Together with test cricket, Boxing Day reliably provides us with the final quarterly Newspoll breakdowns for the year, via The Australian. Combining 3774 responses from the last three polls, conducted between September 29 and November 20, the national-level results tell us nothing we didn’t already know, having Labor with an aggregated lead of 57-43. The most striking findings relate to the changing balance of One Nation and Coalition support by age: whereas no difference was recorded among the 18-to-34 cohort (both up a point), movement was significant for 35-to-49 (One Nation up four, Coalition down one), substantial for 50-to-64 (One Nation up five, Coalition down four) and seismic for 65-plus (One Nation up seven, Coalition down seven). The effect is still more pronounced on Sussan Ley’s personal ratings, which were effectively unchanged among 18-to-34s but deteriorated in net terms by minus 26 among 50-to-64 and minus 27 among 65-plus.
Breakdowns by income hint at the possibility of a more complex picture than an exodus from the Coalition to One Nation. The latter’s gains are predictably concentrated among the less affluent, by six points among both the less-than-$50,000 and $50,000-to-$100,000 brackets, and in the former case the loss is borne more by Labor (down four) than the Coalition (down one). This is balanced for Labor by a gain among the $100,000-to-$150,000 bracket, up three points on the primary vote with a two-party lead widening from 57-43 to 60-40.
At state level, Labor’s two-party lead narrowed in New South Wales, from 60-40 to 58-42, but widened elsewhere: from 58-42 to 60-40 in Victoria, 51-49 to 52-48 in Queensland, 54-46 to 56-44 in Western Australia, and 55-45 to 58-42 in South Australia. One Nation were up eight points in Queensland to 18% (where the Coalition was down six to 27%) and by three or four points elsewhere.
Also:
• Nine Newspapers reports further results from the Resolve Strategic poll finding more than 70% in favour of toughening hate speech laws, banning extremist Islamist organisations and imposing tougher immigration screening to deal with anti-Semitic or extremist views. Fifty-three per cent favour a “ban on pro-Palestine marches”, with only 16% opposed and the remainder neutral or unsure, and 48% support a Royal Commission into anti-Semitism, with 17% opposed.
• Nicholas Biddle of the Australian National University reports the university’s occasional ANUpoll survey happened to be gathering data on political attitudes and satisfaction with democracy and life from December 9 to 22, a period encompassing the Bondi shootings on December 14. The sample of 3564 included 538 who returned their responses up to the evening of the shootings. With exacting standards applied, Biddle observes statistically significant drops in confidence in the federal government and satisfaction in the direction of the country from the first period to the second. A fall in Anthony Albanese’s personal rating just clears the 95% confidence threshold (with the damage seemingly concentrated from December 18 to 22, when around 900 surveys were completed), while an otherwise similar result for Sussan Ley doesn’t quite get there. Perceived fairness and helpfulness of others was up in the post-Bondi sample, and life satisfaction barely changed.
• In the first piece of preselection news I’m aware of concerning the next election, the Australian Capital Territory Liberals last month chose their lead Senate candidate. The Canberra Times reports the party ballot was won by Nick Tyrrell ahead of Hayune Lee, data architect at Services Australia, by 143 votes to 34. Tyrrell is the party’s territory branch president, a former staffer to Barry O’Farrell, Pru Goward and Gladys Berejiklian and “founder of electric picnic boat hire firm GoBoat”. The Canberra Times further reported last week that a Liberal internal poll had Tyrrell on 21.54% (compared with 17.76% for the Liberals at the May election), with David Pocock on 34.67% (39.16%), Labor’s Katy Gallagher on 23.12% (31.74%), the Greens on 8.25% (7.78%) and others 12.45%. The poll was conducted November 26 to 28, with no sample size provided.
• Former Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel and former South Australian Senator Rex Patrick have launched a High Court challenge against campaign finance reforms that will take effect in the middle of next year. At issue are three features said to advantage major parties at the expense of independents: distinct caps for general party and candidate-specific spending, of which only the latter is of use to independents; the capacity of nationally organised parties to receive donations up to the $50,000 cap in each of their state and territory branches; and a new measure prohibiting donors from contributing to more than five candidates per state or territory. As ever, the plaintiffs hope the court will deem the measures inconsistent with an implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication.
Do some of these relatives of the victims intend to walk around ramping up the vitriol towards Albo until they get what they think they deserve?
In The Age this evening:
‘He’s a coward’: Niece of Bondi victim lashes PM over royal commission.
What’s it going to be next,they knowing that Albo wont be taking the liberal option of issuing legal threats.
IMHO it’s high time to stfu and work within the system,rather than turning most Australians sympathy into indifference.
Those of you who are training your fire upon people who had close relatives murdered a fortnight ago, in most cases before their very eyes, are not very smart.
Socrates
Where do you get your information about Elon Musk and his Afrikaner
Background.
His mother was Canadian and they spoke English at home.
All his schooling was in.English medium and he has only a rudimentary knowledge of Afrikaans.
Hardly the backgound of an Afrikaner.
The families’ demand for a royal commission is 2nd item on RTÉ news
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/1229/1550770-bondi-shooting-investigation/
I have just cancelled my SMH subscription. Here is my letter, for what it is worth.
Dear SMH,
I have cancelled my subscription to the SMH tonight, with a heavy heart.
But, I can no longer watch you using the Bondi tragedy not only for overt political purposes, but to ensure a “feeding frenzy” that is more than likely to lead to bad outcomes for everyone.
The final straw for me was the article that has just appeared by Natassia Chrysanthos, entitled “A royal commission into antisemitism is a risk, but Labor’s excuses are wearing thin”.
Discussing a Royal Commission is fine, but the SMH is only presenting one, very emotive side. And of course that side is understandably distressed and frightened.
But, a hastily called Federal RC, when a NSW state one has already been called, is more likely to do harm than good. The RC being called for by the grieving Bondi relatives is exactly what the Coalition is calling for, and the TOR are designed to lead to a call by said RC that the recognition of Palestine should never have happened. I completely understand why the Bondi relatives are calling for this. They feel hurt. But the Coalition is cynically using this tragedy, as they did the Voice Referendum , to gain political points.
I am disappointed that the SMH has decided to go down this path, without presenting any nuance. It is highly unlikely that the decision to recognise Palestine caused this tragedy, and the SMH could talk to many experts on terrorism who could speak to this.
And by insisting on supporting just one side in this, the real investigations that wide-ranging enquiries could discover, if time were taken to set them up, will not be made. And the victims of this will include our Jewish community, if the real causes of this tragedy are not interrogated.
Anyway, this is the second time in my long association with the SMH, from having it delivered everyday when I was a child, and as an adult, subscribing when digital subscriptions became available, and leading / joining (it was some time ago) an academic revolt when our department started getting The Australian each morning. In that case we made sure that the SMH was available in the staff room each morning, although we were unable to stop the penetration of the Australian, alas.
The last time I stopped my subscription was around 2016/2017 (?) when James Massola had been the the political editor for a couple of years. His prime directive was so obviously “get labor” that I felt he was not capable of providing balanced commentary. Rob Harris was another one.
I could get all the “Get Labor” political spin I like from News Ltd, and so did not feel that Massola and Harris were offering me anything that I could not get, if I so desired , from the free news.com site. And, actually Malcolm Farr was pretty good!
I was then contacted by a representative of the SMH, to see if they could tempt me back with a cheaper deal. When I explained what I was unhappy with, the rep told me that Massola was a frequent reason given by SMH supporters who had cancelled their subscriptions.
Anyway, in 2021, anxious for Sydney COVD news, I signed up again, planning not to stay. But by that time the SMH was a different beast. Massola and Harris were on overseas assignments, and their reporting was good. And the locals seemed fairly non-POV.
I was particularly impressed when Bevan Shields took over as editor. The SMH had new life breathed into it. There was conscious effort to represent all of Sydney, and to try and present balanced views. Bevan Shields also brought an international perspective to local events – he understood that Sydney / NSW / Australia exist inside a globally connected world, and that we should pay attention to happenings elsewhere.
But the cancelling of my subscription has come not just from the coverage of Bondi.
I was sorry to see Bevan Shields step down as editor recently, expecting that he was taking a well-earned break for a high-pressure role.
But, immediately, the editorial tone and the selection of opinion pieces changed, to become more insular – stridently in favour of those who in Sydney felt that they should absolutely NOT have to have any new housing in their area, among other NIMBY causes. And the articles became more angry in tone. The angry in tone is for me the thing I cannot forgive.
Anyway, I realise that the less emotive but more factual articles of the SMH for the last half-decade, up until the recent change of editor, perhaps do not get the clicks required in our modern Hunger Games media environment, but I will really miss the SMH which existed until about 6 weeks ago.
For the first – and perhaps only – time in his career, Albo will be on the right side of history by doing … absolutely nothing.
He is entitled to revel in it.
Grimesays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:10 pm
Do some of these relatives of the victims intend to walk around ramping up the vitriol towards Albo until they get what they think they deserve?
In The Age this evening:
‘He’s a coward’: Niece of Bondi victim lashes PM over royal commission.
—————————————————–
The real cowards are the MSM who turnoff their comment section on every article relating to this. So we must have a royal commission so everyone can air their opinions? Yet we can’t even have an open comment section on articles that call for this. Bloody MSM hypocrisy.
“White, English-speaking South Africans such as Musk’s family benefited from apartheid’s racial hierarchy but lived mostly separate lives from the ruling Afrikaners.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/10/making-of-elon-musk-childhood-apartheid-south-africa
OC
Interesting. France 24 has not even noted the call for an RC, even though they are covering Bondi.
There are a large number of Irish, both expats and work visa holders in Bondi and the Eastern suburbs, as I am sure you know, so, what happens in County Bondi is probably very important.
“White, English-speaking South Africans such as Musk’s family benefited from apartheid’s racial hierarchy
__________
Thank goodness white English-speaking Australians never benefited from any kind of racist shit.
Douglas and Milkosays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:19 pm
[I have just cancelled my SMH subscription. Here is my letter, for what it is worth.]
A bloody good read your letter from your point of view so good onya.
The MSM in this country is a total disgrace and should hang their heads in shame.
Player Onesays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:20 pm
[For the first – and perhaps only – time in his career, Albo will be on the right side of history by doing … absolutely nothing.]
[He is entitled to revel in it.]
You’re getting a bit carried away with your lonely platitude don’t you think?
Albo will become big headed with your praise!
On the Boers, I wasn’t aware until I met one of a contingent of post-war German immigrants to South Africa, who drifted into the Afrikaans rather than English camps (possibly that creole they speak reminds Germans of Dutch), and sad to say, probably had German thoughts that arose in the 1940s.
I was struck by how the guy I knew really internalised the Boer thinking even when he wasn’t one.
Those of you who are training your fire upon people who had close relatives murdered a fortnight ago, in most cases before their very eyes, are not very smart.
Not me WB.
My fire is trained in Susssssan and her cronies. They have no excuse. They are a disgrace to Australia.
Douglas and Milkosays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:19 pm
I was then contacted by a representative of the SMH, to see if they could tempt me back with a cheaper deal. When I explained what I was unhappy with, the rep told me that Massola was a frequent reason given by SMH supporters who had cancelled their subscriptions.
_______________________
I wouldn’t be taking too much notice of that.
The rep was just trying to get you to stay and would say anything to stop you from leaving.
Standard sales tactics.
They weren’t going to disagree with you were they.
A Royal Commission, in some respects, would have been a great ‘out’ for Albanese if he had chosen this path a few days ago.
As even some of his critics have cited, he could then held back for however long it took for the RC to be set up, come up with recommendations and eventually lead to some political action.
As many have pointed out – based upon the historical models of RC’s – they do take a long time and they are expensive.
These are not the issue this time.
*I doubt there would be any unanimity in regarding the Terms of Reference. I suspect there would be a cry to concentrate only on the much referred to “anti-semitism” aspect. There are plenty who would feel this is much too narrow an approach.
*Then there is just who would be on the Commission? Sure as eggs are eggs, there would be lobbying to ensure the “right” outcomes are found to put in place during the commission’s life
*Regardless of the findings there will be political axes grinding to shout the loudest for the longest period of time for a chosen outcome.
*Some who want the RC are only looking for political discord and/or punishment.
*The end result would, I suspect, satisfy nobody.
This is the damned pity of it all.
An image of a menorah will be projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge to honour the 15 people killed in the Bondi terror attack. The City of Sydney initially planned to light up the bridge with an image of a dove with the words “peace”.
In an open letter on Monday, Jewish creatives criticised the “generic” use of the dove and urged for a “Jewish-specific symbol”.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-29/nsw-nye-sydney-changes-after-jewish-creatives-open-letter/106185368
The West Australian’s Facebook page has a pointer to an article suggesting we should all be kinder to each other in 2026.
Hypocrisy writ large.
Maybe they getting some feedback against their rantings of the last week.
And Player One, your comment about Albanese doing absolutely “nothing” is about the most stupid thing I have seen from you for some time.
Axe griding from the way-out there left this time I guess.
How many people have ever done any decent time because of a RC referring them for prosecution?
Taylormade
But they did pretty quickly move James Massola to the Asian Desk, and Rob Harris to the UK one, where the
lattelatter successfully reported quite frequently on the Royals.In an open letter on Monday, Jewish creatives criticised the “generic” use of the dove and urged for a “Jewish-specific symbol”
OFFS.
Seriously?
They want to claim their Torah is the source of all this wisdom and yet don’t want a symbol drawn directly from it. Too Mesopotamian? Abraham came out of Ur but that is not good enough apparently.
I presume what they want is the six-pointed Kabbalah symbol they use now on their flag, that is no more than a few hundred years old and now only denotes a nation-state that is NOT Australia, the place we have Australia Day for.
Fitzgerald got a one or two scalps
shellbellsays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:50 pm
Fitzgerald got a one or two scalps
—————————————–
Not the big one and I don’t mean big Russ.
Re Douglas & Milko @9:19.
”…but I will really miss the SMH which existed until about 6 weeks ago.”
A very good letter.
I’ll be cancelling my Sydney Morning Herald subscription as well. I haven’t been paying much attention to staff comings and goings, but it all seemed to change about a month ago with the Travel Expenses “scandal”, literally whipped up out of nothing, timed to coincide with the youth media ban and targeted at the minister who had carriage of it. An obvious political hit job with no merit beyond highlighting overly general family reunion benefits dating from the ATM era or earlier.
Now the current disgraceful pile on – the sort of crap you expect from NewsCorp, but I though that the SMH was better than that. Apparently not. Well, they can print it but I don’t have to pay for it.
It was hard to find out how to cancel, as with many things requiring a subscription. Ultimately I found somewhere saying that you had to phone them. I’ll do that when I get a minute tomorrow. James Massola will definitely get a mention.
D and M
You follow me by a numbers of years – in fact so long ago that I do not remember when
And from being around the town today, someone I respect re Global politics has suggested that, on the eve of a meeting, Trump is tiring of the Israel pm and the obstructions he is putting in place to extend the conflict with an opinion he will now mount strikes on other Nations in the Region
IF his reading is correct it will be interesting
William Bowe says:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:16 pm
Those of you who are training your fire upon people who had close relatives murdered a fortnight ago, in most cases before their very eyes, are not very smart.
It is very unfortunate that Likud, the Liberals and the Murdoch press turned the death of 15 innocent people into a political attack. The tragedy was always going to be lost.
I’ve just read something described as “Analysis” by Natassia Chrysanthos. It read more like Juvenalia. I am close to cancelling my subscription like Douglas and Milko has. I’ve bought the paper since 1971 and have subscribed with delivery as well as electronic since 2003. Where is their independence always as they say. Why do they allow themselves to be used as tools of the Liberal Party. There are some that remain independent in their thinking. Jacqueline Maley and Jenna Price, wrote two excellent pieces recently.
Steve777says:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:58 pm
Re Douglas & Milko @9:19.
I’ll be cancelling my Sydney Morning Herald subscription as well. It was hard to find out how to cancel, as with many things requiring a subscription. Ultimately I found somewhere saying that you had to phone them. I’ll do that when I get a minute tomorrow. James Massola will definitely get a mention.
_______________________
Tricot’s whingeing wall seems to be more of a Labor wall than a Liberal one.
Bob Lynch
“ All his schooling was in.English medium and he has only a rudimentary knowledge of Afrikaans.”
Sorry my error. I should have said Musk’s pro-apartheid family background not Afrikaans. The point was that both Musk’s father and father in law were politicians and both were pro-apartheid. Musk seems to have retained that ideology.
There has also been a recent change at the board level at Nine. The new Chair is Peter Tonagh as of a couple of months ago. This recent story is of interest: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/when-peter-met-the-pope-tonagh-gets-a-sermon-on-medias-moral-compass/
I find the previous Pope’s words, as expressed by Tonagh, of relevance to current events: “News organisations “can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing.””
There has also been a recent change at the board level at Nine
__________________________
Little known fact. As a child I wanted to grow up to be a corporate raider on Wall Street.
Douglas and Milko:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 9:19 pm
[‘I have just cancelled my SMH subscription. Here is my letter, for what it is worth.’]
I’ll be doing the same later this week, not due to any particular journo, but due to my observation, at least, that this once respected newspaper of record has morphed into a quasi tabloid. I did ring them to cancel my subscritption around a year ago, with the result that I too was offered a discount, which I reluctantly accepted, but not this time. I’m thinking of getting a sub for The Australian. At least I’ll know what to expect, and they do have some reasonable journos away from politics. A hearfelt letter, by the way.
Yes, well, I never had a subscription to the SMH, or any other newspaper in the first place.
If you really want to find out “the news” it’s easy enough to access it in one form or another.
And as for opinion, the opinions of overpaid hacks like Massola, Hartcher, or any one of a million others are no more free of bias, and no more valuable than anybody else’s.
Incidentally, I’m amazed at how many here, including supposedly highly educated Bludgers who should be able to think for themselves, produce duelling quotes from these bloated opinionistas’ scribblings, and hurl them at each other as if they count for anything, or prove some point other than the bleedin’ obvious: most corporate media is biased against any Federal Labor government, and that eventually this will assert itself. Any appearance to the contrary is both illusion and delusion.
We oldies should remember that just about no-one younger than 30 nowadays watches TV news, or reads newspapers. They are dying by the day and mean very little.
I didn’t bother to cancel my subscription to ‘ The Age’. I just didn’t renew it. That was a few years ago when channel 9 took over. I miss it like the plague.
”
Boerwarsays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 5:07 pm
Machine guns. The ADF still being actively considered. Freedom of assembly gone. Arrested for having a tatt. It is all happening!
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/29/police-machine-guns-sydney-new-years-eve-after-bondi-ntwnfb
”
OMG! Albanese is considering possible Minns request to deploy armed troops at Jewish religious sites.
From the article: The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Monday left open the possibility of deploying troops to guard Jewish sites in NSW.
I just had a look at a bunch of RCs. About ten were joint Commonwealth-State.
The reason being they are meant to cooperate. Isolated inquiries were the reason parallel letters patent were set up.
What happens if the terrorists were in Vic or were in contact with WA? The RC can’t look into that. And good luck getting anything out of the AFP.
I think this is a bad decision. ASIO looking at itself can happen quickly. Unless you don’t believe in RCs, this should have one.
steve davis @ #1112 Monday, December 29th, 2025 – 9:32 pm
They won’t. They have no shame and would gladly do all this shit again with no regrets until they get the perpetual LNP government of their owners’ dreams and live happily ever after.
I strongly believe it’s overdue time for a royal commission into everything I disagree with. Starting with The Carlton Football Club.
(Okay, that might have come across as a bit disrespectful, but the point is valid. You can’t just call for investigations into vague things you are opposed to with no particular terms of reference. Unless you’re Tony Abbott, of course.)
Ante Meridiansays:
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 12:03 am
I strongly believe it’s overdue time for a royal commission into everything I disagree with. Starting with The Carlton Football Club.
__________
I’d prefer an Inquisition for Carlton with possible burnings at the stake and other associated nastiness.
“We oldies should remember that just about no-one younger than 30 nowadays watches TV news, or reads newspapers. They are dying by the day and mean very little.”
==============
Sorry Bushfire Bill, you are quite wrong with that assertion. You don’t understand how mainstream TV news spreads around the country, “nowadays”.
Lets have a look at the No.1 social media platform – Youtube (other platforms will have similar figures)
* SBS News subscribers 99,500
* ABC News subscribers 374,000
*Ch.9 (Fairfax) subscribers 1.79m
* Ch.7 (Stokes) subscribers 2.09m
* Skynews (Murdoch) subscribers 6.04m
This is the reason why the politicians pay a tremendous amount of “respect” to Skynews.
The ratings for Sky on “TV tonight” are negligble.
Here’s the TV tonight ratings for yesterday.
Link: https://tvtonight.com.au/2025/12/sunday-28-december-2025.html
You won’t find a Skynews program in this list.
It’s what’s going on, on the social media platforms, where Skynews completely kills the rest (combined). I’ve excluded Ch.10, because I think just about everyone in Australia regards that channel as silly.
the government should put up posters saying ‘Keep Calm and Remember You are British”.
nadia,
There you go again, confusing the argument with facty kind of things. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
And you really should have a capital letter to start your name.
”
Griffsays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 8:07 pm
nath says:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 7:59 pm
SLsays:
+ Elon is doubling down on white nationalism and replacement theory:
___________________________
What the fuck happened to this man? His ass used to be beautiful.
___________________________
Nothing happened. You simply weren’t paying attention.
nathsays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 8:08 pm
Shut up Griff. You’re ass was never beautiful.
Griffsays:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 8:10 pm
nath says:
Monday, December 29, 2025 at 8:08 pm
Shut up Griff. Your ass was never beautiful.
___________
You are still not paying attention
”
I laughed so hard!!!!! 🙂
nadiasays:
* Skynews (Murdoch) subscribers 6.04m
________________
It is impressive, but a good chunk of that is coming from the US looking for international confirmation of their own prejudices.
Apropos of bugger all, I love The William Tell Overture. I wouldn’t’ve picked this version if the algorithm hadn’t recommended it. Which is a bit scary, when I think about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0&list=RDWDxd4LG3_0I&index=27
Some perspective on Sky News Australia’s 6 million YouTube subscribers courtesy of our friends at the Sydney Morning Herald:
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/how-sky-news-s-us-centric-digital-play-is-fracturing-its-newsroom-20230925-p5e7f4.html
This isn’t specific to Australia: right-wing British newspapers are increasingly gearing towards feeding culture war content to a US audience, much of it propagandising for the viewpoint that Europe is lost to western civilisation and (at least implicitly) that Americans should take a more favourable view of Russia.
How many of those 6 million SAD subscribers are in Australia though? (that would be 25% of the population)It provides, eg, a MAGAt friendly view of Australia, and their clicks are just as valuable for revenue. Anyway I find it hard to imagine that it has a large audience of local under-30s hanging on Andrew Bolt and Rita Panahi’s every word
I hear you, Mister Bowe. Thanks for pointing that out.