Government set to bomb

Australian Labor has a 10-point lead in primary votes, rising one point to 49 per cent, while the Coalition remains steady on 39 per cent in the national poll.

Despite tax cuts and other sweeteners, Howard’s government has not pulled out of its polling slump over the past six months.

Iraq has becomes more dominant in the Australian political contest, voters have strengthened their desire to see Australian troops withdrawn, which is ALP policy.

Sydney's lockdown – no lockdown debate for September’s APEC meeting has not gained the government many friends in the country’s most populous city. The disruption of Dick Cheney’s visit and the recent visit by USS Kitty Hawk, which both closed down parts of the city, still rankles.

"Sydney will not be locked down ... during the APEC meeting," Howard said. "There will be a significant security presence in part of the city, but any suggestion the city will be locked down is completely false."
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said there would be no need for the 21 foreign government delegations to bring their own weapons to the summit.

While the government was hoping to gain brownie points by hosting a major international conference, their own security beat up seems to be negating any positives. Well hell, every good Australian should be ecstatic that George Bush is coming…

Housing affordability is showing as the major economic negative. Levels of mortgage default a rising through the country, particularly in NSW. House prices have crashed by as much as 7.8 per cent in crucial Sydney electorates since the last federal election.
Peel back the layers of the property market, and it is clear that house prices have been pointing in the wrong direction for the Prime Minister where it can hurt him the most, in his home state.

The terror threat also looks like it might blow up in Howard’s face over the recent terrorist arrest in Australia following the Glasgow bombing.
A leading lawyer has raised doubts about the prosecution case against the Gold Coast doctor charged with recklessly supporting a terrorist organisation. Mohamed Haneef is charged with supporting terrorism after Federal police alleged a SIM card he gave to a cousin was found in a car used in last month's Glasgow Airport bomb attack.
The Sydney lawyer Phillip Boulten, SC, said the section of law under which Haneef was charged specifically required that the person charged intentionally provided support or resources to an organisation engaged in terrorist activity.

Howard and his government are responding to all this good news with fairly terse comments, suggesting we dumb voters simply don’t under stand the big picture.

UPDATE:

Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said the decision to cancel the Mohammed Haneef's visa was made on the grounds of ''national interest.'' Australian Federal Police would issue a Criminal Justice Certificate against Dr Haneef that would pave the way for him to be transferred to Sydney's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, he said.
''Today I've exercised my powers under the Migration Act to cancel the visa of Dr Mohamed Haneef. ''Section 501 of the Migration Act provides for the cancellation of the visa where a person fails the character test.

Before Andrews had acted, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile today had said the granting of bail to Haneef was not a setback for authorities. Vaile said bail arrangements were a matter for the court to decide.

Kevin Andrews says the legal team for Indian born doctor, Mohammed Haneef, will be allowed to see the police documents on which he based his decision to cancel his visa.

Seems like the Deputy Prime Minister is well out of the government information loop.