Last night’s Sky News People’s Forum, which can be viewed in full here, was deemed by 44 out of a hand-picked audience of 100 undecided voters to have been won by Anthony Albanese, with 35 favouring Peter Dutton and 21 undecided. I suspect though that to the extent that the broader public notices the low-rating event at all, what’s most likely to filter through is that Peter Dutton performed creditably immediately after learning that his father had suffered a heart attack. The event was conducted at Wentworthville Leagues Club in the electorate of Parramatta, a culturally diverse electorate notable particularly for its Indian population, which seemed suitably well represented.
The next debate, to be held from 8pm next Wednesday, will assuredly reach a larger audience by virtue of being broadcast free-to-air by the ABC. It too will be held in Parramatta, that being the location of the ABC’s new studios, though that’s of no great consequence as it will not follow the town hall format of the “People’s Forum”. Whether any further debates are held later in the game remains to be determined.
Vic,
The Hard Right always need a convenient whipping boy. It stops people looking too hard at their hypocrisy and double standards.
‘autocrat says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 8:38 am
Boerwar @ #52 Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 – 8:23 am
Little noticed on Bludger is that China is being hit by tariffs from countries around the world. Countries like Russia and Pakistan have hit China with tariffs, for example.
There are dozens of WTO complaint processes against China being run ATM.
At a critical moment in its fight-to-the-death trade war with the US, China’s mercantilism is coming home to roost.
A number of years ago (maybe a decade or more? Time flies…) I was reading through all of the active and pending disputes on the WTO website. About 90% were either the US complaining about everyone else, or everyone else complaining about the US.
Some things never change.’
==================
The thing that does not change is the visceral thought-free antipathy towards the US.
Some things DO change.
Around half of all WTO trade disputes relate to complaints against China.
Gotta love Bob Brown – he tells it like it is …
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/09/its-up-to-each-of-us-to-help-save-life-on-earth-i-love-this-challenge
“Corporate-dependent” is an excellent description of both our bipartisan parties.
“Nature-depauperate” is an excellent description of the world we are headed for.
“Co-opted commercial coverage” is an excellent description of our mainstream media.
Things are much worse than we are being told. The Labor government has the report. It is so terrifying that they refuse to release even a non-classified summary of it. Might scare the voters.
Yes, even if you do want to re-elect the current faction of feckless, lying time-wasters instead of the other faction of feckless, lying time-wasters, you can still use your preferences to send them a message.
You have options. Use them.
Jason Clare is more than just a policy wonk and nice guy. He has been traveling with Albanese and providing emotional support at times when Albanese gets stressed.
As noted before, Albanese runs collegiate Cabinet and Party Room processes. Dutton has not.
Spot the differences in their campaigns.
Player One says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:44 am
Gotta love Bob Brown – he tells it like it is …
=======================
The Earthians would have noticed his hypocritical NIMBY positions on windfarms and the way his political activities favour Dutton.
No one here is changing their votes because of a poster campaigning.
You’d have better luck talking to people IRL…
Sceptic says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 8:44 am
pied piper says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 8:03 am
China is killing the world two new coal stations opening a month been going on for years whilst West puts its head in the sand for trade.
Jesus some people are slow learners… none more slow than conservatives that live in teh past.
Yes China is building more carbon power stations.. but as a % of their demand or power output it is rapidly shrinking, …’
=================
Golly, the comrade lovers are out and about today.
China burns more coal than the rest of world put together.
Gas shortage? What gas shortage?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-09/asx-markets-business-news-live-updates/105154378
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/australia-and-canada-poised-to-join-british-led-sixth-gen-jet-fighter-program
This is good to see. Strategically, its far enough out so no firm commitments need be made right now, but its a VERY viable option for Australia’s future needs when the F18’s come up for replacement.
And even if they were available, F-47 may not be the best option overall for Australia. Too expensive ….. and now …. way to dependent on an unreliable ally …… and the US has taken the decision to go the most expensive development and acquisition path. Even they are not planning on significant numbers.
Long Range, over-water operations are something important to us, Canada and Japan. And even though the UK and Italy don’t really prioritize that, the capability translates to much better endurance and performance at shorter ranges. increased fuel fraction NEVER goes astray.
Diversifying the tactical jet fleet somewhat away from the US has many advantages for Australia, and we can wear the maintenance issues.
Much much better than Duttons plan to buy more F-35.
What will be interesting is if the Australian involvement in the Next Generation Jammer continues? We have invested heavily in EW using US kit and the US would be insane to pull back on that.
Albanese needs to focus on Dutton’s gas plan being about fracking the east coast.
No more. No less.
Vote 1 Constance.
Movement at the station…
ALP now into $1.36 on TAB after the debate (were $1.40 pre-debate).
Implied win probability: 69.1%
After Morgan (53.5-46.5) AEF forecast ALP win probability: 74.0%
Bob Brown and his Foundation, blocking wind farms since 2015.
Ven, to be fair to Meher he is very critical of Trump.
But the overwhelming evidence is that it has absolutely nothing to do with woke, transgender, DEI etc and so on.
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/2024-the-year-incumbent-governments-lost-power/
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/in-2024-a-global-anti-incumbent-election-wave/
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/12/11/global-elections-in-2024-what-we-learned-in-a-year-of-political-disruption/
”
C@tmommasays:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:40 am
Chinese embassy is twitting Reagan speech on Tariffs.
Ven, as you know, the Chinese are all about ‘Saving Face’, so the ‘peasants’ comment by JD Vance (and isn’t calling the Chinese ‘peasants’ a case of the pot calling the kettle black by JD?), will be like poking a stick into a Chinese hornet’s nest. They are going to want to destroy America now by the time they’ve finished with it. I think we should buy popcorn futures.
”
C@tmomma
The most astonishing thing about what is happening in USA and China is that
China is implementing Reaganomics
USA is implementing Maoism.
The election of Trump 2.0 is the fault of American people. It is on their heads. No ifs and no buts. They voted for him knowing fully well who he is.
They gave him more votes than they gave to Harris.
Trump is destroying his country. The problem with that is that we in Australia and elsewhere are losing our livelihoods and savings. They are vanishing into thin air
Addie Pray @ 6.27am
Thanks for the info on Wayne, depressing though it is.
”
Donald Duttonsays:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:58 am
Ven, to be fair to Meher he is very critical of Trump.
But the overwhelming evidence is that it has absolutely nothing to do with woke, transgender, DEI etc and so on.
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/2024-the-year-incumbent-governments-lost-power/
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/in-2024-a-global-anti-incumbent-election-wave/
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/12/11/global-elections-in-2024-what-we-learned-in-a-year-of-political-disruption/
”
DD
Yes, meherbaba and Steelydan hate Trump. No doubt about that.
But saying that it is Democrats and Harris fault is disingenuous.
Yes, we can sheet a lot of blame to Biden regarding his actions to contest. Harris was a formidable, articulate and intelligent POTUS candidate.
Yet American people voted for Trump knowing who he is. They just couldn’t vote for a black woman. It is as simple as that. Half of Americans behaved like bigots.
Harris is everything that Trump is not.
From The Guardian blog:
“The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, is set to revive the political fight over negative gearing and capital gains tax in a speech to the National Press Club later today, where he will announce the minor party will insist on changes to the tax breaks if there is a hung parliament. The progressive party had tried to force Labor to revisit the tax concessions during bitter negotiations on housing legislation before conceding Anthony Albanese wouldn’t touch them.”
I always a firm believer in just looking at how the leaders look. If they look happy on the campaign trail usually things are going well, if they look grumpy then things aren’t good. Albo seems to look happier than he did six months ago. Dutton seems a little grumpy but it is hard to tell when he has the emotions of a block of wood.
Ven
For me you missed my point anyway. I am have a fair idea why politics does not attract our best but when you look at who the US has offered up on both sides it has been poor.
My point was simply this the Democrats should have chosen better candidates but I accept any argument that the Republicans deserve nothing but ridicule and scorn for allowing Trump as their candidate. The three times Trump ran. Trump v Clinton, really Clinton. Trump v Biden they needed someone young enough to see off Trump for 8 years, he showed all the signs of being to old then. Trump v Harris it is like they tried to find someone he was capable of beating. Obama was not that effective he just never had the numbers but he would have wiped the floor with Trump.
So Trump has sent his bombers to Diego Garcia, probably to up the ante with Iran.
A good war will give us something to discuss here ̶̶̶̶̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ as well as the stockmarket crash.
And he’ll have to stay on for an extra term or two if the war’s big enough.
C@t
100 percent
[Vic,
The Hard Right always need a convenient whipping boy. It stops people looking too hard at their hypocrisy and double standards.]
Addie Praysays:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 6:27 am
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 5:20 am
“BSA Bobsays:
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 10:16 pm
Re Wayne
Last federal election, wasn’t there some git who’d post short “Our glorious coalition will increase its majority” sort of stuff on a regular basis? Can’t remember the name. Is Wayne that person?”
Wayne was indeed his name. And oddly enough Wayne was the only one on this site who correctly predicted the outcome of the 2019 election!
But not the 2022 election, iirc.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
“The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, is set to revive the political fight over negative gearing and capital gains tax in a speech to the National Press Club later today, where he will announce the minor party will insist on changes to the tax breaks if there is a hung parliament.
Vote 1 for a Labor Majority government!
Meidastouch on twitter
TRADE WAR CHAOS:
– Elon Musk calls Trump aide Navarro “dumb as a sack of bricks”
– WH hits China with 104% tariffs
– Markets tank
– Canada & EU strike back
– Crypto fraud crackdown scrapped
ASX200 is down about 2% in the first 20 minutes of trade
This is the stuff I was talking about the other day. How to Vote cards are useless and people get there knickers in knot over them for no reason.
https://davidjohnlees.substack.com/p/do-how-to-vote-cards-still-matter
The more the Greens talk as if they are going to be minority partners the better it is for the LNP, more Bandt please much more. The Irony is that the Greens hate Dutton but they need him to do well enough to force the ALP into minority Government. 🙂
Idiot Trump has decreed that all his staff must now precede the word “coal” with “beautiful clean”.
Remember, the important point isn’t that the ASX has fallen 16% in the last 2 months, it is that it went up a couple of hundred points yesterday.
The polls are wrong.
All of them.
Just like in 2019 when Morrison won.
Just like in 2016 when Trump won.
Just like in 2016 when Brexit won.
Just like in 2024 when Trump won not just the college but the popular vote.
Just like in 2020 when Trump was 17 points behind and still almost won.
I can remember election day 2004.
Labor was ahead 51-49 with Morgan on election day, and Newspoll had them tied at 50-50.
Howard won a thumping fourth term majority and seized control of both houses of Parliament.
‘mj says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 10:10 am
From The Guardian blog:
“The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, is set to revive the political fight over negative gearing and capital gains tax in a speech to the National Press Club later today, where he will announce the minor party will insist on changes to the tax breaks if there is a hung parliament. The progressive party had tried to force Labor to revisit the tax concessions during bitter negotiations on housing legislation before conceding Anthony Albanese wouldn’t touch them.”’
===================
Meh. The Trots are posturing. Again.
The Greens have had the BOP for the past three years. How did they go with ‘forcing’ Labor to do anything other than a few minor face savers for the Greens to try to brag about?
The Greens are rats and mice.
There is plenty of evidence that voters were very wary of DJT. But the Dems failed to present them with a strong alternative. Biden should never have been allowed to run again and Kamala, despite campaigning well under very difficult circumstances, was weighed down by a lot of baggage: the perception of being a DEI choice and a way left Californian, her being a black woman, her past stances on a number of issues, etc
Trump himself thinks Gretchen Whitmer would probably have beaten him, and I reckon he’s right. And I’m no great fan of Whitmer.
IMO, if Biden had stuck to his promise not to run for a second term and the Dems had run a proper primary process and come up with Whitmer or one of their other promising up and comers, Trump would have lost.
And now we are all paying for the Dems’ haplessness.
Victoriasays:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 9:08 am
I remember those halcyon days when commenters on this blog believed we put too much attention of the machinations of the USA and Trump.
I guess now they understand why……
_____________________
“Howling at the moon” idiom
AI
Figuratively, the phrase describes someone who is expending energy and time on something that is ultimately unproductive or unattainable. It implies a lack of realistic expectations or a failure to recognize the futility of an action.
B. S. Fairman says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 10:23 am
“This is the stuff I was talking about the other day. How to Vote cards are useless and people get there knickers in knot over them for no reason.
https://davidjohnlees.substack.com/p/do-how-to-vote-cards-still-matter”
——
That’s a great article and fascinating analysis, thanks for posting!
“courageous” of Albo to be campaigning with Chris Minns, considering Minns has already implemented the same policy for public sector workers which Dutton just dumped, and is running the NSW health system straight into the ground
(my wife will soon start having to drive into town 3 days a week, half an hour each way, just so she can be in a building owned by the state government where she has zero teammates or colleagues and essentially no connection at all. Our times don’t line up so car pooling isn’t really an option and there’s no meaningful public transport, so it’s 3 hours of my wife’s life plus the fuel and wear on the vehicle just so she can sit with people she doesn’t know or work with to satisfy Minns’ megalomania. he can get in the bin)
“The Hard Right always need a convenient whipping boy. It stops people looking too hard at their hypocrisy and double standards.”
Centrists and Centre-right always need a convenient whipping boy. It stops people looking too hard at their hypocrisy and double standards.”
Ever since the Greens came into being as a political party it has always been conveniently scapegoated and demonised.
The Greens ahead of the curve in so many policy areas.
China’s global manufacturing trade imbalance has increased from around a third five years ago to around two thirds last year. Think of those figures for a moment. No wonder the world is in crisis.
China’s trade balance last year was over nine hundred billion.
Much of the exports went to belt and road countries that borrowed heavily from China and are borrowing more to pay for more exports from China.
Most such countries will not be able to pay China back.
Effectively, China has them in a debt trap.
But the thing about a debt trap is that it works both ways.
The problem for China?
If you are the lender and your debtor cannot pay you back the lender does not get an ROI and the lender does get the money back.
If the loans are in your currency, your currency is weakened.
Oh. And many of them are putting tariffs on China’s goods. Just when the US is blocking 16% of your exports outright.
“the perception of being a DEI choice and a way left Californian, her being a black woman, her past stances on a number of issues, etc”
There’s lots of opinions about this, particularly among centrists and Trumpists. Evidence is a bit more thin on the ground though. Absolute mountains of evidence though that incumbent governments were smashed due to the economic environment with no real difference whether those incumbents were left or right. And yes the Dems process was poor and that didn’t help.
Pegasussays:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 10:43 am
The Greens ahead of the curve in so many policy areas
______________________
Agreed – Bob Brown’s opposition to wind farms has been taken up with gusto across many coastal communities
Ven
This maybe the last time I respond as you may be a full loon. Politics is about winning, if you want to lose chose a candidate that supports publicly-funded gender reassignment surgery for illegal immigrants then by all means then go to sleep knowing you did the right thing but wake up knowing you lost the election and an extreme right-wing nationalist has won. You do get it don’t you? Bernie Sanders can never win because he is to extreme for many, the Greens don’t win because they are to extreme. This is one on one politics here.
“if you want to lose chose a candidate that supports publicly-funded gender reassignment surgery for illegal immigrants then”
Perhaps you could provide the evidence that this had anything to do with anything. Bernie Sanders doesn’t win Dem primaries because he’s economically too far to the left. The Greens don’t win because they are economically too far to the left. Nowt to do with transgender issues.
‘meher baba says:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 10:35 am
There is plenty of evidence that voters were very wary of DJT. But the Dems failed to present them with a strong alternative. Biden should never have been allowed to run again and Kamala, despite campaigning well under very difficult circumstances, was weighed down by a lot of baggage: the perception of being a DEI choice and a way left Californian, her being a black woman, her past stances on a number of issues, etc
Trump himself thinks Gretchen Whitmer would probably have beaten him, and I reckon he’s right. And I’m no great fan of Whitmer.
IMO, if Biden had stuck to his promise not to run for a second term and the Dems had run a proper primary process and come up with Whitmer or one of their other promising up and comers, Trump would have lost.
And now we are all paying for the Dems’ haplessness.’
===================
This is the same sort of tosh that was served up after Dutton destroyed the Voice.
Dutton won because Dutton won. It was easy, peasey for him.
Trump won because Trump won.
Why did Trump win?
Because the MAGA maggots have been working on this win for over a decade.
Because individual donors came up with hundreds of millions.
Because 89 million US voters simply did not care enough one way or another to vote.
Because globalization, the global financial crisis and a series of FTAs destroyed US manufacturing heartlands.
Because decades of failed wars had nurtured a drastic isolationism.
Because Trump appealed to the Christian fundies.
Because Trump appealed to racism.
Because Trump appealed to xenophobia.
Because Trump appealed to wilful ignorance.
Trump won because Trump won.
Quick! Someone call Pageboi a wambulance! A three hour – per week in toto – work commute? Oh, the horror. The horror!
Also I notice that Pageboi does a nice little line of telling fibs. The dumped Dutton policy was NOT the same policy that Minns has rolled out. Pageboi of course has form (ie. a tendency) to fib about Labor. So par for the course, I guess.
Amy R, AI
“The Greens have put out what they would expect negotiations to centre around in the case of a minority government.
The Greens’ policy to end tax breaks for wealthy property investors would:
Grandfather negative gearing and the 50% CGT discount to one investment property, protecting ‘mum and dad’ investors. People will be able to keep existing negative gearing and CGT discount benefits for one investment property they already own (purchased before the policy commences).
Scrap the 50% capital gains tax discount for all other assets. The asset base for non-housing assets would be indexed by inflation.
Any properties purchased after the policy commences, or the second and subsequent investment properties already owned, would not be eligible for these concessions.
The changes only apply to investment properties.
Adam Bandt is at the press club today where he will expand on that.”
https://greens.org.au/news/media-release/fixing-property-investor-tax-breaks-greens-priority-minority-government-bandt
A-E
Yep.
If the Greens gain the BOP on 12% (the same as the last election) they will get stuff at the margins. Same as the last three years.
Maybe. If that.
Labor may just give up on talking with the altogether. After the last three years of destructive obstruction from Bandt&Dutton who could blame Labor?
“has form (ie. a tendency) to fib about Labor. So par for the course, I guess.”
………….(fill in with the names of any number of PB Labor partisans “has form (ie. a tendency) to fib about the Greens. So par for the course, I guess.”
So Purline Lite is now heading the No Notion Senate ticket in Tasmania.
Is Jaquie Lamble, up for re-election?
And are the Forghorns of Fuckwits contesting, too?
A three way contest for the 6th Senate seat – and who will preference whom?
In a perfect world they may all knock each other off and leave the 6th seat for the ALP or a sensible left of centre / independent candidate.
Amy R
“Anthony Albanese is standing next to the NSW Labor premier Chris Minns who has ordered state public servants to return to the office. Albanese is asked how that is different to what Peter Dutton just backflipped on.
Albanese says it is different. But it’s a bit of a mess in explaining HOW it is different. It is very obvious that Albanese is very tired today:”