Category Archives: Politics & Government

Indigenous constitutional recognition – will we get more than symbolism?

The recent Fairfax Ipsos poll said 85% of people supported the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Australia’s first inhabitants. Hence on the surface a referendum planned for 2017, the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum looks like passing. However, indigenous leaders have made it clear that they regard such an outcome as merely symbolic. They want discrimination within the current Constitution dealt with. This is where the trouble begins. Continue reading Indigenous constitutional recognition – will we get more than symbolism?

Same-sex marriage: a matter of equal rights

Dennis Atkins has written an opinion piece in the Courier Mail on US Supreme Court judge Justice Anthony Kennedy’s “coherent, comprehensive and cogent” majority judgement on same-sex marriage. The judge reasons and writes beautifully:

Poll stuff 1/7

In the dead tree version of the Oz, the headline read Coalition high in PM’s home state. Aha! I thought, the latest Newspoll must be good for Labor, if that’s all they can find to say! Then I saw it at the head of the table – 50-50 in NSW.

In fact the two-party preferred (TPP) number favoured Labor 53-47, but they hid the number as much as possible and didn’t mention it in the text. Continue reading Poll stuff 1/7

The Killing Season continues

Mark forecast that participating in the program The Killing Season would diminish both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. He was right – Gillard more than Rudd.

Anthony Albanese was also right when he said that you shouldn’t change a first term prime minister on the basis of a newspaper story and again when he said that on that night the Labor Party killed two prime ministers. Continue reading The Killing Season continues

Australia’s Future Workforce: up to five million jobs to go

There is a vague feeling of unease abroad about Australia’s economic future, as the mining industry peaks, the car manufacturing industry evaporates and now Woolworths announces yet another job bloodletting – this time 1200 staff to go. This unease was picked up in the Lowy Institute Poll 2015, where our economic optimism rose from 2005 to 2009, then fell from 2010 to 2015: Continue reading Australia’s Future Workforce: up to five million jobs to go

Poll stuff 17/6: Lowy Institute edition

The Oz headlines Bill Shorten in its Newspoll report, and not in a good way. 54% are dissatisfied with his performance, only two less than Tony Abbott. But surprisingly 34% now think Abbott is doing a good job, compared to only 28% for Shorten. This gives Shorto a net satisfaction rating of -26 to Abbott’s -22. Continue reading Poll stuff 17/6: Lowy Institute edition

Hockey does it again

    Hockey’s proneness to mistakes matters well beyond issues around the housing bubble. It’s not just that he has been a serial creator of problems for the government. It’s also that this is a particularly challenging time for the economy, which requires a treasurer who’s seen both as competent and as in touch with ordinary people’s situations.

Continue reading Hockey does it again