While angry young Greeks led 61% of their comrades to vote “Oxi” (No) to more austerity, Australians awoke on Monday to yet another “bees in a bottle” news story. A national poll showed only 35% of those polled approved of Bill Shorten. The PM, however, fared little better, with a personal approval rating of 36%. Shorten was still ahead of Tony Abbott in the preferred leader poll (43/39). The real story underneath these headline numbers…
I overheard a snippet of conversation outside the newsagency this week which I now embellish for literary purposes. Bloke:“Whatcha up to?” 2nd Bloke : “I’ll be doin’ the books this arvo and probably tomorrow too. Bloke: “Ugly. Don’t you have until October 31? 2nd Bloke: “Mate, if you don’t do it now, when are you gonna do it?” Good point, given that the end of the financial year (June 30 for some countries), has come…
So how was your week? If you watched Q&A and the media orgy that followed, not to mention the final, cringe-worthy episode of the Killing Season, it was morbidly depressing. There are major problems with the two-party political system, not the least of which is the way a canny politician can divide and conquer. “Whose side are you on?” Tony Abbott quizzed the ABC, after the live TV programme aired comments by Zaky Mallah, the…
Seven out of 10 Australians think it is a crime to come by boat without a visa and seek refuge. Moreover, 60% of people surveyed by Australian Red Cross think there is an official “queue” of people seeking asylum. Both assumptions are incorrect. Releasing its survey for Refugee Week, Red Cross CEO Robert Tickner said he was concerned about the level of misunderstanding. “We think if some of the myths are dispelled we will…