Today marks twenty years since the Poll Bludger launched itself on an unsuspecting blogosphere. You may perhaps find in this milestone occasion to reward the site with a birthday present, which will be gratefully received through the “become a supporter” button at the top of the site.
Polling news:
• YouGov has intruded on the long-held monopoly of EMRS by publishing a Tasmanian state poll. It points to the existence of a big market for the Jacqui Lambie Network, which is credited with 20% of the vote – enough in the estimation of YouGov’s “likely outcome” to win it seven seats and a decisive position in a lower house that will expand at the next election from 25 seats to 35. The Liberals duly have no chance of recording another majority, being credited with 31% of the vote and a projected eleven seats. Labor are on 27% and ten seats and the Greens 15% and six seats, with independent Kristie Johnston presumed headed for re-election in Clark. It should be noted that when the Jacqui Lambie Network last tried its hand at a state election, in 2018, strong early poll numbers withered during the campaign period and it emerged empty-handed. The poll also assumes it will run in all five divisions, whereas it was reported in November that it will not be running in Clark. The poll was conducted December 21 to January 4 from a sample of 850.
• The first federal poll of the year is from Roy Morgan, presumably returning to its weekly schedule after a four-week break over Christmas and New Year. The poll has the Coalition leading 51-49 on two-party preferred, the third Morgan poll of recent months to have the Coalition leading after two 50.5-49.5 results since October, reversing the result from the last poll in early December. Labor has taken a three-point hit on the primary vote, falling to 29%, with the Coalition up one to 39%, the Greens up one-and-a-half to 13% and One Nation up half to 5%. The poll was conducted Tuesday to Sunday from a sample of 1716.
Preselection news:
• The Age reports Labor’s candidate for the looming Dunkley by-election is likely to be Jodie Belyea, manager of MEGT Foundation, which provides tertiary scholarships for disadvantaged women. Belyea has won the seemingly decisive support of the Socialist Left faction for a preselection that will be formally ratified by the party’s national executive over the coming weeks. The list of Liberal contenders has reportedly been reduced to Nathan Conroy, Donna Hope and Bec Buchanan, with David Burgess withdrawing from contention. The by-election is expected to be held in late February.
• The West Australian reports on two prospective nominees for Liberal preselection in the Perth seat of Curtin, which was lost to teal independent Kate Chaney in 2022: Matt Moran, an Afghanistan veteran and former Ten Network reporter now employed in government relations at naval shipbuilder Luerssen Australia, and Tom White, who until recently was Uber’s chief executive for South Korea. It was earlier reported that there was a push in the party for Moran to challenge Ian Goodenough for preselection in Curtin’s northern neighbour, Moore, which is also of interest to Vince Connelly, former member for the abolished seat of Stirling.
William thank you for the blog and best wishes for the next 20 years.
Congratulations William! You’ve outlasted all of the other prominent political blogs of your generation: left, right and Centre. You’ve even seen off twitter!
And, of course, you’ve also seen off Howard, Latham, Beazley, Rudd, Gillard, Nelson, Abbott, Turnbull, Shorten (probably) and Morrison (one can only hope).
It’s difficult to believe that PB began soon after Latho was elevated to the Labor leadership: a decision that your then rival Mumble described (with justification, as things turned out) as the act of “lemmings.” Although, for a little while, Latho’s disruptive approach seemed to be working for Labor. Seems like a long time ago now.
Anyway, all the best for the future: I hope you kept it going for a while, but I also understand that it’s hard work and the time will eventually come when you will want to pull up stumps. Till then, it will remain a great place to catch up with all the political news and to pick an argument with someone.
Cheers
MB
meter baba
ScottMorrison will still be around ,there is support from those foreign media tycoons and their media unit hacks who control and influence the lib/nats
Malcolm Turnbull will also be still around , and his nemesis Tony Abbott on the murdoch board
Scott: I meant that they had been seen off as party leaders. All of them are still around in various capacities, although I have to say I had no idea what Brendan Nelson was doing until I googled his name and discovered that he had somehow won the job of leading Boeing’s international division in London.
Well Boeing is certainly getting a lot of media attention ATM isn’t it?
Boeing products performing as well as an old Tarago at the moment. Brendan Nelson definitely the man for the job!
UK Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has been called to an emergency briefing in government tonight.
A government car has been sent to collect him for the briefing at 8:10pm in the Cabinet Office. Comes amid reports UK-US military strikes against Yemen rebels are imminent.
A massive scandal involving an unassuming television drama, hundreds of postal workers, malfunctioning computer software and countless wrongful convictions for fraud has engulfed British politics. Between 1999 and 2015, an estimated 3500 staff employed by the state-owned Post Office service were accused of fraud, theft or malicious accounting. Almost 700 of them were convicted in courts and some 230 were jailed.
Most were legally compelled to repay the amounts they were accused of fleecing, resulting in bankruptcies, marriage failures, substance abuse.
Fury has now engulfed the Conservative Government and heaped pressure on embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Political commentators are demanding to know who in the government knew about the scandal and the unresolved injustice – and when.
And there are questions about why Mr Sunak approved the awarding of billions of pounds worth of public contracts to Fujitsu, whose bungled product sparked the horrendous situation in the first place.
The Financial Times reports Mr Sunak oversaw £3.6 billion (AU$6.84 billion) worth of tenders during his time as Chancellor and now PM, despite the company’s role in the disastrous mishap being known.
Stunningly, a huge chunk of that expenditure was on the Horizon software itself, with a £36 million (AU$68 million) extension signed just months ago. And it was only after the ITV series aired that he finally made moves to right the wrongs of the postal service.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers.
Peter Dutton has ignited a culture war by urging consumers to boycott supermarket giant Woolworths over its decision to no longer stock special Australia Day-themed merchandise, drawing accusations from the government that the opposition leader is intent on dividing Australians against each other, write Matthew Knott and Olivia Ireland.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-calls-for-boycott-of-woolworths-for-not-selling-australia-day-items-20240111-p5ewlh.html
Peter Dutton has sparked a battle with business by calling on Australians to boycott one of the nation’s two big supermarket chains over its decision to stop stocking shelves with Australia Day merchandise, declaring that the move by Woolworths was “against the national interest”. Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said the Opposition Leader’s call to boycott the supermarket giant was unjustified. “Businesses shouldn’t be boycotted because they make commercial decisions based on demand for products from their customers,” Mr Black said.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/peter-dutton-blasts-woolworths-for-not-carrying-australia-day-merchandise/news-story/13e241b0833ee032dbd0430a50e46219?amp=
The Liberals’ rage over business decisions to stop selling Australia Day crap that no one wants to buy is dumb-as-hell, writes Samantha Maiden. “If that’s the Liberals’ big idea for cost of living, God help us all”, she says.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/frothing-about-cheap-australia-day-junk-wont-bring-down-grocery-bills-samantha-maiden/news-story/2230d9a3a34436a1d8a639d2d92cb388?amp=
Australia has just 71 months left to start transforming its energy system, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has warned, and he has called on all levels of Australian government to speed up planning decisions for new energy projects and transmissions lines to meet renewable targets set for 2030. Mike Foley writes that Bowen declined to comment on the spat between Tanya Plibersek and the Victorian Climate Action and Energy Minister.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/get-to-yes-or-no-as-quickly-as-possible-bowen-wants-fast-decisions-on-renewables-20240111-p5ewmj.html
The world’s second-biggest shipping line has warned vessels are docking ten days late due to the wharf dispute, forcing major schedule disruptions. The AFR explains how the situation is approaching breaking point.
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/port-supply-chain-is-at-breaking-point-maersk-20240111-p5ewm4
Councils in Victoria are demanding the state government drive an urgent response to the impacts of climate change after a new study laid bare the threats to homes, infrastructure and beaches around Port Phillip Bay from sea-level rise and storm surges. The coastal hazard assessment was belatedly released on Thursday – almost six years after work began on the project, and on the heels of a freedom-of-information request from The Age.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/climate-change-threatens-to-swamp-suburbs-now-comes-the-brawl-over-what-to-do-about-it-20240111-p5ewnd.html
“Sydney’s property boom and bank policies now restrict home or unit ownership to the well-paid or those with well-heeled parents. But for many renters, the housing crisis is not about living the Australian dream but just getting by. Reforms are coming, but if the increases keep coming, the question facing NSW is how many renters will take to the streets before help arrives?”, says the SMH editorial.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-overcharged-approach-the-end-of-their-tether-20240111-p5ewij.html
The world faces an increasing shortage of housing and an escalating climate emergency. These urgent global issues call for quick action and innovative solutions, write these contributors to The Conversation. They say that a prefab building revolution can help resolve both the climate and housing crises. An interesting read.
https://theconversation.com/a-prefab-building-revolution-can-help-resolve-both-the-climate-and-housing-crises-220290
A review of supermarket industry standards in an attempt to ease ever-increasing food prices has begun, but will this address the underlying cause of inequality, wonders Michelle Pini who points the finger at neoliberalism.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/food-fuel-and-news-a-neoliberal-nightmare,18230
Stephen Duckett has examined the government’s draft new Aged Care Act and declares that it comes up short in some areas . He says, “Though some of the right words might now be there, the draft Act is still riddled with the old ideology – of a health department (‘System Governor’) which is all care but no responsibility, extensive reliance on markets to address consumer needs, albeit with some improvement in regulatory oversight.”.
https://johnmenadue.com/proposed-new-aged-care-act-leaves-gaps-in-rights/
More than 15 per cent of delayed flights were caused by the government body responsible for air navigation safety last month, with its latest aviation network update revealing it’s still marred by staffing issues. Amelia Maguire reports that Airservices Australia, which manages Australia’s airspace and employs the country’s air traffic controllers, said it did not have enough staff available over the lead-up to the peak holiday season, which was also hit with a bout of bad weather.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/air-traffic-control-contributed-to-15-per-cent-of-flight-delays-in-december-20240111-p5ewnt.html
COVID is surging in Australia – and only 1 in 5 older adults are up to date with their boosters, explains Professor Adrian Esterman.
https://theconversation.com/covid-is-surging-in-australia-and-only-1-in-5-older-adults-are-up-to-date-with-their-boosters-220839
The private investment firm poised to take over Everton football club and which owns airlines in Canada and Australia is being chased for almost US$30m (A$44.7m) in unpaid aircraft leasing fees and damages. Elias Visontay reports that 777 Partners is facing legal action in the UK from three aircraft lessors over unpaid fees and damages related to four aircraft that were leased to Flair Airlines, the Canadian low-cost carrier that 777 partly owns.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/11/bonza-owners-being-chased-in-court-for-us30m-after-leased-planes-repossessed-in-canada
Government is still dithering over laws slated to come in 16 years ago which would make Australian property more affordable. Michael West reports on the (lack of) progress on AML-CTF reforms to address the deluge of Chinese money in Australian property.
https://michaelwest.com.au/aml-ctf-money-laundering-australia-property/
What is happening among conservatives in Western Christian countries raises the question of who they see as the enemy, explains Paul Begley.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/doubling-down-against-women-a-conservative-political-trend,18232
The US president warned the Israel-Hamas war is metastasising into a broader conflict as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon increase their involvement, explains international security analyst, Rodger Shanahan who says that Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ is playing with fire.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/as-biden-warns-of-wider-conflict-iran-s-axis-of-resistance-plays-with-fire-20240110-p5ewed.html
In a case that strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity, South Africa formally accused the country of committing genocide against Palestinians and pleaded with the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza. The case is one of the most significant ever heard in an international court, and it goes to the core of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/south-africa-accuses-israel-at-world-court-of-genocidal-acts-in-gaza-20240111-p5ewpo.html
Israel has shown “chilling” and “incontrovertible” intent to commit genocide in Gaza, with full knowledge of how many civilians it is killing, the UN international court of justice in The Hague has heard, at the opening of a case Israel has described as baseless.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/jan/11/south-africa-accuses-israel-of-genocide-gaza-the-hague-international-court-of-justice
Donald Trump has argued his innocence and complained that the case against him is “fraud on me” as he launched into a court monologue on the closing day of his trial.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/2024/01/12/trumps-fraud-case-closing-arguments
A Florida school district is facing a federal lawsuit after it decided to remove copies of dictionaries, encyclopedia, and other books because the works included descriptions of “sexual conduct”. Across the country, book bans have increased amid restrictive education laws, particularly in Republican-led states. Texas, Virginia and Florida have banned the most books. America is f****d!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/11/florida-schools-ron-desantis-ban-books-sexual-content
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
Matt Golding
Jim Pavlidis
Glen Le Lievre
Alan Moir
Leak can’t help himself!
From the US
Leak
Holdenhillbilly @ #8 Friday, January 12th, 2024 – 7:19 am
Vladimir Putin will be rubbing his hands with glee. This is the outcome that has been obviously war-gamed with Iran. Get the US involved in another war. They didn’t fall for the bait in Ukraine but now it seems they have in this part of the world. Just keep poking the American bear with proxies until they react. Yes it’s wrong how the Houthis have been attacking the ships but there’s no way I can see that Iran won’t come to the defense of the Houthis if they are targeted by the US and the UK. *sigh*
I hope this isn’t going against the moratorium because I think that discussing the potential for a global conflict is worthy of debate. If it is against the moratorium though, can the comment.
c@t: “Boeing products performing as well as an old Tarago at the moment. Brendan Nelson definitely the man for the job!”
Good old Brendan has a history of lucking his way into nice jobs. He should never have become Opposition leader in 2007. The party powerbrokers went with the internal party room vote before the results were called in all electorates (presumably in an effort to stop Turnbull from winning), and my recollection is that Nelson carried the day on the votes of a couple of MPs who ultimately lost their seats.
Then, after Nelson was inevitably ditched as LOTO, Rudd appointed him to the extremely cushy job of running the War Memorial. Rudd was ludicrously kind in terms of leaving Liberal hacks in sinecures and even appointing a few to some. And how did the Liberals reward him for this when they got back into government? By refusing to back his bid to become UN Secretary General. Well done Kevvie!
(And while I doubt there are few people on the planet who have even less time for Rudd than I do, I have to say I think he would have done a better job as UNSG than the guy who is currently in the job. That’s not saying that much, of course.)
I can undercut this (Trump judge on one of his experts)
“Engoron has said that Bartov, an N.Y.U. professor, “lost all credibility” by “doggedly attempting to justify” every falsehood in Trump’s annual financial statements. “All that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,” the judge wrote.“
Iran has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Armed men wearing masks reportedly boarded the vessel St Nikolas, close to the Omani port of Sohar, and ordered it to sail to an Iranian port.
Iranian state media, quoting the navy, said the seizure was in retaliation for the ship and oil it had aboard being confiscated by the US last year. The St Nikolas was in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and its intended destination in Turkey.
meher baba,
You hit the nail on the head when you called Brendan Nelson a ‘nice guy’. He was the go to choice that never offended anyone on both sides of politics. Therefore the other side could never effectively launch a complaint that you never pick one of their people.
C/- NYT
Congratulations and thanks, William , for this wonderful platform!
Wow 20 years. Congrats William, that’s quite an achievement.
Councils are demanding the state government drive an urgent response to the impacts of climate change after a new study laid bare the threats to homes, infrastructure and beaches around Port Phillip Bay from sea-level rise and storm surges. The coastal hazard assessment was belatedly released on Thursday – almost six years after work began on the project, and on the heels of a freedom-of-information request from The Age.
It revealed the multibillion-dollar challenges facing bayside communities, warning that the impact of rising sea levels along the 310-kilometre shoreline would be amplified by a combination of stronger tides, bigger waves and changes in the level of groundwater.
Former Hobsons Bay mayor and president of the Association of Bayside Municipalities Jonathon Marsden on Thursday welcomed the release of the data but insisted that councils should not be left to manage the response. “We’ve been waiting for years for this report and now the Victorian government must own the co-ordination of the planning response,” Marsden said. “The longer we wait to act, the greater the economic cost to our communities around the bay.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/climate-change-threatens-to-swamp-suburbs-now-comes-the-brawl-over-what-to-do-about-it-20240111-p5ewnd.html
meher baba: “Brendan Nelson … somehow won the job of leading Boeing’s international division in London.”
He’s a doctor.
Just what Boeing needs right now.
‘Holdenhillbilly says:
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 8:10 am
Councils are demanding the state government drive an urgent response to the impacts of climate change after a new study laid bare the threats to homes, infrastructure and beaches around Port Phillip Bay from sea-level rise and storm surges. The coastal hazard assessment was belatedly released on Thursday – almost six years after work began on the project, and on the heels of a freedom-of-information request from The Age.
It revealed the multibillion-dollar challenges facing bayside communities, warning that the impact of rising sea levels along the 310-kilometre shoreline would be amplified by a combination of stronger tides, bigger waves and changes in the level of groundwater.
Former Hobsons Bay mayor and president of the Association of Bayside Municipalities Jonathon Marsden on Thursday welcomed the release of the data but insisted that councils should not be left to manage the response. “We’ve been waiting for years for this report and now the Victorian government must own the co-ordination of the planning response,” Marsden said. “The longer we wait to act, the greater the economic cost to our communities around the bay.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/climate-change-threatens-to-swamp-suburbs-now-comes-the-brawl-over-what-to-do-about-it-20240111-p5ewnd.html‘
————————————
Any development approvals for the last 30 years are the responsibility of the councils. The science was in. They knew.
Plan A was to let everyone else take the pain of climate action.
Plan B was to go ahead as if climate change consequences were going to happen to someone else.
Plan C is to demand that somebody else pay for the fuck ups consequent to Plan A and Plan B.
The scale of the problem?
Shifting 300-400,000 houses alone is going to cost $200-$400 billion. Just the houses.
Congratulations, William! It is quite remarkable to achieve such endurance in this day and age. Thank you for this wonderful source of polling sanity in an otherwise very confused area of public discourse.
#weatheronPB
The clouds have worn thin,
but still clothe the waking world,
at peace with itself.
Well done WB. PB is an oasis.
‘Holdenhillbilly says:
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 7:52 am
Iran has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Armed men wearing masks reportedly boarded the vessel St Nikolas, close to the Omani port of Sohar, and ordered it to sail to an Iranian port.
Iranian state media, quoting the navy, said the seizure was in retaliation for the ship and oil it had aboard being confiscated by the US last year. The St Nikolas was in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and its intended destination in Turkey.’
————————————-
Ah. Freedumbs of navigation… really, it is all someone else’s problem and we should stay at home. Or not?
The Houthis are up to attack 27 on neutral merchant shipping in international waters.
Iran has just scored one direct attack by capturing a ship and forcing it into an Iranian port. Iran has, of course, done this previously.
Somalia’s pirates, responsible for dozens of attempts on merchant shipping, somehow or other have safe bases in Somalia.
China is routinely threatening to or actually ramming Philippines vessels.
Russia tries to sink merchant shipping in the Black Sea.
Zeihan made a point about this a few years ago. The US, which had guaranteed global freedoms of navigations since 1945, no longer has the sole capacity nor the desire to maintain this. Zeihan’s point was about the negative economic consequences for trade-exposed states such as China.
He might just as well as identified Australia which is also heavily trade exposed. And, yes, there would be a statistician out there who could calculate what all this is already costing Australia. Insurance costs alone would have zoomed.
Zeihan may have had a point in there somewhere.
Guardian, per BK:
‘A Florida school district … decided to remove copies of dictionaries, encyclopedia, and other books because the works included descriptions of “sexual conduct”.’
As I posted on the previous thread, ‘DeSantis’ is almost an anagram of ‘sanitised’.
c@t: “You hit the nail on the head when you called Brendan Nelson a ‘nice guy’. ”
I don’t think I’ve ever called him a “nice guy.” I met him a few times when he was President of the AMA and we were both in our 30s, and I didn’t take to him particularly: he seemed to be pretty full of himself and considered himself to be invincible because of his powerful mentor (Bruce Shepherd).
You are correct that, once he entered politics, he made a career out of trying not to be threatening to anyone. That’s why the Libs made him LOTO: to give themselves time to sort out the factional fight that eventually put Turnbull into the job to be then replaced with Abbott. We might say (with reference to his future career in aviation) that he was just a holding pattern.
I got a bit confused earlier about the next part of Nelson’s career: Rudd initially made him Ambassador to Belgium, and then it was Gillard who later made him head of the War Memorial. Rudd’s decision to give Nelson’ the ambassadorship smacked of condescension and also as a way of sticking it to the Libs: ie, I’m so powerful and invincible that I can see off an opposition leader and then appoint him to work for me.
God only knows why Gillard decided to reward Nelson with yet another sinecure. Am I correct in my recollection that Kim Beazley (or some other important Labor figure) was highly critical of the appointment at the time?
I note that Nelson initially got Andrew Peacock’s old job of “President” of Boeing in Australia and then appears to have been promoted to run its International Division in London. Given that the guy is basically a non-event, he’s certainly had a storied career.
PS: The fact that none of the usual pedants on PB have jumped in to correct me for getting Nelson’s cv wrong earlier indicates how forgettable the guy is.
Congratulations William on 20 years.
I first came upon PB in 2004, when I was self-googling and found William’s cruel but fair comments on my doomed attempt to become an MHR.
“Scott Morrison’s press secretary called Channel Ten the moment Brittany Higgins’ interview with Lisa Wilkinson ended and asked: ‘What the f**k was that?’”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12950339/Scott-Morrisons-press-secretary-call-Channel-Ten-Brittany-Higgins.html
Edit:
‘He proceeded to inform me that the interview had ruined a woman’s life. It wasn’t until some minutes into the call that I realised he was referring to Fiona Brown, not Brittany Higgins.’
Boerwar @ #3 Friday, January 12th, 2024 – 6:32 am
From me as well. A huge achievement.
20 years wow ! Does anyone here have info on Morgan poll last three Fed elections how close it got to the actual result?
Drifting start to the year no circuit breaker by the feds trying to now be a small target but struggling to cut through.Only surprise to me was a good move to out Iran who’s Contiki warship cruises the Red Sea but will not take a shot at the Americans.
Embracing Reinhart, boycotting Woolworths, ‘slapping down’ climate targets. Is 2024 the year where Dutton goes full MAGA?
S. Simpson @ #33 Friday, January 12th, 2024 – 8:44 am
You left out misusing the word ‘woke’ as an attack on fairness and equity. So I’d say that he’s already there.
Thanks WB x20!
Where has that 20 years gone? I reckon I have been looking at, and later contributing to, Poll Bludger from probably just after its inception.
Thank you so much, William, for your efforts.
Then, after Nelson was inevitably ditched as LOTO, Rudd appointed him to the extremely cushy job of running the War Memorial. Rudd was ludicrously kind in terms of leaving Liberal hacks in sinecures and even appointing a few to some. And how did the Liberals reward him for this when they got back into government? By refusing to back his bid to become UN Secretary General. Well done Kevvie!
@meher baba
Kevin Rudd was even angering Labor hierarchy, with the number of Liberal appointments. He also appointed Peter Costello to a position to the future fund board. Whether it was an attempt to get the Liberal voters on board, show he was not ‘partisan’, or mute some of these ex-Liberals from speaking out on the Rudd government. He only manage to alienate sections in Labor considering the Liberals have never shown any ounce of non-partisan discretion. No better example when they mass stacked the Administrative appeals tribunal.
As I mentioned earlier, Mrs Reinhardt* was chosen as the guest of honour for James Ashby’s campaign to win the seat of Keppel for PHON. Apparently Peta Credlin was also an invitee in attendance. So does this potentially signify greater co-operation between the LNP and PHON, perhaps even a semi-formal or formal alliance of some kind in the near future? At least in the hopes of a combined Coalition-PHON majority in the Senate?
We live in interesting times.
*The correct spelling is Rinehart, but no-one in the GOP bothered to pronounce “Kamala” correctly, they put the stress on the second syllable instead of the first, probably deliberately rather than neglectfully. So I am giving Dame Gina’s syntax a similar (and in her case, deserving) amount of respect.
Congratulations William and thank you on the 20th anniversary of PB.
Thanks to all who corrected my post last night. Apparently I got it all wrong – the referendum was a resounding success for which Albo deserves nothing but praise, and any hiccups (of which there was really only one very minor one – barely even worth mentioning – which is that the voters got it wrong) were the fault of the Green voters who voted “Yes” and not Labor voters who voted “No”.
Also, congratulations to William. A remarkable achievement.
Nelson’s political evolution probably gives some insight into his character.
There is a clip somewhere of him yelling into a megaphone to protesters “I have never voted for the Liberal Party”. At the time he was Fed President of the AMA.
The story he told was that he organised a meeting with Bruce Shepherd to protest at the dickhead’s obstruction of Medicare, but he was so impressed by that piece of shit that he joined the AMA and became Shepherd’s protégé.
Of course Shepherd’s other hand picked successor was a sometime rising star of the NSW ALP Right, Karen Phelps.
If your entire political philosophy can be changed by meeting Bruce Shepherd, there isn’t much inside the shell.
20 years is a wonderful achievement indeed. Cheers William!
Thank you William for this site. Like others I find it invaluable (if somewhat frustrating at times).
And thanks BK for curating Dawn Patrol for so long and diligently. Along with William’s blog it completely anchors each day.
Congratulations William Bowe on PBs 20th birthday. Many happy returns of the year and years to come
PP: “Does anyone here have info on Morgan poll last three Fed elections how close it got to the actual result?”
That’s why God gave us Kevin Bonham.
Thanks to all who corrected my post last night. Apparently I got it all wrong – the referendum was a resounding success for which Albo deserves nothing but praise, and any hiccups (of which there was really only one very minor one – barely even worth mentioning – which is that the voters got it wrong) were the fault of the Green voters who voted “Yes” and not Labor voters who voted “No”.
@Player One
Player One you have no credibility on this issue. Because one of your past criticisms is Labor didn’t do a good enough job seeking bipartisanship on this issue. Peter Dutton is Tony Abbott 2.0, who is going to oppose and wreck everything for short term political gain. Dutton was always going to undermine Labor on this and you suggesting that the Liberals would have had an open mind to supporting is laughable.
Your other solution is Labor take off the agenda. Smells like Kevin Rudd pulling the CPRS. Alot of Aboriginal elders would have been dissolution with Labor after Labor promised it at the last federal election. And if Albanese had pulled this, you would have been the first one gloating suggesting Labor stands for nothing which you already do.
”
meher babasays:
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 7:01 am
Scott: I meant that they had been seen off as party leaders. All of them are still around in various capacities, although I have to say I had no idea what Brendan Nelson was doing until I googled his name and discovered that he had somehow won the job of leading Boeing’s international division in London.
”
Well Boeing is going down the drain isn’t it?
And under Nelson War memorial museum leadership BRS was prominently displayed at War memorial. Now they don’t know what to do with that display.
Has Player One started rewriting history already? I guess it figures. That’s the mo of Player One, when you’re caught in an outrageous lie, shift the goalposts and double down.
So, to reiterate, Player One stated brazenly:
Albanese did more damage to Indigenous Australian interests than anyone has done since the Frontier Wars.
So, of course, others here were going to attack that ignorant statement. Why wouldn’t you?
For Pied Piper:
https://kevinbonham.blogspot.com/2022/07/federal-election-2022-pollster.html
https://kevinbonham.blogspot.com/2019/08/2019-federal-election-pollster.html
https://kevinbonham.blogspot.com/2016/09/federal-election-2016-best-and-worst.html
”
Holdenhillbillysays:
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 7:22 am
A massive scandal involving an unassuming television drama, hundreds of postal workers, malfunctioning computer software and countless wrongful convictions for fraud has engulfed British politics. Between 1999 and 2015, an estimated 3500 staff employed by the state-owned Post Office service were accused of fraud, theft or malicious accounting. Almost 700 of them were convicted in courts and some 230 were jailed.
Most were legally compelled to repay the amounts they were accused of fleecing, resulting in bankruptcies, marriage failures, substance abuse.
Fury has now engulfed the Conservative Government and heaped pressure on embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Political commentators are demanding to know who in the government knew about the scandal and the unresolved injustice – and when.
And there are questions about why Mr Sunak approved the awarding of billions of pounds worth of public contracts to Fujitsu, whose bungled product sparked the horrendous situation in the first place.
The Financial Times reports Mr Sunak oversaw £3.6 billion (AU$6.84 billion) worth of tenders during his time as Chancellor and now PM, despite the company’s role in the disastrous mishap being known.
Stunningly, a huge chunk of that expenditure was on the Horizon software itself, with a £36 million (AU$68 million) extension signed just months ago. And it was only after the ITV series aired that he finally made moves to right the wrongs of the postal service.
”
So what can be best the distraction? War ofcourse.
Will UK wage war along with US against Venezuela on behalf of Guyana or is it against Iran?
All people can attack Yemen but only real men can attack Iran.