Essential Research: 54-46 to Coalition
This week’s Essential Research poll has Labor recovering the point they lost last week, with the Coalition lead on two-party preferred down from 55-45 to 54-46. However, the primary vote figures suggest there is little in the change: the major parties are steady on 34 per cent for Labor and 48 per cent for the Coalition (although a one-point drop for the Liberals disappears from the Coalition total after rounding), with the Greens up a point to 11 per cent. Other questions find mounting opposition to the contention that the budget should return to surplus at all costs. Seventy-one per cent declared themselves opposed if doing so meant “cutting services and raising taxes”, with only 13 per cent supportive. Fifty-eight per cent said there was no need for the budget to return to surplus so quickly compared with 38 per cent in April, but if the government remains determined, the number who believe it should be paid for by removing tax breaks for high income earners (59 per cent) and increasing taxes for corporations (72 per cent) is up eight and nine points respectively. Only 35 per cent nominated cuts to “middle-class welfare”.
Further evidence of voters’ curiously social democratic bent was furnished by a question in which respondents were asked to indicated whether various parties had benefited from the mining boom: 68 per cent said yes for mining company executives, 48 per cent for shareholders and 42 per cent for foreign companies, against 12 per cent for regional communities and 11 per cent for “all Australians”. There was also an interesting question on the leaders’ performances during Barack Obama’s visit, in light of suggestions that Julia Gillard had been too effusive and Tony Abbott had politicised the occasion. The results suggest much more support for the latter contention than the former: Gillard’s performance was rated good by 38 per cent and poor by 23 per cent, compared with 18 per cent and 30 per cent for Abbott.
Categories: Federal Politics 2010-
One of the first nurses was from the famous Kong family. Sandra Eades would have been one of the first Aboriginal medics, but I don’t think she was the first.
Hmmm, not sure…
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Tom the first and best
That is a fact that Australia should be confronted with. The horrific treatment of Aborigines is so often excused because “Things were different back then”. Soooo how come in those self same days when things were supposedly so different your neighbours were giving such political recognition to “their natives” ?
by poroti on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Sandy Eades was waaaaay later.
But same state as Sandy.
by confessions on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Hmmmm, I could google of course, but I give up
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:04 pm
fess
Helen Milroy
by Diogenes on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:04 pm
You gotta love the heading. Is Hockey auditioning as a comedian?
Hockey tired of doing budget heavy lifting
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-29/opposition-tired-of-doing-budget-heavy-lifting/3702514
by victoria on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Dio is correct!!
by confessions on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:06 pm
poroti – hope SM won
Why is it that the Maori were more advanced than the aborigines. It wasn’t only the difference in the number of tribes, surely.
Were they trading with other islanders (not Australian)
by BH on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Did you Google Dio?
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:07 pm
I was interested in the comments earlier on about education.
At the risk of outraging some teachers among us, here are some observations and thoughts.
I recall my father going to night school when I was a young fellow (hadn’t started school) to get his NSW Intermediate Certificate (completion of 3 years of High School). Must have been around 1951 or 52. Yes, like many he went off to war having not a lot of schooling and caught up on his return.
He kept a few of his text books and my impression from when I reached Intermediate level was that his standard had been a little higher, particularly maths.
I completed High School and got my NSW Leaving certificate in 1964, among the last on the old system.
My eldest son was involved in piloting some VCE subjects at his High School in Victoria. The kids thought it was a joke and I tended to agree. Assessment based on assignments and plagiarism and copying rife and rarely detected.
I was horrified by what was being taught as ‘science’. My youngest son studied stuff like ‘The effect of electricity on society’ where we had studied ohms law and similar. When I raised it with his teacher expecting a defence of what he was teaching, I found he agreed with me!
Universities complain they have to run remedial maths for Engineering Students, and others studying maths, as they are just not entering university with a high enough standard.
Engineering courses now contain less mathematics than they used to and this has caused serious concern in the profession.
I would strenuously defend the teaching of humanities and their inclusion in Engineering and Science courses.
Professional Engineers and other science based professionals need to develop their communication skills, all the more so as they move into management.
I often wish I had put more effort into my humanities subjects, English, English Literature and French when in High School.
I followed a technical career, studying Engineering and ending up in IT, but these days, my ‘soft skills’ are much more important and I developed them in my post-graduate studies.
I heard on the radio this morning that the State Govt is encouraging (but not funding) the introduction of the International Baccalaureate in state secondary schools. I will be encouraging my grand-daughter to pursue this if she gets the option.
Joan Kirner has a lot to answer for, for inflicting the VCE on Victorian secondary students.
by bemused on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Mod Lib
Heck the first NZ national rugger team captain was Maori and a lawyer to boot ,also one of the first car owners in Wellington in the 1890′s. Meanwhile how “progressive” Australia declared themselves to be by voting in the first Aboriginal to the HoR in 2010 .
by poroti on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Mod Lib
I did quite a bit of stuff on burns in indigenous patients a while back.
by Diogenes on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:10 pm
The only heavy lifting sloppy joe does is when he buys a KFC family feast bucket as a mid morning snack for himself.
by castle on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:12 pm
bemused@1304
Nice to see a fellow traveller on the Free Software road!
I’m not at all familiar with the Apple ecosystem, but I understand the iPad is locked down very tightly. If you can find a Browser that is compatible with the GreaseMonkey scripts the script may just run without an issue.
However often the content served up from the web page is modified for a mobile platform and some underling assumptions made about the structure of the page is proved incorrect.
The first thing though is to get it running: This might help.
Let me know how it goes.
(P.S. You should have got an Andriod Phone
)
by Musrum on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:12 pm
You mean an Aboriginal who is LIBERAL
by Frank Calabrese on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Fully agree with that. In fact my memory of it that indigenous issues did pretty well out of the overseeing of Chaney and Viner. In some respects these ministers, under Fraser, helped get some things going that had reached a bit of a log jam under Labor.
It is all the more amazing that both were WA Liberals, whose state otherwise was legendary for reactionary politics and racism. It didn’t do their careers a lot of good but showed commendable integrity.
Maybe it does prove your point, ML, that goodness is not necessarily about where you are on the political spectrum; it’s what lies within the person.
Not that I’m promoting Liberal causes, mind, but we ought to be able to acknowledge that some individuals are pretty decent and can make a difference. I was always impressed with Tom Playford, notwithstanding the limitations of being a man for his times. His attitudes on public housing ought to be emulated by others.
Well, off to bed now for an early shift tomorrow. Night all.
by Gorgeous Dunny on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Do any of you worry about this country?.
We have a very pedestrian right-wing “Labour” government, totally uninspiring and more loyal to the US of A than this country or its traditions..
against a totally lunatic anti-intellectual extremely silly “Liberal” party which is equally more loyal to the US of A.
I despair……
by swamprat on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:13 pm
And I am proud to say he is a liberal, just like the first Indigenous senator.
We sure as heck need more in the decision making roles though don’t we? Perhaps the dedicated seats solution of the New Zealand system- but I am not a big fan of the rest of the MMP.
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:13 pm
If only mordors Myrmidons would come clean and talk openly about their employment circumstances like Mr Peppiatt at Leveson
by Gaffhook on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:14 pm
and on things financial some one else may have already posted it but another ratings agency gave OZ govt a AAA rating.
First time all three agencies have Oz at AAA, not even howie and tip achieved that despite the mega billions flowing in from the mining boom, another addition to Finns list.
by castle on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Then well done Dio.
You are rIGHt yet again!
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:15 pm
An Aboriginal Australian cricket team toured England many years before that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_cricket_team_in_England_in_1868
by confessions on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:16 pm
GD: Good night
swamprat: yes
Dio: love the Republican horse race!!!! Thanks.
Good night all.
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I am not sure what you mean by ‘advanced.’
But some critical differences were:
Maori farmed livestock (pigs)
Maori had agriculture
Population densities, particular in the North Island were therefore far greater than population densities in Australia.
Maori fighting involved fortifications, the frequent use of disciplined mass formations and many tactics that quite readily lent themselves to muskets.
Maori were able to trade pig meat for muskets in significant enough numbers to make a miltary difference.
Despite all these differences, Indigenous people in Australia still controlled parts of Australia until into the 1930′s when the last military conquering incursion by non-Indigenous authorities was planned for Arnhemland. It never happened because the Government was talked out of it by a remarkable chap whose name just now eludes me.
The last massacre of Indigenous people in Australia was probably the Coniston massacre of 1927 which was essentially a semi-amateur colonial military response to Indigenous resistance.
by Boerwar on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Someone is going to lose their job:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/12169615/police-sped-while-escorting-cold-chisel/
by Frank Calabrese on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Mod Lib @ 1344
I can only wonder at the inner mental turmoil that causes – passionate about Indigenous Health and supporting the party that has, with few exceptions, been so negative and destructive toward indigenous people.
Well when you are not quoting the Fib talking points etc what you do say would resonate with a lot here and in the ALP. You really do need to take a more critical at what you think you support. The Fibs are rapidly becoming a party of the radical right with their own alternate universe of made up ‘facts’.
There was a link posted on PB at the weekend to an article by David Thrum? about this happening to the Republicans. Our own Fibs are headed in that direction and not far behind.
by bemused on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Mod Lib you are probably a nice bloke or nice shiella but to pretend that the Liberal Party is “liberal” is totally absurd
by swamprat on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I have to say, having worked with Ken Wyatt, I am genuinely surprised he is a Lib.
Ditto for Ernie Bridge.
by confessions on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:18 pm
@musrum
And then take over as ‘root’ – an infinite variety of options available then! (to the extent that you most likely spend all your time trying to work out what and whose patch your going to try).
by CTar1 on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:18 pm
BH
Sadly for Sth Melbourne fans. The NZ Natives team on the 30th May 1889 won. Close game though.
NZ Natives 40 (6/4)40 vs South Melbourne 37 (4/13)
by poroti on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Hockey also claimed that Swannie is stealing his ideas, so he’s not going to have any more for 2 years – or if he does, he’s not going to tell the public.
by sprocket_ on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm
On the topic of Indigenous leadership lots on non-Indigenous people have made ‘helpful’ suggestions over the last couple of centuries.
What has been conspicuously notable is the paucity of, the barreness of, the viciousness of, and the sheer repetitive nature of the failures of, much non-Indigenous leadership when it comes to Indigenous issues.
by Boerwar on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm
and Bess Price I hear…
by Mod Lib on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm
G’night ML. Enjoy the conference, and I’d really appreciate any reports you’d care to give.
by confessions on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Nah.
by William Bowe on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:21 pm
there is so much to criticise about Hockey. why the references to his weight? totally unnecessary
by Andrew on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:22 pm
No, sorry – I see Mod Lib does.
by William Bowe on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Musrum @ 1363
Thanks for the tip.
I will look at that and see how I go.
Diigo is supposed to be ‘like Firefox’
by bemused on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Indigenous thinking now spans several ideological lines. This includes the thinking of people like Mr Noel Pearson whose basic views would be somewhere to the right of centre in the Liberal Party. It should not surprise anyone that Indigenous people stand for, and get, seats as Liberal Party candidates. Nor should it surprise people that Liberal supporters include those who are passionate about Indigenous issues. Their nostrums might be different but their concern about the condition of many Indigenous people is real.
by Boerwar on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:25 pm
bemused
I’ve taught HSC and VCE and VCE was far more rigorous and less easily rorted.
VCE allowed students to be extended – discouraged slacking by the bright students, because they were being measured against themselves, not against others, encouraged the not so bright to believe that they could improve.
The proof of the pudding was that (in its original version) public school students tended to do better than private schools, because rote learning and prepared answers didn’t cut it any more.
As a result, it’s been watered down a little (and the original model was very expensive to run, unfortunately). But it is still far superior to HSC, because it judges students’ performance across a range of activities throughout the year, rather than one set piece at the end.
by zoomster on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:26 pm
William Bowe
Refer Anti Nowhere League http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH7pOUm5s9k
by poroti on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:26 pm
1367
The separate Maori representation dates back to 1867 under FPTP. MMP was introduced in 1996. The original proposal for MMP in 1986 (the Royal Commission into the Electoral System) had the Maori seats being abolished but this was success fully campaigned against.
by Tom the first and best on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:27 pm
200% agree bemused
by daretotread on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:31 pm
More like heavy digging!
by BK on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:31 pm
fredn
In comment 1989 you wrote “the generation that introduced HEC’s got their education for free because of Whitlam’s changes”.
Sorry but I have to disagree. When HEC’s was introduced in 1989 most of the people who managed to get free university were about 33 years of age or younger. I don’t think many of them (if any) would have been involved in the decision by the Labor Party to introduce HEC fees.
The Labor Party leaders at the time, Bob Hawke (born 1929) & Paul Keating (born 1944) even pre-dated the “baby boomers” (the vast majority of whom, despite the rewriting of history by later generations, never received a free university education). I believe the youngest Cabinet member at the time was Nick Bolkus who was born in 1950. John Dawkins who was the Minister for Employment, Education & Training when HEC fees were introduced was born in 1947.
If any member of Cabinet got a free university education it would have been as a mature age student.
Cheers
by FrankL of Templestowe on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:31 pm
i suppose when i say “this country” it is a totally different country to what you all understand… when i was young, many decades ago, Australia was going to be a radical new society .. but now its highest ambition is to be another capitalist “economy” the most successful party to do that is, ironically, the Labour Party….. so sick
by swamprat on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:31 pm
So Hockey said Labor would NEVER produced a surplus
Now if/when they do, it will be FAKE
Give me a break. How can the MSM let them get away with this crap
by Andrew on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Move
by Frank Calabrese on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Diogenes,
I freaked out a few weeks ago on this site and lashed out indiscriminately. My Dad got crook. Someone wore it. Sorry to any and all.
My question to you is, do you think the possible closure of the ICU at the QEH is wise regarding the geography and population in that area.
My Dad was in there for two weeks after a massive stroke but recovered, went down, recovered, then died right there with me and Mum with him. It was bad and good at the same time. Shit!, it was only Saturday. The doctors and nurses in there were magnificent and I cannot speak highly enough of the care that Dad received.
It was a real boot for one who hears talk about health budget cuts and nurses wages and everything that has been happening on that front.
The QEH was just great to us, and those nurses and the docs and the warmth and respect they showed are etched into the family pantheon.
by grey on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Zoomster
But can they still integrate 1/x. Maths is maths and there is NO rote learning possible.
I think that is bemused’s point
What you say is probably true of essay based subjects but not really of maths and only partly of science.
by daretotread on Nov 29, 2011 at 10:35 pm