The Australian has published aggregated Newspoll breakdowns from polling conducted from August 28 to October 12, encompassing the four polls conducted since Pyxis Polling took over. The overall sample is 6378, having been boosted by 2368 in the pre-referendum poll (which recorded 57% for no and 37% for yes, converting to a bang-on-accurate 60.6-39.4 after exclusion of the uncommitted).
Keeping in mind that the previous set of results, from February 1 to April 3, were conducted by a different agency, the results show Labor’s two-party lead up slightly in New South Wales (from 55-45 to 56-44) and South Australia (from 56-44 to 57-43), but down solidly in Victoria (from 58-42 to 54-46) and Western Australia (57-43 to 53-47). The Coalition is credited with a 52-48 lead in Queensland after a 50-50 result last time, and we are given the rare treat of numbers for Tasmania, where Labor leads 57-43. This suggests swings to Labor of about 4.5% in New South Wales, 2% in Queensland, 3% in South Australia and 2.5% in Tasmania, and to the Coalition of 1% in Victoria and 2% in Western Australia.
The age breakdowns do not repeat a Labor blowout last time among the 18-to-34 cohort, which has progressed over the term’s three Newspoll breakdowns from 65-35 to 69-31 to 64-35. A five-point Coalition gain on the primary vote to 26% means they do not again finish behind the Greens, who are up a point to 25%, with Labor down six to 37%. The results among the older cohorts are essentially unchanged.
Further results suggest the opening of a substantial new gender gap, or of distinctive house effects between the two polling outfits. Where last time Labor was credited with a slightly bigger lead among men (55-45) than women (54-46), its advantage is now out to 56-44 among women and in to 51-49 among men. Income breakdowns now conform with the traditional pattern, with a 57-43 Labor lead among households on annual incomes of up to $50,000 progressively receding to 50-50 among those on $150,000 or more. The previous breakdowns had Labor strongest in the two middle-income cohorts.
Victoria, I agree completely. The Wire is such a fine example of rich story-telling about eternally relevant themes: power, corruption, temptation, frailty, courage, deciding whether to fight from within a system or from outside, etc.
I think Breaking Bad has a chance to be even greater but missed a great opportunity. Walt should have killed Hank, the neo nazis were not needed. Even if he greatly regretted it, Walt gunning down Hank to protect his cash pile would have offered the same punch as Tony Soprano strangling his nephew after professing his love for him over years and years.
Pratt looks like when you take one of those video game generators which you can scan a photo of yourself in and it makes a human character that looks like you but, instead of posting a photo of a yourself, the photo scanned was of Ghost Rider.
Nicholas: “I think The Wire is right up there with The Sopranos, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad as far as high quality television dramas are concerned.”
The Wire was way better than those other much-vaunted shows IMO. The people who wrote it had a number of important points they were trying to make, and they carefully crafted the plots of each series to illustrate those points, while also trying to give the viewer a sense of how the city of Baltimore works, good or bad.
Its predecessor Homicide Life on the Streets wasn’t half-bad either. But, of course, I’m biased towards cop shows.
Nicholas did you see We Own this City? Which is kinda a new chapter of the Wire.
nath: “You start off liking the guy. At the end, he reveals himself as a true monster.”
He seemed like a monster from the outset to me: he was brutally murdering people from early on in the series. And then, for seemingly no particularly good reason, the psychologist got brutally raped. The show seemed to me to be not so much cynical as plain nasty.
But it was well made, well written and well acted and all of that. I started watching thinking I would love it, but it never did it for me. But I can see why it might appeal to others.
It’s ok if you don’t like the sopranos as much. It’s a free world. I’m just more inclined to be interested in grey characters. Tony killed enemies and rats early on, but only later did you see the depths. Killing his best friends son, his cousin, his nephew. Even dumping asbestos for a quid. As long as his kids were ok, and fuck everyone else’s.
“ Even if he greatly regretted it, Walt gunning down Hank to protect his cash pile would have offered the same punch as Tony Soprano strangling his nephew after professing his love for him over years and years.”
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I disagree. If Walt gunned down Hank, then it would have merely been an emotional repeat of Tony strangling Chris.
By the end of Breaking Bad Walt was a monster – just like Tony – but one that retained a pollyanna type optimism over family and doing ‘stuff’ … ‘for the right reasons’. … so when Walt pleaded for Hank’s life in the desert the emotional ‘gut punch’ was delivered by Hank, who tells Walt, “You’re the smartest guy I ever met, and you’re too stupid to see. He made up his mind 10 minutes ago.” He then turns to the leader of the gang and tells him, “Do what you’re gonna do”… and Walt has to watch Hank’s execution – the ultimate manifestation of the evil he has brought to his own family’s door.
Not a bad point AE. But I felt the nazis were a convenient scapegoat. But I like your view too. That’s why these shows rocked.
An underrated modern classic character study is delivered by Kelsey Grammer in the TV series ‘Boss’.
The first season of Mr Robot is kinda incredible. Downhill after that though.
Did you watch rogue heroes AE? How good was it?
I’m not sure why white supremacists featuring heavily in the last seasons of breaking bad annoys you so much nath. Their involvement in the drug trade – especially in the south west of america – is as revelant a trope as the troubles caused to america by the Mexican cartels: which is where Breaking Bad started.
Besides which, Walt ‘evolving’ to the point where he has his own private army to do ‘stuff’ was an important plot line: they were meant to be minions – not scapegoats – but one’s ultimately he couldn’t control, which led directly to his ultimate downfall – and the destruction of his family. Apt, in my view.
Andrew_Earlwood says:
Monday, October 23, 2023 at 2:32 pm
I’m not sure why white supremacists featuring heavily in the last seasons of breaking bad annoys you so much nath.
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I felt they were a distraction to Walt’s devolution. They were a ‘greater evil’. Took care of Hank.
Would be like if an insane crew of Albanian gangsters showed up in the last season of the Sopranos and made everyone look like teddy bears.
I enjoyed the first season of Rogue Heroes immensely. The second season should be even better – focusing on Paddy Mayne running fully amok in North Africa and Western Europe after David Sterling went and got himself captured.
Fun fact: David Sterling attempted a coup against the UK Labour Government in the mid seventies. Pure amateur hour (and he wasn’t ever charged). Maggie had him Knighted shortly before his death.
Pratt will also be very annoyed that he won’t be getting a knighthood after donating $182k to Charles purportedly for his charities – a pittance compared to Qatari money. He’ll be persona non grata with the royals hereafter for spilling the beans, as he should be with the political class, even though a million bucks is not to be sneezed at.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/25/prince-charles-is-said-to-have-been-given-3m-in-qatari-cash
The interactions between Mayne and Sterling was a highlight. Loved it.
Yeah, I don’t know why Boss didn’t become better known. It’s a dark, chilling portrayal of power and manipulation. It’s also interesting to see Kelsey Grammer perform so convincingly in a role that is utterly different from the comedic roles that made his career.
“ I felt they were a distraction to Walt’s devolution. They were a ‘greater evil’. Took care of Hank.”
Perhaps you should go back and watch Episode 8 of Season 5: “Gliding all Over” – which represented the zenith of Walt’s powers of evil – and the ostensible control he exercised over his minions to execute his orders like clockwork and then perhaps you can appreciate the genius behind having his minions turn on him … leading to that desert scene I’ve referenced above.
Nicholas says:
Monday, October 23, 2023 at 2:40 pm
An underrated modern classic character study is delivered by Kelsey Grammer in the TV series ‘Boss’.
Yeah, I don’t know why Boss didn’t become better known. It’s a dark, chilling portrayal of power and manipulation. It’s also interesting to see Kelsey Grammer perform so convincingly in a role that is utterly different from the comedic roles that made his career.
_____________
You weren’t chilled by Sideshow Bob?
Here’s an interesting snippet from the recent Polish general elections – voters residing in Warsaw taking their own direct action to thwart an attempted ‘rigging’ of the votes of voters in the Polish diaspora:
“Poles rallied to the opposition parties. In London, there were at least 40 polling stations, with more in all of Britain’s big cities: one Polish friend told me people waited up to two hours to vote. In Warsaw, some queues stretched for more than six hours, extending well beyond the closing time. The overall turnout was more than 74%, even higher than the turnout in the June 1989 general election that broke with communism. And while in London, despite Law and Justice decreeing that all votes cast outside Poland would be directed to constituencies in liberal Warsaw, where the votes for the opposition would pile up uselessly, it was still worthwhile voting. In Warsaw, citizens registered to vote outside the capital in rightwing towns and villages in the east, secure that the overseas vote would compensate for their lost Warsaw vote. The majority was spontaneously speaking as one. It was inspiring.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/22/poland-turning-back-tide-of-the-right-should-be-an-object-lesson-in-democracy-for-uk
Maybe there is a lesson here for progressive voters in Australia looking at Queensland in despair, or US progressives watching on as states like Ohio, Iowa and Florida slip-slide away.
They weren’t really his minions. He was paying them for murders. They could have got rid of him at any opportunity.
Actually, Nath, you’d like that piece on the Polish election:
“… A stooge was already president, but now more stooges took over public television, ran the central bank but, most important of all, followed up the 2017 purge of the supreme court to take even more control of the judiciary…
… Trouble lies ahead. The stooges still control the power centres outside parliament…”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/22/poland-turning-back-tide-of-the-right-should-be-an-object-lesson-in-democracy-for-uk
meher baba @ #153 Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 1:13 pm
Never watched the show, but that’s the impression I got from reading the cliff notes. Certainly by the middle of season one it was obvious that he’s a murderous sociopath. They made six seasons.
It wasn’t for no reason though. It was so that she could contemplate seeking mob-style justice against her assailant, and decide against it. To provide a positive role-model/rejection (or contrast) of Tony’s worldview. Or an affirmation of it, even, if you want to spin it that way, because by rejecting Tony’s methods she gets no justice at all.
Whether that’s a good reason or not is entirely debatable.
In any case, Bojack Horseman is better than any/all of these shows. 🙂
MB:
I really enjoyed Homicide: Life on the Street too, despite the editors’ repeatedly attempting to make me think I was having a stroke. The final few seasons were rather disappointing. It’s never the same after Kellerman shoots that drug lord. Seasons 1-4 are glorious, however.
I’m still watching repeats of Waugh’s classis “Brideshead Revisited”.
The first 2.30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKjP2ZsfqIM&t=26s
Rishi Sunak to be inundated with ‘no-confidence letters’ as furious Tories demand tax cuts. Panic is spreading within the Conservative Party, amid mounting speculation that dozens of Tory MPs are ready to send no-confidence letters Rishi Sunak has struggled to calm Tory panic following two catastrophic by-election losses this week.
The by-election losses have prompted speculation, reported in The Times, that up to 25 Conservative MPs have submitted letters of no-confidence to Sir Graham Brady, who serves as the chair for the 1922 Committee. A leadership vote would only be triggered if 53 letters are sent, and the 1922 chairman never reveals how many are received until the threshold is met.
The unease among Tory MPs may only worsen in light of a shock poll that found more voters believe Labour is more likely to cut taxes than Mr Sunak’s party. The survey, carried out by Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey for the MailOnline, revealed that 37 percent of voters see Labour as a champion of lower taxes compared to just 21 percent who believe the Tories will lower the tax burden.
Hi nath, no I’ll have to check that out.
Recently I watched a UK police drama called Line Of Duty. It’s about an anti-corruption unit within a police force. Each season is about a senior police officer who is corrupt, the steps they take to cover their tracks, and how the anti-corruption unit eventually figures out what’s going on. It’s an exciting cat-and-mouse narrative where the upper hand shifts from one side to the other several times throughout the story.
Yes I do like Line of Duty. Best of the Brit stuff.
Not before time. The median age in QLD was 73 & 56% were male:
because of the higher public awareness of VAD,” Swan said.’]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/up-to-250-doctors-sign-on-to-deliver-new-assisted-dying-laws-20231021-p5edzh.html
It’s pretty obvious from the outset that Tony Soprano is not a very nice person, but I thought the show did a great job early on of making him sympathetic and likeable despite being a murderous gangster – a bastard with a twisted moral code of sorts – before subverting and deconstructing that as the show wore on and showing you that, no, he really is just a monster. There’s often a sense in the early seasons that Tony is genuinely trying to be a better person despite it being against his nature, something he puts less and less effort into as he realises it’s just easier to be bad.
He never had the makings of a varsity athlete.
British crime drama is far better than the stuff that comes out of the US (if you leave out the “silly soft, made for oldies/kids stuff” = Midsomer and the like). For one thing, the actors are rarely the absurdly beautiful types you see in US shows and the scripts are far superior and less predictable. I hate the fact that 99% of the time I can predict who the killer is in US shows (exception being early episodes of Law & Order SVU)
“The Bureaux” on SBS is very good. Five series.
Was told that it very real to life by someone who should know.
I love tv but I don’t like cop shows because I don’t like cops.
As far as best tv shows:
Breaking Bad was great but the Sopranos was possibly, but not quite, the best series ever.
Can’t leave Deadwood out of the equation. I spent ages talking in this weird mix of Shakespeare and cursing.
However, without a doubt and second to none, the best tv series ever made was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
OMG. The courage, the pathos, the loyalty and betrayal.
When Spike remained loyal to Buffy when all of her friends had forsaken her.
When every one hated Spike because he was an ‘evil vampire’ but in his darkest moment when he was held captive and being tortured by Glory, it was Buffy who came and saved him.
‘I knew you would come,’ he said.
I cried then and I’m crying now.
Solarpunk says:
Monday, October 23, 2023 at 10:38 am
Welcome to PB, apologies for the delay.
I’ve been considering your recent comments about bikes (it’s of course a way of life in Scandinavia (where I’m currently travelling) and Europe more generally. Bikes a practical concept I love but I’m not yet sure whether they’ll properly take off in Australia as a major source of transport.
I put this down to culture (we don’t have a strong bike culture) and in fact many are anti-bike. I think this is mainly due to the broader lack of acceptable road infrastructure for bikes detrimentally impacting cars. In Brisbane CBD the council has provided more bike lanes but at the expense of parking which has also angered many.
I think the future Olympic Games may provide an opportunity in this context though I’m uncertain as to whether the infrastructure plan allows for more bike lanes. Brisbane is a real traffic hotchpotch and delayed infrastructure only serves to reposition bottlenecks so probably not a good example imo.
Senior Victorian Liberals have called on businesses to loosen rules for staff to engage in politics while the diminished party pushes to get quality candidates and well-credentialed women into its ranks.
Senator Jane Hume and former state president Greg Mirabella, who is seeking preselection to return to the Senate, said there were too many barriers for entering politics after seeing Liberal members forced to choose between their jobs and standing for preselection this year.
Hume said she wanted businesses to encourage staff to be active in the political process, including running for preselection. “A strong democracy requires citizen engagement in the political process, and your employment should not be a barrier to that,” Hume said. “Seeking to represent your community in parliament is an honourable pursuit, a civic duty much like serving on a jury or volunteering.”
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/liberals-want-employers-to-allow-their-staff-to-run-as-candidates-20231018-p5ed7f.html
Rainman
However, without a doubt and second to none, the best tv series ever made was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Mrs Shogun is a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and re-watched it recently. She also says it was remarkably prophetic (more to do with the influence of technology, more so than vampire slaying).
That bloody x is creeping into everything.
Asha @ #179 Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 3:13 pm
That’s a good little summary of Tony.
I’m just about done with tv series. The recent finish to The Blacklist was the final straw, just shithouse. It’s almost like the writers/producers don’t give a shit about the finish once the tv execs decide to call time. The Soprano’s finish, the Ozark finish, GoT finish, all terrible.
The only good series from start to finish was Ted Lasso.
While Atkins makes some sound points, once infected with the Murdoch virus it’s hard to kill it off:
https://inqld.com.au/insights/2023/10/23/slouching-to-a-reckoning-a-paralysed-government-has-no-answers-to-its-woes/
I wouldn’t write Palaszczuk off quite yet bearing in mind that Crisafulli’s electorate is Broadwater, the northern end of the GC.
Regional & rural Queenslanders are untrusting of the white shoe brigade and besides, he’s not particularly good on his feet. I do however think it would be an appropriate time to pass the baton to Miles or Dick, both good performers in the LA & before the camera.
Cronus,
This was Canberra in the 1950s – public servants used to ride to and from work as the majority mode of transport.
Sydney:
I could go on and on. There has been a lot of effort made making sure that Cars got the red carpet treatment and all other forms of transport (public and active) have been seriously denigrated and deprioritized over the years.
Holdenhillbilly @ #185 Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 3:51 pm
Perhaps the far right freaks and cookers getting preselected is acting as a deterrent to business types …?
Mavis @ #190 Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 3:59 pm
They’re going to have to blast AP out it seems.
My personal favourite TV series is probably Stargate SG-1. My parents would let me stay up late on Thursday to watch it. Very good cast, amazing science-fiction stories and lore, and got me very interested in astronomy. It reached its peak around the middle seasons, although went downhill a bit toward the end.
In terms of drama series, I’d say Breaking Bad is my favourite, although I haven’t seen all of The Sopranos. I can see it’s a good show though, although I personally don’t like the casual substance abuse involved, it’s a bit triggering for me.
Rex:
I actually thought the Sopranos had a great ending. Sure, the final scene is weird and a little too much of a deliberate Lynch-ian headfuck for my tastes (I certainly don’t dislike it either, though, and can understand why some love it), but the episode itself is nonetheless is a very satisfying conclusion to both the Phil Leotardo arc and the series more broadly, and season six in general is excellent, especially after the rather uneven season five.
Certainly can’t disagree on Game of Thrones. Still yet to watch the final season of Ozark, actually. Cancelled my Netflix subscription between seasons three and four, after I realised that Ozark and Rick and Morty were literally the only things I watched on it anymore, so will have to sail the seven seas to get my hands on the season four.
Having been a victim of the Optus and Medibank Private hacker data breaches, I racked up the trifecta today with a letter from Tissupath pathology notifying of the same. Whattayagunnado…
Rex Douglas:
Monday, October 23, 2023 at 4:06 pm
Mavis @ #190 Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 3:59 pm
As judged by her recent comments, yes. But if this is just bravado, she’d do Labor a favour by giving Miles or Dick the time to make their mark well before the next October’s election.
Asha, I much prefer storylines to be tied off. For instance, why couldn’t the finish of Soprano’s end like the Godfather with Paulie becoming boss after he organised the hit on Tony.
At least they made El Camino to tidy up the Breaking Bad finish.