Essential Research and Resolve Strategic offer further numbers on budget polling, both tending to support Newspoll’s impression of a lukewarm response to the budget, and one — or possibly two, with Resolve Strategic to be confirmed — also supporting its finding of no discernible impact on voting intention.
What we have so far from Essential Research is a report in The Guardian relating that its 2PP+ measure of voting intention has Labor steady on 53% and the Coalition up one to 42%, with the remainder undecided; Anthony Albanese up three on approval to 54% and down two on disapproval to 35%; and Peter Dutton steady on approval at 36% and up one on disapproval to 45%. For primary votes will have to wait for the pollster’s publication of its full results later today.
The poll found 24% expecting the government would be good for them personally, which presumably had a corresponding result for bad that will also have to wait for the full report. Only limited numbers felt it would create jobs (33%), reduce debt (29%), reduce cost-of-living pressures (26%), whereas 46% felt it would “create long-term problems that will need to be fixed in the future”. Respondents were most likely to rate that the budget would be good for people receiving government payments and least likely to younger Australians and “average working people”.
There was also a forced response questions on the Indigenous Voice and a republic, the former finding the margin from yes in to 59-41 from 60-40 a month ago, with small state sub-samples finding recording big leads in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, but an even balance in Queensland and Western Australia. The republic question, which apparently left the devil undetailed, broke 54-46 in favour. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Sunday from a sample of 1080.
The Resolve Strategic poll in the Age/Herald, which will presumably follow up with voting intention results fairly short, seemingly produced the most favourable results for the budget, with 31% saying it would be good for them and their household compared with 26% for bad; 44% good for the country with 17% for bad; 36% good for the health of the economy with 15% for bad; and 39% good for “rebuilding a healthy budget” with 17% for bad. Similarly to Essential Research, it found respondents were most likely to see the budget as good for the less fortunate and disadvantaged, with 56% for good and 14% for poor, but it substantially more positive results for both older people (48% good and 17% bad) and younger people (39% and 17%).
Respondents were asked about twelve specific items in the budget, finding majority support for all but two: limiting growth in NDIS spending to 8% a year, which still recorded a net positive result with 37% in favour and 17% opposed, and facilities for the Brisbane Olympics and Tasmanian AFL, which were supported by 27% and opposed by 37%. The most popular measure was the spending on Medicare to encourage bulk billing, at 81% in favour and 5% opposed, with funding for a wage increase for aged care workers, energy bill relief and doubling of medicine prescription periods recording between 73% and 75% support. The poll was conducted Wednesday to Saturday from a sample of 1610.
UPDATE (Essential Research): Essential Research voting intention numbers are here and the full report here. The former’s primary votes are very strong for Labor, suggesting the static 2PP+ numbers relied on a change in respondent-allocated preferences: Labor are up two 35%, the Coalition are down one to 31%, the Greens are steady on 14%, One Nation are steady on 5% and the United Australia Party is down one to 1%. Further, the report allows comparison of the budget response with five budgets going back to 2020, which makes the numbers look better than at first blush. Twenty-four per cent for “good for you personally” is about par for the course; the 41% and 37% for “good for people on lower incomes” and “good for older Australians” are comfortably the strongest results out of five budgets going back to 2020; 46% for “place unnecessary burdens on future generations” is the best result of the five.
Shogun says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 10:50 am
Boerwar
The Dutch troops in Afghanistan were touchy to manage, I believe.
There was a jibe – I cannot recall the exact source, but I believe it was from Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan – that “DUTCH” stood for “Don’t Understand The Concept Here”.
——————————————-
FWIW, I patrolled with Dutch soldiers for 12 months, they were excellent, very professional, reliable, experienced and capable and generally good for morale. I’d rather serve with them than against them.
Lars Von Trier @ Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:00 am:
“Andy, you’re not going to leave the Labor Party, but do they really want you? Just sayin – we’re not sensing the love towards you.”
===============
Andrew_Earlwood, padawans ignore Obi-Wan at their peril. 😆
”
Shogunsays:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 10:47 am
Ven
2. Biden did cancel the Australia trip at a very short notice, which shows unreliability, irrespective of whatever reason is causing the cancellation.
I disagree. The “irrespective of whatever reason” is unduly harsh on Biden. There is no doubt that US domestic politics is in a parlous and appalling state. That is a reality not of Biden’s making, and the debt ceiling issue is a BFD.
”
Shogun
Let us consider the important positions Biden occupied in the last 22 years after Bush Jr administration came to power.
1. I think he is one of the Senators who recommended to Bill Clinton to scrap Glass-Stegall act, which regulated US banking sector and the scrapping of which many economists agree lead to GFC.
2. He was Chairman of US Senate Foreign Relations committee, which recommended Iraq war2. He was an enthusiastic backer of Iraq war2.
The above 2 decisions of US Governments lead to the accumulation of Trillions of debt and loss of 401s of millions of people i.e. US Super/Pensions of many people and led to their sufferings.
3. He was Vice President when Tea party wing of Republicans rampaged US political scene and led to another Debt ceiling standoff in 2014 ( or was it 2012) because of which many ordinary people suffered due to budget measures put in to avoid that stand off.
In the process many traditional Democrat voters were pissed with Democrats that led to election of Trump even when people knew he was horrible.
After the election of Trump we have a new evil phenomenon called MAGAs, who now captured US HOR, which led to current Debt ceiling stand off. And Biden is currently the POTUS and wants to contest 2024 election.
“ Andrew_Earlwood, padawans ignore Obi-Wan at their peril. ”
If L’arse is a force adept, which is doubtful, then he is only connected with the dark side. He would be incapable of sensing love.
Ea/ Mac Arthur
Have you considered the possibility that the Russians overthrow Putin not because he started the war, but because he unsuccessfully prosecuted the war?
Ie – when all is said and done – maybe Putin is replaced by someone MORE hardline in their attitude to ukr ?
nath says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 8:21 am
zoomster says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 6:36 am
south
‘That wasn’t a Tory cut to the budget. The ALP did that.’
Incorrect.
As are so many of your assertions.
_________________________
With the full backing of Labor, who went even further under Gillard who removed the grandfathering provisions, making it worse.
Funny how some who defended the changes are now running away from it at speed.
中华人民共和国
Nath if you had read the full conversation I had with “south” last night you would know I was referring to the “Widows Pension” that was cut by the Moore Tory Government after it took power in Queensland from a 14 year Labor Government in 1929.
“south” for whatever reason got the timing out by about 90 years in an anti-Labor crusade.
States at that time were responsible for Pensions and Unemployment Insurance. Great heros like T.J. Ryan and E.G. Theodore made Queensland a world leader with the payment of the above, along with the abolition of the death penalty and the Upper House.
I pointed out that Labor eventually lost because many (especially in the Railways Union) said the State Labor Government wasn’t “socialist” enough and “had lost it’s way”.
That Union campaigned heavily against Labor Premier and Member for Cairns – “Big” Bill McCormack in the 1929 Election. Labor lost and the Tory Moore Government came to power to inflict the above.
Ironically they also sacked thousands of Railway Workers and the Railways Union was decimated.
Fortunately, like the Newman Government, the Moore Government was a “one term wonder”. William Forgan-Smith went on to win the 1932 Election and Labor continued to change Queensland (including becoming the first state in Australia to offer free health care in 1946) until the great split in 1957.
Lars Von Trier @ #555 Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 – 11:21 am
No, because most people are mostly decent. Despite the continued best efforts of Trump and his doppelgangers.
Democrats win mayor’s race in Jacksonville, the biggest city in America run by the GOP
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/16/2169660/-Democrats-win-mayor-s-race-in-Jacksonville-the-biggest-city-in-America-run-by-the-GOP
“Florida Democrats scored a huge pickup on Tuesday when former TV anchor Donna Deegan won the officially nonpartisan race for mayor of Jacksonville by defeating her Republican foe, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce head Daniel Davis. Deegan’s win in the race to succeed termed-out GOP Mayor Lenny Curry will make her the first woman to lead the state’s most populous city and just the second Democrat to hold this office since the early 1990s.
Deegan overcame a serious financial advantage enjoyed by Davis, who aired ads attacking her for attending Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, to give her party a much-needed victory months after its statewide drubbing. She also ends Jacksonville’s status as the largest city in America with a Republican mayor, a title that now goes to Fort Worth, Texas, where incumbent Mattie Price easily won a second term earlier this month.
Jacksonville, which was consolidated with the rest of Duval County in 1968, was for decades a conservative stronghold in both state and local politics. Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory began a Republican winning streak that would continue well into the 21st century, while Mayor Ed Austin’s 1993 party switch gave the GOP control of city hall for the first time in a century.”
Andrew_Earlwood @ Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:20 am:
“ Andrew_Earlwood, padawans ignore Obi-Wan at their peril. ”
————-
If L’arse is a force adept, which is doubtful, then he is only connected with the dark side. He would be incapable of sensing love.
===========
Andrew, Lars is no good even for the Sith, I’m afraid, if this is how well he can sense vulnerability.
‘Shogun says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 10:50 am
Boerwar
The Dutch troops in Afghanistan were touchy to manage, I believe.
There was a jibe – I cannot recall the exact source, but I believe it was from Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan – that “DUTCH” stood for “Don’t Understand The Concept Here”.’
————————————————–
What they should have been saying is that ‘Dutch’ stood for much smarter than ‘Australian’. The latter foolishly stuck around for another decade fighting losing a war, long after the Dutch understood the concept that the war was lost, and accordingly buggered off in 2010.
Daily Kos Elections
@DKElections
BIG Democratic overperformance in a New Hampshire House special tonight:
Marc Plamondon: Wins by 43
Joe Biden: Won by 27
Plamondon beat Biden’s margin by 16 points. See our special election Big Board for more
L’arse does a lazy cynicism, the font of all bad faith lying.
Sneering, snarking, gaslighting…
Corrosive stuff.
Quads cancelled folks. Albos just announced. ABC Breaking
Boerwar says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:33 am
L’arse does a lazy cynicism, the font of all bad faith lying.
Sneering, snarking, gaslighting…
Corrosive stuff.
中华人民共和国
What impresses me is he does it so well. I imagine he’d take great delight pulling the wings off butterflies.
Ven 10:58 am
“ Excellent points BK. I agree with you completely.
I add one more point.
These things did not happen overnight or in the last 1vyear.
These things are happening since Howard government was elected.
If you consider governance of LNP governments in 20 out of last 27 years, they left so many structural problems and some of them criminal, which are already causing so much pain to ordinary Australians and will cause a lots of pain in future. Money alone will not solve all those problems. Peoples attitudes much change.”
————————————-
“ Peoples attitudes much change”. I think this comment summarises the problems. This issue has been decades in the making. People’s attitudes need to change to different types of housing and different types of taxation, it’s about expectation management.
Australians are used to relatively large individual housing blocks on which large and expensive structures are built. This culture needs addressing as it’s unsustainable, expensive, inefficient and simply requires far more unnecessary support infrastructure. Attractive apartment living can significantly mitigate these problems but requires high quality marketing.
Quick-build modern housing on small blocks must also be considered for all the obvious reasons.
This issue of culture also applies to taxation. Investors don’t buy for altruistic reasons, they buy for capital gain assisted further by unnecessarily supportive taxation. It’s time to address this culture and the taxation expectations to match the reality of our situation. Political solutions that continually add only to the landlord’s profits are not solutions, they’re a major part of the problem.
Ven @ #561 Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 – 11:00 am
And North Carolina legislature just overturned the Dem governors block on their 12week anti abortion law. One may wonder how a state that only just leans GOP has a state legislature with GOP supermajorities in both houses.
Resolve Poll Voice
53-47 Yes
44 yes/39 no/18 undecided
Queensland now below majority and volatile in SA and Tas.
That must give you such joy ‘michael’. Makes your racist black heart sing.
Lars Von Trier says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:21 am
Ea/ Mac Arthur
Have you considered the possibility that the Russians overthrow Putin not because he started the war, but because he unsuccessfully prosecuted the war?
Ie – when all is said and done – maybe Putin is replaced by someone MORE hardline in their attitude to ukr ?
———————
In answer to your first point, yes.
In answer to your second point, no. Even if Russia withdrew all remaining forces today, they would be militarily incapable of defending themselves far less continue to prosecute the war with Ukraine. Imo Putin continues only because the only way out for him involves humiliation and likely his overthrow. Russia, regardless of who is in charge, will require a decade following the completion of this war at the bare minimum to regrow its economy, rearm, modernise and retrain non-existent soldiers.
Pretty good first half for the Joker – 19 Points, 16 Rebounds, 7 assists
Boerwar says:
What they should have been saying is that ‘Dutch’ stood for much smarter than ‘Australian’
_______
Perhaps. Australian POW’s of Japan in WW2 had a death rate of around 33%. Dutch soldiers, UNDER 20%. Natural collaborators?
Andrew_Earlwood says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:47 am
That must give you such joy ‘michael’. Makes your racist black heart sing.
____________
Pretty sick to get off on the further disenfranchisement of a people who have been through so much, but there you go.
BK @ #165 Wednesday, May 17th, 2023 – 10:39 am
Well put and argued BK.
Some points to think about.
The average family size in Finland is 2.79 people. In Australia 2.49.
The average house size in Finland is 84 sq m. In Australia 18.2 sq m. !!! Our new builds average 22.5 sq m.
Finland is a measurably happier country than Australia. It does not have a housing or rental crisis.
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Finland are 20.6% lower than in Australia
Rent Prices in Finland are 41.0% lower than in Australia
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Australia&country2=Finland
We are using around 2 to 3 times the materials and construction time per house. A very high proportion of those who are finding it impossible to locate a rentable property would be delighted with a 70 sq m, 2 bed backyard home.
There are least 500,000 , already serviced, large, underutilised backyards in Australia the could accommodate a so-called ‘granny flat’. These can be factory manufactured and transported on trucks, craned onto pre-prepared foundations, and rapidly connected to existing services. No new roads, gutters, footpaths, power lines, sewer mains, at all.
http://info.propertycouncil.com.au/property-australia-blog/hidden-value-lies-wait-in-australias-granny-flats
I have proven, on one of my properties, that such a dwelling can be produced for around $100,000. Call it $150,000.
I believe that it would be possible for governments to provide free feasibility services, and tax incentives to normal homeowners to have a decent proportion of these potential homes built and occupied rapidly. Call for tenders to built 5,000 lots. I’ll set up a company if they do, as long as it there is no fixed price nonsense, and normal indexing is used. Partners welcome.
This company, Parkwood, are already doing this, but are producing many different designs. There would be substantial savings from standardisation, and using modular sub-units for kitchens and bathrooms.
https://www.parkwoodhomes.com.au/
In other words, a completely feasible solution to the housing crisis is staring us in the face.
BK,
“The problem will not go away by fiddling with taxation, superannuation access, incentives, first home-buyer grants and the like. It needs urgent and radical action.”
Hmmm. I don’t fully agree.
Radical action may alleviate the current crisis, but the sickness will persist unless those fundamental drivers – especially around housing as a tax minimisation vehicle – are reformed.
‘nath says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:50 am
Boerwar says:
What they should have been saying is that ‘Dutch’ stood for much smarter than ‘Australian’
_______
Perhaps. Australian POW’s of Japan in WW2 had a death rate of around 33%. Dutch soldiers, UNDER 20%. Natural collaborators?’
=================================
Nasty idiots abound.
The American POWs who survived best had Dutch doctors in their camps.
Only symbolic but it needs to be done, Santos a bigger liar & fraud than Trump:
[‘A House Democrat announced plans today to force a floor vote on a resolution to expel scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos from Congress, less than a week after the first-term Republican congressman pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.
The one-sentence resolution introduced by California Rep. Robert Garcia is a symbolic one; the measure is expected to fail but will force House Republicans to go on the record on their colleague from New York.
“George Santos is a fraud and a liar, and he needs to be expelled by the House,” Garcia said in a statement. “Republicans now have a chance to demonstrate to Americans that an admitted criminal should not serve in the House of Representatives.”] – NPR
Pfft. They want to bring an admitted criminal back as President. They were happy to confirm someone credibly accused of criminal acts to the Supreme Court. They don’t care about criminality in the House.
Some Democrats still don’t get that Republicans are playing a different game entirely.
The average death rate of POWs of all Allied nationalities in the Pacific War was 27%. The American mortality rate was 34%, the Australian 33%, and the British 32%. The Dutch mortality rate was below 20%.
And I assume this includes:
In a single instance in 1944 over 1300 Dutch POWs died when a British submarine sank the transport ship Junyo Maru.
So, without this, the Dutch rate might be under 10%. Very well treated in comparison.
Lars Von Trier @ Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:21 am:
“maybe Putin is replaced by someone MORE hardline in their attitude to ukr ?”
==============
Nobody in Ukraine is worried about that. Putin has/is already been attacking Ukraine with the maximum severity of which Russia’s conventional forces are capable. And any Russian leader who deploys nukes will be dead within 24 hours and Russia’s conventional forces will be no more. No, Kyiv fully realises that defeating Putin defeats Russia’s efforts to conquer Ukraine for at least a generation.
“The problem will not go away by fiddling with taxation, superannuation access, incentives, first home-buyer grants and the like. It needs urgent and radical action.”
Hmmm. I don’t fully agree.
Radical action may alleviate the current crisis, but the sickness will persist unless those fundamental drivers – especially around housing as a tax minimisation vehicle – are reformed.
_________
Dandy Murray
I agree – I missed out the word “alone”.
Nath wrote, “perhaps. Australian POW’s of Japan in WW2 had a death rate of around 33%. Dutch soldiers, UNDER 20%. Natural collaborators?”
I have never met a Dutchman who didn’t turn out to be an arse hole. Waiting for somebody to break that trend.
Lars Von Trier , nath , Rex Douglas, Taylormade
Albanese criticised Liberal MP Stuart Robert’s no-show at parliament as “completely unacceptable”.
The chaos that I see is the chaos in the LNP. Peter Dutton has lost four shadow cabinet ministers this year. We’re only five months into the year.
And yesterday he was out there saying that it’s business as usual for Stuart Robert to be collecting his pay as a member of parliament and as a shadow minister.
He said that he’s resigning but he hasn’t resigned, so no date can be set for the byelection, but he’s not turning up to parliament. That is not business as usual.
That should be, of course:
The average house size in Finland is 84 sq m. In Australia 182 sq m. !!! Our new builds average 225 sq m.
Lars Von Triersays:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:21 am
Ea/ Mac Arthur
Have you considered the possibility that the Russians overthrow Putin not because he started the war, but because he unsuccessfully prosecuted the war?
Ie – when all is said and done – maybe Putin is replaced by someone MORE hardline in their attitude to ukr ?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The possibility of Putin being overthrown, if he is, will only be because he unsuccessfully prosecuted the war.
It is of course possible that someone more hardline than Putin replaces him. Such suckers appear in history. There is no possibility of any more hardline successor suddenly succeeding where Putin is now failing, for 2 reasons.
First, the Russian army is relatively (and absolutely) less well equipped to continue fighting against Ukr than it was when the war began.
Secondly, the replacement will need to establish control over a disrupted Government.
No magic dust superior capabilities of the successor will overcome those 2 hurdles.
It follows that IF a more hardline successor replaces Putin then that successor will inevitably fall for at least the same reason – failing to successfully prosecute the war.
The ONLY survival option for a successor is to get out of the war as efficiently as possible and to look for success elsewhere.
Hungary’s Orban government is yet again blocking EU efforts to help Ukraine:
“Hungary has decided not to approve the disbursement of the next tranche of military support for Ukraine provided under the European Peace Facility (EPF) of the European Union, Reuters reported, citing an announcement from the Hungarian government spokesperson’s office on May 16.
The EPF, established in 2021, is an off-budget mechanism designed to enhance the EU’s capacity to prevent conflicts, promote peace, and bolster international security.
In response to an inquiry from Reuters, the government spokesperson’s office explained that Hungary disagrees with the EU’s exclusive use of the European Peace Facility for Ukraine, as it believes that this allocation does not allow for sufficient funding to be directed towards promoting the EU’s interests in other regions.
The spokesperson’s office suggested that areas such as the Balkans or North Africa could also benefit from the funds. The Hungarian government deems it crucial to address these concerns and, therefore, has withheld approval for the disbursement of the next tranche from the EPF, the spokesperson’s office stated.”
https://kyivindependent.com/reuters-hungary-blocks-next-tranche-of-eu-off-budget-military-support-for-ukraine/
Worse, they are lying about why. The EPF has given the following assistance to Ukraine, the Balkans and North Africa since February 2022:
“16 March 2023
Assistance measure to strengthen the capacities of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia
Reference amount: EUR 9 000 000
7 March 2023
Assistance measure to support the Nigerien Armed Forces in conjunction with the EU military partnership mission in Niger
Reference amount: EUR 40 000 000
20 February 2023
Assistance measure to support the Jordanian Armed Forces
Reference amount: EUR 7 000 000
2 February 2023
Assistance measure to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces trained by the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
(EUMAM – Implemented by OPS pillar)
Reference amount: EUR 45 000 000
1 December 2022
Assistance measure to strengthen the capacities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Reference amount: EUR 10 000 000
1 December 2022
Assistance measure to support the Georgian Defence Forces
Reference amount: EUR 20 000 000
1 December 2022
Assistance measure to support the deployment of the Rwanda Defence Force in Mozambique
Reference amount: EUR 20 000 000
1 December 2022
Assistance measure to strengthen the capacities of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Reference amount: EUR 12 000 000
1 December 2022
Assistance measure to support the Lebanese Armed Forces
Reference amount: EUR 6 000 000
15 November 2022
Assistance measure to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces trained by the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (lethal)
(EUMAM – Implemented by OPS pillar)
Reference amount: EUR 16 000 000
18 July 2022
Assistance measure to support the Nigerien Armed Forces
Reference amount : EUR 25 000 000
30 June 2022
Assistance measure under the European Peace Facility to support the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova
Reference amount: EUR 40 000 000
9 June 2022
Assistance measure to strengthen the capacities of the Balkan Medical Task Force
Reference amount: EUR 6 000 000
21 April 2022
Assistance measure taking the form of a general programme for support to the African Union for the period 2022-2024
Reference amount: EUR 600 000 000
Under the General programme, the following actions were approved:
2 March 2023 – Action to support the Somali National Army (SNA III) (EUR 25 000 000)
2 March 2023 – Action to support the military component of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS – for year 2023) (EUR 85 000 000)
11 January 2023 – Action to support the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram in 2023-2024 (EUR 80 000 000)
8 September 2022 – Action to support the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) (EUR 15 000 000)
6 July 2022 – Action to support the military component of AMISOM/ATMIS for the period of 1 January – 31 December 2022 (EUR 120 000 000)
29 March 2022 – Action to support the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram for the period 1 July – 31 December 2022 (EUR 10 000 000)
29 March 2022
Preparatory measure for an assistance measure supporting Gulf of Guinea coastal states’ military & navies involved in maritime security operations.
Reference amount: EUR 115 000
28 February 2022
Assistance measure to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Reference amount: EUR 380 000 000
28 February 2022
Assistance measure for the supply to the Ukrainian Armed Forces of military equipment, and platforms, designed to deliver lethal force
Reference amount: EUR 4 120 000 000
https://fpi.ec.europa.eu/what-we-do/european-peace-facility_en
Viktor Orban and his Hungarian government are nothing but a bunch of lying thieves who are a fifth column of Putinistas lodged in the vitals of Europe. They are an enemy and should be treated as such.
High-five, BK!
Peter Murray isn’t well-versed in housing issues if he thinks 6000 new dwellings a year is the most that the construction sector would be able to do under a federal government public housing program. He should look at economist Cameron Murray’s numbers about what is feasible. The government could fund the construction of tens of thousands of new homes a year, and the real resource capacity would be there. The net fiscal impact on the federal government would only be about one billion dollars a year – a rounding error for federal spending – if the participants in the program pay for the construction costs.
‘clem attlee says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 12:27 pm
Nath wrote, “perhaps. Australian POW’s of Japan in WW2 had a death rate of around 33%. Dutch soldiers, UNDER 20%. Natural collaborators?”
I have never met a Dutchman who didn’t turn out to be an arse hole. Waiting for somebody to break that trend.’
———————–
Like attracted to like?
‘Dr John says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:12 am
Shogunsays:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 10:50 am
Boerwar
The Dutch troops in Afghanistan were touchy to manage, I believe.
There was a jibe – I cannot recall the exact source, but I believe it was from Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan – that “DUTCH” stood for “Don’t Understand The Concept Here”.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the good old pub drinking days ‘going dutch’ meant not joining in the shout but buying one on your own.’
============================
There are quite a few anglo insults of Dutch. These mostly go back to the days when Dutch naval fleets were smashing english fleets. Fortunately for Australia we have inherited only the best of British cultural values.
The Dutch used to be famous for their ships. Now it’s for pornography.
‘nath says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 12:14 pm
The average death rate of POWs of all Allied nationalities in the Pacific War was 27%. The American mortality rate was 34%, the Australian 33%, and the British 32%. The Dutch mortality rate was below 20%.
And I assume this includes:
In a single instance in 1944 over 1300 Dutch POWs died when a British submarine sank the transport ship Junyo Maru.
So, without this, the Dutch rate might be under 10%. Very well treated in comparison.’
============================
Persistent nasty idiots abound.
There are several reasons why Dutch POWs survived better. Some of the reasons are well known; others not so much.
1. Dutch doctors had the benefit or personal experience and could draw on the experience of over three centuries of tropical medicine. Inter alia, they knew which of the bush medicines to use.
2. Dutch POWs were mostly NEI lifers. They were on average older. They were salted and had built up immunity. New recruits prone to tropical diseases were eliminated during peace time. A Dutch lifer in the Netherlands signed up for 20 years. In the NEI a lifer served 15 years.
3. Dutch POWs were, through practical experience, adept at trading with the locals and also had extensive practical experience of working and living in jungles.
4. Those Dutch POWs who were recruited in the thirties came from a large pool of applicants because of the depression. A high proportion were hardy farm boys used to tough peasant-era work.
Indeed…
Has anyone taken one for the team and watched Angus Taylor at the NPC?
Clem:
Is that you, Nigel Powers?
The Americans, Australians and English were just more antagonistic to the Japanese and suffered accordingly. The Dutch meanwhile, were eager to help the Japanese in any way they could.
‘BK says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Has anyone taken one for the team and watched Angus Taylor at the NPC?’
———————————
LOL.
Fair points…
Asha says:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Clem:
Is that you, Nigel Powers?
_______
Nigel Powers had a point.
Rex Douglas
The feds will be making a decision on the project in August. Albo and co better do right by victorians.
Anyhoo people I know who are in the know, say the Airport are finding any excuse not to agree to the plans going forward. Why?
Car park profits are huge.
Victoria and Puffy
Hugs to you both.