Wednesday 25 November

1 The PM warns further Islamic State-linked attacks are ‘likely’, but the terror group has ‘more smartphones than guns’.

In contrast with his hawkish predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull urges a calm, careful response to the Paris attacks. Isn’t that refreshing? In fact he is treating it as a policy issue rather than a political tactic as Abbott did.

2 The argument that increasing the price of tobacco is an attack on the poor is just silly. If it encourages/makes people give up smoking and consequently saves lives it is a good thing. It’s such a good idea that it should be extended to fat, sugar, and salt in fast foods that cause more deaths than anything else. Notwithstanding the cost in medical services.

3 Tuesday’s ‘Newspoll’ puts Labor behind the Coalition 47 per cent to 53 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. Turnbull has a 64% to 15% lead in the preferred PM stakes. I liked Shortens response.

‘I share in the national relief that Tony Abbott is no longer PM.’

Leading your party in opposition must surely be a job you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. It’s a thankless, powerless task that has few positives but comes with enormous expectations from those who follow you.

The Essential Poll has the Coalition on 52% and Labor on 48%

An observation: ‘The media is entitled to call a spade a spade but not a shovel.’

4 Some Liberal MPs are asking the question: ‘How long will it take Tony Abbott to realise that he won’t be coming back?’ They are suggesting that a resistance movement has sprung up around the former PM and have lunch every Tuesday. The group is led by of all people Peter Dutton. It seems they are intent on painting the PM as soft on terror thus proving that some men never grow up. And it appears that the larger than life Qld MP George Christensen wants the death penalty for terrorists. Stone Age thinking again.

5 The Treasurer releases the Harper Review and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks.

6 Did you know that worldwide one woman dies every minute as a result of pregnancy and childbirth?

My Coalition broken promise reminder:

A Broke a promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy as it is revealed that at least 30 staff in Treasury were made involuntarily redundant.

B Broke a promise not to grant permanent residency to people arriving by boat by granting a visa to a least one refugee

C Broke a promise to amend the race hate laws

D Broke a promise to “make no unexpected detrimental changes to superannuation” by killing the Low Income Super Contribution, the Superannuation Guarantee and delaying superannuation increases for seven years.

7 Australia’s preeminent journalist on the subject of climate change says it all with this headline in the Guardian ‘Australia to claim success on climate target, with help of accounting rules’.

Suggest you read it.

MY THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

‘Religion in many respects is akin to politics in so much as it believes that telling the truth isn’t necessarily in its best interests’.