It's been such a long time since I started this blog, and both I and the blog have been through so many transitions I'd forgotten what time of year it was that I started it. So it was a complete coincidence that I thought I might look to see when the first entry was, and discovered it was precisely six years ago. I started this blog as an experiment ...
Given some of the attacks I've copped on this Blog about preferences, it is worth giving some further analysis about the actual impact of those preference decisions on the results. I do this not just to address some of the myths floating around but also to highlight what I think is more important, which is that the overall progressive minor party vote has now dropped so low that it ...
For a different view worthy of consideration, try http://enmorestation.up.to/ Perhaps it is indeed time to stop being so reasonable and get out there and really raise heck. (Although the Greens didn't preference Hanson ahead of the Dems, but they put her ahead of Family First. and they did put Non Custodial Parents ahead of the Dems, etc, but we've been through all that stuff back in the October blogs.)
Whilst its been clear for a while what the end result would be, the official Senate numbers (and names) are now finalised. In amongst all the claims and counter-claims, there are a few straightforward facts. After all the claims about preferences, a few points should be made: Pre-election warnings about the Government's chances of winning control of the Senate proved to be true. If the Greens had swapped preferences with ...
A couple of stories from the campaign from Democrat volunteers (a nice one and a bad one, just to balance things): 1. While I was handing out the HTV cards a man with a thick accent came through and made sure he got a HTV card from every party and continued on inside to vote. After he voted he came and stood in front of all the people handing ...
I doubt a day went by during the campaign when the Democrats didn't warn about the prospect of the Liberals controlling at least half of the seats in the Senate. The Democrats (and clearly some of Labor's) preferences were aimed at minimising the chances of that happening, by steering some preferences from the conservative side of the spectrum away from the Liberals. It appears that the reason why the ...
There'll be plenty of places and times for comment on the election result. I received this viewpoint, which went to a number of newsgroups, so I thought I'd reproduce it here. I don’t agree with all the views expressed - especially the overly positive view of what the Labor Party offered, but it does indicate well what is now at risk of being permanently lost. That some of these ...
The polls are showing that a large number of people still haven't made up their mind about how to vote. It is likely that whatever that number is, it would be even higher in the Senate. That means there are plenty of people who can have their decision influenced, if they are made aware of the importance of the Senate and the danger that it may be weakened ...
In one of those wonderful pieces of election timing that make you wonder if the gods of politics have it in for me (yes, I do still think it's an open question), the day I choose to make a final foray into Adelaide is also the day that Howard and Latham choose to make a final foray into Adelaide. No doubt they both got wind of the fact ...
The Green Party released their IR policy today saying they can deliver industrial peace in our time. Labor released their policy on Tas forests, promising a scientific assessment to decide which forest areas will be protected. I thought the Green Party would be outraged that they've just got another review with an unknown result not being delivered until after the election, especially after they'd already handed over their ...
We're heading into the final week of the campaign, and I noted an item from Newspoll stating that 25% of people haven't given much consideration to how they are going to vote yet. I imagine it's far higher than that for people's Senate vote. It's time to start working even harder now.I was mildly surprised how totally uninterested I was in the Rugby League Grand Final. It reminded ...
Latham's Medicare Gold stuff seems to have got some momentum behind it, (judging by some of the feeling of journos in the Press gallery anyway). Hard to know if it's a grand idea with some flaws that need ironing out or a great sounding idea with no hope of working even remotely like they say it will or for the price they say it will. Needs more detail ...
Some OK articles in some of the papers about the Press Club speech, although nothing to suggest there'd been any major shift of consciousness in journalist land about the urgent need to give greater attention to the potential Senate outcome. Totally atrocious coverage in one paper who shall remain nameless and none at all in another. Stopped into a Sanity CD store with my staff person so they could ...
Received a lot of positive feedback from the speech to the Press Club. It's impossible for me to be objective about it obviously and also hard for me to judge when I'm delivering it rather than on the receiving end like everyone else. However, the feedback was more positive than usual. Still, you can never tell if it will get coverage and if so, which aspects or ...
I've always enjoyed visiting Tasmania. It really is an exceptionally beautiful place and I'd heartily recommend it to anyone. Even though I've lived all my life in Brisbane, I'm not a big fan of the heat and I often appreciated the soothing cool that Tassie provides. The visit was too short as always. I'm starting to develop a list of things I will try to do in the months ...
A weekend of watching the AFL Grand Final on the TV (a sad result in my view, but still an amazing effort from the Lions over 4 years), preparing for and then doing Meet The Press on Sunday morning. I was followed by Andrea Mason from Family First party. The exaggerated claims about Family First being an extreme right wing party were left unsubstantiated, but I guess ...
I flew to Melbourne Friday morning on a 6am flight. I had one of those awful 'wake up to turn off the alarm and then go straight back to sleep' experiences, waking up 20 minutes after I was due to leave. Fortunately my exceptionally wise, long-suffering and underpaid staff person who books all these things for me has learnt to book my cars about 20 minutes earlier than ...
A happy birthday to Nick Cave (for the 22nd), which provides yet another excuse to plug his new album - do yourself a favour and grab a copy. Really enjoyed doing the interview on 4ZZZ. Radio is so the best medium. I think if more politicians and the like did more interviews on community radio, there's probably be more genuine information come out about their views. You're inherently less on ...
In Sydney tonight. Did a live forum with a group of people on SBS Insight. Always hard to get much of a word in on those things, although I got more of a run than most of the people who were present, many of whom missed out altogether. I sat next to a cabbie who has his own blog - worth checking out at http://cablog.com.au/ ...
It's fairly late at night - sitting in my office in Canberra now but off to Sydney in the morning. I'm starting to get in trouble from my staff for not getting to bed earlier (probably cos they know how grumpy I can get and they don't want to have to endure that ;-), but late at night is the best time to clear the thoughts and let ...
Next,
Every Monday morning during my radio show on community radio 4ZzZ FM, I chat with Peter Black, a constitutional lawyer, follower of social and political issues and obsessive user of social media. I don’t normally put links to those chats on this blog, but given that our talk this morning was all about the federal election, I thought it was worth putting a link to it on this occasion. You can have a listen to it by clicking on this link.
(0)Given I am now running as a Greens candidate, I suppose it is no surprise that I am indicating my agreement with a comment that Bob Brown made today. But I would also say that it isn’t any secret that I haven’t agreed with every public comment that Bob has made, and I would agree with the following comment about the schoolyard level nonsense regarding another possible leaders debate even if it had been made by Steve Fielding:
“What we’re seeing now between the two leaders is an absolute farce and people everywhere are rolling their eyes at Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard not having the maturity to get together to agree to the series of debates which would have enlightened the electorate,“It is a joke and a sad reflection on the optic and image driven nature of political media coverage in Australia. A couple of weeks ago, there was a three way debate at the National Press Club on important ICT issues such as internet filtering, broadband and wider communications policy. More... (6)
A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about mountaintop mining in the USA. All mining has some impact, but the sheer destructiveness of this type of mining is astonishing – and that’s before you take into account the greenhouse impact of the coal. This article in the New York Times details the potential impact of a similar project in West Virginia. The significance of this proposal is that there is the possibility it may be stopped, or seriously curtailed, by the Obama administration, which would be a signal of a positive shift on this issue.
(2)Following are links to a couple of recent radio interviews I’ve done, plus an online one
More... (1)As I noted in my previous post, this week’s Newspoll saw the Greens register 16% support – the highest that party has ever achieved, comparable to the Democrats best Newspoll result of 17% back in 1990. History suggests it is unlikely that this peak will be maintained right through to election day (or even the next Newspoll) but it is part of a continuing trend of solid Greens results. I’ve written a piece expanding on this, and how the party might approach the challenges ahead, at The Drum/Unleashed on the ABC’s site – which you can read by clicking on this link.
(0)Contention over Queensland’s Wild Rivers legislation has been bubbling along for quite a while now. Unfortunately, as with many issues which become polarised, each “side” is focused on defending their position, which has meant that some important underlying issues are not getting the attention they deserve. I’ve just had a piece on this topic published at The Drum on the ABC’s website. It’s fairly long, so they published it in two parts – the first part is at this link and the second part is at this one. I should emphasise that the article reflects my personal views, and is not a formal view of the Greens, nor of ANTaR Queensland, who I am also involved with.
(18)Hip hop fans in Brisbane might be interested in tuning in to my radio show on 4ZZZ FM this Monday morning around 7:30am. I’ll be talking with the Gold Coast based duo Choose Mics, who are launching their debut full length album Beggars Can’t Be Choosers at the Step Inn in the Valley this coming Friday night as part of what will be a big night for fans of hip-hop/rap/urban sounds, with Brisbane’s The Optimen also launching their second album “The Out of Money Experience” as part of the same event. Even though there is a steady stream of musical offerings in Brisbane, a double album launch of this magnitude doesn’t come along every day of the week, so I’ll dedicate a half hour or so to exploring not just the words and sounds of Choose Mics, but getting a broader overview from them of the hip hop related scenes locally and nationally.
More... (2)Disclaimer: The inclusion of a blog or website in this list should not be taken as an endorsement of its contents by me.
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