Stuff in the papers

With just under half the campaign to go:

• George Megalogenis in The Australian accuses Labor of spending the first two weeks of the campaign pursuing “an imaginary centre position between young and old”, instead alienating the former by being too conservative. Megalogenis explains Labor’s poll decline among older voters in terms of the global financial crisis having “ended the party for baby boomers just when they thought they had made it to a prosperous retirement”, and says the fear of falling property prices in Queensland (not shared in Sydney and Melbourne) has united young and old voters in that state against Labor.

Milanda Rout of The Australian reports the Coalition is pessimistic about Labor’s two Victorian marginals, Deakin and Corangamite, and fears defeat not only in La Trobe and McEwen, but even in seemingly unassailable Aston (where sitting member Chris Pearce is retiring).

Sean Parnell of The Australian offers the interesting tidbit that the Queensland Liberal National Party “allowed the federal Liberal Party to fundraise almost exclusively in the state – including through the mining debate – to fill its depleted coffers and avoid Queensland’s tougher disclosure laws”. The Bligh government reduced the threshold for disclosing donations from $1500 to $1000 in June 2008. This was presumably in anticipation of the Rudd government’s proposal to cut the threshold from $10,000 (to which the Howard government had hiked it from $1500 in 2005) to $1000, which is yet to come to fruition.

• The Adelaide Advertiser has launched a crusade against Barnaby Joyce over his rejection of Penny Wong’s call for a live debate over the River Murray in Adelaide, which Joyce dismissed as “parochial”. Joyce protests there will be “nothing much to talk about” in the absence of the water allocation plan, which the Murray Darling Basin Authority has contentiously delayed releasing until after the election.

• Phillip Hudson of the Herald-Sun reckons “ALP insiders have not seen any immediate improvement in their stocks from the PM’s pledge to unleash the ‘real Julia’.”

• Possum runs Newspoll and Nielsen state breakdowns through his fantabulous contraption and finds Labor 79.4 per cent likely to win at least 74 seats, 71.4 per cent likely to win at least 75 and 62.2 per cent likely to win at least 76 (i.e. an absolute majority).

• Antony Green’s Senate calculators are open for business.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

1,872 comments on “Stuff in the papers”

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  1. [Why would Turnbull campaign with Abbott when Abbott won’t give him either shadow finance or shadow treasurer? Plus Turnbull’s best bet for becoming leader again is for Abbott to lose the election.]

    He may be banking on Abbott winning, reverting to form, consequently becoming deeply unpopular with an electorate cranky with themselves for being stupid enough to believe him – in which case Malcolm will knife him and become PM?

    Actually, that’s highly unlikely.

    Dunno Tom – Mal’s just confused…

  2. I wonder if Ron Blaskett was ever charged with cruelty for keeping Gerry Gee in a case in his garage.

    I was raised on Melbourne TV so Gerry, Happy Hammond, Uncle Norman and King Corky were all a part of my childhood. Where these characters seen by children in other states? Those were the days before the coaxial cable between Mel and Syd. I wonder who paid for that cable, the TV networks or the government? If the latter I wonder if there was hot debate about the value of investing in such a technological advancement much like the NBN today. Every generation has its dinosaurs.

  3. drake@1851

    Why would Turnbull campaign with Abbott when Abbott won’t give him either shadow finance or shadow treasurer? Plus Turnbull’s best bet for becoming leader again is for Abbott to lose the election.

    He may be banking on Abbott winning, reverting to form, consequently becoming deeply unpopular with an electorate cranky with themselves for being stupid enough to believe him – in which case Malcolm will knife him and become PM?

    Actually, that’s highly unlikely.

    Dunno Tom – Mal’s just confused…

    and then call an Election a month later – watch the campaign go into free fall, and then Abbtt will appear on the Alan Jones show, do a mea culpa and then rejoin thee campaign as a hero. 🙂

  4. Ron we have been over this and it is really rather simple.

    The filter won’t stop what you think it will, believe me there are easy ways around it.

    The internet is NOT the same as TV or the Cinema, there are fundamental technical differences.

    And just to reiterate, the filter WILL NOT STOP child pornography.

  5. Google filters , Google agreed to comply as did 3 biggest providers Telstra Optus and Primus You dont understand th technology

    anyway you anti filterers is out of step with 80% who want it

  6. Ron we have been over this and it is really rather simple.
    The filter won’t stop what you think it will, believe me there are easy ways around it.
    The internet is NOT the same as TV or the Cinema, there are fundamental technical differences.
    And just to reiterate, the filter WILL NOT STOP child pornography.

    But it will stop Euthenasia information sites, sites the promote gay marriage, news-sites that are ‘against the public interest’.

    How long you reckon wiki-leaks would last?

  7. Graeme

    trying to win an election promising to raise energy costs and flow ons to every other aussie sector against a Abbott’s GBNT was suicidal which was why no DD was called , and for amaturs to suggest they know th marginal seat effect of that is just laughable

    Worse also , given Greens would be also attacking CPRS from extreme left in a DD as well , as they’d dishonestly done for peior 6 mths to cynicaly pinch Labor primary votes

    Once Coppenhaggen flopped and bi partisenship went , and Greens remained on there non negotiable 25% demands , CC became dead
    If greens had of been fair dinkum about CC they hav dropped there uneconamic stupid non negotiable 25% cut , and ofered to “discuss” on free permit levels , subsidies , trade exposed Industrys , coal station transition cnumerous negotiable areas eg loses , CC & S etc

    but no , Greens were after labors primary votes that all

    History per proveable Senate records shows only Labor put up 3 very sensible & econamic responsible Bills to mitigate co2 in this country , and Libs and Greens blocked them

  8. [ You dont understand th technology ]

    Ron I work up to my armpits in the technology every day, that is exactly why I am telling you it wont’ work.

    80 % of the population probably want a million dollars too, that doesn’t make it either technically sensible or good policy for the government to award it.

  9. [ How long you reckon wiki-leaks would last? ]

    As long as remote proxies and RSA encryption last.

    The whole debate is a waste of time,effort and resources,it’s basically another turn back the boats con job.

  10. Rossco @ 1775
    What! There are two Paul Murrays? Things are much worse than I thought.
    I’m confident there’s only one Mark Aarons though, revisionist and class traitor to boot.

  11. Ron
    [anyway you anti filterers is out of step with 80% who want it]

    I would rather be in the 20% with accurate information than the 80% without. It is easy Ron. Just do an internet search, find the information and cross over. Enlightenment can happen.

    privi izumo
    [How long you reckon wiki-leaks would last?]
    Too true. I have not even touched on that yet.

  12. Leon
    But everything Aarons said was consistent with the farce we have been watching. Beware of shooting the messenger in the court of election fever.

  13. some you guys need to read 1992 Broadcast Act , this smut RC rated is already legal for th Net , so anti filterers is 18 yrs behind times Further that Act provided for a net filter to do mechanism

    Puff & Jon
    Stop referring to r18 catgory , it is only RC rated that net filter will cover

    If Net Filkter does not block any child porn then libartarien rites of pedifiles viewing child porn ar unaffected

    BUT if you is conceding net filter will block SOME child porn , then suggest you got a big problam with 80% parents wanting it diminished

    If you expect net filter has to be a silver bullit , then thats unreelistic because we do ont even got a silver bullitt fighting heroin , but we still fight it

    If you dismiss Telrsta Optus google and Primus agreeing to comply and you think you gratr expert , good luck

    privi izumo
    transparansy is a legit point you raise I’m confident legilastion if ever fully drawn would be air tite it only covers those specific RC rated areas and not gay marriage ,

    why ? because both GLabor and Geens not sdilly enuf to leave a loop hole for FF or Libs to utalise (also via Labor’s Kate Ellis you may not recent stronger tansparansy incl immediate warning you’v been blocked and an oversite committee There may even be as she prefers a mandatory opt in and later discretion opt out (w or w/o a very basic net filter

  14. Front page of the OO Website:

    Underwear meet Fecal matter:

    Pariah to messiah: he’s back

    Matthew Franklin and Sean Parnell JULIA Gillard has been forced to turn to dumped predecessor Kevin Rudd to revive her flagging re-election campaign.

    * PAUL KELLY: With each day, it’s more about Kevin
    * EDITORIAL: One campaign, two ALP leaders
    * DENNIS SHANAHAN: It takes two to tango but one to lead
    * DESPATCH BOX: Superman back to save the day
    * Poll: Marginal seats
    * GEORGE MEGALOGENIS: Five-way horse race

     http://www.theaustralian.com.au/ 

  15. Does anyone have anything recent from Dr Good’s blog on the betting odds… and are they better for the ALP with Kevin’s return(or should I say resurrection !)

  16. ron, repeat slowly three times: R18+ rating for gamers and net filter are two distinctly separate issues.

    Also the compulsory ISP internet filter will not stop any p0rn. NONE! I am not explaining why; look it up for yourself.

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