Although Australia appears to have dodged a bullet in the global financial meltdown, the economic situation across the country is far from even, writes Henry Thornton.
September, 2009
Pfizer’s campaign to drug as many smokers as possible
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is running a major campaign to convince Australian smokers that they should not try to quit without taking anti-smoking medication, writes Simon Chapman.
"White Power" T-shirt seller charged
The man exposed in Crikey last week for selling ‘White Power Alice Springs’ T-shirts has been charged with offensive behaviour and making a false statement.
Wankley Awards: The media on Dennis Ferguson
The media fell over themselves this week to cover the case of convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson, with any serious reporting drowned out by talking heads across the nation echoing the same phrase over and over: “as a parent …”
Political snippets: Townsville’s PET problems
Residents of Townsville are up in arms because north Queensland does not have its own PET scanner, Angela Merkel takes a train, and climate map galore.
Well, how would you like to be Sandilands’ boss?
The toughest media job in the world is husbanding 2DayFm and Austero through to the end of the two current ACMA inquiries into talkback radio, one involving Kyle and Jacki O.
Ron Walker’s reign of error must end
John B Fairfax has got 775 million reasons for ousting Ron Walker. Ever since Fairfax Media merged with Rural Press, the destruction of his fortune has been nothing short of spectacular.
Abortion stand-off continues — and Queenslanders pay
It’s time for Queensland’s antiquated abortion laws to change. Anna Bligh must instigate reforms that will benefit women and give legal certainty to doctors, writes Caroline de Costa.
The high price of carbon aid: a climate sleeper
It’s not just carbon emission targets that will vex developed world governments in Copenhagen — they also need to decide how much assistance to provide to developing countries.
Putting the pop into population: Swan’s on the job
Australia keeps getting the sort of problems that other countries would pay good money to enjoy. Like, a far more rapidly growing population than previous Treasury estimates!
Morning Market Report: Metals are mixed, dollar falls
Gold fell $6.70 and the Aussie dollar fell to 87.07c overnight, while the market is down 36.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Della Bosca’s staff still out-of-pocket
Why John Della Bosca’s staff are still waiting for their pay, the “pants down” Belinda Neal picture that tickled Wilson Tuckey, the Army Reserves throws out some old uniforms and more from Crikey’s terrific tipsters.
Hot Form Charts: Storm thunder into premiership contention
Week one of the NRL finals certainly threw the starving lion amongst the pigeons.
The campaign against name-dropping Ron may not be wholly right
It’s hard to feel any sympathy for Ron Walker, the embattled Fairfax Media chairman: he’s worth $400 million, had a good innings and is an inveterate name dropper.
Low key in Kuta as Top topped at last
Metro TV had been running the news all day. First the raid, then the siege, then the shoot out, until finally the police were prepared to confirm the mastermind of the Bali bombings had been killed.
Fairfax falls further into the abyss
The Fairfax Board needs people who understand media — and in particular, what a media company needs to be in the internet age. Ron Walker has never understood media, let alone new media.
Twitter’s unethical, according to the AFR’s new code
Staff at the Australian Financial Review are being asked to sign up to an ethics policy under which they could be disciplined — even sacked — for taking part in political debates.
Beecher: Walker squabbles while Fairfax burns
The feud between Fairfax Chairman Ron Walker and the Fairfax family is like watching a brawl between the captain and senior personnel on the Titanic, while the ship sinks and the crew jump for their lives.
Australia was on the precipice: RBA
For the first time we have been given an inkling of just how close the Australian financial system and economy came to freezing or imploding in the last quarter of 2008.
Lowbottom High Diaries: The fourth season of The Wire is a caution
You can hardly blame the association of principals for wanting “school refusers” to be dealt with off-campus. These kids are trouble and take up all your time, writes Trevor Diogenes.
Crikey votes: who should host the next Andrew Olle lecture?
Crikey utilised the highly scientific polling tool of Twitter to quiz readers on whether Chaser chief Julian Morrow really deserves to host the next Andrew Olle lecture, and if not, who should.
Renault: the biggest sports cheats of all time?
In a shocking act of cheating, Renault forced one of their drivers to crash, in order to let Fernando Alonso win. This is what happens when sport becomes about money not glory, says Simon Barnes.
