I agree. I can’t see how this will ever achieve a fair jury trial now. I think it’s a miscarriage of justice to even try another one, whatever the outcome.
1 Like
We’ll there we go. By 2025 rather than the ‘IMMEDIATELY’ that the Coalition fuss about. If Labor pushed that out consistently then the Coalition really have no legs to stand on.
I’ve only ever seen Peter Dutton, Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor and Ted O’Brien having a whine about it every question time. Not like that’s going to do anything to help their cause.
1 Like
What, huh, how?
There was a big swing post-election, it had to come back somewhat. Plus cut through following the pressures being faced. Same would happen if the parties were in the opposite positions.
1 Like
Can understand how Albo took a slight hit due to the budget which wasn’t all roses and violets (but is that really surprising to anyone?).
Can’t fathom how Dutton’s approval went up when all he does is sow division by attacking policies whilst being empty. If Albo isn’t loveable then Potato McDutty is worse.
This is classic Pot calling kettle black situation. Coalition playing the victim and accusing Albo of bullying even though he was referring to their leader. Even Ben Fordham on 2GB called it rigorous debate rather than bullying so those on the right needs to grow a pair. What a bunch of hissies they are.
4 Likes
Even Prue MacSween whose usually 110% Liberal called it out.
4 Likes
Interesting scenario, normally there is complaint over a lack of transparency from the Coalition era, here it is the other way round.
(I’ve quoted the last post in the US Politics thread to make the shift here slightly easier)
People who complain about the “welded-on” nature of Nats/LNP voters in regional areas often don’t realise that one of the reasons these people are welded-on is because they are often the only party that has a presence in these electorates in any meaningful way. It also doesn’t help that it can feel like Labor aren’t particularly interested in these areas
A lot of voters in these areas value a member that is visible and is seen to take up the fight for their electorate and that’s something that the Nats in particular have become very good at (at least superficially).
With some longer-term effort a number of these electorates are disruptable - but no one is interested in a long-term play.
3 Likes
Thank you for moving this to the right topic. 
With this point I definitely see where you’re coming from but I also kind of feel that in these areas Labor tries but comes off as ‘out of touch’ simply because the people don’t like their approach towards what matters to them (agriculture, economy, jobs, coal) and they don’t seem bothered by climate change and other progressive issues, which is in part exacerbated by the local members sharing the same view and using their influences to maintain those views.
Secondly, although I’d usually rubbish the idea that some people are irreplaceable, it really does seem that it’s far from the truth in some of these rural areas with the rusted on support for the Coalition in regional areas. It’s almost as if there is some glowing aura about their MP that they find appealing even though they’re all fairly shallowing and self-serving, yet they still get voted in.
Take your electorate for example (I think it’s New England and therefore run by the beetroot in the hat Barnaby Joyce). Perhaps it’s the fact that he’s a Tamworth boy and he’s gone on to become Deputy PM, but it just feels like he’ll never cark it even after all he’s done earlier in his career with his dual-citizenship and his affairs. Similar with Sussan Ley in Farrer with her constant anti-climate change rhetoric as environment minister and rorts. Yet it seems both of them looks like they’ll never lose their seats because their opponents are either useless or they just wield so much influence that Labor could put the virgin Mary as their candidate and the Coalition will still get through on preferences.
Some of Labor’s positions have been contradictory - they tell one electorate one thing and others something completely at odds with that. In some respects, it shows a lack of understanding of what the issues are in these electorates and more importantly why they are issues. Climate Change is one where these electorates aren’t necessarily against action, but they have concerns that they feel are not adequately covered off - Labor faced this in the Hunter Valley where people are concerned about the futures of their communities through a transition away from coal.
It has a real potential to come across as selfish and thats often not the intention.
Lack of decent competition helps this - up to now, the Nats have picked candidates that represent a continuation (it’s often just a different face under a big hat to use a stereotype). That may change in some electorates moving forward as we’ve seen these politicians become much greater personalities in the recent past.
The other thing (and something that doesn’t get reported as often, it doesn’t really make for a good story outside of the communities they serve) - many of these politicians (including the ones you mention) have a good understanding of and are willing to fight for their electorate and that’s held in high regard by many.
1 Like
Random observation but it seems the further country/rural you go and the more right-wing a politician is the more loyal and more rusted on the people are to their politicians. I mean apart from Katter in Kennedy (who’s a special case), Sharkie in Mayo, Wilkie in Clark and Haines in Indi it seems the Independents just can’t breakthrough the Liberal/National mould in rural areas.
Case in point: The likes of Teal Independents/Greens/Labor unseated so many sitting Liberal members this election, many of whom are moderate Liberals like Frydenburg, Zimmermann, Allen, Sharma etc, yet those on the centre to far right like Dutton, Ley, Joyce, Morrison etc gets re-elected despite the amount of dirty laundry on them, which is actually worse because they’re the group responsible for the downfall of the Coalition yet they get re-elected whilst moderates pays the price. Makes you wonder if going further and further to the right is actually helpful in getting one re-elected.
I do wonder if the Teal Independents’ influence are successful under this parliament will they choose to target rural/far right seats across the country and see if they can make a breakthrough the blue wall in the next election.
You can’t just parachute someone in to compete and expect them to perform well - the success of the teal movement was in large part because they had strong candidates in seats that were winnable at the election, a lot of their positions weren’t all that far from the incumbent and they had the backing to be visible. There needs to be a shift in thinking that if you want to win some of these seats, you need to put the hard yards in and possibly over multiple electoral cycles or getting you’re candidate well known in the leadup to the election being called.
One reason why the teal movement may not be as effective in regional/rural seats as it is in metro and urban seats is that you’re very much banking on personality as well - in a geographically larger seat, you’re more than likely dealing with a variety of communities that are very disparate (the only thing linking them is sharing an electorate) and if you’re an unknown (or poorly known) it can damage you heavily.
2 Likes
Albo has secured a meeting with Xi, tomorrow. Would be the first in about 7 years. I expect nothing to come from it. South China Sea, International Law breaches, Taiwan, Ukraine. The dial won’t change on those topics anytime soon.
1 Like
You’re never going to shift the needle at the first meeting - we might as well be trying to build some kind of relationship from scratch at this point.
2 Likes
If anything Albo will have a better chance of mending bridges whilst standing firm on Australia’s position in the world than Scomo/Dutton ever will.
1 Like
For sure - he’s unlikely to try and shirt front Xi which the other two would probably offer as their opening gambit.
Its hard enough to have a working relationship with China at the best of times - re-establishing that is going to take some time.
2 Likes
32 min discussion. Sounds like it was just a…this is who we are and what we stand for meeting. Expected for a first meeting in donkeys years. What is more important is future dialogue and meetings and what comes from that.
Would loved to have been a fly on a wall in that 3 hour Biden meeting. No doubt some disagreements and debates in that meeting.