Did you notice yesterday that The Age was saying that the Libs were to be "crushed" at the State election, while the Herald Sun was saying that Labor was going to "lose up to 16 seats". Labor has so many seats that both could be true... The Age noticed the differences too...
Opinion polling is an imprecise science. Readers of this newspaper may remember the lead headline on the morning of the 1999 state election: "Last poll tips easy Kennett victory." The Herald Sun had told its readers: "Swing to Labor, but Kennett safe." Only Sol Lebovic's Newspoll organisation got it right, showing Labor ahead 51-49.
Meanwhile, I greet the Libs plan for free public transport to students with distrust. Mostly because the idea of a train filled with children every day makes me queasy, also because I find it hard to believe that parents will happily send their children onto public transport by themselves when they're too scared to do it now. Most parents drive their kids to school because they're scared they're going to be kidnapped. Every second day we read about a survey indicating that "no one" feels safe on public transport these days.
The Age used the same facts and bent them the other way...
The survey, presented on Tuesday at an international conference on walking and liveable communities held in Melbourne, found that 85 per cent of Australians fear for their safety. This is well above the global average of 65 per cent. Experts have called on governments to review road safety and other measures to lure people out of their cars and back onto the streets. Just the time to propose free public transport: let the kids take the tram or the train and give the car — and dutiful parent — a rest.
What?