The NSW Election – Gladys versus Michael.

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Demolition work on Allianz Stadium has been going ahead just days before this Saturday’s election.

I’m hoping this photo is predictive of the Coalition vote crashing across NSW.

444 thoughts on “The NSW Election – Gladys versus Michael.”

  1. Catch you all tomorrow afternoon. Power interruption tomorrow from 8 to 4.30. Will have to do some on electric housework and go to cricket presentation for our little cricketer who won their final today.

    Did I mention, I’m going to be a great grandmother, future parents are glowing with pride.

  7. Was about to spit in disgust over Latham getting in, but, he seems to have beaten a Christian Democrat in the process, so, about a fair exchange.

    I don’t think he’ll be an ally of Hanson for all of the 8 years, given his attitude to women, so, he’ll probably be like David Oldfield who was in there from 1999-2007 as an irrelevant independent for most of his term.

  10. I hate this result, but, I knew it was most likely going to happen once the results of the 2015 election came in. Labor needed at least 53-47 tonight because several seats it held from 1995-2011 were now held by the Coalition by 60%+, like Parramatta, Riverstone, Camden, Bathurst, Ryde etc.

    I only hope that the final 2pp is actually 51-49, because the electorates will be redistributed before the 2023 election and hopefully that can provide Labor with a better map to victory than was provided tonight.

  11. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Lisa Visentin looks at Daley’s future.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/poor-showing-will-trigger-questions-about-daley-s-leadership-20190323-p516xk.html
    Peter FitzSimons recons the federal brand was a key reason for Berejiklian’s near-death experience.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/federal-brand-a-key-reason-for-berejiklian-s-near-death-experience-20190323-p516xw.html
    Kathrine Murphy says that while the Liberals may take some joy from the result in NSW, the poor showing for the Nationals is set to inflame Coalition divisions and leadership speculation
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/23/for-the-nationals-people-in-the-bush-are-clearly-waiting-with-baseball-bats
    And Anne Davies writes that the NSW results show all the major parties are vulnerable to the loss of their traditional bases and competition from independents
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/23/rising-tide-of-minor-parties-stark-warning-for-the-liberals-and-nationals
    Michael Koziol tells us that there’s a reason the PM lacked credibility when facing off against Waleed Aly.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/there-s-a-reason-the-pm-lacked-credibility-when-facing-off-against-aly-20190322-p516jy.html
    Despite showing sympathy for the victims of the Christchurch attack, Scott Morrison’s past anti-Muslim rhetoric is not forgotten, writes James Fitzgerald.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/scott-morrisons-comments-on-muslim-immigration-may-come-back-to-haunt-him,12496
    More from FitzSimons as he writes about the curious case of the PM, Waleed and the Muslim question.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/curious-case-of-the-pm-waleed-and-the-muslim-question-the-fitz-files-20190322-p516od.html
    In the shadow of atrocity, New Zealand’s Prime Minister has demonstrated the power of a few well – chosen words, and of letting actions speak loudest says Helen Pitt.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/jacinda-isms-some-lessons-for-leaders-in-how-to-ardern-up-20190322-p516mq.html
    Laura Chung previews tomorrow nights Waleed Aly interview with Ardern.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/do-you-mind-if-i-give-you-a-hug-jacinda-ardern-meets-waleed-aly-20190323-p516u0.html
    Liam Mannix tells us how big pharma gets what it wants. He says an investigation by The Age revealed Pfizer’s ‘safe, non-addictive’ nerve-pain pill was highly addictive, dangerous when taken with other drugs, and came with a range of nasty side-effects – including suicidal thoughts.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/lyrica-pfizer-and-how-big-pharma-gets-what-it-wants-20190211-p50x1z.html
    Paul Sakkal reveals that Tim Wilson sent 6000 unsolicited letters to superannuation trustees, including thousands who live outside his electorate, encouraging them to sign up to a Liberal party campaign against Labor’s franking credits policy, potentially putting him in breach of parliamentary spending guidelines.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-mp-tim-wilson-sends-6000-unsolicited-franking-credit-letters-raising-questions-over-use-of-expenses-20190322-p516om.html
    Barbra Streisand has sparked outrage for comments she made about two men who have accused Michael Jackson of sexually assaulting them as children. She hasn’t aged well.
    https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/barbra-streisand-criticised-for-defending-michael-jackson-saying-abuse-didn-t-kill-his-victims-20190324-p516ym.html
    Sam Hurley writes that climate change is reshaping Australia’s economy and financial system, and its consequences will be devastating without urgent action. If that message had not hit home, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s intervention last week made it clear. The heavyweights are now speaking with one voice.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/heavyweights-now-speaking-with-one-voice-on-climate-change-risks-20190322-p516hz.html
    In this week’s roundup, John Wren grapples with the pure senselessness of the Christchurch tragedy, imploring all to take action against the seeds of racism and hate.
    https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/wrens-week-tragedy-prejudice-and-white-supremacism,12498
    John Collett explains how a federal government reform meant to help consumers more easily compare hospital health insurance policies is instead creating confusion for consumers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/money/insurance/consumers-risk-terrible-deal-on-health-insurance-if-they-switch-now-20190320-p515pd.html
    Caitlin Fitzsimmons writes that Assies don’t regret the time we spend at work and we gain most of our sense of self-worth from our paid jobs.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/how-australians-really-feel-about-their-jobs-20190320-p515sy.html
    On the other hand none of us have to work. But the alternative is generally worse, writes Jim Bright.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/work-can-offer-us-plenty-but-let-s-not-oversell-it-20190318-p51598.html
    Numerous votes have been quarantined in one of NSW’s most marginal seats after a volunteer working for a political party issued ballot papers to Strathfield voters in an election day bungle. A top effort that!
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/ballot-papers-quarantined-in-strathfield-after-election-day-bungle-20190323-p516wt.html
    What the last week tells us about Theresa May’s state of mind.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/23/theresa-may-state-of-mind-brexit-farce
    With independent media on the rise, author and commentator, Kim Wingerei, who has just launched the Independents, looks at the top performers. Traffic for this website is up 60 per cent. Why? Perhaps, as Tim Dunlop observed on Twitter this week: “@MichaelWestBiz had found his own niche – actual f…ing news”.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/independent-media-continues-to-grow-while-mainstream-media-stagnates/
    Matthew Knott looks at what might be in Mueller’s report whose contents could be released as early as this weekend. He says Trump will emerge with one of two outcomes: vindication or disaster. An anxious America holds its breath.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/mueller-probe-is-over-but-will-trump-emerge-vindicated-or-condemned-20190323-p516tb.html
    Reuters reports that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is cooperating with a wide-ranging probe by the US House Judiciary Committee into Trump and possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power, a person knowledgeable about the matter said on Friday.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-s-son-in-law-jared-kushner-cooperating-with-us-house-probe-source-20190323-p516ye.html
    A West Australian priest has been found dead after being alerted that he was under investigation over child sex-abuse allegations. Catholic priest Father Joseph Tran was found dead, with reports in Western Australia saying he died by his own hand.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/wa/2019/03/23/wa-priest-accused-of-molesting-teen-girl-found-dead/

    Cartoon Corner

    From Matt Golding.




    Zanetti pretty well sums up the NSW election.
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D2TXjASUwAEEj9r?format=jpg&name=small

    From the US





  13. Kirsdarke – good to hear from you – I hope you are thriving

    The result in NSW is a shame for

    the Murray Darling Basin
    public schools
    public hospitals
    refuges for women escaping domestic violence
    inhabitants west of Harbour Bridge

  14. In one of the biggest demonstrations in British history, a crowd estimated at over one million people yesterday marched peacefully through central London to demand that MPs grant them a fresh referendum on Brexit.

    The Put it to the People march, which included protesters from all corners of the United Kingdom and many EU nationals living here, took place amid extraordinary political turmoil and growing calls on prime minister Theresa May to resign.

    Although organisers said precise numbers had been difficult to gauge, they believed the protest could have been even bigger than that against the Iraq war in February 2003.

    The decision by so many to take part, waving EU flags and banners and carrying effigies of Theresa May, came just three days after the prime minister said in a televised statement to the nation that she believed the British people did not support another referendum, and blamed MPs for trying to block their will.

    Senior politicians from all the main parties joined the march, including Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, former Tory deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the SNP leader and first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/23/one-million-march-against-brexit-tories-plan-oust-may

  15. The Fitz Files –

    So Stan Grant spent a week deciding whether or not he should take up FauxMo’s offer of a Liberal seat.

    Two things from that –

    1 – We always knew Grant was a right winger. At least, I always knew. He’s your classic coconut, something he has often been called by his own people. (Look it up if you don’t get it.)

    2 – The “sparkling” Julie Bishop is hanging out with the Turnbulls. What are they plotting? I hope it’s a book and I hope FauxMo gets a few chapters.

    And a question –

    Why do indigenous Australians seem so keen to be Liberal politicians? The party has done nothing for them. I’ve wanted an answer to this question since Neville Bonner’s time, no-one has ever been able to tell me why.

    • I noticed Gladys had dragged that old bloke to Penrith, a marginal seat held by Marise Payne’s toyboy, Stuart Ayres.

      Ayres looks like hanging on to his seat, but so far there has been a 4.7% swing against the Libs there, very risky considering Ayres only had 6.2% to start with.

      Howard really worked wonders in Penrith!

      I wonder where else Gladys took him.

  20. Moving right along – Bill Shorten not wasting any time on the NSW result, no doubt preferring to be seen with winners.

    This morning, half an hour ago, in Melbourne with Dan Andrews, announcing road upgrades across south east Melbourne – slashing travel times, creating jobs, and more time with family

    Sound starts about 40 seconds in.

  22. Over the a blogger has made this observation of the NSW election:

    “The final good bit of news out of this is that Labor will have to have a climate change policy to win at Federal level. You should not become PM just by having a small target strategy.”

    This my response:

    I agree in the sense that Labor needs a climate change policy as bold and decisive as “No Dams” policy in stopping the Franklin Dam in the 1983 Election.A policy of No New Coal with a 10-15 year phasing out of all coal mining. A policy of making Australia a Renewable Energy Superpower both in generation and technology.

    It won’t happen with the current Labor Team. This is despite the electorate wanting decisive action on climate change. The school kids strikes (The Childrens Crusade of 21st Century), the RBA sounding devastating economic and financial consequences without urgent action. Even the CIA have been warning of climate risks in their worldwide threat assessments. The common theme: Urgent Action.

    The LNP offer no real action. Just cosmetic tinkering. Labor, certainly much much better but falling short of urgent action. There is a cognitive dissonance between the Australian electorate and the political class represented by the major political parties on this issue.
    I believe that this will be reflected by a large increase in the Cross Bench members in the coming Federal election. (Imho, a doubling from the current 7 to 14).

    Labor will win, but not in a landslide. I hope that I’m wrong and that Labor will have some further major climate and energy policies closer to the election. So far, Labor has a small target position. I can’t see this changing.

    • One thing i came to realise during the RGR years was the Labor party harboured a surprising number of dinosaurs. Sadly the dinosaurs seemed to have influence . I really do hope enough of those ‘dinosaurs’ have gone the way of the dinosaurs such that they are of little to no significance. Time as they say will tell.

    • I blame the media.

      They have been telling us politics is “broken” and constantly referring to “politics” when they have something critical to say about the government, whether it’s state or federal.

      Their right-leaning bias is all to obvious, as is their cheer-leading for the Coalition. They rarely have anything positive to say about Labor, instead rushing to confect a scandal about something stupid Daley said six months ago, while real scandals involving Coalition corruption were never mentioned.

      The media succeeded in convincing enough politically disinterested NSW voters to stick with what they had because there’s no point changing a government when both sides are, so they say, exactly the same.

      This result was just one state, don’t read too much into a possible flow-on to the federal election.

      Despite the MSM trumpeting the win as a triumph for Gladys it really isn’t any such thing. The Coalition had a swing against it and as counting progresses the swing becomes larger. There have been swings against the government in Liberal and National sets and this will be reflected in the federal results.

      Labor still has to release that climate change policy. The MSM have been pressuring Shorten to do that whenever he holds a presser, his reply is always the same – “when we are ready/closer to the election”. Fair enough. He’s letting the media know Labor will not be bullied into a rushed release of a policy before it is ready.

      I’ll be voting independent for both houses come the election. I don’t need to pay attention to the seemingly endless stream of opinion pieces from biased journalists, I decided who I would vote for ages ago. I won’t be changing my mind.

      I’ll be voting for Rob Oakeshott (of course) for the Reps because I’m selfish and want an MP who will work for this electorate, not a party hack, and Father Rod Bowers for the Senate, with Labor getting my Senate preferences.

      This will be the first time in my 50 plus years of voting that I won’t be putting Labor first for the Senate. I don’t think Father Rod has much chance, but it’s worth a shot simply because of his stance on refugees. I can’t stomach the Lib/Lab insistence we must stay cruel to deter “people smugglers” by maintaining offshore detention. I loathe Labor saying we must have third country resettlement (but not for asylum seekers who arrive by plane) and I’m fed up with mealy-mouthed wafflings about “saving people from drowning”. Voting Green is out of the question, so my vote will go to an independent Senate candidate.

  24. gigilene

    They may have been out ‘selling’ Labor very hard , ‘disengaged’ could be just another word for what they were selling was not of much interest to the ‘buyers’ .

  26. Just done a street stall in Higgins

    First up an aggressive 70 year old polish jew who yelled that I was a communist and undemocratic

    Should have yelled over the top of him that members of my family were involved in Federation and supported Bligh in the Rum Rebellion

    I reckon Australia is turning into an oligarchy ruled by the rich for the rich and we are just objects to be harvested

    Very surprised at NSW result

  28. Good comment –

    How long do you think Latham will stay with ON?

    He has what he wanted, a seat in the NSW parliament for eight years and he so obviously used Hanson and her party machine to get that. His campaign – what there was of it – was paid for by ON and by the MSM who gave him shitloads of free advertising.

    Now he’s there how long will it be before he dumps Hanson and joins Fraser Anning’s shoddy little party – if it manages to get through the registration process?

    I give him a month or two, and I’m being generous..

    Anning is really pushing it to get his party registered in time for a May election.

    https://outline.com/7u6akv

    https://outline.com/xZvyKC

  30. Just watched Insiders and the piss takes of the mad monk made me laugh so hard a little bit of wee came out….

  32. The US owes Russia an official apology, a return of it’s its stolen buildings and consulate and compensation. Without these, the Russiagate is far from over.

  33. The US owes Russia an official apology. And also Russia should get its stolen buildings and the consulate back. And maybe to get paid some compensation for the injustice and for damages suffered. Without that, the Russiagate is not really over.

    A Trump administration official bragged that US sanctions on Venezuela are “like in Star Wars when Darth Vader constricts somebody’s throat.”
    By Ben Norton

    Trump administration officials are now publicly boasting about how their sanctions are suffocating Venezuela, comparing them to the iron grip of the diabolical villain of Star Wars.

    The menacing language comes at the same time when the United States is overseeing a coup attempt in the oil-rich country, which the Trump White House claims is aimed at protecting “human rights.”

    A senior US government official bragged at a briefing on March 22, “The effect of the sanctions is continuing and cumulative. It’s sort of like in Star Wars when Darth Vader constricts somebody’s throat, that’s what we are doing to the regime economically,” according to a report by Univision.

    Economist Mark Weisbrot, a co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and leading expert on Venezuela’s economy, told The Grayzone in a recent interview that the Trump administration’s 2017 sanctions on Caracas established a de facto “financial embargo.”

    Weisbrot added that the sanctions on Venezuela that were expanded in early 2019 “are very definitely among the worst sanctions ever imposed by the US on any country, if not the worst.”

    https://thegrayzone.com/2019/03/23/trump-official-us-sanctions-venezuela-darth-vader/

  34. <b?WATCH:(the cowardly) Israeli troops taking away 7 and 8-year-old Palestinian boys

    Video shows armed Israeli forces attempting to drag the children into their jeeps in a West Bank refugee camp.

    Israeli Border Police officers were filmed dragging very young Palestinian children into their jeep in a West Bank refugee camp on Tuesday. The footage, provided by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and shot by one of its volunteers in Bethlehem, shows the officers detaining the three boys, aged seven and eight.

    According to the Israeli human rights organization, the children were playing at the time near their home in Aida Refugee Camp in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. Protests were presumably taking place in the area.

    The video, shot by B’Tselem volunteer Jamal Abu S’ifan, becomes clear from minute 0:44, at which point the Israeli troops are dragging the young boys by their clothes as they are screaming. Several local residents managed to intervene and free the children from the officers.

    The incident came just days after a different video, also released by B’Tselem, which documented a large group of Israeli soldiers taking turns assaulting a handcuffed Palestinian minor in the West Bank city of Hebron. The video shows the soldiers repeatedly kicking, punching, slapping, and manhandling the boy before blindfolding him and leading him away.

    Arrests, detentions, and physical assaults of Palestinian minors by Israeli security forces are not unique. An average of 700 Palestinian children are arrested and prosecuted by Israeli forces each year, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine, and around 10,000 Palestinians between the ages of 12 and 17 in the West Bank have been subject to arrest, detention, interrogation, and imprisonment under the in Israeli military courts since 2000.

    In July 2013, for example, I reported on the detention of a five-year-old Palestinian boy who allegedly threw stones in Hebron. Five. Years. Old.

    https://972mag.com/watch-israeli-troops-taking-away-7-and-8-year-old-palestinian-boys/131548/

  36. Trump Gives Away What Is Not His or Israel’s

    Hubris grips Israel. Absolute power has had its usual effect of absolute corruption, of morality, legality, and justice as well as the money deals that have enriched corrupt Israeli politicians.

    No one dares stop Israel. Not the UN and not western governments. They can but they don’t or they won’t. Israel can kill Palestinians on the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in Gaza, without any meaningful intervention by the ‘international community.’

    On the West Bank, a corrupt Palestinian Authority has done much of its dirty work, administering the occupied territory on behalf of the occupier, not the occupied. In East Jerusalem, it has acted as the conduit for the sale of Jerusalem properties to Zionist settlers, with straw men, Palestinians, and bogus companies set up to transfer properties without owners knowing that the real purchasers are Zionist settlers.

    Most of the money for these purchases comes from the US, where Donald Trump has now followed up his “recognition” of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital with his “recognition” of the occupied Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory.

    He did this in a tweet, without telling the relevant arms of his own administration beforehand. The State Department was taken by surprise and so was everyone else, except the Israeli government. It knew because Trump had passed on the word. Behind the scenes, John Bolton and the US ambassador to Israel, David Freedman, effectively Israel’s American ambassador to Israel, worked to set this up.

    https://ahtribune.com/us/israelgate/2982-trump-gives-away.html

  37. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.

    Deborah Snow says that Daley is set to receive a giant backlash after his “worst final week in living memory”.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/worst-final-week-in-living-memory-daley-faces-bitter-backlash-20190324-p51746.html
    Nicole Hasham writes on how a surge of support in NSW for the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party has revealed deep-seated anger towards the Nationals.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/backlash-in-the-bush-unsettles-coalition-before-federal-election-20190324-p5171c.html
    David Crowe explores what elements of the successful NSW campaign could use federally.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/the-liberal-party-s-smartest-move-in-the-nsw-election-20190324-p51732.html
    Sam Maiden says that Morrison has emerged with renewed vigour after a close shave in the NSW election.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/03/24/scott-morrison-nsw-election/
    The Age says that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will be a key weapon for Labor in May’s federal election, as the state emerges as a major battleground in the campaign.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/battle-of-the-bitumen-andrews-is-shorten-s-not-so-secret-weapon-20190324-p5172u.html
    Tony Walker has a look at what’s ahead now the NSW election is out of the way.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/after-nsw-we-re-left-with-hobson-s-choice-for-pm-20190324-p5171v.html
    Michelle Grattan reckons the NSW result will give federal Liberals a boost in the mind games.
    https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-nsw-result-gives-federal-liberals-a-boost-in-the-mind-games-114153
    Troy Branston calls time on Michael Daley.
    https://www.outline.com/NHcfuJ
    John Ruddick has a gloat.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/how-gladys-made-history-and-will-likely-make-more-20190324-p5172x.html
    Gabrielle Chan says bush politics have changed, but the Nationals have not.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/25/nsw-election-bush-politics-have-changed-but-the-nationals-have-not
    Steven Hail writes that, contrary to conventional economic thinking, government surpluses don’t benefit the economy.
    https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/note-to-the-liberals-a-budget-surplus-doesnt-make-sense-,12502
    The Australian’s Ben Packham writes that Labor is positioning for a Medi­scare 2.0 election campaign, vowing to unfreeze rebates on 100 GP items a year ahead of schedule as it kicks off a new marginal seats offensive over claimed Coalition “cuts” to health spending.
    https://www.outline.com/kFd33M
    The AFR reports that Scott Morrison and Michael McCormack are working on a peace deal over coal fired power to prevent another outbreak of hostilities within the Coalition.
    https://www.outline.com/qWgjkq
    Sean Kelly says that regardless of why Labor lost, Daley’s video was racist – and it cost.
    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/regardless-of-why-labor-lost-daley-s-video-was-racist-and-it-cost-20190324-p5170f.html
    Australian shares are on course for one of their worst days this year following a global market sell-off on Friday sparked by fears of a recession in the US.
    https://www.outline.com/p9EAre
    Bloody hell! Centrelink has threatened to charge daily compounding interest, garnish wages or seize funds from the bank accounts of former welfare recipients who fail to pay ‘robo-debts’ issued by the government’s automated recovery scheme.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/robo-debts-scheme-takes-hard-line-we-charge-compound-interest-daily-20190324-p5172p.html
    The Guardian reports that leaked video, audio and images have revealed allegations of excessive force and harassment inside Australia’s network of onshore detention centres.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/25/secret-recordings-allege-excessive-force-by-guards-in-australias-detention-centres
    It’s all happening in the UH as ministers deny plotting to oust May as the Brexit rebels head for Chequers.
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/24/brexit-hammond-denies-plotting-to-oust-may-but-admits-deal-may-not-pass
    And an opinion piece in the UK Guardian declares that May’s time is up. She must make way for a caretaker prime minister.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/24/theresa-may-caretaker-prime-minister-david-lidington
    Larry Elliott writes that the European Union has bigger problems to deal with than Brexit. He says the next recession will expose the eurozone as a half-baked project in need of leadership
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/24/the-europe-union-has-bigger-problems-to-deal-with-than-brexit
    With just days until the biggest change to health insurance in two decades, consumers are being urged and encouraged to review their policies. But the country’s biggest consumer advocate group has one clear piece of advice for you: Do nothing.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/consumer/2019/03/24/health-insurance-changes-april-1/
    Michael West explains how Australian Unity is taking its elderly Home Care customers to the cleaners.
    https://www.michaelwest.com.au/killing-it-australian-unity-takes-its-elderly-home-care-customers-to-the-cleaners/
    However dysfunctional our domestic debate is on climate change, it’s abundantly clear the financial sector needs to give this issue growing attention writes Clancy Yeates.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/why-climate-change-risks-are-material-for-big-finance-20190322-p516or.html
    Don’t listen to the climate sceptics that say Australia’s emissions are irrelevant to tackling climate change. Our contribution does matter — and it has real consequences for fighting this most urgent threat, writes Nicholas Bugeja.
    https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/yes-australias-carbon-emissions-do-have-an-impact,12499
    Greg Jericho talks about Jacinda envy and why the days of a middle-aged white male leader could be over.
    https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2019/mar/23/jacinda-envy-why-the-days-of-a-middle-aged-white-male-leader-could-be-over
    John McDuling tells us that the next chapter in the turbulent history of the Murdoch dynasty has begun.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/the-next-chapter-in-the-turbulent-history-of-the-murdoch-dynasty-has-begun-20190322-p516pu.html
    Australia’s largest telco, Telstra, has bolstered the coffers of Labor and the Coalition, particularly by paying to attend events hosted by politicians, but has not filed any federal political donation disclosures since 2000 despite many other companies reporting what they pay to attend similar functions.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/telstra-s-undeclared-100-000-in-political-donations-spark-reform-call-20190313-p513qi.html
    Nicole Hemmer tells us that the Christchurch shooting showed the US how dangerous ‘white power’ has become.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/christchurch-shooting-showed-us-how-dangerous-white-power-has-become-20190322-p516nw.html
    New Zealanders are debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned a 74-page manifesto written by the man accused of slaughtering 50 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/christchurch-terrorist-attack-sparks-free-speech-debate-in-new-zealand-20190325-p5175n.html
    There are four types of anti-vaxxer activists online, ranging from conspiracy theorists and people who distrust the health community to those who swear by homeopathic treatments, and people who question a vaccine’s safety.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2019/03/24/anti-vaxxers-facebook/
    Robert Reich writes that partisan fury over the special counsel’s report may obscure the ways the president has damaged our democracy.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/24/robert-mueller-report-donald-trump
    And the Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand has used a speech in front of a Trump hotel in New York on Sunday to call the president a “coward” who “punches down” and is “tearing apart the moral fabric of our country”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/24/kirsten-gillibrand-speech-trump-coward
    A legislative loophole requiring councils to report suspicions of child abuse, but not the contractors operating their facilities, meant the Mosman Swim Centre did not have to report a complaint of an “inappropriate hold” nine months before a swimming teacher was arrested on multiple charges of child sex abuse. Top effort that!
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/legislative-loophole-exposed-by-alleged-child-sex-abuse-at-mosman-pool-20190324-p51729.html
    Stinky balls of used nappies, wipes, condoms, hair and oil are clogging up Australian sewers and horrifying beachgoers who stumble upon them on the sand. Dubbed ‘fat balls’, the congealed balls of waste are smaller versions of ‘fat bergs’, made up of material flushed down sinks or toilets that have failed to break down in the sewerage system. Nice.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/03/24/fat-balls-the-last-thing-you-want-to-find-at-the-beach.

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe has some ominous views through Gladys’s top windows.

    Pat Campbell on Theresa’s train wreck.

    John Shakespeare has Gladys seeing off Daley.

    Matt Golding brings out the dog whistle.

    Glen Le Lievre with things that kill more Australians than does terrorism.

    And he has one on terrorism manufacture.

    Johannes Leak and a triumphant Gladys.
    https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/554b65682e4c19740fae99eba06366b4?width=316

    From the US


  39. This is a SMH story, so it’s possibly fantasy.

    ‘People are ropeable’: NSW Labor in damage control as Daley digs in

    Michael Daley has vowed to remain as leader of the NSW Labor Party, amid the likelihood he will be challenged for the top job in the wake of Labor’s disastrous state election result.

    It comes as Kogarah MP Chris Minns indicated he would challenge for the leadership if he held onto his seat, which was still on a knife’s edge as counting continued on Sunday

    https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/labor-leadership-candidate-says-party-has-to-reassess-what-we-are-offering-the-people-of-nsw-20190324-p5170j.html

    I really, really hope it’s wrong. Daley has to go. He took Labor to an election loss, an election they could have won with decent leadership, and now his ego tells him he should stay.

    Here’s a comment I agree with –

    Daley was uninspiring and seemed disinterested. There has been a swing against him in his own electorate of Maroubra, so far 3%. If the people he represents don’t want him then why should NSW?

    The Labor campaign was also dull and uninspiring. The many stuff-ups and many corrupt actions of the Berejiklian government barely rated a mention. Daley talked about Labor’s plans for TAFE scholarships but did not mention the Berejiklian’s ongoing destruction of the entire NSW TAFE system. He latched on to the stadium issue but forgot all about regional NSW, which is suffering gross neglect.

    Chris Minns is just another identikit male. He is battling to hold on to his seat (Kogarah) not a good choice for leader at all. He has made that electorate marginal. .

    We need a woman. Jodi McKay would be good. At least she achieved a positive swing in her electorate (Strathfield) unlike the males who will now be fighting over the leadership.

    Another thing –

    Are you wondering why the SFF did so well and despite a big swing against the Nats across regional NSW Labor did poorly there?

    Here’s a possible explanation.

    Some time ago Labor decided to introduce “Country Labor” in regional electorates across Australia. I think it was a Kim Beazley idea. In NSW “Country Labor” was made a totally separate party. Big, big mistake!

    I had a conversation with a friend last week, she moved here from Sydney a few years ago and wanted to vote Labor on Saturday, but was confused by the “Country Labor” tag. Was it Labor, or was she voting for something else, she asked. This is a lady who is pretty well informed politically. She knows the Liberal Democrats are not Liberals, even knows Fraser Anning’s proposed “National Conservatives” are not Nationals, so of course she was worried about “Country Labor”. Who was she really voting for? I sorted her out, but it made me wonder just how much confusion does this daft idea cause. How many votes are lost because voters are not sure if they are voting for Labor or for something else? It’s way past time this nonsense stopped and Labor became one party again.

    “Country Labor” seems just an excuse for those in charge to ignore regional Labor voters. We get no attention from Labor at all. The SFF on the other hand tailors their policies to regional voters. Why can’t Labor lessen its city-centric attitudes a bit and focus a little more on regional issues?

    Why would regional voters want to vote for a party that does not care about them? It’s disgraceful to think the Greens are winning NSW regional electorates but Labor cannot. Unless you are Janelle Saffan, who looks set to take Lismore from the Nats with the help of Greens preferences. Ms Saffan has a reasonable following thanks to her previous work as a federal MP. If she wins it will be because of her record, and despite Labor’s lack of interest.

    • I watched the interview with Bob Carr and Nick Greiner. Mod.: the usual rwer Brigid G in the presence of an other rwer journo : Alexandra (?) SMH. The conversation was mainly between Greiner, Glanville and Alexandra, leaving Carr out most of the time. I thought that Greiner looked very optimistic and said very positive things about Gladys and her achievements (?) You could see that he really supported her and their Party. During that time, Carr remained flat, uninspiring, talked a bit about the environment when he was addressed. A very disappointing interview for Labor.

    • Why would they drag out Bob Carr? Couldn’t they find someone more recently involved, someone who isn’t an irrelevant dinosaur?

      Same applies to Greiner. No-one did more to ruin NSW than him. We owe the current electricity price mess to his “corporatisation” of NSW power. The full sell-off he planned has never happened, we now have a mess of state-owned and private companies running our power.

    • leone, I’m aware of Greiner’s background. The point I was trying to make was the difference between the 2 men. Greiner, very positive for his sParty, Carr, negative and insipide. I despair.

    • I’ve never liked Bob Carr, I always thought Julia Gillard made a huge mistake bringing him back from the political dead to be her foreign minister.

      Maybe no-one better was willing to turn up to another biased ABC talk-fest.

  40. I agree with you Leone. All members of our local Branch have always been unhappy that our seat, Wollondilly, was saddled with the term “country labor”. The well-known ex Labor Minister, Rodney Cavalier, who is on our region’s Federal Election Council, is also very angry that Sussex Street decided to rebrand all regional and some semi-regional electorates as “country labor”. Some voters at pre-polls asked me whether “country labor” was the same party as “labor”, and I had to explain the situation to them. As you point out, the name is confusing. This dual naming is an incredibly stupid dilution of the oldest poitical brand in Australian politics.

  41. Chris Minns came out to Warragamba 2 months ago to speak at a community meeting organised in opposition to the raising of the dam wall. Our candidate for Wollondilly, Jo-Ann Davidson, and all her supporters were very impressed. He was articulate and had some charisma, being “young, tall and good-looking” as they say. I would have like to see him as the party leader rather than Daley. Having said that, I think Daley was doing an OK job until the last week.

    When is Sussex St going to realise that you can’t cut through a cardboard-grey mist of indifference with a cardboard-grey candidate. You need a front person with youth and charisma. Policies alone simply will not cut it.

    • Daley seemed to have had the stuffing knocked out of him by the time he did the Sky News forum last week. It was a dreadful performance from him. Gladys was her usual fake, mendacious self.

      Now we know the Libs had that video and hung onto it until the last week. A stronger leader would have been able to handle it.

      I don’t know a lot about Chris Minns, it’s good to have a positive report.

  42. leonetwo

    Re Sussex St. Over the road ‘Oakeshott Country” had a good whack at the bustards. Comparing them to the politburo in the dying days of the Soviet Union, appointing blindly loyal talentless apparatchiks etc etc. Trying to find it.

  43. I’ll spare you the full horror of this image and just use the one with writing all over it.

    More lies.

    If he really swam 20 laps a day, no matter what, he’s be in much better physical shape. His pudgy body and flabby stomach reveal his lack of exercise.

    His head isn’t wet. Maybe he had been dog-padding his laps – in the toddler pool.

    That looks like North Sydney pool. Why would he go there when he can use the GG’s pool at Admiralty House? All he has to do is walk next door.

    I smell a stunt.

  44. Today’s Shorten video – such as it is. The sound is a bit wonky and the video quality is not good.

    Today on removing the Medicare freeze and introducing the very impressive candidate for Higgins.

    I have to say I’m really sick of hearing “it’s your Medicare card not your credit card etc etc ….”. Someone needs to come up with a better line.

    I’ll never hear what I really want to hear – a Labor government will abolish all government subsidies for private health insurance and put that money into the public health system.

  45. Leone

    Thank you for putting up the videos that you somehow find, it is a miracle that they are put on the internet.

    Keeping in mind that the msm very rarely play anything Labor says, unless they are using it to hurt Labor, I understand your frustration that Bill has to keep repeating these phrases. I see it as important because not everyone specifically looks for Labor stuff, and hopefully people who do care will repeat was Labor says. Bill and Labor have to get their message out there somehow, and hopefully word of mouth will help.

    • Labor puts them on Facebook, I’m happy to post them here and get the word out.

      The MSM never report on anything Bill says, unless they can twist it into an adverse comment.

  46. uh oh!

    Russian air force planes land in Venezuela carrying troops: reports

    CARACAS (Reuters) – Two Russian air force planes landed at Venezuela’s main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to media reports, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.

    A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.

    That comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.

    Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material.

    An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

    The cargo plane left Caracas on Sunday afternoon, according to Adsbexchange, another flight-tracking site.

    The flights carried officials who arrived to “exchange consultations,” wrote Russian government-owned news agency Sputnik, which quoted an unnamed source at the Russian embassy.

    “Russia has various contracts that are in the process of being fulfilled, contracts of a technical military character,” Sputnik quoted the source as saying.

    A Reuters witness saw what appeared to be the passenger jet at the Maiquetia airport on Sunday.

    Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

    Russia’s Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/russian-air-force-planes-land-in-venezuela-carrying-troops-report-idUSKCN1R50NB?il=0

    • Wouldn’t it be better to rip off the bandaid and go straight to a leadership spill this week, get it over with?

      Now we get weeks of leaked comments, white-anting, the MSM trying to dig up or making up ancient scandals about the possible contenders and lots of articles about “Labor disunity”.

      Can’t these idiots ever think anything through? If you want to derail the federal Labor campaign then this is how you do it.

      FFS!

      As for the contenders – anyone but Prue Carr.

      The leadership ballot delay also confirmed by the ABC.
      https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-25/nsw-labor-to-hold-leadership-ballot/10936336

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