The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Galaxy has conducted a poll for SBS’s Insight program showing Labor leading 52-48 across a sample of marginal electorates: Dobell, Eden-Monaro, Blair, Moreton, Deakin, Stirling and Wakefield. The average margin in these seats is 3.5 per cent, so this suggests a combined swing of 5.5 per cent.
Reflections on the Miracle of Democracy at Work in the Greatest Nation on Earth
Galaxy: 52-48 in “marginals”
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Let us test the assumptions underpinning the latest burst of righteous indignation on this thread. Suppose for the sake of argument that there are a group of LNP candidates whose eligibility is in question. I am guessing that the ‘wrath-kindled gentle(people)’ such as LeftyE might say this is indicative of the ineptitude of a decaying government and I might well agree with them.
aj @ 690, some of these candidates may have positions on tribunals, committees etc like Newhouse, ie not their principle employment so it’s hard to know.
What it shows is the Government doing a most unseemly trawl, trying to dredge up something - anything - that might cause interference.
Transparent! What a mistake!
No it’d be a stretch to apply s329 in this scenario Lefty E.
Possible inelgibiilties are raised after every election… most of them are rejected. Warren Entsch, Jackie Kelly etc. have all faced accusations of inelegibility. They are usuaully raised after the election and not before.
Why change this all now? Why raise these possible inelegibilities (which can’t be tested) before the election? It’s an attempt to scare people into not voting Labor… which really stinks no matter which way you look at it.
The right thing to do would be to let the election occur fairly and challenge any inelegibility after the election.
Funny how all the allegations must be
“baseless”
“dirty tricks”
etc before ANY EVIDENCE IS PROVIDED.
How can you determine whether an allegation is baseless, when you have no information
Good grief Labor hacks, your fear is really showing.
As for the google searches, grow up.
Before Saturday arrives, the news will emerge that another 137 Labor candidates are indeed holding secret offices of profit under the Crown, so that a rematch election must be held by April 2008, or whenever Possum Comitatus’ model has calculated that the narrowing in the TPP vote will finally be completed from the Coalition’s perspective.
I suspect its in fact outright illegal behavior on the part of the Liberal party.
MS, West Lakes did used to be in Port Adelaide, but the 2003 redistributions shifted it into Hindmarsh for the 2004 election. The West Lakes booth was 40% Labor 2pp in 2004.
Howard took disingenuity to a new unprecedented low level. He politicized everything and now he pays the price. IM SO glad he did not pass on to Costello when he could have.
Such is the price of hubris. And on Sat night we will see it paid in FULL.
Enjoy.
I wonder if this is what they wanted to throw to the Tele a couple of weeks ago, but thought better of it before the madness really set in. Footage of strategy HQ: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKhtO8k0ILg
This is the Coalition’s “hail mary” pass - the one thing that (if everything went their way) could save the election for them.
The only problem is that it’s unravelling as we speak - and as soon as the official resignation letters are produced, this election will be over.
The “hail mary” has turned into a bomb and it’s about to explode in the Liberal party…
703 LTEP
Since when have the Tories done the right thing?
Glen 646
“Sean if it is true then it shows Labor is unfit to govern, if they can’t manage to follow procedures and follow the rules, why risk inexperience?”
I just came back for a laugh Glen, and you didn’t dissappoint. If you think, “can’t manage to follow procedures and follow the rules” means you are unfit to govern, have you read the Auditor general’s report on the government’s handling of the Regioanl Programmes (AKA Porkgate) money? Will Howard sack himself?
I’m not suggesting that your claim is true either, with one sitting member (Zappia) and one private lawyer (Neumann) at least, who are on the list of “inelligible” Labor candidates and can’t possibly be receiving a salary from the Commonwealth.
Desperate dishonest men do desperate things. People with a little dignity accept the people’s verdict with good grace.
Glen and all other Liberals present, see post 498 for advice.
Andrew Robb on Sky - press conference - saying Newhouse on advice from (QC??) is ineligible and there are another 12 other Labor candidates that may be the same - hasn’t named them
Mr Labor hack to you JIM. IF that is your real name.
Listening to Robb it is all about Newhouse and Wentworth.
Lies about eligibility? Smears?
Almost certainly.
But it would be a big mistake to ignore them.
Next thing you know, it’s a page 1 story.
If these ALP candidates had been smart Sean they’d have known when they had to resign from Commonwealth positions, but if this allegation is true then they are dunces just as if they’d not enrolled in the seat they were challenging.
‘Office of profit’ isnt that Liberal HQ?
679
Glen Says:
November 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Sean why vote for someone who could be ineligible so you’d have to vote again?
Sean if you don’t think this will be a maybe factor in a possible Howard 5th victory, check the 2002 State Victorian election, the Liberals Shadow Treasurer was not enrolled in his own seat. This showed the tories to be incompetent and we got a thrashing. I’d be worried unless Rudd can come out with proof that all the 13 are eligible to stand at the election.
Either way this will be a major political story tonight.
Glen,
See post 596 which I put above for your help so you didn’t have to go and look for it. This won’t be a story at all. #1 because the ALP are much better organized than the Vic Libs of 2002. #2 because if there were proof in all of these cases, the proof would have been presented already a la VIC 2002. I.e if you have evidence, you present it with the accusations. #3 because the Libs wouldn’t risk fronting such a story if indeed they had even more people in the same boat. #4 because such a collection of mass errors isn’t going to happen in this day and age, even the Libs (and yes I am giving you a little credit here) are smarter than that. This is a story put out for scare and smear and it will be treated as such. No one is listening to the governments fear campaign any more. Game/set/Match.
Any money bet the lawyer who gave the advice is a Liberal party member.
So THIS is the rabbit we’ve been waiting for to emerge from the hat. Perhaps it’s a Robbit?
We’ll see who’s the bunny.
The Libs are only making specific claims of invalidity against Newhouse, which we already knew about. The rest are just unspecifird “anomalies”, whatever that means.
It’s the desperate act of a desperate party.
If the Coalition was smart they wouldn’t say to voters “Vote for us, else we will challenge the result in court”. That just makes them sound like sore losers.
Wow, Turnbull must be REALLY struggling in Wentworth.
The liberals are saying it in the last week of an election, have they said anything true in the last week of an election since 1993? I think we are entirely right to be suspcious, very suspicious, they have motive and a track record of disgrace that will be very hard for any future government to match.
I don’t think they have said that, the tories are merely pointing out how unprepared and inexperienced this Labor Party is should these allegations prove correct.
If the ALP can’t get their candidates in order properly how can they manage a 1 trillion dollar economy?
–> Insert “Oh yes he is!…. Oh no he’s not!” discussion here <–
No, actually, I wouldn’t support attacking the eligibility of any LNP candidates, David Charles.
I’m interested in the popular vote only. None of that means and tricky Howardian shit.
LTEP, I have an LLB, and I know plenty of lawyers who’d happily front a court and argue s329 here, on the basis that it “is likely to mislead or deceive an elector in relation to the casting of a vote.”
ie why vote for an ineligible candidate and risk a boring by-election?
Where’s the information to say the allegations have any base?
Glen I notice that these allegations are still, in fact, only allegations.
It’s a bit rich to convict them all just yet.
Even if 1 or 2 are technically ineligible, the LNP will look desperate.
678 Pi Says: November 20th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
# 696 Glen Says: November 20th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
You should always remember that one glen. It shows your level of integrity, and the level of integrity that you expect from your leaders.
I live to a higher standard.
Glen
Thats exactly what they are saying. Shame its frog poo.
Dirty Tricks in Bennelong
Maxine McKew’s office has just called me to let me know that people with a Maxine poster in their yard are receiving letters on her letter head, and with a fake signature, letting them know that they should take the posters down due to vandalism. They have asked me to ignore these letters or bring one into them if I receive one.
I have also received a letter from a “Howard Supporter” claiming that Maxine is in league with Nick Kealty and Peter Costello to get rid of Howard and not really part of the Labor party at all.
Glen… you mean because Jackie Kelly was ineligible it means the Coalition were unprepared to manage the economy? By the way when you mention the economy you should put TRILLION in capital letters, make it more dramatic.
No, they are just showing that they realise voters prefer Rudd’s policies. So they are talking about anything except for policies.
This is what governments do when they know they are going to lose an election.
Governments don’t manage the economy, we have a mixed-market economy, we are not the Soviet Union.
What is clear though is the Labor needs to respond ASAP to these allegations. I’m assuming some will be simple to sort through and so they should get that out before the 6pm news bulletins start up…
Sorry, Julie, I made that up at 596.
My point was: I suspect it has as much credence and foundation as the Lib HQ claims.
If Robb had anything tangible he would have goen to the AEC. Otherwise this is straight out of the Karl Rove playbook, that all these jackals seem to idolize.
Disgusting isn’t it.
Jim, hate to tell you, but.. the google searches really do make a point about how Howard is talked about in the real world. Maybe they’ve got a point?
Glen,
The Liberal Shadow Treasurer in the 2003 Victorian election was not on the electoral roll for any seat in Victoria, and that’s what made him ineligible. He’d enrolled in the seat he was standing for, but was taken off the roll after a routine check revealed that the address he was enrolled at appeared to be uninhabited. You do not need to be enrolled in a particular electorate to stand for it.
This is will excite Speers and Shanahan and their ilk, but I doubt that it will resonate with people who don’t read blogs like this, and it may very well backfire.
Oh please that was one instance and besides she was serving in the military, these people (Laborites) have been working for the ‘Crown’ ie State ALP governments. One does look worse than the other.
Idiot.
Conspiracy theory #1 - maybe this is the exclusive brethren faction of the libs trying to sabotage Turnbull by making him look sour grapes?
More likely theory #2 - turnbull’s base lawyer instincts have kicked in and he’s called up an old mate from chambers to try and help him win an election
Ltep, it also helps if you make some ads, have a guy with some sinus issues saying ‘cad you trust labor with our 1.1 TRIYYON dollar economy?’ and then have a scary modulated voice at the end.
“I hardly think any poster on this site can say they support a political party that has never lied to or about anything?”
That is true, Glen. No party has even been 100% honest. But your party takes it to a whole new level where lying has become their modus operandi. I would find this intolerable if I were a supporter. Nobody does a service to either themselves, their party, or the country by supporting cheats and liars.
At least a few on the list were/are members of various boards (not the same as public service employees) eg. health board, port authority. The AEC Electoral Backgrounder # 19 says on this issue:
http://www.aec.gov.au/Parties_and_Representatives/Candidate/index.htm
Just desperate dirty tactics it would seem. No surprise there.
In case it hasn’t been noticed in the last hour or more, Newhouse’s problem was put to rest when it was noted publically earlier in the week that by virtue of the laws of the office of government he held, he was AUTOMATICALLY out of that job upon nominating himself. It didn’t even need a letter although he put one out there anyways. The NSW government has confirmed that. The fact that the Libs are still trumpeting this in spite of his being in the clear is clear evidence of a smear campaign.
Woohoo!! Scary!!
And on top of that it is number 13! Now if that does not bring bad luck I don’t know what will.
We are all doomed!!! You heard it from me first.
The union bosses are coming back. They are coming back…
Lock up your houses, protect your children and wait for…Godot!
This episode demonstrates why your party is unfit for democratic office, Glen.
Enjoy the long years in the wilderness.
Wait - the fact that they haven’t informed the AEC shows the Libs know they’ve got nothing. Otherwise, they would have been straight down there to disqualify the Labor candidates.
Labor has got to respond to this now….
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