Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?

37% (no change) believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 38% (up 1%) prefer Tony Abbott.

Men prefer Tony Abbott 40%/36% and women prefer Julia Gillard 37%/35%.

Q. Who do you trust most to deal effectively with global economic problems – Julia Gillard and the Labor Party or Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party?

42% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 32% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.

Those more likely to trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party were aged 55+ (51%), full-time workers (46%) and income $1,600+ pw (48%).

Respondents earning less than $1,000 pw were more likely to trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party  (39%) than Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party (35%).

Of those who had heard or read a lot about the crisis in Europe, 46% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 41% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.

There is really something revealing about the picture that accompanies today’s story in the Sydney Morning Herald about the carbon tax. Check it out…

The story is straightforward enough, leading with the words of The Empty Suit:

THE Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, declared yesterday that the ”campaign is now on” as the Gillard government began the tough job of selling its carbon tax, the biggest economic reform the country has seen since the GST.

But look up higher, above the headline, and you see the real news: the billboard with a picture of The Empty Suit and the real thing, the real Empty Suit, dwarfed by the picture.

There, in a nutshell, is the story: image is bigger than reality.

— Jonathan Tasini
@jonathantasini

The Empty Suit has been using the carbon tax scare as a key part of his assault on the government–an assault this is devoid of integrity…oh, why even bother to use that word? But, sometimes lies work wonders.

Ross Gittins makes a useful observation in his column today:

But with the carbon tax taking effect from this Sunday, the moment of truth approaches. Soon enough it will become clear that, for consumers and the vast bulk of businesses, the dreaded carbon tax will have an effect much smaller than the GST. The retail prices of electricity and gas will rise by about 9 per cent, but the increases in other prices will be very small.

Julia Gillard and her supporters have been hoping against hope that as soon as this reality dawns on a fearful public, as soon as the magnitude of the Liberals’ hoax is revealed, voters will switch back to Labor in droves.

I don’t see it happening. It rests on an unrealistic view of the lack of self-delusion in human nature.

Political parties and their cheerleaders don’t like admitting they’ve been dishonest – even to themselves. And you and I don’t like admitting we’ve allowed ourselves to be conned by unscrupulous politicians and shock jocks.

So, the point is The Empty Suit will continue to spread fear about the carbon tax because, well, fear works. Integrity is so yesterday.

— Jonathan Tasini
@jonathantasini

Peter Lewis spells out how Aussies have little trust in anyone or anything — except maybe the ABC.

Trust is hot property in politics. Everyone wants to claim it while undermining their opponent’s. Broken promises are played hard in the hope of achieving political bingo: irreparable reputational damage.

Labor’s flat-lining polls are widely attributed to Julia Gillard’s ‘trust issues’. Mind you, Tony Abbott isn’t considered to be excelling in the trustworthy stakes either. They barely muster a pass mark between them.

But something even more insidious is beginning to occur, as this week’s Essential Report suggests. Loss of trust is contagious. We’re not just cynical about politicians; we are also losing faith in the institutions that underpin public life.

Read the full article on The Drum.

Q. If they won the next election, how likely do you think it would be that Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party would repeal the carbon tax?

44% think it is likely that Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party would repeal the carbon tax if they won the next election and 40% think it is unlikely.

Views were broadly similar across demographic groups – although those aged 45-64 split 44% likely/44% unlikely.

Mark Twain once said, perhaps borrowing from others, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”. And you can only think: Tony Abbott and the business p.r. machine must have that branded on their arms as a guide because every time they open their mouths to talk about the economy, jobs and workers what escapes are lies on top of lies. The problem, though, is that the truth eventually laces up its shoes and catches up. Take productivity.

If you haven’t been living in a cave for the past year, or you’ve been maybe lucky enough to avoid reading the slavish traditional press that too often regurgitates every press release it is handed, you’ve heard the mantra that Australian workers just aren’t productive enough. Rubbish.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is out with its June 2012 Economic Report. What caught our eye was the productivity section. Surprise, surprise:

Whichever way the productivity figures are examined, the numbers in the latest National Accounts are strong. Labour productivity in the market sector rose by 2.3% in the quarter and 5.3% over the year, the strongest annual growth in a decade.

And what about any dips in productivity here and there? Well, it has nothing to do with industrial relations and Fair Work, which is what Abbott and his business buddies keep yapping about. As the report reiterates:

Investments in skills and infrastructure are the sources of real productivity growth, it was argued. We also pointed out that there is consensus among economists that some portion of the growth slowdown is due to factors related to the mining boom, some of which are temporary and will be reversed as projects are constructed and begin to generate output. [emphasis added]

So, the truth has overtaken the lies. That will not deter those people who have to lie because they have one mission in life: figure out how to shake down workers, pick their pockets for every dime they can get and do it all wrapped around some phony economic double-speak that doesn’t even pass a basic smell test of truth.

— Jonathan Tasini
@jonathantasini

Q. How much trust do you have that the following people or organisations can be relied on to act in the community’s interest?

There was a substantial lack of trust in all people and organisations tested with the exception of Australian companies – which split 46% a lot/some trust and 47% little/no trust.

For both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party, the current leaders were less trusted than the previous leaders. However, all political leaders were more trusted than mining magnates like Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart.

Among Labor voters, 58% had a lot/some trust in Julia Gillard and 58% had a lot/some trust in Kevin Rudd. Among Liberal/National voters, 58% had a lot/some trust in Tony Abbott and 44% had a lot/some trust in Malcolm Turnbull.