Raising the GST
In a sane world, Labor would also be contemplating the possibility of raising the GST. It seems that Joe Hockey, who circle-squaring challenge seems to get greater every time Tony Abbott opens his mouth, is at least broaching the idea, [...]
Abbott budget reply open thread
Abbott is about to give his budget reply speech. The word is that he is going to endorse all the Government’s budget savings. Then I expect he will use some cherry-picked numbers to show that the problem is big spending [...]
The best place in the world to be a mother
It’s not Australia, although we came 10th. Finland, of course! And, we are told, the scores of the top ten are closely clustered, so we are right up there. Every year the Save the Children put out a State of [...]
Budget expectations 2013
I’ve gathered together some links to show what some commentators have been saying about the Swan song budget to be delivered tonight. Starting with Laura Tingle and Alan Kohler we find that Swan’s credibility is shot and it doesn’t much [...]
Carbon price tax cuts deferred
DEFERRED, I say, damnit! The ABC had them “dumped” with Sabra Lane pronouncing: And the Minister put the best spin he could on what is effectively another broken promise. And then gave the last word to Greg Hunt. In their [...]
The Royal Mail to be sold off
Australian governments of the left and right have privatized any number of formerly state-owned enterprises. Politically, the process has seen responses between grudging public acceptance to vehement opposition; the outcomes have been similarly mixed. But while everything from the Commonwealth [...]
NSW coal generation under pressure
Well it is if the country stays on its present policy trajectory. Sophie Vorrath at RenewEconomy comments on the latest pitt&sherry electricity emissions update (April data). Back in 1998 coal used to supply 90% of NSW’s National Electricity Market (NEM) [...]
The Costello Commission redux
Newspoll continues, with sad predictability, to suggest that Coalition are heading towards a thumping victory. While I continue to hope for a turnaround by election day, it remains very likely that September 14th will result in Tony Abbott becoming Prime [...]
Sexualising Keynes: Not just about Niall Ferguson
British historian Niall Ferguson recently made some very stupid claims about Maynard Keynes: that Keynes’ sexuality and childlessness led him to ignore the long-run consequences of deficit spending. Ferguson, who started off as a historian of finance but who has [...]
Guest post by Dr Sacha Blumen: Helen Razer and inner city left politics
Sacha Blumen writes: Helen Razer launched a storm with her piece in Crikey last Friday slamming the Australian ‘Left’. To Helen, it has had a misdirected focus on symbols of cultural identity rather than the substantive issues of material conditions [...]
457 visas: below the rhetoric
Demographer Professor Peter McDonald put the basic equation very clearly on the 7.30 program back on 14 March. Each year the Australian labour force grows by 1%, that’s about 120,000. In addition we have about 140,000 more baby boomers retiring [...]
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