The only new federal poll this week was the monthly-or-so accumulation from Roy Morgan, encompassing 5084 responses from between August 25 and September 21. Labor is credited with a lead of 55.5-44.5 on both the previous election and respondent-allocated measures, which is in from 56.5-43.5 last month on respondent-allocated, but unchanged on previous election. There is next to no change on the primary vote: Labor is on 34%, the Coalition 30% and the Greens 12%, no different from last time, while One Nation gains half a point to 9.5%. The accompanying release has two-party breakdowns by state and gender.
The other big electoral news of the week was Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian abandoning her Court of Disputed Returns challenge to her 26-vote defeat at the hands of independent Nicolette Boele in Bradfield. Kapterian said the opportunity to review the ballot papers that had been referred to Australian Electoral Officer for adjudication during the counting process left her “satisfied the right call was made overall”.
Italy and Spain are now both sending warships to accompany the Gaza relief flotilla.
https://www.dw.com/en/italy-sends-naval-vessel-to-help-gaza-aid-flotilla/a-74119945
Socrates: “The other figure that seems to think similarly to both Hastie and Hegseth is BRS of defo trial fame.
I could not help thinking of the photos of BRS with Crusader shield badges on his uniform when reading your comments. Our army should not be a home for far right religious fundamentalists.”
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I’m no fan of Hastie, but I reckon that’s a little harsh. Hastie does appear to have been genuinely horrified about what BRS is alleged to have done.
Is there any evidence to suggest that BRS is a religous fundamentalist? I always assumed that his wearing the Crusade shield badge was all about thumbing his nose at the Muslim extremists, who are inclined to refer to the Western interventions in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world as “crusades.”
Ven:
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 8:45 am
[‘Mavis
I don’t know whether multiculturalism is accepted. Hastie’s foray into it by saying that he feels a stranger in his own country harks back to White Australia period.’]
I think a clear majority accepts multiculturalism, though that doesn’t mean that the number of migrants coming here is not open to robust debate. And I agree that the way Hastie posited
the issue does evoke memories of the White Australia policy. “Alas, poor Hastie! I knew him…”.
Taylormade ”Where’s Victoria’s crime stats ?”
Those who take the time and effort to put together the morning roundups decide what news articles and sources are included in the roundup and the circumstances under which they are included. You are of course perfectly free to compile your own list.
PS Mavis: I would expect Howard to keep away from all of this as far as possible, but to be working behind the scenes to try to get Hastie to shut up. Howard is a pragmatist, and he recognises that the party isn’t going to go anywhere if it lurches to the right. He was never a true fan of Abbott, and only boosted him – and Turnbull too – as part of a “divide and conquer” strategy to make sure that Costello would never get the numbers to bring him down.
@meher baba
Where’s your source for this? Peter Costello said in an interview after the 2007 federal election that John Howard wasn’t surprised Costello refused to stand for the leadership. I think Costello was hanging his hat on becoming Prime Minister after Howard stepped down. However, he also likely thought the Liberals would be out for a couple of terms in opposition. Michael Kroger then said Costello wanted to get back into parliament when it looked like Abbott would become Prime Minister. No one expected that the Liberals would be so close to getting into government at the 2010 election after Rudd’s win in 2007.
Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians
‘Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal.
Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said.
The decision to cut off Unit 8200’s ability to use some of its technology results directly from an investigation published by the Guardian last month. It revealed how Azure was being used to store and process the trove of Palestinian communications in a mass surveillance programme.
:::
The extraordinary decision by Microsoft to end the spy agency’s access to key technology was made amid pressure from employees and investors over its work for Israel’s military and the role its technology has played in the almost two-year offensive in Gaza.
:::
The revelations highlighted how Israel has relied on the services and infrastructure of major US technology companies to support its bombardment of Gaza, which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and created a profound humanitarian and starvation crisis.”
If you only ever read one article on Australia’s climate reduction targets, you should make it this one -it’s a very simple and concise explanation of how weak those targets really are …
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/09/the-world-isnt-even-trying-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels/
The article concludes …
There’s an article in the West Australian about the US portion of TikTok being spun out of it’s Chinese owners company into the hands of US investors, including the Murdochs.
https://thewest.com.au/business/donald-trump-signs-executive-order-to-put-tiktok-under-control-of-us-investors-c-20146364
Note that the article suggests the Yanks will get majority ownership, suggesting that the Chinese parent company retains a finger in the pie.
I don’t know much about TikTok beyond that the content is apparently aimed at young people.
The thing about all this that amazed me was the amount of money involved, $USD 14,000,000,000. (That’s $21,000,000,000 in Australian dollars according to the article)
All that money to place a few adverts and presumably influence the way youngsters will vote in the future.
Apparently there are dozens of these social media platforms.
People need to stop living in the past. Yes, the bulk of our historic (from 2005) emissions reductions were due to LULUCF changes. However, the treasury modelling underpinning the Net Zero Report forecasts that carbon removal (LULUCF) is forecast to reduce emissions by <3% by 2035, with the bulk (55%) of the abatement coming from the electricity and energy sector.
Omar Comin’ says:
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 9:14 am
Oh no, not Jim Comey
Oh well I’m sure the rule of law has got his back.
Not sure how the US justice system works ( or doesn’t ) however I think Trump will regret this as Jim Comey’s lawyers can depose & subpoena to their hearts content.
The new term “electotech”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBXYR1BKzqc
Labor has policies to enable the revolution. The home battery subsidy has been amazingly successful.
The Greens are still going on about something ( the message seems very disjointed).
The Liberals talk about no net zero, a policy that is now irrelevant, as electrotech is going to make it happen.
Apparently, Andrew Hastie is soaking up the votes that were previously going to Angus Taylor. It makes sense that he is becoming more outspoken on issues that appeal to the Right. Hastie’s strategy still makes no sense, though. The next opposition leader is probably going to lose the next election. If Hastie was willing to have a crack, why didn’t he put up his hand for the leadership after the election?
Hastie should be warned. If you go too hard and fail, it does not look good for you. And then some on the other side will negotiate a compromise candidate. Peter Dutton found that out trying to bring down Malcolm Turnbull, only for Scott Morrison to become the compromise candidate and swoop in to become Prime Minister. Dutton held his seat at the following election, but he also had to answer awkward questions about being a wrecker. He also apparently felt quite used by Morrison after the whole calamity.
If you only ever read one article on Australia’s climate reduction targets, you should make it this one
_____________________________________________
Given that you recommended it, I’ll make sure it isn’t.
Re Bradfield – just waiting for the announcement from the AEC about when they will replace their broad estimate of the 2PP result with an actual count. There’s a public interest in knowing the actual 2PP result since a key part of the Boele campaign was the message “vote for me if you don’t want a local Liberal MP, as Labor can’t win in Bradfield”.
SL @ #59 Friday, September 26th, 2025 – 9:42 am
People will stop living in the past when their government offers them a future.
TPOF @ #63 Friday, September 26th, 2025 – 10:03 am
While your head is down there in the sand, be sure to keep your eyes open for new coal deposits.
C@t
Interesting.
They are already a significant third force in politics, and as the gloss inevitably wears off Federal Labor, particular after a third term, then they could do quite well.
And this is an infinitely better outcome than seats going to a far-right evangelical Coalition let by Hastie or similar.
High Street
Re Bradfield – just waiting for the announcement from the AEC about when they will replace their broad estimate of the 2PP result with an actual count. There’s a public interest in knowing the actual 2PP result since a key part of the Boele campaign was the message “vote for me if you don’t want a local Liberal MP, as Labor can’t win in Bradfield”.
++++++++++++
Yes I’d like to see some informed comment on this forum about whether Teal seats may actually be swept up by Labor, especially if they stay moderate.
And whether right wing voters preference the Teals out of pragmatism or preference Labor out of spite
And whether there is a ‘stepping stone’ effect where the former Liberal voter first moves their vote to Teal, but having crossed that Rubicon, are now free to vote Labor.
I’m sure it happened the other way eg Labor – DLP – Liberal in the old days, and Democrat-don’t vote-Republican in the US.
There was no story about Victorian crime statistics in the outlets I consult. I also do not give any of my hard-earned to Murdoch outlets. Hence nothing from them. If others wish to do so then they are free to post those things on the blog. As they always have been. Whining at me will never change this situation.
From the SMH article on Hastie:
All very MAGA.
I’m no fan of Hastie, but I reckon that’s a little harsh. Hastie does appear to have been genuinely horrified about what BRS is alleged to have done.
Hastie is a proud Christian former soldier.
It shows how empty the Liberals are…like the Republicans…that they throw out a century of commitment to helping big business with free trade – though probably they like Trump have absolutely no intention of delivering what these Trumpist liberal voters want.
I doubt Gina actually wants a local car industry or any other thing Hastie is using to press buttons.
Now I don’t actually have a problem with someone wanting to build the modern equivalent of a XW Ford or whatever (an actual one wouldn’t be safe, but it would be no different to building a modern VW beetle or mini) but it shouldn’t be subsidised (at least according to the logic of the Right) and I suspect that like the yanks these local maga get more of their psychological compensation from driving giant trucks rather than old falcons with big engines.
The idea that people want to remember 1970s Bathurst races must surely be something that is rapidly going to Boomer graves.
Corleone:
I’m sure it happened the other way eg Labor – DLP – Liberal in the old days, and Democrat-don’t vote-Republican in the US.
Excellent point.
Long before MAGA there was the Democrat-Dixiecrat-Republican political realignment. This was the enormously successful ‘Southern Strategy’ led by Nixon and Goldwater, which flipped the South to the Republicans.
And what’s the betting that if someone did propose a local modern car factory, said car factory would be:
-minimally employing
-possibly not in Broady or Elizabeth or some other traditional working class town
-employing a large proportion of degree holders from those woke marxist degree factories
-they won’t have white skin
-and the cars might have fancy electric motors, chinese batteries and iPad style controls that don’t do much for your masculinity
@GrannyAnny, the law that forced the sale allows Chinese ownership of up to 20% and other reporting has mentioned that ByteDance will retain that 20%. I want to know what this will mean for Australian TikTokers – I’m not one, but will they be able to choose between the US and the international versions? or will the force be choiced by the contracts or by the governments?
One can also have convictions which are pro family, even LGBTQI+ families, enthusiastically secular, whilst tolerant of all religions, pro human rights, pro Australian manufacturing (Labor got there long before you did, Andy), pro Renewables and action to deal with Global Heating, pro the 2 State Solution, pro Workers rights and Unions, and a hell of a lot more besides. The Christian Right aren’t the only ones with ‘Values’.
If the lib/nats propaganda media are trying to talk up Hastie , the end result will be similar to Dutton ,
at the 2028 federal election
The federal lib/nats are not going to gain any ground , but likely lose ground
The US will impose a 100 per cent tariff on any non-generic pharmaceutical products from October, US President Donald Trump has announced. Australia’s pharmaceutical benefits scheme came up as a key sticking point during trade negotiations with the US, with pharmaceutical companies wanting faster access to the Australian market as a higher cost.
“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” Mr Trump said in a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social. “‘IS BUILDING’ will be defined as, ‘breaking ground’ and/or ‘under construction.’ There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-26/trump-100pc-tariff-on-drugs-us-politics-/105820198
Political Nightwatchman: “Where’s your source for this? Peter Costello said in an interview after the 2007 federal election that John Howard wasn’t surprised Costello refused to stand for the leadership.”
—————————————————————————–
Costello never had the numbers, except perhaps a few months prior to the 2007 election when it was abundantly clear that – thanks to Rudd’s popularity, along with WorkChoices 2.0 and other stuff-ups – the Coalition was looking likely to be trounced. You might recall that stories appeared in the media at around the time of the APEC meeting in Sydney in early September that various senior Libs, with Downer at the forefront, had approached Howard and attempted to persuade him to retire. But he continued to hold on to the delusion that he would win the election. Once Howard had said no, there was no way that Costello could move against him, as that would have torn the party apart.
——————————————————————————–
“I think Costello was hanging his hat on becoming Prime Minister after Howard stepped down.”
——————————————————————————-
I’ve never heard that from anyone in a position to know, who only ever told me about how frustrated Costello was feeling during the final years of the Howard regime. However, if Costello had held out that hope, I think Costello needed to have his head examined. If Howard had kept on winning elections, he’d most likely still be Prime Minister today. And, in the unlikely event that he ever decided to leave voluntarily, he would have publicly backed either Abbott or Turnbull (probably the latter). Howard and Costello never really got on: it was a bit of a Sydney-Melbourne thing. Also, Howard hadn’t been particularly impressed with Costello’s campaigning for the Republic back in 1999.
——————————————————————————-
“However, he also likely thought the Liberals would be out for a couple of terms in opposition. Michael Kroger then said Costello wanted to get back into parliament when it looked like Abbott would become Prime Minister. No one expected that the Liberals would be so close to getting into government at the 2010 election after Rudd’s win in 2007.”
——————————————————————————–
Possibly true, I never heard anything about that as I had gotten permanently out of Canberra by then.
c@t: “Hastie is a proud Christian former soldier.”
——————————————————————————–
Did I suggest otherwise? Reread my post. I was questioning whether or not BRS was a fundamentalist Christian (he might be, but I don’t recall ever hearing that one way or the other) and also noting Hastie’s strong statments in court against BRS’s alleged actions.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mr-conviction-what-s-behind-andrew-hastie-s-new-crusade-20250924-p5mxhu.html
“while his protectionist slant mirrors Donald Trump and European populist movements”
____________________
This is bullshit, every country in the world (other than Australia) works on some forward thinking industry policy that develops NEW competitive advantages – there is nothing particularly political about it.
Only in our stupid country do we complain about manufacturing subsidies, and then sulk when all national resources efficiently reallocate to the resources, gas, and coal industries.
The Greens Political Party and their boosters won’t be happy until we’ve returned to a backward agrarian sheep shearing colony where nothing gets built because Bob Brown will show up with a convoy to protest any development and get the LNP elected again.
Bizzcan: “This is bullshit, every country in the world (other than Australia) works on some forward thinking industry policy that develops NEW competitive advantages – there is nothing particularly political about it.”
—————————————————————————–
I am sceptical that Australia will ever develop a competitive advantage in making motor vehicles.
However technological change – especially things like greater automation of the production process – might one day make onshore manufacturing economically competitive once again. If that were to occur with car manufacturing we will see plants spring up here at some point in the future. Of course, these plants would be making advanced types of vehicles that were nothing like the output of the factories that closed down in the 2010s, let alone whatever sort of vehicle Hastie was standing next to in that photo.
When that day comes, we will be fortunate that the new factories will be able to start with something of a clean slate in terms of industrial relations, as the featherbedded conditions in the old factories were an impediment to any effort to make the local industry competitive with imports, necessitating ever more government subsidies as imports steadily became cheaper and better: always a sign of a dangerous rise in morbidity in a sector.
The FUTURE of the Libs in SA:
Junior members of South Australia’s Liberal Party are stoking controversy as a political row erupts over naming and shaming drugged politicians and overhauling welfare. Leaked documents show a SA Young Liberal Movement’s policy council meeting on Thursday night will debate calls to back drug testing of all state MPs and scrap Medicare. But the plans, which have yet to be ratified, sparked an extraordinary political row as state government officials attacked “outrageous” proposals as moving beyond “normal rhetoric”. Delegates at the North Adelaide meeting will be asked to support a proposal for the party’s political leaders to support drug testing of MPs, according to agenda papers leaked to Labor.
A government spokesman said the leaks showed yet more disunity and division. Junior members of South Australia’s Liberal Party are stoking controversy as a political row erupts over naming and shaming drugged politicians and overhauling welfare.
Leaked documents show a SA Young Liberal Movement’s policy council meeting on Thursday night will debate calls to back drug testing of all state MPs and scrap Medicare.
But the plans, which have yet to be ratified, sparked an extraordinary political row as state government officials attacked “outrageous” proposals as moving beyond “normal rhetoric”.
Delegates at the North Adelaide meeting will be asked to support a proposal for the party’s political leaders to support drug testing of MPs, according to agenda papers leaked to Labor.
“The SAYLM calls upon the state parliamentary Liberal Party to commit to a policy for the introduction of weekly drug testing of all state MPs with the results published on the SA parliament website on a weekly basis,” the proposal read.
The calls, which would put political chiefs under pressure to respond, come after former Liberal leader David Speirs was convicted of two counts of supplying cocaine and fined $9000.
A government spokesman said the leaks showed yet more disunity and division. “The fact that the Young Liberals are even entertaining the idea of abolishing Medicare is nothing short of outrageous” he said.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/leaked-documents-show-sa-young-liberal-movements-calls-to-back-drug-testing-of-all-state-mps-and-scrap-medicare/news-story/005298543bf8bf834930790c9e4bcaf0
Costello wanted to be Prime Minister as long as he didn’t have to fight for it, basically.
I always thought post Howard the leadership would be a fight between Abbott and Costello as a proxy for hard right VS moderates, but Costello and his lack of ticker and lack of interest in doing hard yards in opposition ceded the field and left Turnbull and his terrible political judgement to fuck it up for the moderates VS Abbott instead. I also heard the talk about Costello wanting to come back when PM Abbott was on the cards (presumably understanding that Abbott would never last and he could then swoop the way Turnbull ended up doing) but have no idea how serious it was.
I believe that if we develop a battery manufacturing industry which is a step up from simply mining the raw ingredients and shipping them to China to elaborately transform, then it’s not much of a progression to manufacture a shell around a car battery. There’s not that many moving parts to consider the production of. At the very least I believe that we could have a viable Ute production facility here.
Hastie could be in the same mould as Costello and Frydenberg , when its time to stand for the leadership they didn’t during the tough times
“There was no story about Victorian crime statistics in the outlets I consult”
C@tmomma
Where do you get your news? – it was covered by the ABC, The Age and the Guardian. It didn’t seem to be covered in the Daily Mail – your news source of choice?
Angus Taylor could be the only senior federal liberal party member, who will stand and be leader during the tough times
It’s more than a bit hypocritical for Hastie to criticise the government’s industry policy, given the track record of the Tories. Labor has a comprehensive industry policy. Just in the last few days:
+ Tindo, which received a grant of $34.5 million last month from the Australian government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot program to expand its operations, is supplying Australian-made solar panels to the East Micronesia Cable System project.
https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2025/09/25/tindo-supplies-australian-made-panels-to-micronesian-submarine-cable-project/
+ The Minns Labor Government just invested $28 million to build a new Renewables Manufacturing Hub in Blacktown.
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/news/anchoring-renewable-jobs-western-sydney
+ ARENA has opened a $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) for regional companies. “Whether you’re electrifying cold storage at a meat processing facility, implementing thermal energy storage technologies, or recovering biogas from dairy waste—if you are tackling emissions and energy use in an innovative and scalable way, we want to hear from you.”
https://reneweconomy.com.au/regional-businesses-get-180m-cash-injection-to-decarbonise-industrial-base/
Today’s South Park episode was crass but brilliant. They didn’t mention Charlie Kirk but mainly targeted Brendan Carr, betting apps and Netanyahu. And also made fun of Don Jr being “Special Advisor” to everything.
“the Young Liberals are even entertaining the idea of abolishing Medicare”
Does it count as a Labor Mediscare campaign when it’s coming from inside the Liberals?
The LNP will never admit that Medicare is a success. They will always want to tear it down.
On the subject of WA hypocrites, the Kathleen Valley lithium mine which Gina holds an 18% stake in, is powered by 81% renewables:
https://reneweconomy.com.au/gina-rinehart-backed-lithium-mine-achieves-81-pct-renewables-over-last-year-with-wind-solar-and-battery/
I think that Covid shone a light on the disadvantages of being at the end of supply chains thousands or tens of thousands of kilometres long for just about everything. And during Covid, world trade, while disrupted, mostly kept going. Next time – a worse pandemic, a major war in our region or possibly the outworkings of global heating and sea level rise – we mightn’t so lucky.
We can’t go back to the days of mass employment in manufacturing but we need some basic capacity here, which can be ramped up if needed.
Good move…
Abc Business now.
1h ago
Trump to impose new round tariffs
Yiying Li profile image
By Yiying Li
US President Donald Trump has announced a new round of punishing tariffs, saying the US will impose a 100% tariffs on imported branded drugs, 25% tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks and 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets.
Mr Trump also said he would start charging a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture next week.
He said the new heavy-duty truck tariffs were to protect manufacturers from “unfair outside competition” and said the move would benefit companies such as Paccar-owned Peterbilt and Kenworth and Daimler Truck-owned Freightliner.
The president has launched numerous national security probes into potential new tariffs on a wide variety of products.
He said the new tariffs on kitchen, bathroom, and some furniture were due to huge levels of imports that were hurting local manufacturers.
“The reason for this is the large scale “FLOODING” of these products into the United States by other outside Countries,” Mr Trump said, citing national security concerns about US manufacturing.
Reporting with Reuters
The free trade fantasy that has screwed the West is changing!
Pied Piper – you do realise that when the term “punishing tariffs” is used, the people punished included American consumers, those who need vital medication in the case of pharmaceuticals.
The childish behaviour and utter vindictiveness of Trump never ceases to amaze.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/donald-trump-announced-100pc-tariffs-on-pharmaceuticals-threatening-aus-22bn-imports/news-story/78e8b2fc86121ea6c8cc7b37bcaeb551
https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/us-politics-live/live-coverage/1ec5c028e217b4c47629cab52a848bb7
Hooray! Higher taxes! Americans really love paying more for stuff.
78,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs lost so far.
Winning!
Kirsdarkesays:
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 11:33 am
Today’s South Park episode was crass but brilliant. They didn’t mention Charlie Kirk but mainly targeted Brendan Carr, betting apps and Netanyahu. And also made fun of Don Jr being “Special Advisor” to everything.
– – – – – – – – – – – –
JD Vance (aka Tattoo) visiting Carr: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way…”
*chef’s kiss*
Australian Government Crest, and Jobs and Skills Australia logo
https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/industries/manufacturing
News Topics Data Research Engage
Home Data Occupation and Industry Profiles Industries
Manufacturing
Overview
Details
Employment
Employment in the Manufacturing industry fell over the 20 years to February 2025.
The number of workers fell by 29,700 (or -3.3%) over the last year.
Globalisation labor loves selling out Aussies to China communists.!