodebt…”
Did I miss something? Wasn’t the previous govt utterly determined to IMPOSE Robodebt?
Cronus says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 7:45 am
“Former Nine political editor Chris Uhlmann says he doesn’t miss the toxic Canberra playpen ‘at all’, and has instead embarked on a new career: writing children’s books.”
How will we be able to tell the difference?
Paywalled
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia%2Fabc-to-air-israel-folau-documentary-after-mysterious-axing-last-november%2Fnews-story%2Fc7d567b13de582ca8c329ac8f9fcad2e&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-groupb-control-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append
____________
LOL!
His new publications will contain drawings.
Player One @ Monday, March 6, 2023 at 8:47 am
“What burns you people is not that I am living the dream, it is that I am living it in accordance with what I espouse here. This gives me a degree of legitimacy in pointing out the flaws in both the COALition and Labor climate policies. Which, by some not-so-astonishing coincidence, turn out to be the same.
Has it never occurred to you that the root cause of your anger is not me, it is your own cognitive dissonance concerning your beloved Labor party?
Instead of dealing with that, you resort to nasty and bitter snark and personal attack. You in particular, C@t – you can never resist throwing yourself on top of a pile-on, can you?
Take your blinkers off and look around. You might be astonished at what you see.”
Eco-tourism = Oxymoron.
You certainly are living a dream 😉
Alpha Zero says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 8:17 am
I love the article in todays SMAge (in the Dawn Partol):
Largest survey of Catholic women reveals what they think of their church
A survey of women in the Catholic church have shown many want serious change.
Australian researchers led the global study, finding that two-thirds of Catholic women are frustrated and want radical reform in the church.
_______________________________
How about they try LEAVING the church?
It’s not for changing…
____________
Message from my sponsor: they could try joining the Uniting Church!
Let’s face it, we could do with the numbers…
Team Katich says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:03 am
2. But I thought our industry couldn’t build a canoe…?
For a mob who like to pitch to the rabid patriots, their dissing of Australian industry (covertly to attack unions for personal/political gain) isnt too many steps below treasonous. The plaque of attacks on the Collins (more to attack Beazley than unions but you get the drift) was high on that list but extended to many areas of manufacturing.
____________
Dutton is, of course, using the same tactic re subs: whichever choice Labor makes will be wrong etc etc
One thing the Newpoll demonstrates is how totally ineffective the Newcorp bullhorns are. The various Newcorp papers have been screaming blue murder for weeks but still a majority of Liberal voters agree with the super reforms, if they can’t even convince their own demographic how are they going to get traction for the big issues.
Don’t misunderstand the point, I think Newscorp and specifically the Murdochs are still very dangerous and a serious threat to democracy that needs to be shut down so that we CAN have a truly free press, I’m just glad that the average punter is no longer as easily panicked by them as 10 years ago.
Griff @ #122 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 9:14 am
I just love it when idiots demonstrate my points for me.
How typical that C@t is glorying in the latest outrage by the despicable SDA. This time using their former organizer to shut out the RAFFWU after they put in all the hard yards. I have a feeling there will be a lot more to be said about this. This is not about getting more money for workers,it’s about protecting the SDA’s rancid business model.
Player One @ Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:29 am
“I just love it when idiots demonstrate my points for me.”
Very self-demonstrative.
Carry on 🙂
Eston, you probably know this better than I, but:
That was after the e-vote drop about an hour ago. I understand Centre has picked up a mandate at Reform’s expense after another drop of paper vote counts, making the likely final tally:
Reform: 37
EKRE: 17
Centre: 16
Eesti 200: 14
SDE: 9
Isamaa: 8
GoldenSmaug says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:26 am
One thing the Newpoll demonstrates is how totally ineffective the Newcorp bullhorns are. The various Newcorp papers have been screaming blue murder for weeks but still a majority of Liberal voters agree with the super reforms, if they can’t even convince their own demographic how are they going to get traction for the big issues.
Don’t misunderstand the point, I think Newscorp and specifically the Murdochs are still very dangerous and a serious threat to democracy that needs to be shut down so that we CAN have a truly free press, I’m just glad that the average punter is no longer as easily panicked by them as 10 years ago.
____________
I recommend an attitude of suspicious nervousness towards the impact of the biased media on the disengaged majority of the electorate.
I don’t think the majority out there have had an epiphany enabling them to see through the corruption of the Coalition and its media backers. I think Morrison’s serial lying eventually impinged on the self-interests of even disengaged voters – e.g. first he said we were at the head of the vaccines queue, later he tried to say there were other countries with greater need of vaccines, which was a clumsy attempt to cover up his govt’s failings. And vaccine supply was of central concern to every household’s ability to cope with Covid. (Except the Cookers!)
I think the electorate could easily re-elect the Coalition if the disengaged majority start to believe Labor are not serving THEIR interests – and the media are only to happy to publish skewed stories (or outright lies) to help the electorate come to such a belief.
I note the Fin editorial (IIRC) criticised the super cap because it was a (Labor) political calculation, rather than a root and branch tax reform. Of course it was a political calculation. All govt decisions are. The Fin just wants us to view the Libs as the party of tough, reform-minded decision-makers, while Labor are nervous Nellies not worthy of the Treasury benches.
Yeah, right.
Enough Already says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:41 am
Eston, you probably know this better than I, but:
That was after the e-vote drop about an hour ago. I understand Centre has picked up a mandate at Reform’s expense after another drop of paper vote counts, making the likely final tally:
Reform: 37
EKRE: 17
Centre: 16
Eesti 200: 14
SDE: 9
Isamaa: 8
____________
Eston, could you summarise the positions of the Estonian parties…Reform ‘looks’ progressive; is EKRE (Konservative) right or far right? etc
GoldenSmaug @ #125 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 8:56 am
There is a bet each way there.
So I disagree with the first part. Murdoch is a scourge and effective. His papers are utterly partisan and have a big enough reach to be a serious problem to the integrity of the Liberal Party and hence democracy. They are a double helix snowballing down a spiralling slippery slope in an entangled vicious circle.
You dont have to go back 1o years to see the evidence. The Liberal party were barely electable in 2019, a rabble led by a fast talking used car salesman. And you cant put their win all down to how uncharismatic and poorly spoken Shorten was considering he nudged Turnbull in 2016.
You only have a Liberal party full of Abbotts and Morrisons and Duttons because of Murdoch.
Confessions @ #101 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 8:16 am
Unoz, just like it says, right at the beginning.
Try Google. It can be quite helpful, I’ve found. It even knows which direction North East is!
The big winners in Estonia’s parliamentary general election overnight were the senior party in the governing coalition, Reform, picking up 3 seats to go to 37, and the relatively newly formed Eesti 200 party, winning their first ever seats with 14. These are out of a total of 101 seats in the Riigikogu. Between them, they squeak through to an absolute majority on their own, but for added support Reform can probably continue its existing coalition with SDE, who lost a seat to finish with 9.
The losers were the populist right-wing EKRE, which lost two seats to finish with 17, and the Christian conservative Isamaa, which lost 4 seats to finish with 8.
To help us here to navigate these parties’ positions on the spectrum, here are some potted summaries:
Reform: “As a centrist to centre-right party, the Estonian Reform Party has been described in its ideological orientation as liberal, classical-liberal, liberal-conservative, and conservative-liberal. The party has consistently advocated policies of economic liberalism, and been described as neoliberal and fiscally conservative. The Reform Party is the most economically liberal in the political landscape of Estonia.” I’m thinking Macron as a good analogy.
Eesti 200: “Estonia 200 describes itself as a liberal and progressive party. They support Estonia’s membership of NATO and the European Union. They support same-sex marriage and making internet access a human right. They support reducing the personal income tax rate by 15% for employees whose place of work and residence is outside Tallinn and Harju County. They support community-based renewable energy sources and creating a bond for green funding. They wish to input mental health lessons into school curriculums. They support leaving 1% of local budgets to be directed toward investment objects chosen by residents. They intend on having local government bodies be made up 50% by politicians and 50% by representatives of experts and interest groups. They intend to decrease public funding for political parties.”
SDE (Social Democratic Party): centre-left, exactly what it sounds like.
EKRE (Conservative People’s Party of Estonia): far-right populist; “It has also been labelled “far-right” by Kari Käsper, the Executive Director of Estonian Human Rights Centre, and in foreign media by BBC News and the Christian Science Monitor. According to Fox News Channel, EKRE is a far-right party, “considered by some to have Fascist-Neo-Nazi sympathies similar to many other flourishing nationalist parties in the Baltics and Eastern Europe”. The Simon Wiesenthal Center has called EKRE youth organisation’s annual torchlight procession an “extreme right march”.
Isamaa: “Isamaa (lit. ’Fatherland’) is a Christian-democratic and national-conservative political party in Estonia.”
ChatGPT is not bad. I just asked it if a Bode Diagram approach could be used on the economy and the setting of interest rates. This was its response.
____________
The Bode diagram approach is a tool typically used in control systems engineering to analyze and design feedback control systems. It may not be directly applicable to the setting of interest rates in economics.
However, there are some parallels between the two fields that could be explored. For example, both control systems and economic systems can be modeled using transfer functions that relate input variables to output variables. In economics, interest rates can be considered a control variable that affects output variables such as inflation, economic growth, and employment.
In this context, it may be possible to use transfer function analysis to study the effects of interest rate changes on economic variables. This could involve constructing a transfer function model of the economic system and using Bode plot techniques to analyze the frequency response of the system to changes in interest rates.
However, it’s important to note that economics is a complex field with many factors influencing the behavior of the system. While the Bode diagram approach may provide some insights, it’s unlikely to be a comprehensive tool for economic analysis. A more holistic approach that incorporates multiple factors and feedback loops is likely to be necessary for a thorough analysis of interest rates and their effects on the economy.
Enough Already
Yes, thanks for the update here.
Overall Centre has tanked and EKRE lost out badly in eVoting.
Studies over decades have shown no overall bias with eVoting after the first two elections (I’ll see if I can find the study) but there are significant demographic differences in those who vote in person v online. So EKRE “not trusting eVoting” is the usual Trump lie, whimpered.
Overall a conservative coalition is likely, led by Reform and Estonia 200.
By conservative, I mean somewhat to the left of Australia economically, and about as progressive as the ALP
Snappy Tom @ Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:49 am:
======================
Snappy Tom, we should obviously defer to Eston’s comment on this when he makes it, but for now I’ve dug up some basic info which I posted a few mintues ago.
I’m looking forward to Bill Shorten’s response to an inevitable Dorothy Dixer on robodebt today.
Snappy Tom @ #123 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 9:18 am
Hi Snappy, what’s your view on:
Ephesians. 5 Verses 21 to 33
[22] Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24] As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.
Who wrote that particular piece of offensive nonsense? On what authority? Why?
When was it written? In what language? To what obscure group of cultists?
On what possible basis could a heap of foul, misogynistic garbage like that quote be used as the basis for consistent ongoing domestic abuse by those with ‘faith’ (ie irrational beliefs)?
There are lots of Uniting’s ‘faithful’ victims in this set:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/clergy-wives-speak-out-domestic-violence/9168096
Eston Kohver @ Monday, March 6, 2023 at 10:02 am:
“Overall Centre has tanked and EKRE lost out badly in eVoting.”
=============
Eston, yes, my eyes missed that 11 seat plunge for Centre, down to 15 seats.
Do you see Estonia’s political landscape as having discernibly polarised, in order to lead to a result like this?
Snappy Tom
Team Katich
There’s a mindset I’ve encountered, where Australia is just second best in lots of things. Glamourous “overseas” stuff is just better than anything we can do here. It’s an impatient conservative mindset, where you’ve given up before you even get started. Correlation isn’t causation, but a pampered start to life (where money easily solves problems) followed by the bracing discovery of a bigger “meaner” pond may account for some of it. A little fear comes easily. As does the money.
Enough Already
You’ve posted a reasonable summary of the key parties – thanks.
We need to be careful viewing Eastern Europe too closely through an Australian political lens. Some analogies work, but the politics doesn’t map cleanly. This is what makes diplomacy interesting in my opinion.
Estonia is a small emerging economy on the rise, with a strong social welfare program and an ecosystem to drive entrepreneurship.
This isn’t a contradiction – success in your business is success for the country, with a safety net to mitigate risk-taking.
Corruption is a big deal and something the Estonians take very seriously, not because it is rampant but because their early intervention has tamed the corruption beast, and they’d like to keep it that way thank you very much.
Overall, the polls got the main parties right. The surprise is Estonia 200 – I’d liken them to the Teals if they were a party. Financially conservative, socially progressive.
Enough Already says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 10:02 am
Snappy Tom @ Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:49 am:
======================
Snappy Tom, we should obviously defer to Eston’s comment on this when he makes it, but for now I’ve dug up some basic info which I posted a few mintues ago.
____________
Thanks.
If anything, far from things quietening down in the Battle of Bakhmut, they are intensifying:
“Intense fighting has continued in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut as both Kyiv and Moscow seemingly struggle with ammunition shortages and mounting casualties.
Ukrainian forces still control the city despite the street fighting, the deputy mayor of Bakhmut, Oleksandr Marchenko, told BBC Radio 4. Though Russian forces are pounding the routes out of the city, they have publicly pleaded with Moscow for more supplies. Ukrainian troops said one woman was killed and two men were injured attempting to cross a makeshift bridge on Sunday.
The Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who controls the mercenary Wagner force that is leading the Russian offensive in Bakhmut, warned late on Saturday that if his men were forced to withdraw, it could lead to the collapse of the entire Russian frontline.
Prigozhin has complained that the Russian ministry of defence is not supporting Wagner’s efforts in terms of men and ammunition.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/05/ukraine-fight-for-bakhmut-continues-as-russian-forces-call-for-more-support
Just last Friday, Prigozhin was crowing in fatigues on a rooftop about having “nearly encircled” Bakhmut, and gratuitously advising Ukraine’s forces there to withdraw. How much difference a couple of days makes!
I think Centre’s fall from grace is more to do with their political miscalculation when they invited EKRE to join their coalition (imagine the ALP in bed with the Greens and One Nation).
They then tanked their coalition with Reform.
I understand Centre is popular in the expat community though.
Reform has benefited from the personal leadership of Kaja Kallas in the international response to Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine.
This is not only popular in its own right – Estonians overwhelmingly support Ukraine, but also the message that Estonia is seen as a world-level player.
Snappy Tom
Good pickup on the attempt to slowly reframe what was done. If that view takes root then the former government’s damage control will have succeeded. Some of the blame will shift to earlier governments. The debate will shift to the question of apportioning blame between Labor and the Coalition.
Snappy Tom says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 9:04 am
Thanks BK.
Ruling out scrapping the $48 billion a year capital gains tax break on the sale of family homes limits the genuine conversation we need to have about overhauling the tax system, says the editorial in the AFR.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/we-have-tax-politics-not-reform-of-taxation-20230301-p5coln
____________
Yes, Fin, let’s recommend a policy direction guaranteed to end the incumbent govt, which happens to be…let me think…oh, yes – a Labor govt!
Can anyone recall the Fin calling for this act of political seppuku during the previous govt?
——————————————————————————————
Agreed, it’s as though they’re goading Labor to make a mistake. They identify a problem a suggest a solution but we all know that the minute Labor even consider the issue the AFR and friends will turn on them. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Having long lost their credibility, nobody is listening to the media’s ravings and suggestions given their record of deception and being so out of touch with the public.
Gee, that Albanese honeymoon is taking a beating lately! They must be shitting themselves with a fairly stable 54-46 2PP and a 2-1 PPM.
I think the dynamic at play here is that your average voter has largely switched off from politics. There was a collective decision last year to change the government, and it seems that the punters are pretty happy with that choice. I reckon people were sick of the all-politics-all-the-time vibe of the Morrison years (with the pandemic as an added intensifier), and now are very happy to have people in charge who seem to know what they are doing, at the same time of toning everything down. As an aside, I’d say a similar vibe is prevailing in the US post-Trump.
I don’t expect we’ll see much movement in the polls for another year or more, absent something big like a recession. For sure, the air goes out of the balloon eventually, but I can’t see that happening any time soon. And come election day, voters will get to choose between good old solid and safe Albo, and head-kicker Voldemort wannabe Spud Dutton. I think we can all see how that is going to turn out.
yabba says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 10:08 am
Snappy Tom @ #123 Monday, March 6th, 2023 – 9:18 am
Alpha Zero says:
Monday, March 6, 2023 at 8:17 am
I love the article in todays SMAge (in the Dawn Partol):
Largest survey of Catholic women reveals what they think of their church
A survey of women in the Catholic church have shown many want serious change.
Australian researchers led the global study, finding that two-thirds of Catholic women are frustrated and want radical reform in the church.
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How about they try LEAVING the church?
It’s not for changing…
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Message from my sponsor: they could try joining the Uniting Church!
Let’s face it, we could do with the numbers…
Hi Snappy, what’s your view on:
Ephesians. 5 Verses 21 to 33
[22] Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. [23] For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24] As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.
Who wrote that particular piece of offensive nonsense? On what authority? Why?
When was it written? In what language? To what obscure group of cultists?
On what possible basis could a heap of foul, misogynistic garbage like that quote be used as the basis for consistent ongoing domestic abuse by those with ‘faith’ (ie irrational beliefs)?
There are lots of Uniting’s ‘faithful’ victims in this set:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/clergy-wives-speak-out-domestic-violence/9168096
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One victim/survivor of domestic violence is one too many.
As the RC into “Institutional Responses” to child abuse showed, no institution has been immune. Some institutions, however, have been worse than others.
IIRC, the worst Uniting Church institutions have been some high-fee schools.
One of the few positives I take from the RC is what happened when i was a member of the Uniting Church’s NSW/ACT standing committee at the time. We endorsed the Uniting Church’s national policy of full openness with and accountability to, the RC. The Uniting Church set up an “interim” victims’ redress fund to operate while waiting for the full outcome and govt response to the RC.
The Uniting Church’s national policy of openness in relation to the RC deliberately harked back to the Church’s “Statement to the Nation” of 1977, released at the Inauguration of the denomination. That Statement called on society and the govt to receive sometimes-uncomfortable words from the Church. 35 years later, we chose to apply the same standard to ourselves and be open to the RC’s investigations.
St Paul almost certainly didn’t write Ephesians. The irony of fundamentalists’ use of Eph 5:23 is that it creates an analogy between (1st/2nd century) husbandly leadership of a household and Christ’s leadership of the Church. Well, the gospels retail stories of Jesus teaching that whoever wants to be first must place themselves last and be the servant of all; further, Jesus’ ultimate expression of leadership is to submit to the pain and humiliation of crucifixion.
Fundamentalists usually have no clue about Christian leadership – and if they did, wouldn’t be interested in bearing the associated costs.
Yabba, you can pick on religion all you like, just don’t lump the Uniting Church with those churches (and those secular organisations) that choose to prioritise defending their “reputation” over the needs of those whom they’ve harmed.
Interest rate announcement tomorrow – 80% prediction of up. The ALP and Albanese are under electoral pressure due to some downward pressures on standards of living and it has little to do with Dutton or Murdoch. That they are still at 54% is quite a honeymoon.
But these pressures are constant. Everytime interest rates rise, even every time people shop for groceries.
Yet profits are up. If the ALP govern 3 years of a trickle up economy it will come back to bite them.