Anna Bligh and Queensland Labor resurgent?
A Galaxy poll dripped out over four editions of the Brisbane Courier Mail and Sunday Mail has shown probably the largest turnaround recorded for the approval rating of any political leader: Anna Bligh went from 24% in the November Galaxy [...]
Fear of ghosts and the Bracks-Brumby government
At this stage, the most likely outcome of the state election appears to be a narrow Coalition majority. While the campaign itself will be analyzed to death, I reckon it’s a mistake to overemphasize the events of the last few [...]
Baillieu and the death of small-l Liberalism
Leslie Cannold (academic and head of Pro-Choice Victoria) has written a Fairfax op-ed in which she urges “…those who take a progressive line on issues such as abortion, physician-assisted dying, stem cell research, artistic censorship and multiculturalism…” to have a [...]
Planning policies: circle not squared yet
Urban planning is one of the more wicked problems facing state politicians. To caricature, politically powerful groups a) dislike urban sprawl, c) want to develop stuff for sale, d) want affordable housing, and most significantly, e) intensely oppose development anywhere [...]
Disasters disengage brains – exhibit #123
I hate to repeat myself from my previous post, but: Imagine a submission came in to the Victorian Cabinet from a government department. It was clearly going to cost an nine-figure sum annually, but beyond that it was uncosted. There [...]
Polls, preferences and the Penrith by-election: Watch this space
One indicator for the question that’s occupying many minds about the likely distribution of preferences from The Greens in a situation where their primary vote increases considerably will be the final distribution of preferences in the Penrith by-election. So, watch [...]
Bligh sinks further; Queensland budget brought down
Derek Barry at Woolly Days has written a comprehensive post on this year’s Queensland Budget. Suffice it for me to state that I agree with his conclusion: Queensland’s 150th budget is much like the 149th that came before it. It [...]
Doom or salvation for Rudd Labor?
I continue to be quite surprised at the levels of panic about the Labor party’s current polling predicament, and some of the reactions. The government’s response to the Nielsen poll yesterday was to point out that Tony Abbott stands a [...]
LNP defections embarrass Langbroek
In a neat piece of timing, Queensland LNP MPs Aidan McLindon (Beaudesert) and Rob Messenger (Burnett) chose the eve of a John Howard love in with the party’s caucus to announce their defection and decision to sit as Independents. Both [...]
The politics of health: COAG and beyond
With the Council of Australian Governments meeting for a second successive day to deliberate on the federal government’s National Health and Hospitals Network plan, the usual suspects are proclaiming that there will be no deal, which will be a disaster [...]
Recent Comments