In an otherwise quiet week for federal polling, the Financial Review reports a Wolf + Smith poll of 5000 respondents conducted from July 18 to 30 has Labor with a 57-43 lead on two-party preferred. All we are told of the primary vote is that Labor leads the Coalition 36% to 30%: I will hopefully be able to offer more information later today. Anthony Albanese is credited with a fairly modest lead over Sussan Ley on preferred prime minister of 45-35. The poll also finds 18% support and 47% oppose broadening the base of the GST. Respondents were seemingly also given options on how cuts in income tax should be funded, with 56% favouring higher company taxes. Wolf & Smith is associated with Yaron Finkelstein, a former principal private secretary to Scott Morrison and Crosby Textor strategist, which was last heard from through a similarly large-sample poll in August last year.
https://x.com/barnsgreg/status/1952167268085072284, ‘… Albo’s ‘ moral cowardice
GFY2 Greg Barnes has a bsky account, so you don’t need to link to a neo-nazi website:
https://bsky.app/profile/barnsgreg.bsky.social/post/3lvjxfkmeu227
is Wolf + Smith poll, AFR’s new replacement for freshwater poll
Wolf + Smith sounds like a Gen Z clothing brand.
World News & Politics:
Brazil’s Bolsonaro arrested, adding to tensions with Trump: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-bolsonaro-arrested-adding-tensions-with-trump-2025-08-04/
Ukraine flags Indian-made parts in drones used by Russian forces: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ukraine-flags-indian-made-parts-in-drones-used-by-russian-forces-101754335825281.html
Russia’s oil and gas revenues fall for third consecutive month: https://kyivindependent.com/russias-oil-and-gas-revenues-fall-for-third-consecutive-month/
Ukraine obtains classified data on Russia’s newest nuclear submarine, intelligence claims: https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-intelligence-allegedly-obtains-classified-data-on-russias-newest-nuclear-submarine-cruiser/
European countries announce $1 bn purchase of US weapons for Ukraine: https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250805-european-countries-announce-1-bn-purchase-of-us-weapons-for-ukraine
Netanyahu to urge ‘full conquest’ of Gaza as ceasefire talks reach an impasse: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/04/middleeast/israel-gaza-war-expansion-intl
The House Oversight Committee has issued sweeping subpoenas in its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, demanding testimony from former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and eight former top law enforcement officials: https://www.newsweek.com/epstein-files-subpoena-clintons-trump-doj-investigation-live-updates-2109155
New York Declares ‘War’ in Response to Texas GOP Redistricting Plan: https://www.newsweek.com/texas-redistricting-2025-gerrymandering-new-york-kathy-hochul-2108669
“Remember, Donald Trump ran for office saying he would lower costs on day one. Costs of groceries are up, cost of housing is up, cost of health care is up,” Warren said on CNBC. “And where is Donald Trump?: https://newrepublic.com/article/198809/mamdani-warren-democrats-2026-message-trump
Trump Fact Checked Live on TV on Dire Polls and Stats Boss Firing: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-factchecked-live-on-tv-on-dire-polls-and-stats-boss-firing/
Trump says JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America rejected him as a customer: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/05/trump-jpmorgan-chase-bank-of-america-rejected-bank-customer.html
Epstein scandal broadens as trove of letters from famous figures published: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/05/jeffrey-epstein-letters-photos
Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into the intelligence regarding President Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-russiagate-trump-grand-jury-investigation/
Gates Foundation commits $2.5 billion to ‘ignored’ women’s health: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/gates-foundation-commits-25-billion-ignored-womens-health-rcna223003
Omar,
You probably have some idea but you don’t know how Neo Fascist America is becoming. I have a son over there. Sure, he has overstayed his visa, as many young people used to be able to do with impunity because America and Americans were used to their country being a magnet for the best and brightest, whether they came in through the front door or the back, they all helped contribute to America in some way and that was tacit. Because it’s always been hard to get a Green Card. Now though it’s turning into a real horrorshow, real fast.
My son just wants to stay there and so he’s having to go dark electronically so that the authorities don’t detect him. So, travel by train and not plane, or in friend’s cars. Luckily he has a friend who owns a house that he can stay in rent free, but it’s across the road from a crack house so that’s not ideal but it’s better than staying in seedy motels with bed bugs.
The only saving grace, if there is one, is that, if he’s finally caught by ICE they’ll ‘just’ deport him back to Australia. Not send him to Alligator Alcatraz or CECOT.
C@tmomma, why does your son want to stay in a country like that?
“Whyalla, Port Pirie and possibly even Mount Isa.
The imminent closure of each of these basic metal processors has spurred federal and state governments into action.
Where once governments would have been happy to allow private enterprise to fail, they now are actively trying to salvage something from the wreckage.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-06/the-race-to-shore-up-australias-remaining-industry/105617502
newy boy says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 7:17 am
C@tmomma, why does your son want to stay in a country like that?
He’s having second thoughts. But basically he’s established himself over there and has a lot of friends and is just hoping to ride out this present situation.
Though I have my doubts that Trump will relinquish power now that he has it again.
This economic pressure on Russia needs to both continue and intensify:
“Russia’s oil and gas revenues fall for third consecutive month”
https://kyivindependent.com/russias-oil-and-gas-revenues-fall-for-third-consecutive-month/
It would help if the two biggest purchasers of Russian crude oil – China and India – stopped doing this.
C@tmomma wow, that’s the sort of thing I would have done before I became jaded and bitter. I do have some idea of how it is but your son will have some stories to tell about it.
I assume you’ve got a safe way to keep in touch. I hope he is safe and decides to come home. I’m sure you’re right about what would happen but it’s not nice to contemplate what could go wrong if he ends up in custody over there.
What a mess.
Well done to Trump as illegals getting into the USA have stopped close to zero so said Alan the ABC finance man on his nightly graph.
Borders also secure and bonds rightly introduced on potential lawbreakers etc entering country.
The open border failure of the globalists is being moderated.
Meanwhile in Australia shopping centres are being blamed today for violence via the ABC when it’s machete carrying mass immigrant failure via the labor party that’s the real cause.
Dems are on their knees in the USA and Clinton’s are now being investigated for links with Epstein.
Sadly in Australia people are now often attacked in public for no reason thanks to globalist /fed labor policies.
C@tmommas, Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 7:34 am:
Please pass on our best wishes to him in his predicament.
Sometimes we forget how good we’ve got it here in Australia. Plus how we dodged a bullet by not electing Peter Dutton, who would have been all aboard the Trump train and all it entails.
It’s not enough for India to keep Russia’s economy afloat with oil purchases: they are even selling gear to arm Russia to keep killing Ukrainians:
“Ukraine raises issue of alleged Indian parts in Russian drones amid growing scrutiny of Moscow ties”
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-says-indian-parts-found-in-russian-drones-amid-growing-scrutiny-over-new-delhi-moscow-ties/
What could any pro-India or pro-Modi folk say in defence of this???
Thank you, newy boy. I shall do just that. 🙂
It truly is a scary world out there right now. I was just talking to a friend of mine this morning who is a local councillor up here and she’s also having mother bear issues right now. Her son was on a holiday overseas in Greece and he’s just ended up in hospital, along with 6 other women, who all had their drinks spiked at a nightclub over there! So she’s having to decide whether to drop everything and get on a plane to Greece and bring him home. The only reason she may not have to is because he received preferential treatment at the hospital because he was a male! So he has recovered better than the women. Doesn’t that just suck big time!
The Dems went hard and got nothing on Trump with Epstein now Trump is going after Dems and Epstein links as he should as me thinks they have a lot to hide.
Can we have law enforcement in this country release crime stats that feature country of origin of offenders/ percentages and type of crimes by them etc also.
To many woke state gov police departments captured by globalist sentiment in Australia.Hiding downside of mass immigration and visas for all!
You know it’s off the rails when the Abc today features a student visa holder saying it’s not safe to go out at night in a shopping centre.Thanks globalists!
From Dawn Patrol (thank you Holdenhillbilly), regarding the item “Ukraine obtains classified data on Russia’s newest nuclear submarine, intelligence claims”, the following video from Paul Warburg, a geopolitical analyst and influence, showed up in my Youtube feed last night.
https://youtu.be/sSdNctABUOo?si=51GrE5EPCtOwyn-c
Mr Warburg, strongly pro-Ukraine, seems to be credible, but even so this is probably to be taken with a grain of salt.
newy boy,
Narendra Modi is an aggressive Make India Great Again whatever-it-takes capitalist. To get where he’s got, considering where he has come from, takes quite a ruthless character. No doubt about it.
Captain Cooker has clocked on. 🙄
pied piper,
Move to America then and see how great life is over there. You A Grade jerk!
Although I imagine, as someone who would readily suck Trump’s toes and change his poppy pooper diaper for him, you’d get along just fine.
Labor says the ABC today has been screwing the unemployed and the Minister Rishworth hides like a coward not responding.All over robodebt labor was but implemented their own version.Shame.
Trashing the unemployment and also renters via mass importation of people labors globalists need to become homeless themselves.
#weatheronPB
Cool, rested vigour,
waits to unfold gracefully,
when the time is right.
Has the USA permanently changed? One Trump term might have been an aberration but two? Hopefully Trump will be gone by 21/1/2029, but will a “normal” President follow? A Democrat or a Republican who is a traditional conservative? I don’t know.
The fact is, 40% or more of Americans think that Donald Trump is a satisfactory proposition. Even if the USA has a “normal” President next time around, a Bush or a Clinton, 40% of Americans still want a racist, far-right authoritarian convicted felon who has no respect for truth, the Constitution or the Law in charge.
I think that the USA has permanently changed.
A significant minority of Australians want a similar change here.
Vance is looking at eight after Trumps four.Globalism was imposed top down not voted on by western nations populations so when trump rips its various tenents to pieces he gets lots of support whilst CNN polling shows globalist Dems at decades lows.
Australia etc needs to get tough as it is weak as the globalist Albo turns a blind eye to visa overstayers and makes it easier for them to stay by not cracking down on appeals system.Meanwhile Aussies endure a years long homeless crisis.
More interested in Hamas.
Globalists hate average western citizens call them deplorables and think they are racist.
The real racists sadly are the globalists.Also sexist they love universal quotas.
Notice Albo yesterday now bringing in 10s of thousands more students via an increase sadly he lied during election campaign.Globalist.
Scott says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 6:12 am
is Wolf + Smith poll, AFR’s new replacement for freshwater poll
============================
Looks like this may be the case.
Per the missing primaries. Can’t find anything. The old wolf and smith website used to have a tab called “recent polling data”, but I can’t find that tab anymore. The link above in the intro thread to W&S, comes up blank.
pied piper:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 8:24 am
You might find that Rubio disagrees with you.
There is an assumption that Wolf+Smith collected Primary Vote information. They may not have done so – the question could have been as simple as “If one was forced to choose between voting for Labor or the Coalition?”.
Vale Col Joye, dead at 89.
GA
“A coalition of Australian interfaith and community organisations is calling on Anthony Albanese to sanction Israel and to urgently recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.
In an open letter, the 24 groups, including the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the Australian Jewish Democratic Society, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and Palestinian Christians in Australia, write:
United in solidarity with each other and with our fellow human beings in Gaza, we call on the Albanese Government to immediately impose sanctions on the Netanyahu Government and formally recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.
As widely acknowledged by genocide scholars and human rights groups, including Israeli B’Tselem, the Israeli government is carrying out a genocide – killing, starving and displacing Palestinians in Gaza en masse.
We are facing a moment of profound moral reckoning. In light of clear violations of international law, it is imperative that Australia respond with urgency and use every means available to help end this horror.
It is time to stand decisively for justice, dignity, and the right of all human beings to live free from occupation and slaughter.
Sanction the Netanyahu Government now. Recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.”
Will labors upcoming stunt of an economic summit address a key productivity issue caused by them?
That is quotas putting people in positions not based on merit but sex,race etc.
Many of these are now in management a disaster as a dud manager creates meaningless work for everybody.
By the way Albo prefers to meet communist dictatorship leaders before democratically elected Trump but hey Albanese hates Trump as Albo is a globalist and Trump is not he puts USA residents first.
BSF – Well it’s not much of a poll then if they’re not collating primaries.
Automatic systems unlawfully cancelled 964 jobseekers’ payments in two years, watchdog finds
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-06/commonwealth-ombudsman-finds-payment-cancellation-unlawful/105616010
“The cancellations occurred automatically under the Targeted Compliance Framework, a system set up to monitor “mutual obligations”, which are the conditions people have to meet to continue receiving payments, like job hunting and attending interviews.
New laws introduced after the Robodebt scandal require agencies to consider the jobseeker’s circumstances before cutting off a payment, which did not occur in 964 cancellations between April 2022 and July 2024.”
”Many of these are now in management a disaster as a dud manager creates meaningless work for everybody.”
π‘d Piper – if you have ever worked in an office you would know that when this happens and it is entirely independent of the ethnicity, nationality or sex of the manager…
Steve777 says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 8:13 am
Has the USA permanently changed? One Trump term might have been an aberration but two? Hopefully Trump will be gone by 21/1/2029, but will a “normal” President follow? A Democrat or a Republican who is a traditional conservative? I don’t know.
The fact is, 40% or more of Americans think that Donald Trump is a satisfactory proposition. …..
==========================
There will be two by-elections in Sept for the U.S. H.O.R., which will provide an indication of whether public polling is actually truthful. I see the Silver bulletin is holding onto a Trump 44% approval rating but it also records a 53% disapproval rating.
Link: https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin
By-elections:
* Sept 9 – Virginia 11 (a seat in the western suburbs of DC). Dems won 66-33 last year, &
* Sept 23 – Arizona 7 (southern suburbs of Phoenix). Dems won 63-33 last year.
Dems will hold both, but it’s the swings which count.
Edit: Sorry, the point I’m making is that voters often tell newspaper pollsters one thing, and then vote differently in the privacy of the ballot box.
Albo’s Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/08/albos-palestine-delay-an-act-of-moral-cowardice/
“Take South Africa. Its policy of apartheid was opposed by the Whitlam Government, and its successors. Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser was one of the world leaders on sanctions against South Africa. It would have been easy for governments of the 1970s and 1980s to peddle the Albanese Government line that Australia is at best a middle-ranking power and can’t do a lot about South Africa, except impose sporting sanctions.
And what of Russia? Despite Australia’s relative lack of influence over that nation, it was very quick to jump on board when Moscow decided to invade Ukraine, and punish it. In February this year, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles announced “Australia’s largest sanctions package since February 2022”.
:::
The other “cop out” argument against recognition of the state of Palestine is complicated by terrorist organisation Hamas being in the picture. …
But the “eliminate Hamas and then talk” argument is simply a ruse for continuing to allow the oppression of the Palestinian people. And it is a cynical position to take, because those who argue that Hamas will be taken out by Israel know that is simply not the case.
Yaakov Katz, a former editor of the Jerusalem Post, wrote in January this year that “Hamas will not simply disappear”. Writing in Open Democracy last week, English international security expert Paul Rogers observed that “on the ground in Gaza, Israel has simply not succeeded in defeating Hamas – a fact that few in Israel will admit, though it is reportedly common knowledge in military circles”. He noted that “Major General Itzak Brik, a long-serving IDF infantry soldier, who went on to lead the IDF military colleges,” wrote last month that “Hamas has already replenished the huge numbers of paramilitaries it has lost in the war”.
As is often the case in conflict zones, peacemaking and nation-building recognises there are terrorist organisations lurking. Working around them, marginalising them, and building strong institutions is how they are rendered irrelevant.
Australia has run out of excuses. Albanese needs to stand with Carney, Starmer and Macron now.
C@t
With all the turmoil currently in the world, I am grateful that Albo and co are at the helm.
Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching
Researchers warn reef may reach tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between major catastrophic events
“”“We have to mitigate the root causes of the problem and reduce emissions and stabilise temperatures.”
:::
Richard Leck, head of oceans at WWF Australia, said the government needed to set a target consistent with 1.5C.
“This is the one action the government can take to give the reef a fighting chance.””
Cartoons
Cathy Wilcox
Matt Golding
Le Lievre
Fiona Katauskas
‘Pegasus says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 9:00 am
Albo’s Palestine delay an act of moral cowardice
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/08/albos-palestine-delay-an-act-of-moral-cowardice/
“Take South Africa. Its policy of apartheid was opposed by the Whitlam Government, and its successors. Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser was one of the world leaders on sanctions against South Africa. It would have been easy for governments of the 1970s and 1980s to peddle the Albanese Government line that Australia is at best a middle-ranking power and can’t do a lot about South Africa, except impose sporting sanctions.
And what of Russia? Despite Australia’s relative lack of influence over that nation, it was very quick to jump on board when Moscow decided to invade Ukraine, and punish it. In February this year, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles announced “Australia’s largest sanctions package since February 2022”.
:::
The other “cop out” argument against recognition of the state of Palestine is complicated by terrorist organisation Hamas being in the picture. …
But the “eliminate Hamas and then talk” argument is simply a ruse for continuing to allow the oppression of the Palestinian people. And it is a cynical position to take, because those who argue that Hamas will be taken out by Israel know that is simply not the case.
Yaakov Katz, a former editor of the Jerusalem Post, wrote in January this year that “Hamas will not simply disappear”. Writing in Open Democracy last week, English international security expert Paul Rogers observed that “on the ground in Gaza, Israel has simply not succeeded in defeating Hamas – a fact that few in Israel will admit, though it is reportedly common knowledge in military circles”. He noted that “Major General Itzak Brik, a long-serving IDF infantry soldier, who went on to lead the IDF military colleges,” wrote last month that “Hamas has already replenished the huge numbers of paramilitaries it has lost in the war”.
As is often the case in conflict zones, peacemaking and nation-building recognises there are terrorist organisations lurking. Working around them, marginalising them, and building strong institutions is how they are rendered irrelevant.
Australia has run out of excuses. Albanese needs to stand with Carney, Starmer and Macron now.’
=====================
False analogy between South Africa and Israel, but nice try, IMO.
I am not sure exactly why Peg has put up this cutnpaste. It confirms a couple of facts that the Greens in particular are having difficulty integrating so they ‘solve’ it by ignoring them. Hamas still exists. Hamas has not repudiated its genocidal ambitions. Hamas has stated that it will only disarm once a Palestinian state is established – with Hamas in it, logically. Finally, Hamas knows that it is benefiting from its role in starving its own children to death and is acting accordingly.
I can’t recall the last time the Greens ‘demanded’, ‘called for’, ‘urged’, or ‘put pressure on’ anyone at all in relation to Hamas. Perhaps Peg can do a cutnpaste on it.
A youtuber I was listening to had the plausible and illuminating take that trust in America’s systems would only be restored by some future normal Republican government. A cycle of Democrat administration wouldn’t be enough to signal that the republic was restored.
shiftaling says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 9:21 am
A youtuber I was listening to had the plausible and illuminating take that trust in America’s systems would only be restored by some future normal Republican government. A cycle of Democrat administration wouldn’t be enough to signal that the republic was restored.’
========================
‘normal’? If so, it’s doomed.
Currently, NATO is demanding BRICS countries like India, China and Brazil to suffer along with them.
But when BRICS suffered and asked for help, they looked other way.
For example, since I cannot talk of other BRICS countries I will discuss about India. When India suffered for a long time and asked for help, NATO neither did help nor suffered but also prospered.
Europe is responsible for creation Ukraine and Gaza wars. They created the horrible mess. They should solve them.
It appears Europe thinks Europe problems are world problems but also think world problems are not Europe problem.
Enough: India hits back at US after Russian oil threats, truce lies – India Today https://share.google/ZsDw0gMRUHAWjhJQd
“In the face of mounting threats from the US to end its purchases of Russian oil or face steep punitive tariffs, India on Monday issued a defiant and unapologetic rebuttal, sending a clear message to Washington: enough is enough.
Pulling no punches, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came armed with receipts and called out the US and the European Union (EU) for their own continued trade ties with Russia.
From publicly rubbishing US President Donald Trump’s false claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, to unequivocally rejecting pressure on its energy ties with Moscow, New Delhi has made one thing crystal clear: it values diplomacy, restraint, and dialogue—but it will not be dictated to.”
““India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict,” the MEA said, adding that the US “actively encouraged such imports by India” during the early stages of the Ukraine war.
Purchasing affordable crude was essential to keeping domestic inflation in check and ensuring energy security for 1.4 billion people, it said.
The ministry bluntly pointed out that the EU’s bilateral trade with Russia in 2024 far exceeded that of India’s. It also noted that the US and European bloc’s ties with Moscow were not driven by economic necessity, unlike India’s.”
At the Hiroshima anniversary I hope there are no recreationists.
Listened to a chappie talk on the UN this am. The US is drastically cutting its funding across the board. The result will be that the UN will lose around a third of its staff. It will lose a significant peace keeping capacity. This will have onground ramifications particularly for the DRC where there are 20,000 peacekeepers. Asked if China might fill the vacuum he noted that China provides none of the voluntary funding and is routinely late with its obligatory funding. He was also dismissive of where a lot of the UN energy was being dissipated.
shiftaling @ #40 Wednesday, August 6th, 2025 – 9:21 am
Who would want to restore such a f**ked up republic anyway?
India has around 300 billionaires enjoying India’s ‘economic necessity’? Really?
‘ajm says:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 9:30 am
shiftaling @ #40 Wednesday, August 6th, 2025 – 9:21 am
A youtuber I was listening to had the plausible and illuminating take that trust in America’s systems would only be restored by some future normal Republican government. A cycle of Democrat administration wouldn’t be enough to signal that the republic was restored.
Who would want to restore such a f**ked up republic anyway?’
=============================
A majority of americans, I would guess.
Hey, if there is a rupee in it…
https://thecradle.co/articles/russia-buys-billions-worth-of-indian-weapons-using-local-currency