That’s the view of Laura Tingle in the AFR. She has plenty support.
Judges have to appear impartial. Justice Dyson Heydon has said so very forcefully in the past as a judge. Continue reading Saturday salon 15/8
On the morning before the joint party room discussion on same sex marriage I received an email from the Courier Mail with the headline
Abbott has maintained on pollie travel entitlements that the system is broken, it’s not so much the actions of individuals. Bronwyn Bishop, however, erred and was Abbott’s pick. If the system is broken, then the party in government is held responsible. Either way Abbott can’t escape. Continue reading Abbott still in the mire
Bronwyn Bishop will have to get by on a pension of $255,000 plus 10 free domestic return flights a year if she were to take the Prime Minister’s hint and quit Parliament at the next election. Continue reading Saturday salon 8/8
Last week’s Morgan poll had Labor ahead 54-46, Essential continues at 53-47. There was no Newspoll this week but the Abbott Government’s political fortunes remain decisively buried. Interest turns to how the leaders are tracking. Here the news is that “Don’t know” and “Anyone else” are performing very well indeed. Continue reading Poll stuff 5/8
The Roy Morgan poll, taken over the past two weekends, headlines:
Support for the LNP is down 3 points to give Labor a lead TPP of 54-46. The Greens support is at 15% (up 1.5%) – the highest Greens vote since September 2010. Continue reading Politics after Bronnie and the ALP conference
Turning back asylum seeker boats can only be done legally and ethically, in my view, with the agreement of transitional countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Unfortunately the form of the decision made at the ALP conference makes clear that the ALP would seek to act without such agreement. Continue reading Turning back boats – only by agreement
It can’t be true. In the UK unemployment is being redefined as a psychological disorder as part of an effort to cut the welfare bill by $12 billion. And, says an article in the New Scientist (can’t find the link), the UK
They say “claimants must demonstrate characteristics deemed desirable in workplaces, like confidence and enthusiasm, in return for welfare.” Continue reading Pathologising unemployment
The ALP constitution states:
In practice Labor has been the party of privatisation. The last time they proposed nationalising anything was in 1947, when Chifley wanted to nationalise the banks. It was one reason he lost the election. Continue reading Will Labor dump the Socialist Objective?
Back on July 13 Roy Morgan had Bill Shorten’s support ‘crumbling’ with Labor just ahead at 51-49 TPP. With the new Newspoll, Shorten’s support ‘sinks deeper’, but hey, who cares, Labor leads 53-47, up one from last time. Continue reading Poll stuff 22/7
The Abbott government plans to give itself the option of calling a double-dissolution election based on trade union corruption when Parliament resumes in mid-August, according to Phillip Coorey and Patrick Durkin in the Fin Review. Abbott will try to reap the reward for his $80 million investment in the royal commission. Continue reading Abbott sets up for a double-D poll
The Economist spells out the message – inequality is bad for growth. And the growth they are talking about is plain old-fashioned GDP, not newer measures of happiness or well-being. Continue reading Inequality is bad for growth
