Newspoll bombshell - Labor & Lieberal 50/50

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Evidence of further solid movement away from the Lieberals with the first poll coming in since messiah Turnbull's stratospheric takeover of the party (his main credentials simply not being Tony Abbott) coming in now even at 50/50 two party preferred. That being Newspoll, the flagship poll of the favourite Lieberal bugle The Australian newspaper.

Although I wasn't expecting such a big movement so soon, I must say it's not a surprise. Any reasonable look at the continuing disaster that is the Abbott/Turnbull Lieberal gov says it all. One thing on top of another.

I don't think there's one single issue that's doing it, such is the level of present gov incompetence. If I was to say one overriding issue though I'd say Medicare. The hallowed policy of every day Australians who are proud of a system that gives universal access to healthcare for every citizen rich or poor. We love our Medicare, yet Turnbull has seen fit to start obeying the wish list of the Productivity Commission yet again and attack it; this time wanting to hand $50billion of transaction management to his corporate mates. Putting control of a large portion of our healthcare system in corporate hands. It was never going to go down well with the electorate, and around the country this weekend people marched in protest against the gov over it. Messing with our Medicare may well have been the bridge too far for many who now appear to be deserting the Lieberals.

Of course Medicare is but one of the biggest issues. Baby Asha and the standoff between doctors and immigration at a children's hospital in Brisbane is another; with Turnbull and Dutton actually attempting the Orwellian task of convincing voters that it's "compassionate" to send babies to the Nauru gulag.

Marriage equality another, where however you feel about it we've had the spectacle of gov ministers publicly saying they will disobey a people's vote for yes. Australians don't like unfairness, and don't like politicians not playing by their own rules. Yet the gov still presses ahead with wasting about $150billion of taxpayer's money for something they could accomplish in parliament tomorrow if they would just stop whinging and do the job they were elected for. 

Then we have the attacks on the poor. Penalty rates for example, or trying to squeeze a few dollars out of the unemployed by increasing compliance. Cutting vital programs that benefit us all, being Scrooge. We've even had the grotesque spectacle of Barnaby Joyce (yes he's the new deputy FFS) wanting to can Super for the poor and give it to them as a wage rise, saying the poor end up on the pension anyway! This when they want to cut the poor's penalty rates! Yet doing nothing about large corporations paying no tax, or things like Superannuation tax breaks for the richest of people that cost the gov $billions a year. People struggling weekly to afford outrageously high rents and mortgages, whilst the gov will do nothing about the Negative Gearing tax breaks for property investors that are driving up prices. A Treasurer using his National Press Club Address to say nothing. Interestingly in the same Newspoll, 47% of people agreed with Labor's changes to Negative Gearing.

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So many other issues they can't be mentioned here. The conga line of corruption for example. But mostly the message is that the Turnbull gov is for the wealthy and not for every day Australians. For the corporate interest and not the national good. Why do they keep approving new coal mines when the world is ending coal?

Lastly on this the rave-of-the-day, the comparisons with Rudd here are remarkable. Rudd, the shining star, saw his popularity disappear overnight when he caved to the coal lobby and canned any action on the environment. Is now the same true for Turnbull, with his caving to the corporate lobby and launching an enormous attack on Medicare?