LATEST NEWSPOLL GOOD NEWS FOR LABOR
Support for Scott Morrison’s government is at its lowest level since he became prime minister, The Australian ($) reports, while Labor is now considered — for the first time — a better government to handle the pandemic. That’s according to the paper’s Newspoll, which found the combined Liberal-Nationals have 34% support (it fell two points) — while Labor is at 41% (it climbed three).
If the Coalition is at a low ebb, Labor is at a high one — it’s Labor’s strongest result since 2018 when Morrison replaced then-PM Malcolm Turnbull. The Greens climbed a point to 11% and One Nation stayed steady at 3%, but if we look at the two-party preferred results instead, Labor’s leading 56-44, another record margin for this time period. Newspoll also found 33% of those surveyed felt Labor would do a better job leading us out of the pandemic, compared to 32% siding with the Coalition.
If these results were taken to the election, the Coalition would lose up to 25 seats. However, some might caution observers to take Newspolls with a grain of salt considering the Coalition lost no fewer than 50 consecutive polls, as Reuters reported at the time, then went on to win the 2019 federal election. A good ABC explainer delved into some possible reasons for this: the dwindling amount of landlines, and robocalls leading to fewer responses, among them. But news.com.au explains this one was conducted online with 1526 respondents.
Anyway — Morrison still leads as the preferred PM, even though the gap is narrowing as Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s approval rating rose four points to 43%. Indeed 58% of people said they were dissatisfied with Morrison as leader at the moment — a surge of six points. Yikes.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON THE RISE
The number of electric vehicles (EV) on our roads has tripled, Guardian Australia reports, with 24,078 sold in 2021, compared to just 6900 in 2020. The EV of choice? Tesla of course — about 15,000 Tesla Model 3s drove out of the proverbial car lot last year (starting at $59,000), but the MG ZS and the Mitsubishi Outlander were popular too. And there’ll be at least 30 more EV models to choose from by the end of this year, which more than doubles the models for sale right now, The New Daily reports, with Tesla’s SUV and Toyota’s first EV in the mix. Plus, the green vehicles could be about to get a bit cheaper, starting as low as $40,000 thanks to Chinese brands.
Is it a sign of a changing tide in the car sales industry? Guardian Australia continues that Electric Vehicle Council boss Behyad Jafari says supportive state government policies are helping things along — indeed the ACT, which offers interest-free loans for electric cars, is seeing the strongest uptake. But electric vehicles still only account for about 2.39% of Australia’s market, whereas in western Europe more than one in 10 cars are electric.
This morning, details of Australia’s first hydrogen-powered tow truck factory will be released. US company Hyzon Motors wants to build the factory in Melbourne’s east — it’s already inked a deal to import hydrogen-powered buses to mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group and prime-movers to Wesfarmers-owned Coregas, The Age reports, with the factory the next step in its expansion here.
WORK IT OUT
Australia’s jobless rate could fall below 4% this year, the lowest it’s ever been since records began in 1978, according to The Australian ($). The paper says the March 29 budget will reportedly include “rosier employment forecasts” that improve upon Treasury’s prediction that we’d reach a 4.25% rate by mid-2023. At the moment there are 1.6 unemployed people to every job ad. Compare that to pre-pandemic, when the rate of unemployment was 5.1% and there was 3.1 people to every ad. OK — so if the fall in unemployment comes as inflation is increasing, then what the heck is going to happen with interest rates?
Well, The Oz reckons we’ll see the record-low 0.1% cash rate go up in the second half of the year, but a team of economists say the Reserve Bank of Australia is probably going to hold off on increasing them this year, even though overseas markets are seeing rising interest rates, rising inflation, and decreasing unemployment, The Conversation reports. It assembled a 24-person forecasting panel to get the goss on what 2022 has in store, and two-thirds said the RBA would keep rates low until at least the first quarter of 2023. The RBA is meeting for the first time this year on Tuesday. Stay tuned.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
There’d be some tired eyes around the nation today after last night’s sensational 5.5-hour Australian Open (AO) final that ended in sixth seed Spaniard Rafael Nadal’s record-making 21st Grand Slam title, news.com.au reports. The incredible match went well beyond 1 am AEDT (making it the second-longest in AO history) as Rafa and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev — some 10 years his junior — were locked in a battle. Nadal’s win was a comeback in more than one way — Medvedev had the upper hand at first, but off the court, Nadal has also been battling a long-term foot injury that nearly led to his retirement, ABC reports. Plus, remember when Nadal tested positive for COVID last month? Nadal’s 21st win saw him break ranks with fellow greats Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (the “Big Three” all had 20 Grand Slams) to become the new male record-holder, as Guardian Australia reports (Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slams, while Margaret Court won 24).
At the weekend, homegrown legend Ash Barty joined the ranks of the “Big Three” and Williams when the world No. 1 won the Grand Slam, becoming one of just four active players who have won a major on all three surfaces, the SMH reports. Barty describes herself as “very humbled” to be part of the esteemed group of greats. It was a dream come true for the 25-year-old Indigenous Australian, who spectacularly ended a 44-year wait when she became the first local to win the women’s singles crown since the ’70s. Barty’s masterful win was watched by a record-setting 4.2 million Australians — that’s nearly twice the population of Brisbane.
Hope you begin your Monday with a little spring in your step.
SAY WHAT?
Ash [Barty’s] father came to us and said the crowd was the best he’s ever seen. Obviously Ash is a hell of a player, but I think the ratings speak for themselves … People watch my matches, everywhere I play around the world the stadiums are full for that reason … But there’s a reason why the ratings are the way they are and people are glued to the TV when we play.
Nick Kyrgios
The tennis player’s post-match circus came to a head when Kyrgios seemed to suggest his match was bigger than the female world number one and Grand Slam winner’s. His answer came after a reporter asked about the atmosphere, and was met with some scathing backlash, as English tennis commentator Catherine Whitaker told ABC’s Offsiders her jaw dropped when she heard his comments.
CRIKEY RECAP
How we comfort ourselves with simple narratives — and dodge the real threats to women and kids
“The comfort of the Cleo Smith narrative is that when such an horrific random fate strikes a normal family, society can somehow intervene and prevent the worst outcome. It’s a comfort against the essentially random nature of life, where a small but real risk of violent death will always exist.
“What’s not comforting about the majority of deaths of children is that they are not random but significantly preventable, because they reflect social and economic systems at work.”
She’ll definitely be right, mate, but Scott Morrison couldn’t be more wrong
“All last year, as the Australian of the Year and an ever-expanding array of women demanded with growing volume that the disease of male violence against women be taken seriously, Morrison dogged it.
“But not just that; he committed his own outrages, both rhetorical and symbolic, and I don’t need to reference them. He could not have displayed his disrespect for the cause any more clearly if he had addressed a ‘ditch the witch’ rally like his Neanderthal forebear.”
Morrison’s summer of sophistry: PM seeks refuge from the truth
“Last week Morrison found himself in a difficult spot when the normally friendly, pro-Coalition Ben Fordham politely inquired about refugees in the same hotel as Novak Djokovic … More than two dozen people found to be refugees are detained on an ongoing basis in the Park Hotel in Melbourne. That was lie number one.
“But we got a much treasured bonus lie two days later when Morrison was challenged on his claim about there being no refugees at the hotel …”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
2000 children recruited by Yemen’s Houthis died fighting: UN (Al Jazeera)
Democrats decried dark money. Then they won with it in 2020 (The New York Times)
Qatar’s emir set for first White House meeting with Biden (Al Jazeera)
‘We pray for rain’: Ethiopia faces catastrophic hunger as cattle perish in severe drought (The Guardian)
Where is Peng Shuai? A thousand tennis fans beg the question (SBS)
Trump teases a presidential run and dangles pardons for January 6 rioters at Texas rally (CNN)
Speculation about Tom Brady’s retirement intensifies (The New York Times)
North Korea tests biggest missile since 2017 (BBC)
[NZ] PM’s approval rating hits record low (Stuff)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Let’s not pretend brown hydrogen is exporting green energy to the world — Andrew Forrest (The AFR): “This month, the world’s first vessel capable of transporting liquid hydrogen — designed and built in Kobe, Japan — swung by Victoria to pick up its first, super-cooled cargo for Japanese consumers … And hats off also to the Australian government — for indirectly demonstrating, through a $500 million pilot project in Victoria, that international trade in liquid hydrogen is technically feasible. But let’s not pretend we’re exporting ‘clean energy’ to the world.
“Japan’s innovations are without doubt a huge leap forwards for humankind. But peddling hydrogen made from brown coal — the dirtiest of all coals — as ‘clean’ is a cringe-inducing backwards shuffle into the dark ages … Brown coal, of all the coals, is the worst. It’s 50-million-year-old decaying swamp matter that, when burned, produces less energy than any other form of coal — but still releases greenhouse gas, sulphur, arsenic and other toxic metals into the air we breathe.”
Why Barty’s warrior spirit is so deadly — Teela Reid (The Age): “There is no force equal to a First Nations’ woman standing in her power. Barty has written herself into the history books and just like Cathy and Evonne, who are proud black women, has shaped the trajectory of our nation. A historic moment for us all, but most importantly for all other young First Nations people, who Ash has so fiercely and proudly represented.
“There is so much to celebrate about Barty’s story. Small but mighty; it is her tenacity to never give up and stay focused on the task at hand that sets her apart. Humility without ego are her defining features and what makes her a true champion. In the eyes of First Nations’ people, she is a warrior woman.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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Indigenous Australian historian and activist Jackie Huggins will chat about her new collection, Sister Girl: Reflections on Tiddaism, Identity and Reconciliation.
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Crown Melbourne will launch its Lunar New Year celebrations to welcome the Year of The Tiger, beginning with the traditional Dotting of the Eye ceremony to welcome good energy and prosperity for the year ahead.
Kaurna Country (also known as Adelaide)
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SA Environment Minister David Speirs, Sturt MP James Stevens, Charles Sturt Mayor Angela Evans, and Port Adelaide Enfield Deputy Mayor Hannah Evans will open a new recycling facility at Kilburn.
