Aston By-Election – Once in a Century Result

Kirsdarke election night, ,

Last night, Federal Labor has upended the electoral standard that governments do not win by-elections from the opposition. Of course, there has been state by-elections in that time that have gone against that, such as Burwood, the seat of former Victorian Liberal Premier, Jeff Kennett, and Benalla, the seat of former Victorian National Deputy Premier, Pat McNamara, but these are exceptions to the norm.

The key result is that Victorian voters in the seat of Aston are liking what they see in the Albanese government enough for them to vote for a candidate from the Government party over the candidate from the Opposition party, in which they had previously voted for in the Federal election only 10 months ago.

The ramifications of this is that the Coalition is in shambles. The swing against the Liberals in this by-election is currently around 6%, leaving the result for Aston at about 53-47 to Labor. Not bad for a seat not won by them since 1987.

So then, who is responsible for that? The hard right factions would pin it on the moderate liberals. The moderate liberal factions would pin it on the hard right. The chances of these factions coming to a mutual agreement on this, I think, is zero.

This by-election has simply broadened the gap between the hard right and moderate right of the Liberal parties of Australia. And the next few years will be very “interesting” indeed for them.

Let’s take a look at the electoral history chart for Aston and see just how reliable it was for the Liberals until yesterday.

A hearty congratulations for Mary Doyle, the new Labor MP for Aston, and of course the vast team that supported her. A victory for a great suburban Melbourne mum who put her hand up to bring betterment to her constituents. The Light on the Hill shines brightly over Australia.

359 thoughts on “Aston By-Election – Once in a Century Result”

  3. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    The interest rate and global economic cycles are moving into a precarious alignment for Anthony Albanese’s government – threatening Labor’s agenda and even its electoral longevity, writes George Megalogenis who says what Albanese’s government may never know – because it didn’t allow itself to ask the question – is whether it could have secured a grand bargain to repair a tattered social safety net and boost the revenue base. But tax reform is off Labor’s agenda until a second term.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/economic-planets-may-align-for-albanese-but-not-in-a-good-way-20230504-p5d5l4.html
    Jim Chalmers told Peter Hartcher that, “The energy transformation is the central component of the budget’s major focus on a new generation of growth and opportunity. We want to be beneficiaries, not victims, of the massive investments the Americans are making in clean energy technology.” Hartcher explains how the huge incentives being offered by the US are sucking investment from everywhere.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-us-is-stealing-australia-s-core-gym-chalmers-needs-the-energy-to-stop-it-20230504-p5d5lc.html
    Stating the obvious, Shane Wright says a pair of key pressures face Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher in the budget: fighting inflation and delivering cost of living relief.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-budget-battle-begins-as-chalmers-faces-two-darkening-towers-20230503-p5d5cr.html
    Michael Pascoe says we should stop growing the landlord class and focus on ‘taboo’ public housing.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/05/06/michael-pascoe-public-housing/
    Jim Chalmers will use a tax-and-save strategy to accelerate the long road to budget repair, banking more than half of windfall revenues to the bottom line and pumping record surges in commodities and tax income into Labor’s cost-of-living package, predict Geoff Chambers and Simon Benson.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/modest-jim-chalmers-embarks-on-long-road-of-tax-and-save-for-budget-repair/news-story/f242d0ee9b144ca99122f5bedd579f30?amp
    Investment in the “clean energy transformation”, additional measures to tackle housing affordability and a cost of living package targeted at the most vulnerable but “not all limited by age” will feature in Tuesday’s budget, the treasurer has said.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/06/jim-chalmers-promises-cost-of-living-relief-for-all-ages-as-speculation-on-surplus-intensifies
    Labor’s pre-budget grandstanding is not going down very well, writes Laura Tingle who says sinking hundreds of millions of dollars on a stadium in Hobart that no one appears to want is at odds with what the Albanese government has forecast about the nation’s future.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pre-budget-grandstanding-is-not-going-down-very-well-20230502-p5d52j
    Labor may be ‘vindicated’ by the budget, but a surplus would be cold comfort for those grappling with the cost of living, says Paul Karp.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/06/labor-may-be-vindicated-by-the-budget-but-a-surplus-would-be-cold-comfort-for-those-grappling-with-the-cost-of-living
    Jim Chalmers has appealed to the “impatient” Labor base to temper its expectations on spending, as he promises cost-of-living measures that would come with the bonus of lowering inflation, writes Phil Coorey.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/be-patient-on-spending-measures-chalmers-tells-labor-base-20230505-p5d5ti
    While rightly criticising the Reserve for encouraging groupthink, the review into the central bank is itself a giant case of groupthink, declares Ross Gittins.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/groupthink-on-bank-review-doing-what-everyone-else-does-is-a-bad-idea-20230504-p5d5pr.html
    The public service under the Coalition government spent $20.8 billion on a massive “ghost” workforce of almost 54,000 contractors and external providers, an audit has found. The assessment, commissioned by the government when it came to office, has found that the actual Australian Public Service workforce in 2021-22 was 37 per cent bigger than the 144,300 staff included in the official headcount. Senator Gallagher has said the government had already embarked on changes to rebuild the capacity of the APS by converting labour hire workers and consultants to permanent employees in a process that was not only restoring the capacity of the public serviced but delivering “reasonably significant savings”.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8185033/total-bullshit-audit-reveals-scale-of-coalitions-ghost-aps-workforce/?cs=14329
    John Hewson gives Woodside and its ilk a broadside over its lack of commitment to emission reduction and how little tax they pay.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2023/05/06/climate-fighting-change
    Threats of an ICAC referral first came from the NSW Nationals chair. Yesterday, the Greens entered the fray, claiming the threat itself could be considered “corrupt conduct”, writes Lucy Cormack.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/absurd-experts-chide-icac-threats-over-nationals-mp-s-bid-for-plum-gig-20230505-p5d5x5.html
    Chip Le Grand takes us inside all the rumblings within a deeply divided Victorian Liberal party being brought to a head by Moira Deeming.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/how-a-polite-request-blew-up-into-a-full-blown-liberal-crisis-20230505-p5d623.html
    According to The Age, John Pesutto is expected to lead a fresh push to eject rebel MP Moira Deeming from the Liberal party room, with the leadership team also considering new sanctions for three of her factional allies.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/i-want-this-mess-sorted-out-dutton-refuses-to-rule-out-intervening-in-victorian-liberal-party-20230505-p5d5tq.html
    The Liberal Party is alienating its traditional allies in the corporate world by rejecting a progressive stance that would be good for both business and the party, complains Julia Banks who says, “The Liberal Party has no grasp of how good leaders make their decisions and it cannot read the boardrooms across Australia. This is not about the body politic against the body corporate – it’s just what the Liberal Party has become.”
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/05/06/the-liberal-partys-failure-the-boardroom
    It is almost too perfect. Scott Morrison will leave parliament to become a lobbyist, an oily little stain trailing him out of the office. The irony is that this will be the first time he has represented somebody other than himself. He will finally go to Canberra with a purpose, says the editorial in The Saturday Paper.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/editorial/2023/05/06/the-lobbyist-prime-minister
    The Greens and key independent David Pocock say an expected tax hike on gas in Tuesday’s federal budget does not go nearly far enough and would barely touch the sector, which raked in more than $90 billion in export earnings last year, report Mike Foley and Nick Toscano. These crossbenchers do have a point.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stop-selling-our-resources-on-the-cheap-crossbenchers-urge-labor-to-go-harder-on-fossil-fuel-tax-20230505-p5d5x6.html
    A set of traffic lights outside Josh Frydenberg’s office is among the billions of dollars’ worth of Coalition spending being scrutinised by a joint committee, writes Mike Seccombe who provides us with a fresh account of Scott Morrison’s dodgy grants.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/05/06/clearly-absurd-fresh-account-scott-morrisons-dodgy-grants
    “Will the Albanese Government revive the values that underpinned Medicare?”, asks John Menadue “Or will it fiddle around the edges like the Rudd/Gillard Governments?”
    https://johnmenadue.com/will-the-albanese-government-revive-the-values-that-underpinned-medicare/
    Demonstrating he has zero understanding of the concept of demand, supply and inventory management, Peter van Onselen has been sucked in by the pharmacy lobby to regurgitate this stuff.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/pharmacy-policy-shift-takes-labor-off-script/news-story/398ef2c843b538325b3ff41ba0870fc0?amp
    The AFR gives us the inside story of PwC’s tax scandal.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/the-inside-story-of-pwc-s-tax-scandal-20230504-p5d5k5
    As part of the new Defence strategy, a program offering military training will be extended to countries in the north-east Indian Ocean, some of which have poor human rights records, says Karen Middleton.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/defence/2023/05/06/australia-expand-military-ties-indian-ocean-countries
    Parents with young children will no longer risk losing support under a punitive program to be scrapped in Tuesday’s federal budget, but the government has ruled out some changes that would further enhance women’s workforce participation. Rachel Clun reports that Minister for Finance and Women Katy Gallagher said the government would announce several measures to encourage more women to work, but this budget could not accommodate all the measures for change that have been requested.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/punitive-work-program-for-vulnerable-parents-to-be-axed-support-promised-20230504-p5d5h5.html
    The coronation of a septuagenarian presiding over a lacklustre economy and haemorrhaging Commonwealth is a remarkably different thing to the enthroning of a young woman at a time of post-war victory and prosperity. A little quieter, a lot less razzle. The first coronation most of us will have ever seen seems a bit disconnected here, and remote. Even in Britain, preparations have been muted, writes Julia Baird who points out the way our monarchs have related to First Nations popele.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/the-currency-of-king-charles-hinges-on-a-great-reckoning-with-the-past-20230504-p5d5l6.html
    For Australia the question is not Charles or the coronation – but whether we at last become a republic, says Thomas Keneally.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/06/for-australia-the-question-is-not-charles-or-the-coronation-but-whether-we-at-last-become-a-republic
    Today’s coronation of Charles III will live on in the memories of the generations who see it. The challenge he faces is to modernise the monarchy, says the SMH editorial.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/in-changing-times-king-charles-iii-renews-the-british-brand-20230505-p5d5vh.html
    The crown is a priceless past, but not our future, declares the AFR’s editorial.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/the-crown-is-a-priceless-past-but-not-our-future-20230502-p5d52g
    “Camilla is the Collingwood of the royal family”, says Kate Halfpenny.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/camilla-is-the-collingwood-of-the-royal-family-20230504-p5d5mj.html
    “With the prime minister in Britain to attend the coronation of our unelected head of state and the treasurer back home doing last-minute bean-counting ahead of Tuesday’s budget, the Greens’ Adam Bandt seized the moment to pose the key question confronting Australia: What kind of country do we want to be?”, writes Paul Bongiorno.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2023/05/06/albanese-with-the-kingmakers
    The coronation offered a chance to reform and modernise the monarchy. It has been squandered, argues Martin Kettle.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/05/coronation-king-charles-reform-modernise-monarchy-religious
    Jack Waterford posits that King Charles’ coronation brings Australia closer to a republic.
    https://johnmenadue.com/king-charles-coronation-brings-australia-closer-to-a-republic-pic-anthony-albanese-meets-king-charles/
    The coronation is underway in London with pomp and pageantry, ostentatious headgear and stolen jewels on marvellous display, and guests from dominions far away ready to genuflect. But while many look in dismay at this costly and archaic spectacle, support for the monarchy remains remarkably resilient according to a recent study.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/a-king-for-his-crown-but-what-does-his-remote-subjects-really-think/
    Amanda Meade’s weekly media round-up includes reference to monarchists accusing the ABC of its coronation panel being ‘blatantly stacked’ with republicans.
    https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2023/may/05/crown-duel-monarchists-accuse-abc-of-coronation-panel-blatantly-stacked-with-republicans
    The campaign against the Voice to Parliament is not so much a co-ordinated assault based on solid arguments as an attempt to disrupt and obfuscate, explains Martin McKenzie-Murray who sums it up with, “The “No” campaign is more amorphous than the “Yes” campaign, and collectively it’s less coherent. There is no singular argument, nor single bloc of opposition.”
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/05/06/the-no-campaign-bid-create-confusion
    Sydney trucking company chiefs never questioned why their driver’s timesheets were filled with errors, impossible hours and incorrect rest breaks before he fatally ran down four police officers outside Melbourne, a court has heard. Perry Dutton reports that the driver, Mohinder Singh, gave evidence yesterday against his former employer and confessed he was “on drugs” before his semi-trailer ran off the road on April 22, 2020, and killed the officers.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/i-was-on-drugs-truckie-turns-on-execs-after-crash-kills-four-police-officers-20230505-p5d62p.html
    Christopher Knaus reports that a Catholic order has lost its latest attempt to use the death of a known paedophile clergy member to shield itself from allegations of child sexual abuse after a judge found that allowing such a course would “bring the administration of justice into disrepute”.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/05/marist-brothers-lose-bid-to-use-paedophiles-death-as-shield-against-child-abuse-claims
    Currently the Neo Nazis who performed their Hitler salutes on Parliament House steps in Melbourne six weeks ago are effectively instructing Victoria Police which events the self-declared fascists will allow to take place in the state. Premier Dan Andrews spoke out in horror on social media about the death threats made to councillors and others by the Neo Nazis. It is, however, the legal system and the police’s tolerance, at the very least, of these hateful figures that has led us to this point, opines Lucy Hamilton.
    https://theaimn.com/are-nazis-running-victoria/
    Young children are being turned away from mental health services because their needs are too complex, and the problem is worse for those suffering trauma in disaster-affected regions. writes Nancy Notzon.
    https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/2023/05/06/lack-mental-health-help-children
    The Department of Defence has warned universities that international students pose a potential security risk, exposing campus systems to potential foreign interference. Christopher Harris reports that the University of NSW says they now have a team dedicated to addressing national security concerns as other tertiary institutions also restrict student and staff access to certain critical information.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/nsw/international-students-could-pose-foreign-interference-risk-adf-20230504-p5d5my.html
    Prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to charge US President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, with tax and gun-related violations, according to people familiar with the matter, in the culmination of a four-year investigation that Republicans have sought to portray as evidence the Biden family is corrupt.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/prosecutors-near-charging-decision-in-hunter-biden-case-20230505-p5d5vt.html
    The conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas is under renewed scrutiny after the Washington Post found that an activist with interests in the court’s decisions funnelled tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas’s wife, with instructions not to mention her name.
    https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/may/05/clarence-thomas-kellyanne-conway-leonard-leo-payments
    Multiple “Arsehole of the Week” nominee, Salim Mehajer, is back in the news again having pleaded not guilty to intimidation, intentionally suffocating a person with recklessness, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and four counts of common assault.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/do-what-gangstas-do-mehajer-s-alleged-threats-of-execution-20230505-p5d62s.html

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Alan Moir

    Matt Golding



    Jon Kudelka

    Matt Davidson

    Michael Leunig

    Jo Gay

    Andrew Dyson

    Jim Pavlidis


    Mark Knight

    Leak

    From the US












    • This reply caught my attention.

      Of course Robert wants to be out of there. Presumably ScoMo will be out by July as well for similar reasons.

  7. A by-election in Stuart Robert’s seat of Fadden probably won’t be as exciting as the Aston one. It’s a safe LNP seat based on the Northern Gold Coast and has a margin of over 10% from the last election.

    It might be better for Labor to sit this one out and hope that a strong and decent Independent candidate gets up instead. Dutton seems to be more popular in Queensland than Victoria, and Labor underperforming would be a risk.

  8. John Crace

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/05/devil-of-a-local-election-result-for-tories-makes-work-for-idle-hands#comments

    When the Tory party chair, Greg Hands, announced last week that he expected the Conservatives to lose 1,000 seats in the local elections, he was being characteristically disingenuous. What he really meant was that the Tories would lose between 500 and 600 seats and he would be able to take to the airwaves and crow about his party having done far better than anyone imagined. The plucky Conservatives yet again seizing triumph from a potential disaster. And it would all be down to him and his idiotic tweets of a 13-year-old Liam Byrne gag. At least we won’t be seeing them again.

    …

    At the moment they are down 960

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2023/may/05/local-elections-2023-results-live-council-england

  11. Good morning Dawn Patrollers.
    Sorry folk, but I simply slept in too much to have the time to pull the patrol together.
    I had an emotionally draining day with the local footy team having its first win on home soil for five years.
    Anyway, it’s Sparse Sunday with the news overloaded with coronation trivialities.

  15. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    According to David Crowe, households will gain $14.6 billion in federal help with expenses ranging from energy subsidies to healthcare as part of a budget agenda that seeks to drive down inflation and prevent rising prices eating into family incomes.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/cost-of-living-combo-for-australian-households-to-cost-14-6b-20230507-p5d6d6.html
    The budget story’s locked in, but they’re already working on the sequel, writes Sean Kelly
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-budget-story-s-locked-in-but-they-re-already-working-on-the-sequel-20230505-p5d64s.html
    Labor is riding high as it prepares to deliver a budget surplus and a sizeable down payment on its priorities thanks to surging revenue. The Liberals are struggling to find safe ground, writes Jennifer Hewett who tells us why Jim Chalmers can afford to smile.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/why-jim-chalmers-can-afford-to-smile-20230507-p5d6ck
    Working Australians will pay the federal government more than $300 billion in income tax for the first time, contributing over half of all tax revenue collected by Canberra thanks to the strong jobs market and better-than-expected wages growth, reports Shane Wright who points out that company tax will only raise $130 billion.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/income-tax-take-exceeds-300b-as-jobs-and-wages-boost-budget-revenue-20230507-p5d6cy.html
    The oil and gas sector has accepted the $2.4 billion increase to the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax over the next four years on the proviso it ends the pursuit of the industry for more revenue. The AFR says that two other options canvassed by Treasury could have raised between $13.3 billion and $21.9 billion from five major offshore gas projects over 10 years to 2033-34, under a $US92-a-barrel “high price” oil scenario.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/2-4b-prrt-increase-must-be-the-last-gas-sector-says-20230507-p5d6cw
    Jim Chalmers’ long-awaited tweaks to the PRRT are the itsy-bitsyest “reforms” about, the equivalent of recycling old Christmas presents with a fancy new bow. Michael West reports on how the Treasurer is merely returning a couple of billion in gas sector subsidies, and only for a while.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/fake-reform-jim-chalmers-itsy-bitsy-tax-hit-is-a-gift-for-foreign-fossil-fuel-giants/
    A parliamentary committee will turn its sights on former cabinet minister Stuart Robert over his role in setting up a confidential briefing in Parliament House for tech giant Unisys when it was paying one of his friends to help secure federal contracts. David Crowe tells us the committee is likely to consider the issue in the next few days after checking how Robert, who announced on Saturday he would resign from parliament, persuaded his colleagues on the committee to hear from Unisys about its pitch to the government on border security systems.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/as-he-plans-to-leave-politics-stuart-robert-faces-more-questions-on-conduct-20230507-p5d6d9.html
    The NSW Nationals MP at the centre of a fierce internal brawl over a plum parliamentary job has broken his silence to accuse Paul Toole of being dishonest about his opposition to the lucrative promotion, saying he first discussed the job with the party leader weeks before it became public and was told it was “a great idea”, writes Michael McGowan.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/paul-hasn-t-been-honest-under-fire-nationals-mp-claims-toole-knew-about-upper-house-deal-20230507-p5d6el.html
    Telling us that under the Howard government, climate change policy was determined by fossil fuel lobbyists (many of whom were former senior public servants) who likened themselves to organised crime through a self-styled label – the greenhouse mafia, Catherine Williams and Joo-Cheong Tham say that Canberra lobbying must be reined in. They lay out how this could be done, saying the risk of corruption and misconduct also grows in proportion to the number of former ministers and senior public servants who are employed in the private sector after leaving public sector employment,
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/canberra-lobbying-must-be-reined-in-here-s-how-we-can-protect-our-democracy-20230507-p5d6d8.html
    “AI is revolutionising healthcare, but at what risk for patient privacy and consent?”, asks Jon Faine.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/ai-is-revolutionising-healthcare-but-at-what-risk-for-patient-privacy-and-consent-20230505-p5d5wc.html
    “Can Dutton intervene to sort out the state Liberal mess in Victoria?”, wonders Josh Gordon.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/can-dutton-intervene-to-sort-out-the-state-liberal-mess-20230505-p5d5uq.html
    The Age tells us that Victoria’s building industry regulator completed hundreds of virtual online audits rather than physically attending construction sites despite the authority having legal advice for almost two years warning it might break the Victorian Building Act.
    https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/inspection-by-iphone-building-watchdog-breached-its-own-laws-then-kept-going-20230502-p5d4x5.html
    The Labor senator who helped expose PwC’s tax leaks scandal has called for a clean-out of all partners and staff “actively or passively” involved and said until then the firm can’t be trusted by the government or corporate clients to keep confidential material secret.
    https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/every-pwc-partner-involved-in-tax-leaks-should-go-labor-senator-20230507-p5d6di
    Alan Kohler trumpets “Reduce emissions? Fine, but we need to do much, much more than that”.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/05/08/emissions-climate-crisis-kohler/
    “The former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has been somewhat of an absentee in the Federal seat of Cook. Since losing the May 2022 election, he has been aggressively chasing up contacts and deals on the consultancy circuit, bellyaching about the usual talking points: the gruesome China menace; defence matters; and, just to round it off for good measure, additional iterations of the China menace”, writes Binoy Kampmark about Scott Morrison and Australia’s lobby complex.
    https://theaimn.com/scott-morrison-and-australias-lobby-complex/
    The actions of the ACT’s top prosecutor are set to be placed under the microscope as the highly-anticipated inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann’s trial kicks off. Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC is expected to be the first witness called when the independent probe begins public hearings on Monday.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8172575/top-prosecutor-set-for-grilling-as-lehrmann-trial-inquiry-begins/?cs=14329
    The livestream of the inquiry can be seen here – https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8172575/top-prosecutor-set-for-grilling-as-lehrmann-trial-inquiry-begins/?cs=14329
    After all the Pythonesque pomp of the coronation, Charles and Camilla will wake up to the reality that they are doomed to preside over a shrinking realm, writes Hugh Riminton.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/charles-big-circus-was-majestic-but-this-king-may-not-long-reign-over-us-20230507-p5d6d7.html
    “My mother-in-law chose to die with dignity”, writes Michael Bachelard who argues that dementia sufferers deserve the same right. He expresses the view that we must work to find a way to give relief to dementia sufferers from the fear and pain they ultimately will be unable to express.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/my-mother-in-law-chose-to-die-with-dignity-dementia-sufferers-deserve-the-same-right-20230426-p5d3ig.html
    Britain is changing – the idea of Tories and royals as our natural rulers is gone, writes John Harris.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/07/tories-royals-natural-rulers-out-of-touch
    Texas US senator Ted Cruz’s comment Saturday that he was “praying” for families of the eight victims killed in a shooting at a shopping mall in his state has sparked outrage as many critics say the Republican should advocate for meaningful gun control rather than repeatedly invoke prayer after mass, deadly violence. Cruz and other fellow Texas Republicans have faced similar backlash for citing general emotional support, thoughts, prayers, or a combination thereof after the slayings in Allen, Texas, on Saturday. And so they bloody should!
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/07/texas-mall-shooting-ted-cruz-response-backlash

    Cartoon Corner

    David Rowe

    Matt Golding

    Badiucao

    Fiona Katauskas

    Peter Broelman

    Joe Benke


    Leak

    From the US












  17. I really wish journalists and others would stop talking about Jobseeker as “so much a day” instead of how much it really is – so much a fortnight.

    Who shops for food or pays bills every day? I can tell you no-one on social security does

    This is purely a media creation and it is time it stopped. The Guardian is at it again this morning, quoting Greens Senator Janet Rice as saying “$2.85 a day is woefully inadequate and doesn’t even keep up with the rising costs of food and rent,” she said.” I agree with her by the way, but there is no need to talk about the pittance that is Jobseeker or any other Centrelink in daily terms.

    I have spent decades on social security, long enough to know that you pay your rent and bills on “payday” every fortnight and you do your food shopping with whatever is left. There is rarely anything left for clothes or “discretionary spending”.

    • On the plus side however expressing an increase as “$2.85 a day” does highlight how SFA it is.

  22. Adam Bandit is doing his Blazing Saddles thing: “If you don’t give me what I want the homeless get it.”

    …
    The Albanese government is proposing a $10bn fund, the earnings from which would result in payouts of up to $500m a year to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years.

    The Coalition opposes the bill. The Greens say they will not support it unless the government offers improvements, such as up to $5bn of direct spending on housing and a national rent freeze.
    …

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/08/housing-advocacy-groups-fear-labor-greens-clash-could-scuttle-10bn-fund

  24. Good morning Dawn Patrollers

    David Crowe writes that a $4b surplus prediction contrasts with the Coalition’s last forecast for a $78 billion deficit this financial year, but the budget will sink into deficits again. Of COURSE it will, as long as an unattended structural deficit exists.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/budget-to-predict-4-billion-surplus-as-revenues-surge-20230508-p5d6ou.html
    The blame game over the budget deficit is about to make way for a battle for bragging rights over the surplus – and Jim Chalmers is not giving an inch over who gets the glory, says Crowe.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/more-than-ego-at-stake-in-contest-over-who-owns-this-year-s-surplus-20230508-p5d6rj.html
    According to Shane Wright, the Australian economy will suffer its biggest slowdown since the depths of the COVID pandemic as the combination of high interest rates and high inflation sharply reduces the spending power of the nation’s consumers.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/budget-to-reveal-biggest-economic-slowdown-since-covid-shutdowns-20230508-p5d6iy.html
    The treasurer needs a productivity agenda to grow a bigger economic pie to help shrink the structural deficit, pay for social spending and to deliver sustainable real wage increases, says the AFR’s editorial.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/how-to-reframe-chalmers-second-budget-around-repair-and-productivity-20230507-p5d6dl
    Jobseeker must be substantially raised in the budget – and there’s a simple way to pay for it, explain Angela Jackson and John Quiggin.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/09/federal-budget-2023-jobseeker-must-be-substantially-increased-simple-way-to-pay-for-it
    Paul Bongiorno warns us to prepare for another tax and spend budget.
    https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/05/09/paul-bongiorno-another-tax-and-spend-budget/
    Michael Read and John Kehoe write that economists have poured cold water on Anthony Albanese’s and Jim Chalmers’ claim that the government’s $14.6 billion cost of living package will ease inflation pressures, warning the extra cash will drive up prices and interest rates by stimulating household spending.
    https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/no-magic-wand-14-6b-cost-of-living-splurge-will-drive-up-inflation-20230508-p5d6jx
    The SMH editorial explores the dilemma facing the Albanese government in drawing up today’s budget as it struggles to balance cost of living relief on one side, and high inflation on the other.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/walking-the-tightrope-between-help-and-inflation-20230508-p5d6lf.html
    Federal budgets are just as much marketing and media management exercises as they are financial and economic documents, writes Ross Gittins who tells us that the spin doctors’ job is to use the “mainstream media” to convey to voters an unduly favourable view of the government and the things it’s doing. They do this by exploiting the foibles of journalists and their editors.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/how-government-spin-doctors-manipulate-first-impressions-of-the-budget-20230507-p5d6ej.html
    The Albanese government will put its $10 billion Housing Affordability Future Fund to the Senate for a vote this week, with or without the support of the Greens, in a first step towards creating a trigger for an early, double dissolution election, says Phil Coorey.
    https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/housing-affordability-fund-could-become-double-dissolution-trigger-20230508-p5d6oh
    Mike Foley and Nick Toscano complain that Jim Chalmers’ changes to taxes on offshore oil and gas projects will only generate $3.5 billion extra revenue by 2050, nearly $13 billion less than another reform option identified in a report by Treasury. Another aspect of our structural deficit.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/they-re-getting-the-gas-for-free-government-dodges-tougher-tax-reform-20230508-p5d6nn.html
    Luara Ferracioli writes about how the housing crisis is traumatising our children.
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-the-housing-crisis-is-traumatising-our-children-20230504-p5d5nw.html
    The Robodebt saga was not the Public Service’s finest moment. The recent release of the National Cabinet minutes confirms that the problems of secrecy, obfuscation and ignoring legal advice are widespread, writes Rex Patrick who wonders if our public service has become the secret service.
    https://michaelwest.com.au/robodebt-cancer-has-our-public-service-become-the-secret-service/
    “For housing to be affordable, prices must go down, not up. Here’s how it could happen”, explains Matt Grudnoff.
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/08/for-housing-to-be-affordable-prices-must-go-down-not-up-heres-how-it-could-happen
    Referring to a Kids Helpline Impact Report, Henrietta Cook writes that Australian children are experiencing a “pandemic of mental health conditions”, with emotional wellbeing, mental health, family relationships and thoughts of suicide topping the list of their concerns.
    https://www.theage.com.au/healthcare/something-really-bad-is-happening-kids-more-distressed-but-missing-out-on-help-20230504-p5d5if.html
    It has been only in recent times that we have had former prime ministers taking up positions in foreign countries, even working for foreign governments. It ought to be regarded as deeply shameful, and more than somewhat disloyal. If our public stewards cannot be trusted to do the right thing, it becomes necessary to control them by law, writes Jack Waterford.
    https://johnmenadue.com/ex-politicians-and-ex-officials-who-go-over-to-the-enemy/
    Mainstream media coverage of the Voice to Parliament debate has highlighted the problem of bias and manipulation leaving an unfair media playing field, argues Victoria Fielding.
    https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/voice-debate-exposes-a-broken-australian-media,17494
    Peter Hartcher explains how Putin is presiding over a human and military catastrophe in Ukraine. He says Putin is fighting a losing battle as he condemns the Russian army to senseless slaughter.
    https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/putin-fighting-a-losing-battle-as-he-condemns-russian-army-to-senseless-slaughter-20230508-p5d6ml.html
    Greg Sheridan relates the story of him and his wife being seriously poisoned by carbon monoxide in a London hotel and how the NHS performed admirably.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/thanks-to-the-heroes-on-the-nhs-front-lines/news-story/01e3a1b8d07aa0ca3cc0d1a80966f7a7?amp
    The ringleader of a Rockhampton mob that surrounded the home of an Indigenous teenager on Sunday was previously the national leader of a far-right “patriots” group, which regularly published anti-Islam content online. Torin O’Brien, a former One Nation candidate, posted the names and photographs of the two Aboriginal young people, believed to be teenagers, on Facebook last week and called for locals to attend their address on Sunday. Nice.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/09/rockhampton-mob-ringleader-was-head-of-patriots-group-that-posted-anti-islam-content
    Gerard Henderson delights himself here, berating the ABC and its coronation coverage. It must have been woeful, though.
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/media-watch-dog-abcs-impartiality-training-flunks-first-hurdle-with-coronation-coverage/news-story/c23675ce5830356c276b1704817a248e?amp
    Alexandra Smith and Michael McGowan write that the Coalition will begin the new parliament in turmoil after the NSW Nationals sensationally turfed their leader, former deputy premier Paul Toole, just one month after he was re-elected to the role. What a shambles!
    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/toole-s-leadership-of-nationals-on-brink-of-collapse-after-accusations-of-lying-20230508-p5d6m1.html
    Chemist Warehouse is facing a test case over underpayments that could grow into a $10 million backpay bill for hundreds of its stores across the country, explains David Marin-Guzman.
    https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/chemist-warehouse-facing-10m-bill-claim-in-underpayment-case-20230508-p5d6qd
    Writing mortgages is the bread and butter for the four big Australian banks, but they are happier than ever to sit on the sidelines of this market until what they consider to be more sensible pricing emerges. Elizabeth Knight tells us that the banks are jack of competing for our mortgages.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/why-banks-are-jack-of-competing-for-your-mortgage-20230508-p5d6np.html
    Some parts of Australia’s overseas diplomatic network are “stretched to the point of ineffectiveness” and need a staffing boost, a review has warned the government. Daniel Hurst reports that the review, overseen in part by the influential foreign policy expert Allan Gyngell who died last week, has identified “serious gaps” in Australia’s foreign service.
    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/08/australias-diplomatic-network-has-serious-gaps-and-needs-boost-review-warns
    Gabriel Sherman’s cover story in Vanity Fair – ‘Inside Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Drama’ – has generated a lot of attention, and with good reason. Murdoch runs one of the most powerful but also one of the most secretive media corporations in the English-speaking world, writes Rodney Tiffen.
    https://johnmenadue.com/the-current-state-of-rupert-murdoch-and-his-empire/
    A lawsuit billed as a test case for overworked political staffers fizzled into a modest settlement, with no admission of fault and taxpayers picking up part of the bill, writes Chip Le Grand about the Rugg v Ryan case.
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/launched-in-a-blaze-of-publicity-ryan-v-rugg-settles-in-a-whimper-20230508-p5d6oz.html
    Angus Thompson reports that the prosecutor in the rape trial of former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann says he “entirely misread” an exchange he had with high-profile journalist Lisa Wilkinson ahead of a controversial speech she made at the Logie awards that resulted in the trial being delayed.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/dpp-misread-situation-ahead-of-lisa-wilkinson-s-controversial-logies-speech-20230508-p5d6ik.html
    The ACT’s top prosecutor has accused sexual assault investigators of abusing his staff and of frequently misapplying the law when deciding whether to lay criminal charges. This, he believes, has resulted in police pre-emptively terminating “a large number of investigations”, writes Blake Foden after yesterday’s hearing.
    https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8187993/abusive-police-terminating-sexual-assault-cases-too-early-dpp/?cs=14329
    Clancy Yeates tells us that the PwC chief has stepped down as the tax leak scandal is shredding the company’s reputation.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/pwc-chief-steps-down-as-tax-leak-scandal-shreds-company-reputation-20230508-p5d6sn.html
    The clock is ticking as a stalemate in Washington threatens to unleash a global financial and economic catastrophe. Not everyone is convinced it will be resolved in time, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz, donning his black cap.
    https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-are-getting-closer-to-global-financial-chaos-20230508-p5d6is.html
    A woman who died of blood loss after an elective hysterectomy was a Jehovah’s Witness who left conflicting requests about whether she would consent to a blood transfusion, an inquest has heard. The coroner should find that it was due to insanity.
    https://www.smh.com.au/national/jehovah-s-witness-died-after-refusing-blood-transfusion-20230508-p5d6mu.html
    Donald Trump is a habitual liar and sexual abuser who destroyed E Jean Carroll’s reputation in order to protect his own after she accused him of rape, a New York jury heard yesterday. In closing arguments in Carroll’s civil lawsuit against Trump for sexual battery and defamation, the advice columnist’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, told jurors they could believe the evidence of 10 witnesses for her client or the former president who declined to testify.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/08/trump-e-jean-carroll-closing-arguments-rape-trial

    Cartoon Corner

    David Pope

    David Rowe

    Andrew Dyson

    Matt Golding




    Mark David

    John Shakespeare


    Cathy Wilcox

    Fiona Katauskas

    Mark Knight

    Spooner needs help!

    From the US















  25. as long as an unattended structural deficit exists.

    The great gift to Australia from The Hammock Dwell and The Rodent , the gift that keeps on taking and taking. What the pricks did at the time was nicely described by MegaGeorge back in the days as onstructing Budgets as if the then “once in a century” mining boom was going to happen each and every year.

Comments are closed.