Two new federal opinion poll results today:
• The long-awaited set of voting intention numbers from Resolve Strategic finds Labor down a point on last month to 39%, the Coalition down one to 30%, the Greens up three to 13% and One Nation steady on 5%. The Coalition gets a particularly bad set of numbers from Queensland, where they are down 11 points to 24% with Labor steady on 39%. No two-party preferred is provided, but I make it at close to 60-40 in favour of Labor. Anthony Albanese is down one on approval to 55% and up one on disapproval to 31%, while Peter Dutton is up three to 32% and down one to 44%. Albanese’s lead as preferred prime minister is in from 55-23 to 51-22. The poll was conducted Sunday to Thursday from a sample of 1600.
• The fortnightly voting intention numbers from Essential Research, which include a 5% undecided component, have Labor up two to 34%, the Coalition down one to 31%, the Greens up two to 14% and One Nation down two to 5%. Labor’s lead on the pollster’s 2PP+ measure widens from 49-44 to 52-43, the balance being undecided. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Monday from a sample of 1124.
As was the case with the Resolve Strategic poll with numbers published on Saturday, the Essential Research poll featured further results on AUKUS, finding 40% agreement with contention that the submarine agreement would “make Australia more secure” (down four from November) versus 21% for less secure (up five) and 40% saying it would have no impact (up one). Respondents were also less inclined to rate that China was a threat needing to be confronted than in November, down six to 20%, and correspondingly more favourable to the alternative view that it was a “complex relationship to be managed”, up six to 67%, with an unchanged 13% considering it “a positive opportunity to be realised”. Twenty-six per cent considered the purchase worth the expense, 27% felt the submarines were necessary but the expense too great, and 28% believed the submarines were unnecessary.
An occasional series of questions on leaders’ attributes, the first such since February last year, found Anthony Albanese’s biggest strength to be that he was in control of his team (59%), while 54% felt he changed his opinions too much and 49% rated him out of touch with ordinary people. Peter Dutton scored weak results across the board, his strongest being that 47% felt him in control of his team, and his weakest being 61% for out of touch and 34% or 35% for visionary, understanding of women’s issues and more honest than other politicians.
In other poll news, JWS Research finds 42% favouring a yes vote in an Indigenous voice referendum, down one since August, with 28% for no, down five; and the latest Roy Morgan voting intention results, conducted from March 6 to 12, have Labor leading 56.5-43.5 from primary votes of Labor 37%, Coalition 34% and Greens 12.5%.
Hello all, I’m from what your Prime Minister Abbott called Canadia,
I see the results show that you support the New Submarine deal,
Is this the case? Can any of you elaborate?
Who do you think will win the province of New South Wales election?
https://www.themonthly.com.au/the-politics/rachel-withers/2023/03/21/labor-vs-science
Resolve: “The Coalition gets a particularly bad set of numbers from Queensland, where they are down 11 points to 24% with Labor steady on 39%”
Say wha’?
Statistical blip, or sea change? Stay tuned …
Resolve: “Albanese’s lead as preferred prime minister is in from 56-30 to 55-41.”
A 14-point margin is about par for incumbent PMs and premiers.
Wow! Queensland! 😯
1M shells at Russian rate of 20k a day would be 50 days artillery battle.
If Ukraine are twice as accurate 100 days.
Australians strongly back the case for people to withdraw their superannuation for medical emergencies but most do not want the funds used to buy a home or pay a mortgage, highlighting a political clash on looming laws to set the purpose of $3.3 trillion in savings.
Only 37 per cent of voters think super should be used for a deposit on a first home, despite a vigorous campaign for the idea since the Coalition unveiled the proposal at the last election and called for more freedom to tap into retirement accounts.
An exclusive survey conducted by Resolve Strategic for this masthead reveals low levels of support for other potential uses for super such as helping out relatives in need, which is backed by only 11 per cent of voters, and starting up a business, which is backed by 13 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has unveiled plans to define the purpose of super in federal law after years of dispute over the Morrison government’s move to let people withdraw $38 billion from their retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of that cash went on gambling and takeaway meals, according to an economic analysis showing up to a quarter of the applicants emptied their accounts within days of being allowed to do so.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/health-crisis-yes-home-deposit-not-so-much-what-voters-think-super-should-be-used-for-20230321-p5ctun.html
Super is not a piggy bank to fund early life predilections. It’s a savings fund for your retirement.
It shouldn’t even be used for ‘medical emergencies’ either. I thought that’s what Public Hospitals were for? And they’re free.
i thinkthe liberals are triying to distroysupper that means more relients on pentions
Aaeron newton @ #7 Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 – 6:21 am
Exactly. Then they want people to work till they drop to make ends meet.
Here’s a tale of another NSW Liberal Party player, campaign manager for the Maria Kovacic for Paramatta federal campaign, Stephen Hopwood, who is also the Sydney Legacy Club President, recently found guilty of bullying and sexual harassment but who is refusing to leave his job:
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/legacy-president-faces-16-harassment-complaints-denies-allegation-of-groping-20230321-p5ctyw.html
Resolve Strategic finds Labor down a point on last month to 39%, the Coalition down one to 30%,
——————————–
No wonder the corrupt media , tried propaganda on the submarines that as with everything else backfired on the corrupt media
Xi’s visit to Moscow has given Beijing a world of images of Xi in charge of Putin, and Moscow basically nothing in return. No military alliance; no promise of military support for Moscow; no declaration of the rightness of Moscow’s cause; no condemnation of Ukraine; no echoing of Kremlin points about neo-nazis and the (completely non-threatened) rights of people to speak Russian; not even a denunciation of the West! Can any of us credibly imagine Moscow attacking the UK and Washington not even uttering a peep of condemnation of it?
Practically every picture I saw showed a strong Xi smiling benignly at a craven Putin. This is exactly what Xi wanted from this trip. He wants to show the world he has acquired a vassal in Moscow. He wants to show China is emerging triumphant from those centuries of shame as ‘the sick man of Asia’. And he could get this without giving Moscow anything in returnwhich they wouldn’t have been giving them anyway had this invasion never happened.
As far as Ukraine is concerned – there was nothing to make them any more concerned than they are already. Xi’s trip to Moscow, as it happened, was for the slideshow, nothing more.
#weatheronPB
Wet dawn greets me.
Refreshed cool air fills my lungs.
Puddles cool my feet.
The US will reportedly send older Abrams to Ukraine earlier than the currently announced schedule of delivery of newer ones:
“The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, rather than the newer M1A2.
Source: This was reported by the Associated Press with reference to US officials, writes European Pravda.
Details: The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship.
But US officials have stated that it has now been decided to send an older version, the M1A1, which can be taken from army stocks. According to the officials, this tank model will be easier for Ukrainian troops to learn how to use and maintain.
The goal they are now talking about is to deliver the 70-tonne combat vehicles to the war zone in 8-10 months.
The officials spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been publicly announced. Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement on Tuesday.”
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/03/21/7394432/
It was widely thought Washington’s promise of the newer Abrams was for delivery so far into the future (in the context of Ukraine’s pressing needs) as to be a mere gesture to prompt Germany to green-light its Leopard 2’s. This revised timetable shows Washington is now more keen to make an actual decisive difference to Ukraine’s battlefield strength this year. Good news for Ukraine.
From The Guardian:
“Australia’s $3bn Aukus bill to boost US and UK industry may go even higher”
Oh, dear, TG, how much do we spend in civilian terrestrial vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.) that boosts the US, UK, EU, Japan, Korean industries?
Defence is not a game. Bandt’s White Flag strategy is just crap….
Late Riser @ #12 Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 – 6:58 am
It’s nice getting up early sometimes. 🙂
Morning all. Nice polls! These include a significant collection period after the AUKUS announcement, which is very encouraging for the Labor delivery strategy.
(From previous thread)
a r says:
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 10:42 pm”
“It’s impossible to be unaware whether the subs are being artificially constrained, if you operate them every day under many different conditions, including simulated combat. At some point in time you will necessarily realise that what you expected the sub to do it’s not happening, perhaps because there is a hidden control…. and then questions will be asked and investigations carried out. But in principle, I don’t see why that should happen given that the subs will carry conventional weapons. With nuclear weapons (which won’t be there) the suspicion may have been better justified, perhaps.”
There are real concerns about sovereignty and defence, but this is not one of them. SSNs do not work this way. There is no kill switch. There is no secret control link back to the USN. SSNs operate deep underwater and out of radio contact. They have to come near the surface to send/ get instructions and are very independent.
A more realistic risk would be if we had US SSNs and the US cut off the flow of spare parts. Unless we could make the parts that would eventually immobilise the SSNs, over a period of years. Even then, the more we build up the local SSN maintenance capability, the less this risk is.
IMO the main sovereignty risk has been the degree to which the entire ADF structure has been enmeshed with the US military. But AUKUS did not create that problem. Having the UK SSNs might reduce it to some degree.
…. Yep, and the BludgerTrack has still 2.5% swing to the ALP in the 2PP….
So far, so good!
Hey, ALP haters (from right, right-that-pretends-to-be-left, and deluded fringe far-left): What are you going to do now?
C@tmomma says:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 5:49 am
Wow! Queensland!
————————————————-
At this stage I have to think this is a statistical blip but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Sometimes it’s nice to dream and in any case, the polls are all still quite positive given the plethora of major challenges and issues facing the government so “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead”. All the evidence suggests the voters are satisfied with the government’s performance.
“Late Riser says:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 6:58 am
#weatheronPB
Wet dawn greets me.
Refreshed cool air fills my lungs.
Puddles cool my feet.”
Thanks LR, your poem is a great morale booster, as I watch the giant figtrees early in the morning, in the most livable city in the world….
🙂
From The Guardian:
“Australia politics live: late-night talks bring new hope for agreement on voice referendum plan
Growing signs that Coalition leadership could swing weight behind bill to alter constitution. Follow the day’s news live”
Well, what is Dutton going to do? Deny a voice to those who are opposed to the Voice in his Coalition parties? … He can’t of course, so I expect the bill to pass and for us to Vote on the constitutional changes.
Who is going to win the final referendum?…. I am optimistic, so far it looks like the Voice will pass, although not with an overwhelming margin.
“The Coalition gets a particularly bad set of numbers from Queensland, where they are down 11 points to 24% with Labor steady on 39%.”
Qld only needs to deliver a 50-50% 2PP at the next federal election, with results elsewhere mirroring the 2022 federal election, for the Coalition to be pulverised and Dutton become unemployed….
If it’s more than 50% for the ALP in Qld… the election will be probably remembered as “Liberal Armageddon”….
Good luck!
Thank you, William, for your polling summaries.
That the Coalition’s Queensland numbers have fallen so dramatically must surely reflect badly on its leader from Queensland. Surely. Perhaps Dutton has highlighted to Queenslanders what the Coalition is. Or embarrassingly, perhaps it’s just Dutton.
“ Boris Johnson has said he would “never have dreamed” of intentionally misleading the House of Commons over Downing Street gatherings as he published a defence dossier he hopes will exonerate him from claims he lied to parliament.
The former prime minister admitted he misled the Commons by telling MPs that strict Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10 at all times – but he said his comments were made “in good faith”.
I would never dream of it …………..but I would do it.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/21/boris-johnson-partygate-defence-dossier-published
The nation’s prudential regulator has begun asking banks to declare their exposures – in some cases daily – to start-ups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and volatility at global lenders.
Three sources who requested anonymity to speak freely said the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority had told banks to improve their reporting around crypto assets and provide daily updates to the agency as it sought to gain more insight into exposures and vulnerabilities in the system.
While there is no suggestion Australian banks have or will suffer deposit flight given they are well-capitalised and profitable, there are fears that increasing oversight and compliance activity relating to start-ups could freeze the sector, and affect their ability to access banking services.
Peter Cook, chief executive of ASX-listed payments services company Novatti, said Australia’s tight prudential regime was effective, but the current situation had put into question productivity gains driven by financial innovation.
“The growth of digital economy businesses is at risk if start-ups can’t get banking services and all of the growth and subsequent efficiencies, productivity and job growth that go alongside that,” Mr Cook said.
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.afr.com%2Fcompanies%2Ffinancial-services%2Fbanks-told-to-report-on-crypto-start-up-risks-20230321-p5cu04
In all the focus on AUKUS Labor shouldn’t lose sight of the IPCC report and climate change.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/ipcc-report-climate-change-what-we-need-to-do-now/102125614
Legislation so far has had a political not environmental benefit. If Labor starts approving new coal and gas projects its stocks will soon sink again.
“Socrates says:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7:31 am”
The ALP won’t be able to pass meaningful legislation on climate change with the support of Dutton and the Coalition. They will inevitably have to negotiate with Greens, Pocock and Lambie…. This means that the legislation will be a compromise, which is inevitable and, overall, I think that it will be good for everybody (environmentally, economically and politically).
The sample size is 1,600, so that would include about 320 Queensland voters. The margin of error for this group would be about 6%, which would make a drop of 11% statistically significant.
William got BK again. Dawn patrol is on old thread.
Dutton has been in Parliament 22 years and is probably the most well known, identifiable Liberal in the country. Less than 1/3 of voters think he is doing a good job. It unbelievable that there isn’t speculation around his leadership, let alone a contender who could take it. What does this say about the LNP?
The Coalition might do with the Voice what they did with the Republic – support having a referendum but not officially campaign for either side, allowing individual members to campaign as they wish. It would be impossible for the Coalition to unite behind “Yes” even if Peter Dutton and the leadership wanted to, with the Nationals, the Right of the Liberals and The Australian* implacably opposed.
* Yes, it’s a member of the Coalition
From today’s Hun: “Liberal MPs say the decision on whether to expel Moira Deeming is “not about Moira any more” and is a vote on whether to keep John Pesutto as leader.”
Bye bye Pesutto. You seem like a decent bloke but are too “woke” for the far-right rabble you currently lead. You can go back to writing for The Age. Brad Battin will be leader by the end of autumn.
Now this looks like a gem of a movie, never heard of it. For those who recall, was the 1969 election like 2019?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/22/dons-party-the-australian-epitome-of-why-you-should-never-talk-politics-with-friends
https://youtu.be/GVhNMlWTbFw
I reckon there will eventually be a movie, or a mini series. Lol!
The Hunter Biden lap top saga always smelt like a set up. And as things are heating up with respect to Trump, the GOP, their handlers such as Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, this is getting traction as Hunter Biden is suing those involved.
Like Dominion and Smartmatic, the hens are coming home to roost.
https://krassenstein.news/p/hunter-bidens-laptop-bombshell-accusations
Not unexpected, but unusual to see it stated so bluntly …
https://www.themonthly.com.au/the-politics/rachel-withers/2023/03/21/labor-vs-science
Now that they are in government, Labor has simply abandoned any pretense of taking meaningful action on global warming.
Some of us expected this, but to others it will be surprising, disheartening and even humiliating.
Simpson – Except Pesutto won the vote yesterday 18 to 11 on a motion about delaying the expulsion vote from next Monday. So the anti-Pesutto forces need to get another 4 or 5 votes* in order to override the leader.
* One MP abstained and another was ill as there are 31 members of the party room. That is why I am uncertain of what the final numbers required will be.
S. Simpson @ #29 Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 – 8:01 am
The Liberal party always reminds me of this scene in Braveheart, they are King Edward Longshanks. Dutton is a useful fool.
https://youtu.be/QNVEYO4BNKQ?t=22
How can Australia pay $368 billion for new submarines? Some of the money will be created from thin air
It’s that, for a country like Australia, there is “no simple budget constraint” — meaning no hard limit on what we can spend.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/102124540?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16794331849438&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2023-03-22%2Faustralia-aukus-submarines-368-billion-some-money-thin-air%2F102124540
“Australia’s decision to buy three nuclear-powered submarines and build another eight is so expensive that, for the $268 billion to $368 billion price tag, we could give a million dollars to every resident of Geelong, or Hobart, or Wollongong.
Those are the sort of examples used by former NSW treasury secretary Percy Allan on the Pearls and Irritations blog, “in case you can’t get your head around a billion dollars”.
Such multi-billion megaprojects almost always go over budget.
For instance, when then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydroelectricity project in 2017, it was supposed to take four years and cost $2 billion. The latest guess is it’ll actually take 10 years and cost $10 billion.
So to pay for those two megaprojects alone, there’s an awful lot of money we will need to find from somewhere. Or will we?
“
The Queensland number has to be wrong.
”Now this looks like a gem of a movie, never heard of it. For those who recall, was the 1969 election like 2019?”
I don’t think so. In 2019 Labor never looked like winning. I was listening to the ABC’s 2019 election coverage while driving back from the Central Coast. I’d switched over to a music station before 8:00 PM.
Back in 1972 and 1974 we went to bed thinking Labor had won a landslide. They ended up narrow victories. For some reason back then early votes favoured Labor, late votes the Coalition. Labor’s position tended to deteriorate as bags of votes were delivered from outlying booths by bullock wagon or something. Postals, then as now, did further damage. I think it likely that 1969 was similar.
”
C@tmommasays:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 6:27 am
Here’s a tale of another NSW Liberal Party player, campaign manager for the Maria Kovacic for Paramatta federal campaign, Stephen Hopwood, who is also the Sydney Legacy Club President, recently found guilty of bullying and sexual harassment but who is refusing to leave his job:
The president of Sydney Legacy has had 15 complaints of workplace harassment and bullying against him substantiated by an external investigation, according to CEO Michael Ducie, including two cases of inappropriate touching, one of them an alleged bottom grope at a Christmas party.
Despite the findings and staff being told at one stage they should work from home “if they feel uncomfortable returning to the workplace”, Steve Hopwood remains in his post. He strongly denies any inappropriate conduct or touching, saying he has a “robust management style”.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/legacy-president-faces-16-harassment-complaints-denies-allegation-of-groping-20230321-p5ctyw.html
”
Another Liberal party “swinging dick” big or not.
“Player One says:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8:42 am
Now that they are in government, Labor has simply abandoned any pretense of taking meaningful action on global warming.”
Don’t make me laugh, neither Greens nor Teals are on the war path against the ALP re: climate change policies. They are negotiating and negotiations will be constructive.
You Denialist Liberals have absolutely no hope, and that’s not just on the issue of climate change where you are completely hopeless. But, as we are seeing, your problems are also on defence, the economy, jobs, the environment in general…. It’s over P1… and see you on Saturday night here…. You are coming to follow the results of the NSW state election, are you?….. 🙂
I have attempted to bring over BKs dawn patrol from previous thread to no avail.
“Socrates says:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7:31 am
In all the focus on AUKUS Labor shouldn’t lose sight of the IPCC report and climate change.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/ipcc-report-climate-change-what-we-need-to-do-now/102125614
Legislation so far has had a political not environmental benefit. If Labor starts approving new coal and gas projects its stocks will soon sink again.”
The ALP government has already rejected a new Clive Palmer coal project. Is that the reason why their stocks are still high?
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
Peter Martin tells us the unnerving truth about how the AUKUS submarines will be paid for.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/australia-aukus-submarines-368-billion-some-money-thin-air/102124540
Labor’s old guard is following Keating into the trenches over the $368b submarine deal, writes David Crowe.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-s-old-guard-follow-keating-into-the-trenches-over-368b-submarine-deal-20230321-p5cu1h.html
That Labor MP Josh Wilson shattered the remarkable unity the Albanese government has had up until now by publicly opposing the AUKUS agreement demonstrates the job ahead of the government to socialise its younger members, the ALP activist base and the whole millennial generation on national security. Wilson’s strange public rebellion, before he can possibly be across the detail of everything AUKUS involves, was the government’s first outbreak of disunity. If it’s a one-off, it’s unimportant. If it’s a trend, it’s the worst news Labor could have, says Greg Sheridan.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/rogue-labor-mp-josh-wilson-puts-first-dent-in-partys-aukus-unity/news-story/9f63ac60fadea1a3c42b53984c9e3948?amp
Gareth Evans lays out three big questions Australia’s leaders must answer about the AUKUS deal. He says that for all the hype, the submarines we are buying are really fit for purpose; whether an Australian flag on them really means we retain full sovereign agency in their use; and if it does not, whether that loss of agency is a price worth paying for the US security insurance we think we might be buying.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/gareth-evans-the-three-big-questions-australias-leaders-must-answer-about-the-aukus-deal
Paul Keating’s Press Club criticism of the AUKUS agreement revealed the true nature of our mainstream media, writes Bilal Cleland.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/paul-keating-fires-shots-at-aukus-corporate-press-takes-casualities,17346
As the Government seeks to respond to an increasing number of questions about what it extolls as the game-changing decision to purchase nuclear powered submarines (SSN’s) it has been tweaking the spin about the reasons it has taken for this budget shaking decision, says Mack Williams.
https://johnmenadue.com/marles-at-least-get-the-spin-on-the-subs-right/
Defining what makes housing affordable will be key to legislating the government’s $10 billion housing fund, after Greens and crossbench senators made their support for the bill contingent on a list of demands, writes Rachel Clun. Fair enough.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-s-affordable-housing-depends-who-you-ask-crossbench-mps-want-a-legal-definition-20230321-p5ctv6.html
Using affordable housing as an example, Michael Pascoe reckons not being Scott Morrison isn’t enough in a crisis.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/03/22/michael-pascoe-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese-crisis/
The nation’s prudential regulator has begun asking banks to declare their exposures – in some cases daily – to start-ups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and volatility at global lenders. The AFR refers to three sources who requested anonymity to speak freely said the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority had told banks to improve their reporting around crypto assets and provide daily updates to the agency as it sought to gain more insight into exposures and vulnerabilities in the system.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/banks-told-to-report-on-crypto-start-up-risks-20230321-p5cu04
Natassia Chrysanthos reports that Health Minister Mark Butler has he will not give in to demands for vapes to be sold freely like cigarettes, despite a push from the Nationals and industry lobby groups who say regulated retail sales are the only way to curtail Australia’s pervasive black market. Butler has told Labor caucus “the tobacco industry has found a new way to develop a generation of nicotine addicts and we will not stand for it”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/campaign-for-vaping-without-prescription-goes-up-in-smoke-20230321-p5cu0k.html
The latest IPCC report makes it clear no new fossil fuel projects can be opened. That includes us, Australia, declares Adam Morton.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/the-latest-ipcc-report-makes-it-clear-no-new-fossil-fuel-projects-can-be-opened-that-includes-us-australia
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has substantially narrowed Premier Dominic Perrottet’s lead as preferred premier, giving Labor an election winning boost ahead of this Saturday’s state poll. Four days from the election, Labor leads the NSW Coalition on a two-party preferred basis of 53 to 47 in the AFR Freshwater Strategy NSW Poll, and the two major parties sit neck-and-neck in primary stakes with 33 per cent of the vote.
https://www.afr.com/politics/undecided-voters-are-warming-to-labor-poll-20230321-p5ctxp
Lucy Carroll reports that the NSW Coalition is pledging $50 million to private schools for new classrooms and upgrades.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/coalition-pledges-50-million-to-private-schools-for-new-classrooms-upgrades-20230320-p5ctsm.html
Education is key to the NSW election this Saturday. Student outcomes have been declining in NSW for years while the gap between rich and poor students grows. Callum Foote investigates the Liberal and Labor party policy platforms.
https://michaelwest.com.au/pass-or-fail-liberal-labor-education-pitches-ahead-of-nsw-election/
NSW Labor’s wages policy is admirable in intention but addled in execution, declares the SMH editorial.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/labor-s-wages-policy-is-admirable-in-intention-but-addled-in-execution-20230321-p5ctwu.html
Ross Gittins has more on the Productivity Commission’s report and writes about the damage many years of neoliberalism has done.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/most-of-us-don-t-really-want-to-be-rich-for-better-or-worse-20230321-p5ctvz.html
While recommendations have been made by the Productivity Commission on skilled migration reform, there are still improvements that could be made, writes Abul Rizvi.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/productivity-commissions-migration-reform-ideas-a-curates-egg,17345
Paul Kelly says that the pressure on Australian living standards that the Albanese government has pledged to rectify now looms as a perilous political journey given the Productivity Commission five-yearly inquiry into how Australia’s prosperity can be improved.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/labor-at-mercy-of-productivity-politics/news-story/8a1472ae464e424935c9db3ec1bd39f0?amp
The banking crisis that hit Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week has spread. We recall with a shudder two recent financial contagions: the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which led to a deep Asian recession, and the 2008 Great Recession, which led to a global downturn. The new banking crisis hits a world economy already disrupted by pandemic, war, sanctions, geopolitical tensions, and climate shocks, explains Jeffrey Sachs.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-global-banking-crisis-and-world-economy/
We like the idea of recycled single-use plastics because it takes away the guilt around how cheap and easy it is. But most cannot be converted into a useful product at a reasonable cost, writes Nick O’Malley who says we are deluding ourselves if we think it can be recycled.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/let-s-just-stop-pretending-we-are-going-to-recycle-all-this-plastic-20230321-p5ctvq.html
Sumeyya Ilanbey explains how a new report lays bare the failures of Victoria’s criminal justice system, calling for efforts to reduce recidivism, early intervention, an increase in home detention and for judges to get more discretion over sentencing.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/jailing-is-failing-how-to-fix-a-justice-system-that-punishes-disadvantage-20230320-p5ctsr.html
John Pesutto has scored a victory in his bid to expel Moira Deeming from the parliamentary party room over her involvement in an anti-trans rights rally, with two-thirds of Liberal MPs rejecting an attempt to delay the vote to oust her.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bid-to-delay-expulsion-of-deeming-fails-as-details-of-pesutto-s-motion-revealed-20230321-p5ctvl.html
A successful trial of zero-emissions electric trucks in south-east Queensland using exchangeable batteries has raised hopes they could be rolled out for large fleets to help Australia reduce transport emissions on the pathway to net zero by 2050. Unlike rechargeable electric cars, which have to be plugged in at home or use public charging stations, the Australian-first trial for the construction sector used removable batteries, which were just swapped out at the depot at the end of a 10- to 12-hour shift.
https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/swap-and-go-truck-batteries-help-tackle-transport-emissions-20230321-p5ctzq
Nicola Gobbo is attempting to negotiate an immunity deal that could result in the barrister-turned-informer avoiding criminal prosecution for her involvement in the Lawyer X scandal in exchange for providing evidence against more than a dozen current and former police officers.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/gobbo-working-on-immunity-deal-in-return-for-rolling-on-police-20230321-p5cu14.html
Key stakeholders were locked in discussions on the Indigenous voice to parliament on Tuesday evening, with the Coalition considering a backflip towards supporting Labor’s referendum machinery changes in a potential rare show of bipartisanship on the issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/coalition-considers-backflip-to-support-labor-referendum-changes-after-last-minute-negotiations
Denying our First Nations people a voice will achieve nothing, argues John Lord.
https://theaimn.com/denying-our-first-nations-people-a-voice-will-achieve-nothing/
Emma Koehn writes that retail giant Woolworths is muscling into virtual healthcare by making telehealth appointments with doctors, naturopaths and dietitians available through its wellness platform, HealthyLife. Patients will be able to log on to HealthyLife and make a same-day booking with a general practitioner via a partnership with ASX-listed digital health company Global Health. What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/no-brainer-woolies-muscles-into-telehealth-20230320-p5ctno.html
George Hyde examines why neo-Nazis are infiltrating public rallies in Australia.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/03/20/far-right-nazi-australia-extremism/
Christopher Knaus explains the twisted tactic the Catholic church uses to block claims by abuse survivors.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/mar/22/it-crucifies-you-every-time-the-twisted-tactic-the-church-uses-to-block-claims-by-abuse-survivors
As the dust settles on the Robodebt Royal Commission, an examination of how the scheme was orchestrated clearly shows its architects should face prison time, writes Paul Begley in quite a detailed assessment.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/robodebt-crooks-are-getting-away-with-murder,17347
A non-profit national disability insurance provider pursued a “single-minded” financial growth strategy at the expense of the safety of its clients, dished out “inappropriate” bonuses to staff and spent “large sums” on alcohol, the disability royal commission has found. Luke Henriques-Gomes tells us that in a new report released yesterday, the commission also criticised the federal disability watchdog – which regulates national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) providers – for its handling of complaints centred on the NDIS provider Afford.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/21/ndis-provider-pursued-financial-growth-over-client-safety-disability-inquiry-finds` `
Rob Harris reports that Boris Johnson has acknowledged he misled the House of Commons – albeit unintentionally – over coronavirus rule breaches, while also lashing out at the parliamentary committee established to probe his conduct. He faces being suspended or even expelled from parliament, if MPs decide he deliberately misled them despite his assurances that lockdown rules had been followed were made in “good faith”. Conservative MPs will be given a free vote on any recommendations, meaning they will not be told how to vote by party leadership.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/boris-johnson-admits-misleading-parliament-over-lockdown-parties-20230322-p5cu5r.html
Boris Johnson’s best defence is he’s a known liar incapable of lying, writes John Crace in acidic style.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/21/boris-johnsons-best-defence-is-hes-a-known-liar-incapable-of-lying
AMP, one of the oldest financial institutions in Australia, has been trying to engineer a turnaround after a major fall from grace. Clancy Yeates looks at its chances of success.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/after-years-of-struggle-can-a-beleaguered-amp-reinvent-itself-20230319-p5cter.html
Sydney lawyer Sevag Chalabian has been sentenced to 12 years in jail over washing $24 million in blackmail money linked to the Plutus Payroll scam. Enjoy your porridge, Sevag!
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/king-of-the-camouflage-money-laundering-lawyer-joins-clients-behind-bars-20230227-p5co0b.html
A woman marrying for the fifth time at 92? Just imagine what Murdoch’s newspapers would say, writes Zoe Williams.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/rupert-murdoch-newspapers-woman-marrying-fifth-time
Scotland Yard is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic and the London public are being let down by a force that no longer has a functioning neighbourhood policing service, a damning report concluded yesterday. It wouldn’t be the only police department so described.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/scotland-yard-institutionally-racist-sexist-and-broken-says-review-20230321-p5ctzb.html
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
David Pope
Matt Golding
Cathy Wilcox
John Shakespeare
Simon Letch
Mark Knight
Leak
From the US
”
Player Onesays:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8:42 am
Not unexpected, but unusual to see it stated so bluntly …
https://www.themonthly.com.au/the-politics/rachel-withers/2023/03/21/labor-vs-science
It would have been naive to expect the Albanese government to change tack on the safeguard mechanism following this report, especially considering, as Shorten noted today, that it’s not exactly new information. We already knew Labor’s reforms didn’t align with the science, as did Labor. Report after report has shown that the safeguard mechanism won’t do what’s needed, with a new report today showing that the 116 new fossil fuel projects in the pipeline would emit 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030 – 24 times the total 204 million tonne reduction set out by the safeguard mechanism. Scientists have repeatedly called for an end to new fossil-fuel projects if we are to have any chance at success, while our Pacific island neighbours continually beg us to stop, as they did again yesterday, with Vanuatu’s climate change minister suggesting the nation won’t back Australia’s 2026 COP bid while we continue to open new fossil-fuel projects. But it’s nonetheless galling to watch Labor, a party that supposedly believes in climate science, disregard a dire IPCC report and refuse to let those warnings alter its policy – “giving the United Nations the middle finger,” as Greens leader Adam Bandt put it today.
Now that they are in government, Labor has simply abandoned any pretense of taking meaningful action on global warming.
Some of us expected this, but to others it will be surprising, disheartening and even humiliating.
”
After the latest IPCC report, UN chief said that Rich countries should alter their Net Zero targets to bring them forward. For example, it should be 2035 instead of 2050 for Australia.
He said remove subsidies on fossil fuels and give them to Renewable energy market.
Albanese government needs to negotiate with Senate crossbench and there should be say atleast a moritorium on a new coal mines.
Don’t you worry of saving Ukraine with our fossil fuels. There is US to do that. I think US is near to Ukraine than Australia. We don’t have to chest beat about helping Australia. What Australia is doing is a drop in the ocean when compared to what US and Europe are doing.
How unsurprisement
BREAKING: Judge Beryl Howell determined that Jack Smith has evidence that trump committed crimes by intentionally misleading his lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. More soon…
Thanks BK, of course. In spades.
I just copied from the other thread using Quote, and taking out the blockquotes.
“Bandt highlights flaw in safeguards scheme
Greens leader Adam Bandt says there is a flaw in the safeguards scheme – and that is pollution can go up, not down.”…
On the other hand, Bandt must understand that if he wants to calculate net-CO2 emissions outputs, he must subtract atmospheric CO2-decreasing effects from CO2-increasing industrial action. It’s the difference that makes sense, not just focusing on CO2 industrial emissions (if you are for climate action, and want to criticise the scheme), or CO2 abating effects (if you are for industry and don’t care about anything else).
Greens focus on the pollution, Liberals focus on the effects of the plants…. The ALP focuses on BOTH!
Thank you BK, and yabba.
Let’s see. Dutton and Bandt are blocking action on climate and on housing. The MSM and the toonists hate the subs. The same people who hate the subs hate Xi and Putin. But they cannot put two and two together.
Murdoch is marrying again at 92.