Saturday Salon
An open thread, where at your weekend leisure, you can discuss anything you like.
Quiggin on Bligh's arguments for privatisation
John Quiggin has posted a withering critique of the arguments that Anna Bligh has put forward for her privatisation program. The Bligh’s government’s original case for the asset sales announced in the June budget was that the state’s finances had [...]
Green on The Greens in Higgins II
My previous post on Clive Hamilton’s selection as The Greens’ candidate in the Higgins by-election has sparked a thread largely devoted to Hamilton’s views and suitability as a candidate, rather than the party’s electoral chances, or indeed, the strategy of [...]
Time to eat the dog?
That is the name of a new book of academics Robert and Brenda Vale specialising in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. The title is intended to shock rather than be taken literally, which is a [...]
Centre for Policy Development: Research fellowship and ethical dollars
A quick post to plug a couple of things for the Centre for Policy Development: The Centre for Policy Development is pleased to announce we are seeking applications for a new Sustainable Economy Fellowship. The fellowship is generously sponsored by [...]
REC Market inundated with consumer credits
Today’s Fin led with the news that the upturn in consumer spending has put pressure on the market in RECs, whose price is a kind of scoreboard for the renewable industry cage match initiated under the Howard Government. Rudd’s reforms, [...]
Freedom of conscience
Just because somebody is a hypocrite doesn’t mean their argument is invalid. But when they’re a hypocrite and a high profile campaigner for a particular cause, it’s wise to look closely at the argument they are making. For instance, just [...]
Maldives pulls a stunt, but is anyone listening?
Just about everyone in the world must know that the Maldives government decided to hold a cabinet meeting under water. (Scroll down for video of the president’s message.) Strangely none of the news items carried an image of the meeting [...]
Doctor enrolments
It seems that a proposal to reward doctors for “enrolling” patients with higher care needs, such as young children and those with chronic diseases, has caused a bit of debate amongst the community of general practitioner community. The idea first [...]
Asylum seekers and Indonesia
By Mark Bahnisch on October 28, 2009
Lateline last night featured the best and worst of public debate. On one hand, Melbourne lawyer and refugee advocate Jessie Taylor was interviewed about her own footage of the conditions under which asylum seekers in Indonesia are attained. In a [...]
Posted in Howardia, Immigration, Media, Sociology | Tagged andrew bartlett, asylum seekers, commentariat, detention, Guy Rundle, humanitarianism, Immigration, immigration detention, indonesia, Jessie Taylor, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Lateline, Media, Philip Ruddock, political culture, refugrees, Rudd government, Tony Abbott | 86 Responses