ALBANESE AND DUTTON RATINGS FALL
Another week, another less than ideal Newspoll for Anthony Albanese. The Australian reports the prime minister’s approval rating has dropped to its joint-lowest level since the May 2022 election. Labor and the Coalition remain locked in a 50-50 two-party-preferred contest, with a hung Parliament still the predicted outcome if the federal election were held today. The Coalition’s primary vote dropped one point to 38% and Labor’s stayed at 32%, the paper said.
The AAP writes the new survey showed disapproval for Albanese up four points to 54%, while his approval rating fell two points to 41%, resulting in a minus 13 rating — which just happens to be the same net satisfaction rating of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, whose overall rating also dropped.
The survey comes after a bruising few weeks for the prime minister and his government, with the weekend’s news dominated by the census debacle. The ABC reports Albanese said on Sunday the government had told the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to cancel testing on new census questions about sexuality, gender identity and intersex status because they “weren’t appropriate”. On Friday, the prime minister announced a new question on sexuality would be tested for the next census (due in 2026) in a U-turn from the government’s decision at the start of the week not to add it.
The ABC said it remains unclear what will happen to the questions on gender identity and variations of sexual characteristics that were also being considered. On Saturday, Albanese rejected the suggestion he was limiting the scope of data collection.
“No, there’s a range of other questions, including there’s already an identity question in the census. The ABS will work these things through, you’re talking about 2026 and it’s 2024,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying. “My government’s priority has been working through cost of living measures, that’s been our focus, and we’ll work with the ABS on those issues.”
The opposition has unsurprisingly continued its attacks over the confusion, with Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg telling ABC’s Insiders yesterday: “I think the fact that the prime minister has tied himself in knots on this issue shows a great weakness in his own leadership.”
One knot Albanese won’t be tying just yet is his marriage to fiancee Jodie Haydon, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting the couple plans to hold their wedding after the next election. Citing “senior government sources” the paper said the couple were keen to avoid the attention and would also struggle to find time in the PM’s schedule before the country goes to the polls.
ALL ABOUT HOUSING
Guardian Australia leads this morning on the latest policy announcement from the Greens, once again pushing for reform within the housing sector. The party has said it would create a National Renters Protection Authority (NRPA) to deal with tenancy disputes. The proposed authority would take on enforcing the national minimum standards previously suggested by the Greens and its staff would able to issue fines of up to $18,780 to real estate agencies that breached the rules, as well as on-the-spot fines of up to $3,756.
As well as getting into the census debate on Insiders, [opposition homeownership spokesman] Bragg was also asked on Sunday if the Coalition would dock GST distributions for states and territories that did not work hard enough to increase housing supply. While the opposition has not yet confirmed its supply policy, Bragg said punishments were “under consideration”, The West Australian reports. “We need to be creative and find a way to hit the states hard where it hurts, otherwise I fear we will drift into a situation where the housing problem will get worse before it gets better,” Bragg said.
The Western Australian said Albanese, who was visiting WA with his cabinet, replied: “Andrew Bragg has put Australians on notice that he’s coming after the GST and he’s coming after it hard. Now we know that WA is at risk … that means less funds for education and health and infrastructure. This is an example of how irresponsible the Coalition government are and how they don’t represent a credible alternative.”
Meanwhile, the AAP points out house prices have risen for a 19th consecutive month, with CoreLogic data revealing a national growth of 0.5% last month.
As the government continues to struggle to get its own housing policies through the Senate, the AFR reports there might be some movement on another of its reforms which seemed to be very slow-moving — the gambling advertising rules. The paper says a ban on gambling ads on player jerseys and sports grounds could be announced “within weeks”. It also claims the other proposals are set to be dragged out due to negotiations with the states.
Elsewhere, Guardian Australia highlights the closing arguments in the defamation case brought against Brittany Higgins by Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds are expected to be heard today.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
Last week we brought you the tale of the 4-year-old boy who accidentally knocked over and smashed a rare 3,500-year-old jar while visiting a museum in Israel.
Well, there’s been an update.
Young Ariel has gone back to Hecht Museum in Haifa to meet with the very forgiving staff who even gifted him a clay vase to take home, The Guardian reports.
The paper says experts are using 3D technology to restore the Bronze Age jar. The family has commented on how much Ariel’s older siblings enjoyed learning about how the museum was restoring the artefact when they returned to the scene of the accident.
As the broken pieces were from a complete jar, the repairs would be “fairly simple”, The Guardian quotes restoration expert Roee Shafir as saying, with the suggestion the jar could be back on display this week.
No doubt a relief for all involved.
Say What?
We’ve grown up together. Well, I’ve grown up with him, and we’ve played many times. I’m expecting an absolute battle.
Alex de Minaur
De Minaur, the 10th seed, said he was looking forward to his US Open fourth-round tie against fellow Australian Jordan Thompson on Monday.
CRIKEY RECAP
But Labor wasn’t motivated by such complicated questions. It was merely worried what Dutton would do. It speaks of a timid government that second-guesses itself constantly, that governs with one eye on what its political opponents will make of its announcements. There’s governing from the centre and minimising political risks, and then there’s allowing your opponents to determine how you govern, and this was very much the latter. Dutton has Labor badly rattled.
A more confident government would have let the process run, accepted a new question and pointed out how weird it was that Dutton opposed it. But this certainly isn’t a confident government. If you don’t want to do things because they might be labelled “divisive”, you shouldn’t be in the business of politics. After all, prime minister, Labor did win the last election.
Foxtel is investigating the “alleged improper use” of multiple social media accounts after Crikey revealed that a company executive was behind a secret abusive burner X account.
After first declining to comment on the case, a Foxtel spokesperson said on Friday morning that the company had launched a probe.
“Foxtel has commenced an investigation into the alleged improper use of social media accounts,” they said in an emailed statement.
This investigation comes after Crikey contacted Foxtel and the company’s Fox Cricket general manager on Thursday with a new set of social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, from @RealRagingBull and @YeshowgoodWeiss, a public account under the name of Matthew Weiss.
Well, I thought the Victorian government reneging on its commitment to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 was the low point. But I didn’t reckon with just how far down the Coalition parties were prepared to go.
Enter the new Country Liberal Party government of the Northern Territory and incoming Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who has made the post-election promise to take the NT’s minimum age of criminal responsibility down to 10. Evidence-based this is decidedly not; the age was only increased from 10 to 12 in August 2023, and youth crime statistics have not seen a spike in that year.
The symbiotic relationship between the public’s fear of crime (universally overestimated), political opportunism/populism, and the media’s eternal love for blood-soaked reportage makes it impossible to determine cause and effect. We all have a responsibility to not irrationally overreact, but lawmakers carry this most seriously. In the Peter Dutton era, however, all bets are off.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Far-right German party to win first state vote since WWII (Deutsche Welle)
Pope Francis to set off on challenging 12-day Asia-Pacific tour (The Guardian)
Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania weather: Millions of Aussies urged to stay home as wild weather batters multiple states (Daily Mail)
Trump and Harris gear up for campaign’s final stretch (The New York Times)
The teenage armless archer who captured the world’s attention (The Sydney Morning Herald)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Labor’s bizarre census backflip reveals great data about this weak government — Michael Koziol (The Sydney Morning Herald): It’s funny how it’s always LGBTQ issues that have to be sacrificed to maintain the peace. But taken together, these decisions tell us a lot about where Albanese and his government feel they sit in the national conversation. It tells us they are hyper-sensitive to any criticism that they are not singularly focused on the cost of living, and do not believe they can walk and chew gum at the same time. It tells us Labor is scared of Peter Dutton, and does not think it can win the argument for its own policies.
And it tells us this is a government that is fundamentally operating from a position of weakness rather than strength.
The election will be held before May. A government that’s frightened some people might object to a census question two years from now is a government that must be petrified of its own shadow.
Labor’s spectacular census own goal hands Dutton a double victory — Karen Middleton (Guardian Australia): Irony may be an overused word but there are several in where the whole schemozzle wound up.
Having been unwilling to proceed and prosecute the argument in favour of what they’d promised, the government opted to retreat instead to avoid a damaging debate, and generated exactly that.
They also gave Dutton twin victories. In response to the reversal of the reversal, Dutton said Australia had a “weak prime minister who doesn’t know what he believes in”.
Just to rub it in, he added that if the government wanted LGBTQ+ people counted in the census, he was “fine with that”. Divisive? Certainly not. At least not when acquiescence hurts the other mob more.
