Nielsen finds Labor would be 52-48 ahead under Rudd
I’ve got big doubts that polls which are based on counterfactuals have the meaning they’re purported to bear, but something must be going on when Nielsen has Labor’s primary vote at 27% but at 42% if Kevin Rudd were leader. [...]
The logic of Labor (and Liberal) leadership
In a post entitled “After Gillard”, John Quiggin writes: I think the return of Rudd would put the spotlight on Abbott’s total fraudulence, maybe even paving the way for the Rudd vs Turnbull election we should have had last time. [...]
Peter Beattie for PM? Labor implodes?
In the wake of the asylum seeker decision by the High Court, federal Labor’s cup of existential angst is spilling over. The problem now with the ‘hold your nerve with Julia’ strategy is that her personal and policy performance appears [...]
Breaking the stalemate on asylum seekers and refugees II
It’s become increasingly clear that the High Court’s decision yesterday does more than block the ‘Malaysian Solution’. It also has the effect of radically challenging the validity and viability of a range of offshoring approaches to asylum seekers, both tried [...]
The limits of market rationality
On one hand, this whole global financial crisis (is that what we’re having again?) thing is horrendously complex. On the other, it’s quite simple. Let’s focus on the simple. The meltdown that followed the end of the credit and housing [...]
Brendan O’Neill’s revealing moment #Qanda #Notw
In his appearance on Q&A last night, editor of Spiked and libertarian gadfly Brendan O’Neill said more than he ought to have. O’Neill is apparently an alumnus of some Trotskyist group or other, and like other leftie turned righties (or [...]
Malcolm Turnbull and reframing the Climate Change debate
Malcolm Turnbull’s speech on climate change science points the way to a better framing of the climate change and carbon price debates than we’ve seen from the Labor party.
Health and hospital reform: just “cute sounding schemes?”
We’re often told that there are massive shortages of health professionals. But since the increase in medical places, we have more graduate doctors than health departments know what to do with. The actual problems go to how and where health professionals work.
The whole is less than the sum of the parts
Part of what Julia Gillard said about why she saw the need to challenge Rudd was this: “I also believe that it’s important if you lead a team to rely on the collective efforts of the team. We are all [...]
The Anniversary
Malcolm Farnsworth has summed up how the MSM have fully lived up to expectations in its treatment of the anniversary of the change of prime ministership: As endless talk of The Anniversary has shown, political commentary in this country consists [...]
Gough’s “nervous Nellies”; Kevin’s “panicking Pollies”
In this guest post, LP reader JohnL (who you might remember contributed this excellent takedown of BER myths) examines how sources can manipulate media coverage – in this case, with uncritical acceptance of “secret polling” data that presents those who [...]
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