Following on from the Sunday night polling avalanche, the two pollsters that usually report at this time: the weekly Roy Morgan and the fortnightly Essential Research. Courtesy of The Guardian, Essential Research has Labor up a point to 30%, the Coalition down one to 34% and the Greens steady on 12%, with undecided at 5%. The pollster’s 2PP+ measure has Labor poking its nose in front, up one to 48% with the Coalition steady at 47% and the remainder undecided, without fundamentally upsetting a fine balance that has prevailed in this series for nearly a year.
A semi-regular question on leadership attributes records improvements for Anthony Albanese since February, sustantially so for “out of touch with ordinary people” (down six to 57%), and marginally for decisiveness (up one to 44%) and trustworthiness (up two to 44%). Peter Dutton is up two on out-of-touch to 57%, down three on decisive to 53%, and down one on trustworthy to 41%. In defiance of broadly improving signs for the government, the regular question on national mood finds only 32% rating the country as headed in the right direction, down three on a fortnight ago, with the contrary view up four to 52%. The sample for the poll was 1100 – field work dates and other results will have to wait for the publication of the full report later today.
Roy Morgan’s weekly federal poll series maintains its recent run of strong results for Labor, who lead 53-47 on the headline respondent-allocated two-party measure and 53.5-46.5 based on 2022 election preference flows. The primary votes are Labor 32% (down half), Coalition 35% (down half), Greens 13% (up half) and One Nation 5.5% (up one-and-a-half). The poll was conducted Monday to Sunday from a sample of 1377.
Nine Newspapers also has further results from yesterday’s Resolve Strategic poll showing 60% now believe Donald Trump’s election win has been bad for Australia, up from 40% immediately after his election in November, with only 15% rating it good, down from 29%. Numerous further questions point to a weakening of confidence in the alliance: 34% agreed that Australia should pause or withdraw from the nuclear submarines deal, with 25% disagreeing; 42% agreed Australia should rethink plans to host US nuclear submarines at Australian basis, with 24% disagreeing; 50% said Australia should avoid taking sides in a conflict between the US and China, with 18% disagreeing; 46% felt Australia should retaliate against US tariffs, with 18% disagreeing. Only 35% were clear that China (on 31%) and Russia (on 4%) posed the greater threat to Australia: 17% rated the United States the bigger threat, and 38% opted for “all equally”.
Today’s Dutton miss-step is politicking on the SRL.
What will tomorrow’s miss-step be …?
Good morning. I’ll start with responding a reply to a couple of comments on subs from last night after I went to bed on the previous thread:
@imacca:
“AIP?? RAN always seems averse to that for some reason. But certainly ditch lead acid and use as many LiFePo as can be jammed in.”
_____
Actually, the most modern german AIP subs – the Singaporean Navy Type 218SG – uses a combination of lead-acid and lithium batteries. The lead-acid batteries form the main battery array and the Lithium ones are used in combination with their AIP system. The thinking being that this combination provides the best of stability and safety AND range/endurance enhancement. Apparently these subs can stay submerged between snorts for up to 45 days and can combine short speed bursts by using the Lithium batteries without the need to snort shortly thereafter, as the lithium batteries will be recharged by the AIP system whilst the sub goes back into stealth mode.
@Socrates:
“From a technical viewpoint AIP does not work well on long range subs. It needs a lot of space to fit it in. That leaves less room for things like fuel tanks. So if you want your diesel sub to have long range (as Australia does) AIP doesn’t help.
AIP is really good for other things like stealth and speed in short bursts but not range. Sub design is complex and involves compromise. There is no sub that is “best” at everything.”
_____
Actually, Naval Group have now created an AIP system specifically for oceanic conventional powered subs. It is a fuel cell which uses an oxygen tank and the subs existing diesel reserves only (so no oxidiser agent is needed). Like tge german subs it can be used in combination with lithium batteries without the- and it seems the philosophy is not to replace the main lead-acid array, but to mould lithium batteries into any available voids to use in combo with the AIP system. For a sub the size of a Barracuda baseline design (97-99.7 metres) it would provide up to 23 days endurance between snorts. The whole unit is modular in design (6M long x approx. 1.2M wide x approx. 1.6M tall). So, if if one of the modules that comprised the Attack Class design was extended in length by about 3M (taking the sub to ~100M in total) an additional ~75 cubic metres of usable space would be opened up, thus allowing for some plant and equipment on the current design to be repositioned to allow for the placement of the 12 cubic metres AIP system, plus additional Lithium batteries.
https://youtu.be/TgIWbOtvr3o?si=yjPbvL57dwlt3syT
@Socrates (and Fred):
“Socrates says:
Monday, March 31, 2025 at 10:07 pm
Frednk
“ So perhaps we should buy two type, one for coastal defense, and one for blue water wandering.
If we don’t get the wanderer, no big deal we still have the defense.”
——————————————-
Fair question but I don’t think so. 2 reasons.
1. Scale – Australia is big. Our patrol range is huge. The entire Baltic is less distance than travelling from FBE (Sydney) to FBW (Perth). We need long range for local missions, forgetting the South China Sea or Taiwan Strait.
2. Cost – Sub maintenance is costly. Over the life of a sub you spend 1.5 to 2 x the construction cost on maintenance. So you want to keep maintenance simple. One class is highly desirable.”
_________
Coastal defence is a disaster in the making as a defence philosophy for Australia. In fact it makes the same mistake that the Greens current defence policy makes: namely to conflate the “Defence of Australia” doctrine first identified in the Dibb Report back in 1986 with “Defence IN Australia”. In both cases it represents an abandonment of the one true great strategic asset that Australia poses – we are so damn far away from any potential adversary AND what’s more, in order for any such adversary to directly threaten the Australian mainland it would have to traverse not just those vast distances, but a series of strategic pinch-points along the way: each of which represents a perfect ambush zone for a submarine.
In short, we don’t want to effectively invite an enemy to Australia before fighting them, we want the ability to sink them hundreds – and indeed in the era of long range cruise and naval ballistic missiles – thousands of miles away. Long range subs – whether they be conventional or nuclear powered gives Australia a capability to leverage our natural strategic assets into a genuine ‘Echidna Strategy’ /“Anti-Access and Area Denial” military doctrine.
However – don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Australia could ultimately defeat the PLA-N if the ChiComms were determined to single us out – to the exclusion of all other adversaries – to work us over, BUT the other part of the echidna strategy relies upon diplomacy to make us unthreatening and also stronger via regional alliances (ie., finding security IN Asia, not from Asia).
If we apply both aspects of the echidna strategy, we would pose a formidable challenge to the ChiComms, and given our generally unthreatening natural (and strong regional alliances in SE Asia – so Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are especially important relationships for us) and the South Pacific (so France is the obvious key ally there) then the PLA-N will not bother … unless we fuck all that up via stupid and threatening follies like AUKUS, Freedumbs of Navigation exercises and generally signing onto America’s ‘contain China’ delusions. …
One last word: – for what its worth, and oceanic sub like thge barracuda is entirely capable of doing coastal defence work anyways. So there would be no point in getting two completely different designs on that account.
Nicolette Boele, the teal independent challenger for the Liberal-held seat of Bradfield, has apologised for reportedly making a sexualised comment to a 19-year-old apprentice hairdresser.
Ms Boele was banned from her local hairdresser after she allegedly told the teenage female staff member after having her hair washed, “that was amazing, and I didn’t even have sex with you”, 2GB’s Ben Fordham reported on Tuesday morning. Fordham said Ms Boele has been banned from the salon as a result of the exchange.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bradfield-teal-nicolette-boele-allegedly-banned-from-hairdresser-for-sexualised-joke/news-story/bb05f36fb7b23c53bd95107f94e7ceea?amp
”
C@tmommasays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 6:19 am
Good Morning! I started the day with a laugh. I read last night’s posts that came in after I went to bed and I found out…pied piper used to be a Public Servant!
”
I don’t believe that about PP.
Socrates @ #48 Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 – 9:16 am
Just normal behaviour for his type.
I spend a fair bit of time in the electorates of Chisholm and Deakin. I would guess that the Liberal candidates in both electorates will probably not be mentioning Dutton’s plan to ‘defund’ the Suburban Rail Loop. Especially in Chisholm which Labor currently hold.
Has Nuckleer Pete visited the major cities of the World to witness the amenity which is underground rail?
These projects were and are being attended on the basis of the future needs of society
This is the responsibility of government
And with the disallowing of work from home, also a Nuckleer Pete policy, more citizens will be commuting to and from work so the need to invest into public transport will increase
Not that it will impact Nuckleer Pete, already measuring the curtains for his tenure at a Sydney waterside mansion (maintained as the residence for visiting foreign leaders)
”
Socratessays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:00 am
Morning all. Some big Asian political news: China, Japan and Korea have announced a joint trade agreement to oppose US tariffs.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-china-japan-agree-promote-regional-trade-trump-tariffs-loom-2025-03-30/
So our three biggest trading partners are now opposed to the USA under Trump.
AUKUS is requiring us to spend $368 billion supporting USA contain China. Why?
Whoever wins this election will have to come up with a new Australian foreign policy and defense policy that deals with China, Japan, Korea and USA
”
Three of the 4 Asian gaints have joined hands in trade against USA. That is huge.
India and Japan have excellent relationship.
I think Trump is not interested in QUAD.
Japan and South Korea are supposed to be the closest allies of USA in Asia.
Now they joined hands with China. This is huge.
Japanese Foreign minister (I think you reported) reportedly said ” let us hope that we get independence”
For all it’s faults, the Suburban Rail Loop has been described as ‘visionary’ for Melbourne. I guess being visionless is why Dutton is proposing to scrap it.
”
sprocket_says:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:14 am
Polymarket has Albo opening up an 18 point lead.
Might be tempted to have a flutter on Dutton at these odds.
https://polymarket.com/event/next-prime-minister-of-australia?tid=1743451949873
”
Where is Centre to say Whooska!
Moving on to the vexed Hunter Class.
@Fred, last night (previous thread):
“Re shipyard at ASC.
If you look at the video, the build method has changed. The gear shown has only become available in the last 25 years. It’s big and it would have all been new. If that is what was installed they really are set up to build ships.
I have been involved in this short of shit in another industry. Cutting and bending steal using laser cutters and programmable benders makes for amazing accuracy and repeatability but the upfront costs are enormous. You have to 3D model the whole thing and then from this create the programs to cut and bend the steal.
20 years ago you could buy a reasonable brake press for $100,000, they one we brought cost $500,000. The difference, the $500,000 gave you the same result every time, but you have to have the software and engineering behind it to make it work.
If they have started building them, cancelling now would be stupid, they are into the cooky cutting bit, the cheap bit. I bet the cost savings going from 9 to 6 was minimal.”
_____
Assuming you are right Fred, the for the life of me I cannot see why the government doesn’t direct BAE Systems to proceed directly to the proposed ‘missile frigate’ variant of the Hunter: which sees the multi-mission module ditched in favour of another VLS of either 16, 32 or 48 cells.
Under this proposal the frigate would lose some – or all of its ASW capability as well (which sort of defeats the entire purpose of why it was chosen in the first place). However, in my view if a second 32 cell VLS was selected it would still be able to retain its AWS capability (including the towed array), just not the multi-mission module (which is sort of redundant now anyways, given the new ‘standard frigate’ program).
The real problem with doing this switch now is that it would delay the roll out of teh Hunter bay. Few years. However if the government – and navy – simply swallowed its collective pride – and ordered a further 3 Hobart Class AWDs ‘off the shelf’ for $6 billion incls. from Spain that would not matter.
In fact, I can foresee that the time-frames for the rollout of the standard frigate contract will blow out as the navy chases the Japanese Mogami design down a rabbithole: first selecting it and THEN insisting on extensive ‘Australian modifications’ which will make that 2030 deadline for the first frigate into service unachievable. If however we had 3 new Hobarts entering service in next 4-6 years, delays to the ‘standard frigate’ and Hunter Class would not matter much.
The US and Australia also export a lot of the same things and therefore share a similar customer-base in a lot of export industries.
US tariffs on Australia will only impact exports to the US – how much is actually debateable anyway since many of the tariffs are applying to everyone equally. So our current US customers will be hit with a tax if they import from us, but also if they import from anyone else. Meaning the only business we’ll lose is if they switch to domestic product which a lot might, but not all.
However, there is a much larger world of potential customers out there to export to outside the US anyway. So where we directly compete with the US for other international customers, our form of retaliation – which shouldn’t be to impose tariffs on the US because that is dumb and only increases prices for Australian businesses & consumers (why repeat Trump’s idiotic mistake) – should be to actively seek out their customers and undercut them to steal their business. Australia should actively try to cripple the US export trade in any industry we compete in. Now’s the time to capitalise on anti-America sentiment around the world.
”
phoenixREDsays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:18 am
‘It took just two months’: Analysts trash Trump as U.S. allies unite with China
Reuters reported Monday that one-time American allies Japan and South Korea joined forces with China to “jointly respond” to tariffs imposed by the United States under President Donald Trump.
Who needs Japan and South Korea on our side when Europe and Canada love us?” sarcastically asked former Homeland Security appointee Eric Columbus.
“It took just two months to drive two of our closest and most important allies into China’s arms,” said commentator Catherine Rampell.
The investor account Citrini remarked, “Do you know what a cosmic-level a–hole one has to be in order to get CHINA, SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN TO AGREE ON SOMETHING?!”
”
I repeat “The investor account Citrini remarked, “Do you know what a cosmic-level a–hole one has to be in order to get CHINA, SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN TO AGREE ON SOMETHING?!” ”
As far as I know those 3 countries never agreed to something in their history.
Please understand they will oppose USA. I can’t get my head around that part.
Like Bart Simpson said in ‘The Simpsons’ “I see it but I don’t believe it” like PP being Public Servant.
AE
Thanks, I was not aware of that new approach to AIP by Naval Group. If that is working now then I withdraw my objections to AIP subs for the RAN. Obviously we both agree that long range is still essential, which rules out many options for the RAN.
I would still like to see Australia build the French sub (SSN or SAsK) as first preference for many reasons. I am just concerned that if we don’t hurry up Canada will sign a contract and we will be left without any good option.
Another error of judgement from Dutton banging on about living in Kirribilli. Has a touch of Mar-A-Lago about it. Australians struggling with cost of living and old mate is moving into the Harbourside Mansion at taxpayers’ expense. It’s one thing to bash Canberra, quite another to expect taxpayers to pay millions to fly you from Canberra to Sydney every week at $7,000 an hour because you want to live next door to Malcolm Turnbull.
”
Socratessays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:22 am
Temu Trump knows how to win hearts and minds in Victoria. Threaten their funding!
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/dutton-pledges-to-axe-2-2-billion-from-suburban-rail-loop-hoax-20250331-p5lnzg.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true
”
Yeah! I was concerned how ALP can get out of the political hole in Victoria. Temu Trump has provided that opportunity.
dave
Don’t you think that will drive up the vote for ALP?
Cat
Someone made the point that for many years a Melbourne Airport Rail Line was put in the ‘too hard basket’ – now that it’s finally in the works everyone seems to say “This should have been built decades ago”.
Also remembering that Liberal Premier Hamer was accused of a huge folly when he instigated the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop, which has been an integral part of our rail system now for decades.
Dems love China like Albanese does they prefer them because they hate the average Australian and American.Woke globalists.
Deplorables they call the average Aussie and American.
USA getting ripped off on trade good on them for retribution!
Trade needs to be fair.
”
sprocket_says:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:35 am
John Black is a former ALP Queensland Senator, and now an ‘election analyst’ for the AFR.
”
Is Centre ‘John Black’?
Kirribilli Dutton
I believe most people would have some sympathy for people who already live in Sydney staying in Sydney (such as Scott Morrison with two daughters at school in Sydney) if they become PM, but I feel many people would feel differently about someone from another state making that decision – it is a different ‘vibe’.
The aggressive campaign against the Suburban Rail Loop especially by The Age has been something that has really bothered me.
All the talk of it “stacking up” and return on investment is flawed for one thing because it’s only looking at the financial business case, as well as only viewing it through the lens of a transport project.
It’s much more than that though, it’s a major transformation of how the city arranges itself and is actually an integral part of Melbourne’s HOUSING policy – something that bodies like Infrastructure Australia are not viewing it as.
Metropolitan Melbourne average 1.8 cars per household. That is way too high. People need to drive for so many daily activities: commuting, shopping, dropping kids at school, etc. None of these are things that in a great city, anybody should ever need to drive for.
To not only grow sustainably into the future, but even just to improve quality of life now by reducing congestion and time spent in traffic & commuting, our primary goal should be dramatically reducing:
– # Cars per household;
– % of trips made by car
This is not to say we should ban cars, or that households shouldn’t have a car for the times they need it, or that certain occupations (trades, deliveries, in-home nursing, etc) don’t require a car for work. But for those people or times where driving is necessary, the reduction in traffic by removing the vast majority of unnecessary car trips will actually also have a much bigger benefit than adding lanes to freeways.
We can only achieve this by not only investing in great public transport infrastructure – and every great train system in the world has loop lines with connections outside the city centre – but also rearrange how we do housing and plan our cities. In a large metropolis, there’s no excuse to be building housing more than a 15 minute walk from a train station; and the land use around those train stations should be activated by lively, walkable mixed-use zoning with dense housing, businesses and services.
Density then trails off into the backstreets a few blocks from those station/shopping areas so you can still have your quiet, suburban house in a leafy street but no more than 15 minutes walk from the station, before gently densifying again to the next station.
If this sounds unrealistic, you don’t even need to look for international examples. Just look at how our own inner-to-middle suburbs (think Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Bentleigh in the southeast or Northcote, Thornbury, Preston in the north) were built with stations less than 1km apart, in the middle of busy shopping strips, but still with plenty of detached houses in quiet streets within walking distance.
Yeah those suburbs are expensive and very desirable now, but that is because we stopped building like that so there aren’t enough of them, and demand outweighs supply for areas like that because most people want that accessibility.
This is where SRL will be so valuable in a way that the ‘business case’ and Infrastructure Australia reports, which view it only as a transport project, are missing the point. This isn’t just about “But how many people need to get a train from Cheltenham to Box Hill?”, it’s an opportunity to fix decades of bad planning, and once again arrange our city in a way that has an abundance of housing options within walking distance of PT. The way all the great cities in the world do, and the way even we once did (up until about the 1940s) ourselves.
C@tmommasays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:38 am
For all it’s faults, the Suburban Rail Loop has been described as ‘visionary’ for Melbourne. I guess being visionless is why Dutton is proposing to scrap it.
_____________________
Infrastructure Australia are struggling to see the vision.
Basically no more money until they can see if it stacks up.
Good stuff, Trent!
The first phase of the SRL is well advanced – the works most obvious along its course from Cheltenham to Box Hill intersecting with existing rail lines which access the City
The scale of the project can be viewed at Wikipedia
To withdraw federal funding from this in course of construction project is purely political bastardisation
Further, this project has been taken to successive State elections, won by landslide margins by the ALP
There are descriptions on this site that Labor builds and the Tories destroy
This Tory announcement gives credibility to such description
And will the alternate project be the roadway under Fitzroy, a project never taken to an election except by Labor opposing it in preference to the orbital road now nearing completion from the Eastern Freeway to the Western suburbs?
Welcome Kirribilli Dutton. Reminds me of Kirribilli Removalist in the 2007 election who was rather fanatically focussed on getting rid of John Howard.
Dutton has set himself up for a harbour of pain over the next few weeks with his Kirribilli comments. Bring it on.
Trentsays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:58 am
_____________________
Straight from Labor HQ.
Well done.
What would those dick heads at Infrastructure Australia know about Infrastructure projects.
C@t at 0938
Re: SRL I totally agree. The first section Cheltenham to Box Hill traverses through suburbs that have a very high proportion of residents from Asia which have come from very high-density cities with good public transport.
Box Hill right in the heart of Chisholm is the current northern terminus of stage 1 and is one of the busiest public transport hubs in Melbourne with heavy loads on the train, tram and even the local bus network with many passengers being from Asian countries.
A friend of mine is born and bred in Hong Kong and relocated to Australia to work in academia as a town planner and he noted that when you are brought up in a city with trams, trains and buses on every corner running 24/7 why would you need a car?
I see Sukkar is out promoting another failed housing affordability policy from the past.
I say failed, but perhaps I have it wrong. Perhaps the lib’s policy is designed to continue the transfer of wealth from the younger generations to the boomers?
Trentsays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:58 am
The aggressive campaign against the Suburban Rail Loop especially by The Age has been something that has really bothered me
———–
The Age have opposed nearly every rail project in Victoria’s history.
”
Peter Csays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:12 am
So now the genius which is Nuckleer Pete is promoting the writing of “riskier” loans to get people into housing
”
Pete C
Please note that William Bowe refrained you from using “Nuckleer Pete”.
“Actually, the most modern german AIP subs – the Singaporean Navy Type 218SG – uses a combination of lead-acid and lithium batteries. ”
Ta for that AE. Makes some sense. Optimization of the over-all unit by using components suited to different roles ……… and really, there are people out there who know a lot more about engineering these systems than i do. 🙂 Well …… I hope so.
A train from the airport would be handy – plus using a debit/ credit card on pt.
Victoria’s state debt will soon be $180 billion and they are sacking public servants in their thousands labor to control the interest payments on the debt.
So more debt means less public servants so keep spending labor!
The thing that struck me about Dutton’s Kirribilli House comments – and contemplating Howard, Abbott, Morrison using it as their home – and something I haven’t really seen discussed in the media, is the conceptual role of Canberra and what it means to basically go “yeah, nah” to it as the PM.
Where the new capital should be was a significant point of discussion at the time of Federation of course, and apart from the various potential practical issues with making it harder to attack militarily from the coast, the main issue was to not make the capital be Sydney or Melbourne – the capital was intended to not be aligned with any of the states so as to avoid bias/parochialism/one-eyed support, whatever. It was deliberately created to be distinct from the other power centres of Australia so as to be able to be a centre for all of Australia.
Now I get that exactly where the PM “lives” is a fairly minor detail in all of this, but I still think it’s symbolically important. They shouldn’t be the PM for Sydney, they should be the PM for Australia and live in the capital. The Howard, Morrison, and potentially Dutton preference to have a cushier life while saying effectively ‘f you’ to the whole reason for Canberra’s existence is … an interesting position for so-called conservatives to take. And of course I fully understand that Canberra-bashing of all forms is basically obligatory these days, and was an easy target for Dutton so of course he took a shot, but still.
@Taylormade: Well Australia has never exactly been world leading in its approach to urban planning. It has been car centric and up until very recently, supported outward sprawl.
There are many organisations and bodies with expertise in urban planning more broadly – not just infrastructure & transport – who support the Suburban Rail Loop project as an integral part of a broader densification & housing reform strategy.
Also, I am certainly not one who supports all of Labor’s decisions around infrastructure and planning.
I’m only lukewarm on Northeast Link (although it is a better option than the East-West Link was) and think other projects such as Doncaster Rail would have been more valuable. I feel like the West Gate Tunnel is only going to end up congested after a short time and the full benefits won’t be realised, unless it’s coupled with a strategy to massively decrease car traffic from the west, not just add a new road to put it on.
And even when it comes to the SRL, I think the sequencing could have been better, especially politically.
SRL East does make sense because areas like Box Hill & Glen Waverley in particular are well advanced in terms of being large job hubs and the new stations address gaps where there are major universities and hospitals. But rather than sequence it to have SRL East first, then SRL North, then finish with SRL West last, SRL West is actually the simplest and cheapest part to build and should be prioritised.
Especially since the Airport Rail is actually a PART OF SRL (something the Liberals are conveniently ignoring). So it would make sense to also build SRL West which is through a far less developed area, but would link Werribee to the major transport hub in Sunshine, and onto the airport, which upon completion would only leave SRL North (between Airport & Box Hill) as the remaining gap. They could even phase that part by just doing the Box Hill to Doncaster extension in isolation as the next stage, since Doncaster desperately needs rail.
That area in the west is really underserviced for PT and they could identify a couple of spots for stations between Werribee and Sunshine too that might help link it up to what are currently only V-Line services.
So, in reference to ‘Straight from Labor HQ’, no I don’t fully support all of Labor’s infrastructure projects or some of their decisions around sequencing and priorities, but I absolutely think if we’re going to be a world class city with world class public transport, we can’t have 16 train lines that only converge in the inner city. We need suburban connections as well, and we need more suburban density around those connections.
Dandy Murray. Libs cannot escape the result of their housing and tax policies since Howard has shifted massive wealth to boomers.
The ALP hasn’t helped by failing to provide a credible response/alternative. Staying quiet and not pulling apart these policies and then coming out with the 2019 policies without doing the necessary political work has given the Libs a hand.
The Greens trying short term populist attacks on housing and related tax issues hasn’t helped much either.
Housing needs consistent government focus and control of various levers to ensure good social outcomes, not creating markets that benefit the already wealthy.
Nuckleer Pete takes me back to Kennett selling off public assets including our suburban rail network
One of the purchasers (the Northern lines) reneged on the Terms and Conditions of the Contract most noticeably maintenance of the asset
The result was the State government buying out the Contract at a negotiated amount then having to invest into the infrastructure to bring it up to standard
The Tories attempted to play politics with this also leaving Victoria alone to fund the rehabilitation of that rail system to community standard
Kennett was consigned to history as have been the Tories in Victoria absent one disastrous term in government, changing leaders because they were seen to be a do nothing government
Nuckleer Pete has no appreciation of Victorian culture nor history
And Spence, those policies taken to the electorate were carefully considered and correlated – they were not seat of the pants stuff
They were rejected by the Australian public
In putting fault equally with the ALP you misrepresent including for how many years since Howard have the ALP governed nationally – then confronted by the GFC and now by rising inflation?
Ven @ #67 Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 – 9:55 am
No, John Black is not obviously thick.
”
Rocket Rocketsays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:56 am
Kirribilli Dutton
I believe most people would have some sympathy for people who already live in Sydney staying in Sydney (such as Scott Morrison with two daughters at school in Sydney) if they become PM, but I feel many people would feel differently about someone from another state making that decision – it is a different ‘vibe’.
”
Very good point Rocket.
Temu Trump is implying that Sydney is better than Brisbane, which it is but that is another story.
A Queenslander cannot say Sydney is better than Brisbane. When a Queenslander, who becomes PM, doesn’t live in Lodge, Canberra, should live in Brisbane and not in Sydney.
Jeff didn’t sell the rail network but privatised the running of it but kept the department in control.
Spence and/or Socrates – as our SA based posters – what’s your read of the situation in Sturt? I see Verity Cooper is running a Teal campaign and James Stevens has hardly been an inspiring member. I wonder how the Cooper siblings are getting on these days, with brother Tim being a long time Liberal stalwart! I sense a real 3 way contest, given that Labor has pockets of strong support in Sturt.
”
Trentsays:
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 9:58 am
The aggressive campaign against the Suburban Rail Loop especially by The Age has been something that has really bothered me.
”
Well said Trent. You are a very thoughtful individual. (Claps emoji)
Betfair today
Bashing Canberra is one thing, bashing it while asking taxpayers to fly you in and out of a Harbourside Mansion at a couple of million a year in a cost of living crisis while banging on about waste is quite another. Where is our Lady of DOGE, Senator Price these days.
Outsider
I don’t know. I have no friends here in Sturt who claim to be Liberal party members. James Stevens is all but invisible as he has been for six years. And he sits on a 0.5% margin.
Verity Cooper should peel yet more votes off Liberal Stevens, which should increase Labor’s chances via some preference flows. I have thought for a while that should help Labor’s chances.
However last State election the Greens candidate almost pipped Labor to take the State seat of Dunstan. The same Green is running for Sturt. I have seen a lot of Greens signs. I’d love to see a seat based poll. It could be a genuine four cornered contest. I’d love to see Malinauskas campaign here.
PS Sturt also has a growing population of Asian immigrants, including Korean, Chinese and Indian, mostly well educated. I would have thought there was great potential to campaign here against Dutton’s pro-USA attitudes.
Ironically it was Albo who established Infrastructure Australian. When he was the minister.
“Where is our Lady of DOGE, Senator Price these days.”
Keeping very, very quiet in the lead up to “Liberation Day”. 🙂
interesting The Age should be so opposed to rail projects.
Their economics writer from back when Ken Davidson was a big fan of rail and lamented Victoria’s reluctance (then) to build more.
He once described Perth’s suburban rail system as world class. A Victorian praising rather than sneering at something from WA was a day to remember.
Since then WA has added many more kilometres of suburban rail. I’m sure he would approve.
The Melbourne airport has never ever made economic sense – there is not enough traffic to the airport. However, it still should be built.
The original planned route from Broadmeadows was more cost effective than the newer version via Sunshine but for some reason Sunshine is seen as a more pleasant entry point than Broadie.
There’s a fascinating possibility (with a genuine 4 way contest) in Sturt that Stevens might not even make the final 2. Verity Cooper is more likely to takes votes from the Liberals than Labor or the Greens, I think. As a former long term Sturt resident it’s one I will be keeping a close eye on when results start coming in.