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Showing posts from 2016

Like to know what's in Grange? Most years Penfolds has to break the law to tell you

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Grange. Australia's most famous wine. The red that put our country on the world's quality wine map. Yet most years Penfolds has to break the law to tell people what's in it. If you think that sounds like madness, well, yes, it is. Yet Wine Australia, the federal government body that controls how wine is labelled and promoted does, outlaw telling the truth about Grange and many other wines blended from different regions. This is the idiotic bureaucratic regulation that defines the offence: (Click to enlarge) And the section of the Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act 2013 that the regulation refers to: The problem arises because the grapes that end up in Grange regularly come from more than three regions as the company website explains. So Penfolds is in breach of the law with this reference in its tasting note for the 2010 Grange: VINEYARD REGION Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Magill Estate Oh no! Five GIs mentio

Tweeter-in-chief rewrites the media’s rule book

Tweeter-in-chief rewrites the media’s rule book : "Politicians should campaign in poetry and govern in prose, goes the adage. But Donald Trump has changed little in his shift from campaigner to president-in-waiting. He remains more polemic than poetic and is holding tight to his favourite tool for spreading bombast: Twitter. This week, it was as if the tweeter-in-chief was back on the campaign trail, the master communicator with smartphone in hand, setting the news agenda for a frustrated press forced into soul-searching over how to cover him. He used the messaging app to suggest that flag burners be thrown in jail; to moot scrapping the US-Cuba detente; to complain of fraud in an election he won; and to promote a gloating campaign-style rally where he mocked his vanquished opponents. “It’s genius and it’s frightening. It’s communications without the advantage of the frontal lobe. There’s no inhibition,” says Richard Levick, chairman of Levick, a veteran Washington communicatio

Even expert forecasters often treat a strong possibility as though it is a certainty.

Why forecasters failed to predict Trump’s victory : Tim Harford in London's Financial Times "The truth is that once Trump had secured the nomination, a Trump presidency was always a strong possibility. The betting markets seemed to recognise this, offering odds of three-to-one a week or so before the poll. Three-to-one shots happen all the time — or at least, about a quarter of the time. A defeat for Hillary Clinton may be far more consequential than a defeat for Manchester City and, therefore, far more shocking but it shouldn’t be any more surprising. Favourites do not always win." "... we have to keep an open mind that more than one outcome is possible. Too many people equated “Clinton is the favourite” with “Clinton will win”. That’s an obvious error, but it’s common. Even expert forecasters often treat a strong possibility as though it is a certainty. This tendency is one reason that dart-throwing chimps give the experts a run for their money. The chimps make

Keeping it in the family: Donald Trump and the New Jerey connection

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Family comes first. That's one thing we now know about president elect Donald Trump. This report by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow s a bottler as she tells of the Trump son in laws' revenge. Watch it here .

What is the name of the Sparkling Wine from East of Paris - up around Epernay?

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By David Farmer I returned to Tasmania in 1970 after 5 years overseas and was by then very interested in wine. Enough to find out what was happening in Tasmania, so father, who knew everyone set up a meeting with the Department of Agriculture in Launceston. I was told viticulture had no future as it was far too cold but a 'crack-pot' was planting a vineyard at Pipers Brook and the location was worth going to see. I did not meet the 'crack-pot' Andrew Pirie but I did meet his brother David who was propagating vine cuttings. I also went to the La Provence vineyard. So naturally I have followed with great interest the growth of the Tasmanian wine industry. The early to late 1980s were ........... years and over a six year period I led the pack that producers two award winners of the professional class of the Australian Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de ........... (C.I.V.C.), Chris Shanahan (1983) and Adrian Marsden Smedley (1986). Thus I know a lot abo

James Halliday as Wine Australia would censor him

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The repressive attack on freedom of speech by Wine Australia has not yet reached the level of stopping wine journalists giving sensible information to consumers. But should a wine maker or retailer dare to quote the words of James Halliday, the country's most famous wine writer, they would face two years in jail. To give you an idea of just how ridiculously draconian Wine Australia's censorship powers are, we reproduce below h ow a recent Halliday column would need to be censored to conform with Wine Australia's law. And if you think you know what the blacked out words are, enter Censored by Wine Australia's competition by sending your guess at what the illegal words are to: richard@politicalowl.com.  There are $50 wine voucher that can be redeemed at glug.com.au for correct and/or witty entries. Click on the column to enlarge it.

Wine Australia chairman's company breaking own law that carries a two year jail term

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They might proudly call it Méthode Tasmanoise but the Hill-Smith family, who purchased Jansz in 1997, seem quite keen to stress a French connection. You will notice, for one thing, that their sparkling is made by the Méthode Tasmanoise rather than the Tasmanian method. But that's a minor dipping of the lid to proper champagne compared with other French references on the Jansz website .  References like this: In 1986, esteemed Champagne house - Louis Roederer partnered with the owners of Heemskerk Wines to produce Tasmania’s first premium vintage sparkling wine. They saw the similarities between the climate here and the famous wine region of their homeland. And this: It could be argued we’re completely mad growing grapes in the wild and unforgivingly cold Tasmanian environment. But there’s méthode to our madness. The climatic conditions of the Jansz vineyard rival the famed French wine region of Champagne. In fact, it was originally with French contribution that Jansz becam

Murdoch's Fox Network gets Trump for President prediction correct

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The US entertainment newspaper Variety reports this morning how Rupert Murdoch's Fox Network 16 years ago predicted the election of Donald Trump as President In an unnervingly prescient episode of the iconic Fox show from March 19, 2000, Bart was transported to the future when Donald Trump ’s presidency had just come to an end. In the episode “Bart to the Future” from Season 11 of the show, a Native American oracle gives Bart visions of the future when he is an adult wearing flip flops, a Hawaiian shirt and sporting a pony tail. It turns out that his sister Lisa has become “the first straight female president” who has inherited “quite a budget crunch from President Trump,” and Bart visits her at the White House. Lisa’s aide, Secretary Milhouse Van Houten, explains that Trump has left the country “broke.” Dan Greaney, who wrote the episode, revealed in an interview in March that the episode was meant to be a “warning to America.” “And that just seemed like the logical last stop

Was it all Hillary's own work?

I have not checked the figures but it looks sensible explanation to me. Turns out it's not a Trump insurgency, but a Clinton collapse. A graph that cuts straight through today's punditry ... pic.twitter.com/x41cyyy2XI — Jonathan Webber (@jonathanwebber) November 9, 2016

The Presidential election result: H.L.Mencken saw it coming

I give up. I do not understand people. I spent the day listening in disbelief as the votes were counted. How can this be?  Perhaps H.L. Mencken got it right when he wrote: “As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

A US Presidential election prediction - Clinton 332 electoral college votes to Trump's 206

When it comes to predicting election results I'm still a wisdom of crowds man although with so many media pundits now following the betting markets there is growing evidence of people trying to influence things purely because they have more money than the markets can comfortably cope with. That's why when it comes to this US presidential election I'm using the Iowa Electronic Market as my guide to what the true wisdom is. That's because the IEM, run by the College of Business at the University of Iowa, has a lot of participants but with sensible limits on how much any participant can invest. As I am writing this at 10pm Canberra time the Iowa consensus is that Clinton will end up with 53.7 per cent of the two party (Democrat plus Republican) vote to Trump's 46.3 per cent. That predicts that Clinton will do 1.7 points better than Obama did in 2012 and have a comfortable win. Comfortable but not enough to do better than Obama when it comes to the number of electo

US election note: Going a brighter shade of orange

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We May Have Unlocked the Mystery of Trump's Orange Skin | Mother Jones : Why is Donald Trump so orange? This has been one of the mysteries of the 2016 presidential campaign. The internet is full of speculation, but the consensus is that Trump is an aficionado of bad spray tans or the tanning booth. (The white goggle lines are a dead giveaway.) He hasn't always been this shade. Fifteen years ago, Trump's pallor was almost normal. But something changed about 10 years ago and the internet hasn't fully explained why. There might be a strong clue: Trump's longtime friendship with the former CEO of a tanning company. 'via Blog this'

Win free wine in the Wine Australia censorship contest

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The federal government body Wine Australia has decreed that the glug.com.au website cannot use certain words when trying to give consumers an honest opinion of a wine's merit. Thus thick black lines have started appearing on the small Barossa winery's tasting descriptions. Harem 'Fatima' Barossa Grenache Mataro 2012 Ben got a lot of pleasure from taking the initial building blocks and assembling them on the tasting bench to make the final 'Fatima' blend. The 'Layla' style of Grenache appeals to me and I am thrilled with the result, whereas the 'Fatima' is a deep rich,                                style which will last. Trennert McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz 2013 Grenache no doubt dates back to the 1830s and was much liked in the days of making fortified wines as it gives heavy crops with high sugar. Smart wine makers have been playing with the rich heritage of old vines left over from this time and at last the winemaking artistry

Please report Peta Credlin sightings

In the Sunday Telegraph column of Peta Credlin this morning were these words of wisdom: When people say to me “there’s no way Trump can happen here”, I tell them they need to go for a drive outside their leafy suburb, find a pub, sit down in the front bar and just listen. The Owl is keen to get evidence that the columnist practices what she preaches. Please send photos of Ms Credlin on a bar stool.

Wine Australia wants to censor small Barossa winery from giving consumers an honest opinion

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Wine Australia is threatening to have a South Australian winemaker/retailer sent to jail for two years if he continues to use words like these on his website: 'This Tasmanian sparkling wine represents far better value than most champagnes.' The offending word is champagne even though it is not mentioned on the label. The wine bureaucrats argue that the very mention of the word on a website or in a printed description of a wine is illegal under legislation to ratify an agreement between Australia and the European Union. By David Farmer All wineries keep records which allows a check that wineries are doing the right thing and one role of Wine Australia is be the inspector or auditor. It is unexpected that they also have another role which is to control the use of particular terms and phrases which are grouped under a banner called  geographical indicators  often shortened to GIs. The Wine Australia email specifically mentions;  Rioja, Champagne, Cote du Rhone (in

Censored by Wine Australia - Surprise Email from Wine Australia Creates Concerns

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Wine Australia is threatening to have a South Australian winemaker/retailer sent to jail for two years if he continues to use words like these on his website: 'This Tasmanian sparkling wine represents far better value than most champagnes.' The offending word is champagne even though it is not mentioned on the label. The wine bureaucrats argue that the very mention of the word on a website or in a printed description of a wine is illegal under legislation to ratify an agreement between Australia and the European Union. By David Farmer If I have learnt one thing after 41 years of selling wine it is that wine is easy to make but very hard to sell. For over four decades I have gone about my business of copy writing which sets out reasons why the wine being described has appeal. Since I have a vast fund of knowledge it is useful for customers to know what I think about each wine. On the 17th August, 2016 an email from the legislative body Wine Australia and t

Did George Negus feed Cathy Freeman his Band Aid?

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The case of the vanished Band Aid has puzzled the army of viewers of last night's Silvia's Italian Kitchen on ABC television. George Negus, the celebrity television political journalist and would-be-Italian, had a starring role preparing the salad. That's the deft hand of George (above) wielding the knife in a scene from the show. Note the flesh coloured Band Aid on his finger. And that's George shortly afterwards cutting into the cauliflower. The Band Aid is not to be seen. Where did it end up? On the plate of fellow guest Cathy Freeman? Or down the throat of Emma Alberici? Clearly Negus the chef was not made aware of the sensible safety advice elsewhere on the ABC website. Food safety is a big issue whether you’re in a commercial kitchen or whipping up a meal at home. Temperature control, cross contamination, reheating are all concerns in a modern cooking environment. What do bandaids have to do with Food Safety … and why Simon is

The Election Polls That Matter - Little data not big

The Election Polls That Matter - The New York Times : "The best campaigns don’t bother with national polls — I’ve come to hate public polling, period. In the 2012 race we focused on a “golden report,” which included 62,000 simulations to determine Mr. Obama’s chances of winning battleground states. It included state tracking polls and nightly calls from volunteers, but no national tracking polls ... “Big data” is a buzzword, but that concept is outdated. Campaigns have entered the era of “little data.” Huge data sets are often less helpful in understanding an electorate than one or two key data points — for instance, what issue is most important to a particular undecided voter. With “little data,” campaigns can have direct, highly personalized conversations with voters both on- and offline, like an ad on a voter’s Facebook page addressing an issue the voter is passionate about. In 2016, we see that online political engagement rates (especially for young voters) are at a historic

The bureaucratic hypocrisy of Wine Australia - do as we say not as our directors do

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Wine Australia is a federal government body supposedly under the control of the Minister for Agriculture and his Assistant Minister.  It is charged with regulating and promoting the local wine industry. The current aims of Wine Australia seem to be kowtowing to the French and supporting local producers who claim to be the fine wine people. The result of both aims is to prevent consumers being given an accurate assessment of the real merits of both imported and local wines. Wine Australia is trying to prevent anyone who sells wine from giving advice about wines from one region compared with wines from another. It is currently threatening my brother David Farmer, who runs a small winery in the Barossa, with a two year jail term because he dared to suggest, for example, that a Wrattonbury cabernet might be as good as one from Coonawrra. You will find the details on David's website HERE . Meanwhile, a member of the Wine Australia board, is committing exactly the same so-called offen

Labor should let a Coalition government govern

And now for something completely different. That's what the re-installed Bill Shorten should embrace. Instead of following the traditional path of obstructionism, let the Coalition government govern. Accept that the Liberal-National Coalition has won an election and let their major policies pass through the parliament. Forget about whether Labor can marshal a majority in the Senate to obstruct and delay. Make the minor parties and independents an irrelevance. Just state your objection as forcibly as possible to government plans and promise to undo them when you win the next election. And in the mean time let them become law. Leave it to the people decide the next time they go to the polls whether the conservative way was the right way. Don't let the Turnbull team hide behind a defence that it was a Labor opposition and/or a hostile Senate that prevented it from solving the nation's problems. A daring strategy but I think a winning one.

My tweet of the week

A gem from the Oz's "Cut and Paste": pic.twitter.com/YRcLI3ZY8T — Richard Farmer (@richardlfarmer) July 9, 2016

The rise and rise of the non-major parties

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The steady decline of the major political parties in Australia shows no signs of ending. This graph is from the ABC's website this morning: Click to enlarge Liberals should be thinking about adding someone else to their Coalition alongside the National Party. And the Labor lot should stop complaining about the Greens. With their vote in the mid-30s Labor shoulf accept that it will not be winning anything in its own right.

Predicting the election result: They'll all sink or swim together

No one among the media pundits is prepared to be different. From what I have seen, every last one of them reckons Malcolm Turnbull is going to be a winner. There's safety in being one of the herd. If Turnbull doesn't stay Prime Minister then at least the experts will be able to say "we all went down together". But let me dare to be different. I don't have one of those shrinking jobs in journalism to worry about. Being wrong has no potential monetary loss for me. I can dare to venture that the circumstances have never been better for what I call the underdog effect in electoral politics. When there's an overwhelming consensus among opinion leaders and the public that there is a near certain winner, those members of the public are prone to act in a perverse fashion - especially when they don't particularly like the short priced favourite. It's as if they want to curb potential future arrogance by not allowing the victory to be too large and wake up the

The power of a ratings downgrade - the UK example

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A peripheral issue in the Australian election campaign is the danger of a downgrade by those dreaded ratings agencies. Listen to some of the political talk and you would think that the danger of the Australian government losing its triple A status would send us to debtors prison because of higher interest rate. I was intrigued this morning to look at what has happened in the UK since the post-Brexit downgrading of its credit rating. From London's Financial Times : A decline in rates across the range! From memory the same pattern of a government being able to borrow at a cheaper rate following a downgrading occurred in the United States. The power of the ratings agencies indeed.

Opinion poll of the week

The NT News does it again. Of COURSE @TheNTNews makes its election prediction using a psychic crocodile, nothing else will do 🐊🔮 pic.twitter.com/jaOSnmq6WS — Josh Butler (@JoshButler) June 28, 2016

The political speculator's diary: Punters losing faith in the pollsters - the Brexit...

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Believe the opinion polls and the punters would have the choices in the UK's Brexit referendum at even money take your pick. For several weeks now there has been nothing between stay and leave in the measurements of public opinion. If anything, leave is ever so slightly in front. But over at the Betfair betting exchange the stay option is the clear favourite. The punters, probably influenced by the media pundits, clearly have no faith in the predictive power of polls. The memory of how wrong the polls were before the last British general election must be strong. From my far away distance it just seems strange to me.

The political speculator's diary: Strange gap between polls and betting markets

The political speculator's diary: Strange gap between polls and betting markets : An interesting tweet this morning showing how the betting odds on the federal election have been fluctuating. Probability of a Coalit...

Xenophon threatens massive retaliation against any Lib-Lab deal against him

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Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra Labor is heaving a sigh of relief after Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement that the Liberals will put the Greens below Labor everywhere. In particular, the embattled Labor MP for Batman, David Feeney, under serious threat from the Greens, has been given extra life support, although it remains to be seen on July 2 whether he will survive politically. The Liberals' action gives the ALP an incentive to put extra resources into the area. Greens leader Richard Di Natale said he was still “very confident” about Batman, arguing voters would be “outraged” at the Liberal-Labor deal. Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger had been keeping the ALP on tenterhooks with the prospect the Greens might get Liberal preferences in inner-city seats in Melbourne. But directing preferences to the Greens would have sat badly with Turnbull’s oft-repeated message that a vote for the Greens or other minor players is a vote for instability. It would also h

What a difference a boundary change makes

Announcing $50m Barton Highway Duplication Plan w Peter Hendy MP #EdenMonaro important road investment 🚗🚚🚙 #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/4jZrumbgFe — Julie Bishop (@JulieBishopMP) June 5, 2016 That it pays to live in the right electoral parish was made delightfully clear today to the commuters to Canberra from across the ACT border in Murrumbateman and Yass. After years of pleas for federal help in upgrading the Barton Highway being ignored by politicians, the pump is now well and truly primed. Both Labor and the Coalition are promising the millions necessary. And the reason for the change of heart is easy to understand. For years the Barton Highway led to the electorate of Hume which the Coalition could not lose and Labor not win. Now the Commonwealth Electoral Commission has changed the boundaries. The oad now leads to Eden Monaro - one of the nation's traditional marginal seats. Democracy is a wonderful thing if you live in the right place.

And yet another Green's promise they will never be in a position to deliver

It's time we had a rail link to #Tullamarine airport. Let's get it built. #ausvotes #Greens16 pic.twitter.com/Xnq69WY0Wh — Josh Fergeus (@JoshFergeus) June 5, 2016 Promises are easy to make when you will never be in a government that has to keep them

When it comes to promises it must be great to be Green

A Green version of all care but no responsibility - promises you will never be in a position to fulfil Lost: 30 species of mammals in Aus. At risk: 1700 species. No more: https://t.co/SOUHlaI6sm #WorldEnvironmentDay pic.twitter.com/DzJBSpL8M7 — Queensland Greens (@QldGreens) June 5, 2016 Greens will restore community radio funding cuts. Now let's get Libs to change their mind too! #keepcommunityradio pic.twitter.com/JzCfAKtY1W — Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) June 2, 2016

Election policies - much ado about nothing

I'm not sure which is more annoying: attempts to analyse opinion polls showing markedly different results or pontifications about the future impact of policies that will never pass through the Senate. The Saturday papers are full of both of them. I'll settle once again for quoting Paul Kelly. He gives this common sense advice in The Australian  this morning: As the campaign advances, it becomes doubtful whether Turnbull, if he wins, will be able to legislate in the form he has proposed the corporate tax cuts that are the centrepiece of his election and the heart of his pitch for growth and jobs. Labor, unsurprisingly, refuses to concede any policy mandate for a Turnbull victory. Nor do the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team or most of the independents. The mandate theory, once applying to an elected government’s program, has been corrupted to mean every party and independent has a mandate against the government. This year’s policy contest may prove a charade, with politicians an

Scomo goes off. Lock up your super

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The Treasurer decales war.

Thoughts from a real insider - the Mark Textor column

It's unusual to find a real insider giving some thoughts on an election campaign but this year we have one. Mark Textor, a researcher into the views of the public for the Liberal Party, is providing a weekly column for the Business Insider website and his latest gives some interesting views on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Now I would not expect pollster Textor to provide us with anything critical of his Liberal paymaster's leader but intelligent readers who make allowance for that will surely learn something. The Turnbull Textor writes of knowing for 30 years does not seem much different than the one I knew and worked with under Kerry Packer the same number of years ago. I agree with the conclusion of today's Business Insider  piece: Ultimately Malcolm’s and the Government’s success will be determined on how effectively he and they embrace his long established values and focuses his considerable talent on making our economy stronger and growing jobs with tax and ot

Wasted words of analysis on the campaign trail

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A couple of reminders this morning that most of the learned analysis of competing policy ideas during this election campaign is a waste of words. First up this from Paul Kelly writing in The Australian : And as if on cue Senator Nick Xenophon, asked on the ABC's AM  if he would support the Coalition's proposed tax cuts, expressed his reservations. Government spending to preserve manufacturing jobs, he argued, would be a better use of scarce resources.

Australian election debate: I missed the worm

The worm probably would not have moved much from its neutral 50:50 position but I missed it nevertheless. Tonight's debate between leaders Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten was a rather bland and predictable affair. A little audience measurement in the style of the Nine Network's worm as used in previous years might have brightened things up a little. For my part I learned little except that the incumbent and the challenger are respectful opponents. No shades of Trumpism in our campaign. And as for a winner I suppose Bill Shorten gets the nod for no other reason than Opposition Leaders benefit more from mistake-free exposure on television than Prime Ministers. That was the reason I was so adamantly against any leaders debate back in 1987 when I had a say in such matters. Perhaps after tonight's boredom there will be others who, for a different reason, will agree with me.

The media's poll hysteria just keeps getting worse

7 News at 6pm: The exclusive poll result which could change the course of the federal election. #7News pic.twitter.com/ikHUpWNocE — 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 27, 2016 So what did the shock poll result actually show? Labor in front 52 to 48. And what's the normal error in polls this far from election day. Around 3.5 to 4 percentage points. (See  When Should You Start Worrying About the Polls? ) So the exclusive result is Labor probably somewhere between 48 and 56. The betting market, meanwhile, has the Coalition at $1.33 and Labor at $3.70

When Should You Start Worrying About the Polls?

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When Should You Start Worrying About the Polls? - The New York Times : Click to enlarge "The chart above shows how much the polling average at each point of the election cycle has differed from the final result. Each gray line represents a presidential election since 1980. The bright green line represents the average difference. At this point – 167 days before the election – a simple polling average has differed from the final result by about nine percentage points. We expect this average to become more meaningful by the week, until the national party conventions temporarily make it less so, as shown in the bump about 100 days before the election. The average difference begins to flatten about two months before the election. The day before the voting, an unadjusted polling average has been about 3.5 points off the final result." 'via Blog this' The same phenomenon can be observed in Australia. The further away from election day an opinion poll is taken th

A proper perspective on those election opinion polls

MARK TEXTOR'S CAMPAIGN DIARY: Foie gras politics and the force-feeding of polls to the public | Business Insider : Data obtained from Emeritus Professor Murray Goot of Macquarie University, show that in the UK, from the dissolution of parliament to election day there was a remarkable 3.5 polls per day published and force fed to voters. The same analysis shows that in Australia in 2013, despite having a significantly smaller voting population, there was an equally remarkable 3.2 polls per day from the proroguing of Parliament to election day. Whilst this number includes some state polling and a flurry of marginal seat polls published towards the end of the campaign, the frequency is still remarkable. 'via Blog this'

Michelle Grattan's campaign diary on a Liberal miscalculation

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The Liberals may have miscalculated Turnbull's electoral appeal Michelle Grattan , University of Canberra Finally, Clive Palmer has formally put a full stop to his personal political career, announcing on Monday he won’t be running for the Senate. Palmer United Party (PUP) will still field Senate candidates, including its sole senator, Dio Wang. But if he or any other PUP candidate fluked a Senate seat, it would surely be unlikely Palmer would have influence with them. The bizarre Palmer experiment appears to be well and truly over. The former member for Fairfax spent a fortune to win a slice of national political power, and then spectacularly lost that power. He won’t be missed. The Palmer story has morphed into one about the financial havoc he has wrought. But the PUP vote, especially in the vital state of Queensland where in 2013 the new party polled some 11% of the House of Representatives vote and nearly 10% in the Senate (winning a Senate seat), will be keenly soug

Peter Brent - a twitterer with the courage of his ...

The political speculator's diary: Peter Brent - a twitterer with the courage of his ... : I don't know why Peter Brent's mumble blog no longer appears on the website of The Australian . Perhaps his commentary was too interesting

Money keeps coming for the Coalition to win Australian election

The political speculator's diary: Money keeps coming for the Coalition to win Austra... : I look at the signals of a weakening economy show by ABS figures on low wages growth and the decline in the number of hours being worked. I ...

The political speculator's diary: An alternative view to mine on the UK leaving the ...

The political speculator's diary: An alternative view to mine on the UK leaving the ... : For a different perspective to mine on the prospective outcome of the UK referendum on whether to leave or stay in the European Union:  Why...

Education for political journalists: spend time sitting behind the one way mirror

Reading, watching and listening to journalists today as they reacted to Peter Dutton's comments on the literacy and numeracy of prospective asylum seekers reminded me of one of the most dispiriting periods of my time in politics. I was allowed to sit behind the one way mirror as a skilled researcher chatted with several groups of swinging voters about what they thought of the issues of the day and what influenced their views. For 30 years I had practised my journalistic craft and imagined that my words of wisdom influenced what my readers thought. How ego pricking it was to hear ordinary and often intelligent Australians explain how they turned the page when they saw a headline about electoral politics. Words of wisdom they might have been but influence they had not. And it was not just newspapers that the voters generally ignored. Talking heads on television fared no better. The words of last night's news were not remembered with just an occasional memory of the subject mat