YouGov: 50-50 (open thread)

Labor takes a knock in a federal poll conducted in the days leading up to the budget.

Ahead of a looming avalanche of post-budget opinion polls, YouGov gets in with a poll whose field work period starting last Friday and ending on the day the budget was delivered on Tuesday. The result is the weakest for Labor out of ten polls since the series began in September, recording a dead heat on two-party preferred, erasing a 52-48 lead four weeks ago. The primary votes are Labor 30% (down three), Coalition 38% (up two), Greens 13% (steady) and One Nation 8% (steady). Anthony Albanese’s approval rating is unchanged at 41% with disapproval up one to 53%, while Peter Dutton is up four on approval to 42% and down one on disapproval to 48%. Albanese’s lead as preferred prime minister is in from 46-34 to 44-37.

The poll also features a question on issue salience which evidently allowed respondents to choose multiple issues they felt the government should focus on. This found housing affordability (up four to 36%) taking the lead over living standards (down three to 34%) since the question was last posed in November. Climate change was down seven points to 13%. A question on national direction finds wrong direction favoured over right direction by 61% to 39%. The sample for the poll was 1506.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

662 comments on “YouGov: 50-50 (open thread)”

Comments Page 1 of 14
1 2 14
  1. Given this poll places housing affordability ahead of living standards, Dutton may be on to something:

    [‘Peter Dutton borrowed a famous takedown in question time on Wednesday to signal his growing confidence that he can turn Anthony Albanese into a one-term wonder at the next election.

    The jousting in parliament had barely begun, on the day after the federal budget, when the opposition leader goaded the prime minister with an old line from a former Labor leader, Paul Keating, about taking his time to destroy an opponent.

    “I want to do you slowly,” Keating told Liberal leader John Hewson, six months before smashing him at the 1993 election. It is a memorable line, and hackneyed from over-use, so Dutton added some spin when he tossed the old rock across the despatch box.

    “To be fair, you’re doing yourself slowly,” Dutton said. The opposition leader seemed utterly sure of his power to drive Albanese out of office. Too sure, perhaps, when the Liberals are such a long way from regaining the blue-ribbon seats they have lost to the teal independents. The remark showed just how cocky the Liberals have become in a few short days since the budget.

    Labor has thrown $24.4 billion at this budget to assure Australians it has a plan to ease their household bills, curb inflation and help the Reserve Bank reduce interest rates by the end of this year. That number is the total impact of policy decisions on the budget bottom line over four years – a reliable measure of the way this budget leads to deeper deficits.’]

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bet-your-house-on-it-the-issues-dutton-wants-as-election-battlegrounds-20240517-p5jeev.html

  2. “The remark showed just how cocky the Liberals have become in a few short days since the budget.”

    The Liberals are always cocky.

    (And pretty much all cock.)

  3. Player One says:
    Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 8:06 pm
    Andrew_Earlwood @ #628 Thursday, May 9th, 2024 – 7:45 pm

    Post the genteel decline in 2PP, post ‘the voice’ referendum things seem to have stabilised.
    Don’t you believe it …

    Cost of Living crisis.

    Migration crisis.

    Climate crisis.

    How long do you think Labor can get away with doing nothing except blaming the previous government?
    —————————————-

    Voters aren’t enjoying the conditions but they understand , it was not the Labor government who started the current interest rate rises , hidden the rise in electricity prices and cost of living

    Yes voters do want to see those things come down , majority would be expecting Labor to show their worth in Labor’s 2nd term

    If Interest rates do get cut while in Labor’s first term does help Labor into the 2nd term , federal lib/nats with no policies which different to the Morrison government , will be in political trouble for a while until there is a cleanout of the lib/nats front bench

  4. One of Australia’s biggest property developers says Peter Dutton’s plan to slash permanent migration as a way to fix acute housing shortages will only make the problem worse, driving away desperately needed skilled migrants while damaging long-term productivity and economic growth.
    “You cannot fix supply by reducing demand,” developer Tim Gurner told AFR Weekend, responding to the key policy announcement in the opposition leader’s budget reply speech.

  5. YouGov UK voting intention (15-16 May)
    Labour: 47% (-1)
    Conservative: 20% (+2)
    Reform UK: 11% (-2)
    Lib Dem: 9% (=)
    Green: 8% (+1)
    SNP: 3% (=)

  6. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    In a stinging assessment, Laura Tingle writes that with his federal budget reply, Peter Dutton is now playing deadly simple but very dangerous politics. On the subject of housing she says that It’s a shame a massively complex issue has been reduced to a populist and misleading piece of political mischief.
    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-18/federal-budget-reply-peter-dutton-simple-dangerous-politics/103862262
    Paul Bongiorno says that there is a view in the higher echelons of the government that Chalmers has positioned Labor well to go to an election sooner rather than later, but the October state election in Queensland is complicating the timing and opportunity.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2024/05/18/old-chalmers-and-new-investments
    Michael Keating describes Labor’s 2024-25 Budget as competent but not outstanding. He says that a more ambitious tax reform agenda is needed to adequately provide all the services that Australians expect.
    https://johnmenadue.com/labors-2024-25-budget-competent-but-not-outstanding/
    Angus Thompson and David Crowe tell us that economists and property industry figures are saying the opposition leader’s pledge to cut migration and ban foreign home buyers could actually make the nation poorer.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/warning-dutton-s-housing-and-migration-plans-little-more-than-rounding-error-20240517-p5jeim.html
    Peter Dutton talks a big game on migration. Paul Karp looks at how his promises stack up.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/17/peter-dutton-federal-budget-reply-2024-liberal-coalition-housing-migration
    First home buyers struggling to save a deposit might welcome the Coalition’s promise to let borrowers tap their super for property, but economists say it will only push up house prices, explains the AFR’s Lucy Dean.
    https://www.afr.com/wealth/superannuation/super-for-housing-could-only-work-for-the-fastest-movers-experts-20240516-p5je4m
    The opposition leader’s catchy “billions for billionaires” has the potential to destroy the PM’s Future Made in Australia before it’s had a chance to begin, writes Peter Hartcher who says Albanese has vision, but Dutton just has a wrecking ball.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-has-a-vision-splendid-can-dutton-the-wrecker-spoil-it-20240517-p5jegl.html
    Peter Dutton’s housing policies look tinged by race, writes Aaron Patrick who says that by cutting immigration Dutton would make Australia a smaller place, economically, with less opportunity for all.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/peter-dutton-s-housing-policies-look-tinged-by-race-20240517-p5jego
    “Another week, another federal budget, another housing announcement or three. Another several billion dollars promised for social housing on top of last year’s clutch of announcements and billions. Yet for all this, the federal government is not really trying to solve the crisis. All it is doing is managing perceptions”, writes Michael Pascoe. He says that the root is the steady abandonment of public and social housing, loading the lowest quintile of Australians, one in five, into a private market they should not be in, that they can’t afford, that has been permanently inflated beyond their reach, and that the government is happy to leave unaddressed.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2024/05/18/the-housing-crisis-wont-be-solved-this
    Labor’s budget lays out the battlelines but Dutton pushes hot-button alternatives, writes Karen Middleton. “So now we have the government’s set of ideas to shape the nation’s economy and instil confidence, and the opposition’s hot-button alternatives. Sit back and watch the politics take care of itself”, she says.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/18/labors-budget-lays-out-the-battlelines-but-dutton-pushes-hot-button-alternatives
    National advocacy group Solutions for Climate Australia called out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for not making a single mention of climate change in his Budget in Reply. The AIMN takes aim.
    https://theaimn.com/opposition-budget-in-reply-peter-dutton-has-no-plan-on-climate-change/
    The budget is a pitch to make investments in green projects the centrepiece of the next federal election – but observers say the plan lacks coherence and that it will take a year to sell that vision, writes Karen Barlow who takes us inside Albanese’s bet on how the future will be made.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2024/05/18/inside-albaneses-bet-how-the-future-will-be-made
    “Australia faces a sharp economic and cultural conflict over the nation’s direction – between the government-driven, renewable energy, progressive vision of Albanese Labor and the Back on Track restoration pitch from Coalition leader Peter Dutton pledging to terminate the Labor experiment”, writes Pontificating Paul Kelly.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/albanese-dutton-make-their-pitch-as-battle-heats-up-for-australias-political-soul/news-story/06d2d8e466b15248dccebcdf29061ef7?amp=
    Chris Uhlmann has found his home at The Australinm writing about the weaponised green dream being a global nightmare.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/weaponised-green-dream-a-global-nightmare/news-story/c055f78a7f9d96c2c7c6d0835f794d78?amp=
    “Critics say Aussies can’t make cheap solar panels. This start-up says they’re wrong”, writes Ben Potter. He says the brains behind SunDrive say Australia has the material, the best resources, and even national security reasons, for keeping solar panel expertise here.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/critics-say-aussies-can-t-make-cheap-solar-panels-this-start-up-says-they-re-wrong-20240516-p5je91
    Labor’s Future Gas Strategy has demonstrated the extent to which the party is prepared to risk losing urban seats to the Greens, with a policy largely dictated by the interests of Western Australia and Queensland, writes Mike Seccombe taking us inside the Labor gas rebellion splitting the party.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/environment/2024/05/18/inside-the-labor-gas-rebellion-splitting-the-party
    Donald Trump’s vendetta against wind turbines is not unusual among plutocrats and tech lords who believe they should have more say, says Paul Krugman.
    https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/trump-shows-the-cost-of-pettiness-among-the-powerful-20240517-p5jejg
    Julia Baird’s contribution today is headlined, “Sorry for the pile-on, ScoMo and Trump, but by Jesus, you send women a warped view of religion”. Another good read from her.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/sorry-for-the-pile-on-scomo-and-trump-but-by-jesus-you-send-women-a-warped-view-of-religion-20240516-p5je62.html
    Supporters of Australia’s richest woman wanted the National Gallery of Australia to remove portraits of her. Now both have received much more exposure than Gina Rinehart bargained for, writes Jacqui Maley who says that life’s best things are priceless, and artistic freedom is one of them.
    https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/by-resisting-exposure-gina-rinehart-painted-a-portrait-of-the-streisand-effect-20240517-p5jegg.html
    Though Gina Rinehart’s philanthropy is negligible compared with her almost unfathomable wealth, she often deploys it effectively in her own interests, the SMH editorial points out.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-downside-of-power-privilege-and-philanthropy-20240517-p5jeje.html
    Here’s Amanda Reade’s weekly media round-up in which the obsession with Laura Chalmers’ outfit gets some air.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/article/2024/may/17/australia-federal-budget-laura-chalmers-tabloids-ntwnfb
    Gerard Henderson dons his well-worn culture warrior outfit to declare that the consequence of the influence of alienated intellectuals has contributed to the weakness of those in authority in the West who increasingly decline to stand up in defence of traditional standards.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/alienated-left-has-a-sorry-history-of-spreading-its-hate/news-story/eebdca0cd36ba193597f0f8f455f877d?amp=
    The internet is modern society’s sewer. It is vital to life but when it breaks, it is a disaster. And for women, it has proved toxic and dangerous, writes John Silvester.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/women-have-more-opportunities-than-ever-yet-one-is-being-killed-every-four-days-20240516-p5je1a.html
    The acting auditor-general is considering an investigation into contracts awarded to a private firm following complications over a tech upgrade for the Meals on Wheels service, reports Rick Morton. He says the saga of Miles Morgan Australia’s involvement in the “Future Fit” turnaround project for Meals on Wheels is emblematic of a broader crisis in aged care, where departmental officials and ministers throw money at the private sector hoping to fix a social problem.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/2024/05/18/exclusive-the-consulting-firm-and-the-meals-wheels-millions
    Three Sydney councillors who voted for a same-sex book ban were from one party. The Our Local Community party has members on a number of councils and claims to ‘provide an active voice in addressing various social issues’.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/18/three-sydney-councillors-who-voted-for-a-same-sex-book-ban-were-from-one-party-whats-behind-it
    Bill Wyman has a look at why bible-bashing Republicans love the sinful Trump.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/why-do-bible-bashing-republicans-love-sinful-trump-because-he-won-t-do-a-nixon-20240516-p5je60.html
    Kate McClymont and Cameron Houston tell us about Dylan Howard, the Australian journalist at the centre of the Trump trial.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/part-of-this-conspiracy-the-australian-journalist-at-the-centre-of-the-trump-trial-20240517-p5jejs.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope


    David Rowe

    Andrew Dyson

    Mark David


    John Shakespeare

    Jon Kudelka

    Matt Golding

    Glen Le Lievre

    Fiona Katauskas

    Mark Knight

    Leak

    From the US








  7. On balance, after the Dutton budget reply, there is no genuine reason for the Australian voting public to separate from an Albanese’s Labor government and install a Dutton LNP government, still riddled with many unanswered and questionable decisions by the previous LNP government.
    The Teals and independents have become the nemesis for the LNP and are not dissimilar to the Greens relationship with Labor.
    Tribalism and a tragic sunset newspaper industry keep the LNP in the game.
    The recent tendencies for some big business to be in agreement with Labor is a giveaway.
    And big business is not demanding Labor forego its traditional obligation to support working Australians.
    The Liberals insistence on maintaining a 20th century mindset will never get them over the line.
    The National remain unwanted ballast for any possible future LNP government.
    Whatever benefits the LNP are expecting from voting patterns moving in a LNP direction in Qld and WA will be extinguished by economics.
    Coal and gas are finished and a timeline is the only unknown.
    Communities depending on coal and gas are just delaying the demise of their communities.
    The plethora of changes for Australia for the the next half century are beyond the imagination of the majority of voters.
    My only rationale for my thinking that the Australian voters are capable of installing a Dutton Joyce LNP government at an election is the fact that the American public installed Trump and have him as a real possibility at the next USA election.
    An exciting future is to be grasped with two hands.

  8. Of course the housing/migration issue is becoming a powerful one for Dutton and the Libs.

    Rudd stuffed the issue up in 2008-09 and this ultimately played a major role in the demise of the R-G~R government.

    Albo came into government determined not to make the same mistakes but he and his ministers have done it again, albeit in different ways to Rudd.

    There is only a small political constituency that supports a stuffed-up migration program: basically a bunch of rich university-educated Anglo-Celtic people whose bleeding hearts yearn for open borders. Plus some vested interests: developers, universities, certain employers, etc

    Most migrants certainly want to see strong borders and an orderly process producing a steady stream of new arrivals, not an uncontrolled flood that makes housing unaffordable.

    A government that looks like it is unable to control its migration program will always be on the nose with voters. The Dems are showing this in the US and now Labor here.

    Immigration should be a minor political issue. It was in the Hawke-Keating years because they had it largely under control. Howard used it as a wedge against Labor, and Labor has worked hard to circumvent that. There isn’t much wrong with Labor’s immigration policies nowadays. This is a question of competency.

    I think it’s fair to say it’s becoming a bit of a crisis. Vested interests can argue that reducing the intake won’t help with the housing problem, but that’s counter-intuitive for most people. Including me. Albo needs to act decisively. Move Giles on for a starter.

  9. Mavis @ 4.45am.
    Really.
    Having watched every minute of Question Time, this week, all I can recall is the Isodope falling further back into his chair as each session continued.
    His performance, had the same body language as his is backbenchers, which appeared to be – “do we really need to be here?”
    It is a pity that the majority of voters don’t get to view Question Time.
    If they did, they would see the total disrespect that the Party of Isodopes have for civility.

  10. Been There says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 12:01 am

    Anyone that supports LIV golf has no morals and failing that, has no knowledge of the nefarious factors behind it!

    An absurd statement. If you’re going to apply that standard to the Saudis then there are plenty of other countries that should be subject to similar condemnation – such as China, as just one example.

    While condemning the ALP Premier of SA and many millions of others who just enjoy watching Golf, have you divested yourself of everything manufactured in China? No? I trust that you likely consider Israel a genocidal monster and have severed all ties to the country- which rules out most smart phones and a shed load of Apps.

  11. goll says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 7:36 am

    Whatever benefits the LNP are expecting from voting patterns moving in a LNP direction in Qld and WA will be extinguished by economics.
    Coal and gas are finished and a timeline is the only unknown.

    Complete rubbish. Both energy sources will be major resources for many decades to come.

    You might be right – in a hundred years. Why would a political party make policy based on an uncertain future in a hundred years?

    Your moral and political certainty are no different to evangelical Christians. Get over yourself.

  12. Chris Ulhman continues to be a hack. Also Pascoe is right; it’s all merely windows dressing until we have a government with the guts to seriously reinvest in government housing construction again. And to realise that with a limited workforce in the construction area, any new mines/gas projects etc will basically drain this limited labor supply dry…

  13. meher baba says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 7:46 am

    Strangely, reducing immigration levels alone won’t fix the housing and rental shortfall. Voters know that. But they also know it isn’t a binary problem – reducing immigration doesn’t mean we can’t build housing. There is a large range of policy settings for Local, State and Federal governments to improve the supply of land for new builds, brown field redevelopment, training of trades, support of new and existing developers and construction companies, logistics support – just a few of the myriad of issues that impact the supply of new builds – which is the key. There is plenty of scope for the revision of the short-stay accommodation market which takes a huge amount of stock out of the long-term rental market.

    Those who claim limiting immigration won’t fix the housing and rental crisis are, for whatever their reasons, supporters of high immigration who don’t really care about the housing crisis.

  14. Lordbain says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 8:33 am And to realise that with a limited workforce in the construction area, any new mines/gas projects etc will basically drain this limited labor supply dry…

    That’s a simplistic analysis. The construction of mines and gas projects is basically an almost seperate workforce to the domestic home building workforce. There is more crossover with the major infrastructure projects than the housing sector. The workforce shortages is not an unsolvable problem and doesn’t just rely upon immigration.


  15. Soharsays:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 7:51 am
    ………..
    ……
    In America, where the student protests for peace began, riot shields have been sent in to squash the chanting and hacky sack sessions – Land of the free and all that.

    https://theshot.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/riot-police.jpeg

    Land of the free gives a lot of lectures to other countries in what way they should behave to become democracies until protests erupt there.
    Then we see jack boots and riot shields. There is a saying “Do as I say but not do as I do”.

  16. BSA Bob says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 8:39 am

    Surely you could have put a sickle and hammer emoji up? A clenched power fist?

    When does the revolution start?

  17. Ven says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 8:48 am

    The right to protest is being removed. The fucktards disrupting the normal business of universities and negatively all the other staff and students (who are paying huge amounts to be there and have acces to all the facilities) need to be moved on.

    It’s not like the issue that they are protesting about is one that directly impacts on them either at the University or in the US.

  18. Australian: The ink had bareley dried on the federal budget papers before talk of an early election spread like wildfire through political circles. And the surge in speculation has seen Queensland’s federal Liberal National Party MPs break out in a cold sweat. Why? The party has only preselected two of its 30 lower house candidates (Maggie Forrest in Ryan and Leon Rebello in McPherson).
    As Chooks reported a few weeks ago, Liberal leader Peter Dutton was one of one of ten Queensland MPs who signed a letter to LNP state director Ben Riley last August calling for their preselections to be held immediately. But preselections are yet to be opened and party HQ is still yet to formally endorse sitting state MPs to run for the October 26 election (a fact that is driving those pollies slightly bonkers). As one federal LNP MP tells Chooks, Tuesday’s budget and threat of an early election has made federal preselections “pressingly urgent”. “We have called on (party HQ) before to act and they haven’t. Now we are in a difficult position because we could be just months out from an election,” they say.
    Labor opened expressions of interest for its federal preselections last month, and has already endorsed its sitting state MPs. Chop chop, Mr Riley.

  19. Morning all. Thanks for the roundup BK. Chalmers did what was needed in the budget. It is other recent Labor policies like expanding gas beyond the withdrawal timeline required for the Paris agreement that has Labor on the nose. And housing.

    “Gerard Henderson dons his well-worn culture warrior outfit to declare that the consequence of the influence of alienated intellectuals has contributed to the weakness of those in authority in the West who increasingly decline to stand up in defence of traditional standards.”
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/alienated-left-has-a-sorry-history-of-spreading-its-hate/news-story/eebdca0cd36ba193597f0f8f455f877d?amp=

    Happily these days few read or care about what Gerard writes. But its still drivel. Henderson does not defend “traditional standards”, merely a bunyip aristocracy. There is no philosophical principle he argues for other than a group of grumpy old men resentful at their loss of power.

    Many of the “woke” standards Henderson criticises have been around since Georgian England, when movements for ending slavery, women’s rights and fair pay first started. In Australia Menzies had a lot of policies well to the left of Henderson. Liberalism was becoming influential by the 1690s at least.

    The sub-editors should have titled his article “Old man shouts at cloud”.

  20. Opposition response to budget has the issues all over the media and the public that labor does not want,migration,housing starts going backwards etcetc.

    Unpopular labor leader locked Gas in for decades in the energy mix last week.Good decision but climate only ranking 13 percent in yougov the whole subject including nuclear looks not as important to voters as the zealots would have you believe.

    Not much talk of a surplus it’s all about migration and housing and cost of living all damaging for fed labor.

    61 percent says going wrong direction err YIPEE! Labor tells the public 10 years of deficits no wonder so many thinks that’s not going in the right direction.Mind you this poll is before that budget announcement.

  21. Seems there may still be some hope for the increasingly compromised Labor party …

    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/environment/2024/05/18/inside-the-labor-gas-rebellion-splitting-the-party

    The Greens are still breathing down Labor’s neck, however – not just in Burns’s seat, but particularly in his seat. Their appeal is based in substantial measure on the concerns of many voters that Labor is not moving fast enough to exit fossil fuels.

    Then last Thursday, Resources Minister Madeleine King released her Future Gas Strategy, a 110-page document strongly redolent of Angus Taylor’s gas-led recovery.

    Josh Burns, Michelle Ananda-Rajah, Kate Thwaites, Ged Kearney, Peter Khalil, Josh Wilson, Sally Sitou, Jerome Laxale, Carina Garland.

    Names worth watching. Especially Ged Kearney.

    All willing to call out Labor’s rotten gas policy for the stinker it is. Yes, some of this may be due to the fact that their are seats under threat from the Greens – but if that is what it takes to change Labor’s dud policy, then good on the Greens.

  22. Insiders Sunday, 19 May

    David Speers joins Laura Tingle, Phil Coorey and Peter Hartcher to discuss cost of living relief in Labor’s third budget, the Future Made in Australia policy, the Opposition’s budget reply, plus pro-Palestine campus protests.

    GUEST Jim Chalmers – Treasurer

  23. Be careful Player 1… people will complain it’s the greens fault next time the libs get voted in… because it’s never labors fault

  24. BK: “Chris Uhlmann has found his home at The Australian writing about the weaponised green dream being a global nightmare.”

    Back when he was the ABC’s political editor, Uhlmann moonlighted with a bizarre article in The Australian, railing against the spectre of ‘cultural Marxism’.

    So yes, he has found his home.

  25. Duttons simplistic points do resonate with the community, at least part of it.
    1. Reduce immigration, we haven’t kept up
    2. Reduce foreign ownership, everyone knows of houses empty owned by someone overseas
    3. Money for billionaires, self explanatory

    All you need to do is ask a few people why things are so shit. At least give the impression you’re listening.

  26. c@tmomma: “Ven, Narendra Modi is no shining example of a leader who is tolerant of dissent.”
    ——————————————————————-
    Ven sure has an unusual view of the world. Which is a good thing really, as it adds richness to the debate on here.

    Given that Ven often posts comments that are anti-authoritarian, anti-religious (well, at least, strongly anti-Christian), and sympathetic to oppressed Muslim people in places like Palestine, I struggle to understand how they can also support the BJP: which is an authoritarian, religiously-oriented and strongly anti-Muslim party.

    I obviously can’t speak for Ven, but I believe what they like the most about the BJP are its economic policies, which they would argue are good for everyone in India, even Muslims. I get their point about this to a certain extent, although I personally think the other aspects of what the BJP stands for make their government a net negative for India.

    Ven: it would be really interesting for you to explain to us how you reconcile your seemingly contradictory opinions on a number of topics. I’m not having a go at you, I’m genuinely interested.

  27. FUBAR (this morning)
    [Your moral and political certainty are no different to evangelical Christians. Get over yourself.]

    [Surely you could have put a sickle and hammer emoji up? A clenched power fist?]

    [When does the revolution start?
    Those who claim limiting immigration won’t fix the housing and rental crisis are, for whatever their reasons, supporters of high immigration who don’t really care about the housing crisis.]

    Unfortunately your quite limited life experiences, steel trap mind and learned prejudices undermine most of your comments.
    Today effort, a managerie, confined within the compound in which you process your narrow outlook, is particularly “a dog’s breakfast”, somewhat more than usual.

    Each of us has but one vote and with every of your repetitious utterances, I’m thankful for a system that largely restricts your types to the margins.

    The fact that you are unable to comprehend the magnitude of technological possibilities in the future, and remain unexcited, fixated on last century’s warlike prejudices, makes you a pitied figure, with your regurgitated nonsense.
    You throw around repetitive bigotry like cadets in a mess.
    Enjoy your one vote!

  28. Majority of voters which Dutton immigration propaganda will get to vote for the federal lib/nats , are the ones who are already voting federal lib/nats , one nation , other lib/nats aligned minor parties
    That will do little to improve the seat numbers for the Lib/nats

  29. One weakness of previous migration schemes was that the migrants felt that the Government had misled them and didn’t provide the promised assistance.
    Otto Niemeyer spoke about in 1930 this re British migrant schemes of the era.
    The Dutch were our most numerous migrant group post ww2, yet many either went home or remigrated to North America.
    I would say Multiculturalism is an attempt to help Migrants feel more comfortable here, but the fact remains that, for whatever reasons, Australia has been perceived as being hostile or unwelcoming for a long time.


  30. C@tmommasays:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 9:38 am
    Ven,
    Narendra Modi is no shining example of a leader who is tolerant of dissent.

    C@tmomma
    I know that you, BW, meherbaba, Lars entropy and others won’t believe when I say India has never been more democratic than now.

    Modi government allowed Farmers protests for more than a year near Delhi, which was blocking main artery of roads to and from Delhi. Those protesters went into Delhi on Republic day an created havoc in Delhi, where many police were injured and not many protestors.(Trudeau gave lectures to India to treat protestors with care and saying protests are democratic rights. Then what does pretty boy Trudeau do. He uses paramilitary forces to disperse Truckie protests, who were blocking the roads. But that is another story)
    Modi government also allowed pro-palestinian protests to go ahead as long as the protestors.
    Opposition parties in India regularly call Bharat Bandhs(i.e. to stop daily life of people and forcing them to sit at home).
    What is a Bandh?
    It is a General strike

    More Muslims and Sikhs were killed during Congress governments protests.

    Example of Bandh
    What is closed in Bharat bandh?

    Transportation, agricultural activities, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) rural works, private offices, village shops, and rural industrial and service sector institutions are expected to remain closed due to farmer unions’ nationwide strike on Friday, February 16.16 Feb 2024

    https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bharat-bandh-farmers-nationwide-protest-on-february-16-will-banks-offices-remain-closed-tomorrow-101707971055343.html

  31. Anyone that supports LIV golf has no morals and failing that, has no knowledge of the nefarious factors behind it!
    ——————————
    It is interesting to me. I’ve posted on this before. Since, I’ve spoken to strong supporters of it.

    I like the concept. I like the disruption to the previous system. I am confused that the driving force to bringing alcohol and fun to the game is a wealth fund of an ultra conservative Islamic government.

    But yeah, the cruel punishments handed to women who breach insanely strict, sexist, dark age laws seem so egregious and the link to that government so direct you’d hope people think twice before supporting it.

    I kinda get the average punter going. They are supporting the disruption. They are supporting the idea of golf played and attended in a different, modern, enjoyable way. And many of them do think twice. They (from here, “they” = at least some) care about what is happening in the Saudi Kingdom. But they don’t care that they bankroll the events. For them, the events don’t wash the hands of the Saudi gov. They see it as a win for the spectator, but no corresponding marketing boost for the Kingdom. They certainly don’t see their attendance as a sign they support them.

    As for the golfers…. I am less clear about them. As for Norman… I’ve no time for him bc I have no doubt he could have got this up without Saudi money. My guess, Norman is all greed and no morals.

  32. Badthinker: “One weakness of previous migration schemes was that the migrants felt that the Government had misled them and didn’t provide the promised assistance.
    Otto Niemeyer spoke about in 1930 this re British migrant schemes of the era.The Dutch were our most numerous migrant group post ww2, yet many either went home or remigrated to North America.
    I would say Multiculturalism is an attempt to help Migrants feel more comfortable here, but the fact remains that, for whatever reasons, Australia has been perceived as being hostile or unwelcoming for a long time.”
    ————————————————————————-
    Well, that’s an extremely unusual perspective. The consensus among (mostly) left-leaning academics both here and abroad is that Australia is one of the most successful multicultural societies in human history, and that migrants have generally prospered here. The fact that some whinging Poms felt like they’d been sold a pup doesn’t reflect the general experience: and many of the whinging Poms who returned to Britain in a huff eventually came back when they realised how good things were here.

    As for the Dutch, the Census shows around 400,000 people of Dutch ancestry in Australia today, and that’s probably a significant underestimate given that around a third of Census respondents either nominate “Australian” as their ethnicity (which isn’t very helpful) or else opt not to identify their ancestry at all.

  33. Badthinker says:
    Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 10:24 am the fact remains that, for whatever reasons, Australia has been perceived as being hostile or unwelcoming for a long time.

    … apart from the fact that we are one of most successful, by almost any measure you want to use, immigrant countries in the world.

  34. Isn’t it wonderful how a superb work of art can capture the imagination of the whole of Australia, despite Boerwar’s opinion.

  35. How pissed off would you be as an Australian University student paying for the privilege to attend a University and other students are selfishly blocking your access to the facilities that you are paying for and have a right to use and the University Administration is doing nothing to protect your rights. I’d be complaining to the Consumer Protection authorities and the ACCC.

  36. TK, I think Norman and many of the international players have long wanted the golf Tour to be more like Tennis, and less like the closed shop of self interest the current tours are (especially the US PGA). While Norman may not be your cup of tea, I think it needed something with the clout of the Saudis to break through. And as you say, sports washing if that’s what we want to call it is a very expensive way to actually influence very few people, as most don’t care about or even know about the background.

  37. I stuck with Norman through thick and the all too much thin. Although he still did alright for himself financially.
    Can’t stand him now and the hypocrisy of a guy supporting a football atmosphere around greens when he used to pull away from a putt because somebody halfway down the fairway scratched their bum.

  38. When it comes to golf and disruption, Norman is definitely my cup of tea. I like entrepreneurs/change makers. I am fairly forgiving of their faults as I think they come as a package.

    I just think he jumped on board with the Saudis too easily. One might say it was more than just easy.

  39. Team Katich @ #47 Saturday, May 18th, 2024 – 11:13 am

    When it comes to golf and disruption, Norman is definitely my cup of tea. I like entrepreneurs/change makers. I am fairly forgiving of their faults as I think they come as a package.

    I just think he jumped on board with the Saudis too easily. One might say it was more than just easy.

    I’m sure the Saudis were easily able to win his backing. $$$$$

    Wealthy people never seem to have enough money.

  40. meher baba,
    As you are around, this is for you. I hope it interests you. You piqued my interest when you speculated about American’s relationship with tea after they dumped it in the harbour. So I found this out:

    ‘America’s merchant adventurers built and owned the finest clipper ships in the world. The first real clipper ship was the ‘Ann McKim’, built for Isaac McKim in 1832. When the British ended the East India Company monopoly in the 1830s, the US began a China trade with faster and more capacious ships, and competition between the two countries grew. Repeal of the British Navigation in 1849, allowed American ships to load Asian tea for British markets. American fortunes were made carrying furs from the Pacific Northwest to China, where they were traded for tea. A premium was paid in England for the earliest arriving ship with the season’s new teas from China. The first American ship to reach the docks was the ‘Oriental’ arriving from Hong Kong in only 97 days, creating a sensation. The 25 years of the clipper ended when the Suez Canal provided a shorter route through the Mediterranean. It was a romantic era in America’s maritime history and another chapter of tea’s long and important story in the world economy. ‘

Comments Page 1 of 14
1 2 14

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *