Youth unemployment — those aged 15-19 and wanting to be in the workforce — has reached its highest level in nearly a decade.
August, 2010
Video of the Day: The awkward Latham diaries
And the award for the most excruciating political coverage of the day goes to … Sky News covering Mark Latham covering Tony Abbott at an event this morning. From the journo standing next to Latham while talking about how he’s become a sideshow to the horrifying interview between Latham and Abbott, this was wonk car crash television […]
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
The CDP election plants. The Christian Democratic Party (and to some extent Family First) are running candidates in lower house seats for no reason other than to direct preferences to the Liberal Party. In my electorate of Dobell I just discovered the CDP candidate actually lives on the south coast (many hours drive from the central […]
Crikey Says: Crikey says: it’s about confidence, isn’t it?
So did it or didn’t it? Can’t someone say definitively, once and for all, if the Rudd government’s stimulus package kept Australia out of a major recession?
Net nerds declare Abbott a knuckle head
In the wake of Tony Abbott again declaring that he is “not a tech head,” a growing community of internet experts are savaging Abbott and arguing the Coalition’s broadband policy should be sent on a one-way trip to the recycle bin.
Rumble in the Rissole
Last night’s showdown between Gillard and Abbott at Rooty Hill RSL has raised much debate about the potential bias of the “uncommitted” voters in the audience. But choosing uncommitted voters is a tricky and nuanced task, writes Possum Comitatus.
PHOTO GALLERY: 23 occupations the GFC destroyed
Some occupations will never recover from the effects of the GFC, even when US employment figures improve. Here are 23 occupations expected to remain all but extinct in America.
And the Oscar goes to…an orangutan?
OK, so orangutans aren’t likely to grace the Academy Awards stage any time soon, but a new video captured by American researchers has proven that the reddish-brown primates are adept at the art of pantomime, which is commonly perceived as a uniquely human ability.
Inflation gathering momentum in China
Economics are divided about the potential effects of increased inflation in China in the wake of floods and food price hikes last month. Many say there is no cause for alarm while others argue Bejing needs to implement decisive policy measures.
Do we need an internet kill switch?
They’re not exactly a net-heads wet dream, but internet kill switches could potentially allow government’s to boldly respond to online national security threats. Is the idea as ridiculous as it sounds?
Google prophesizes the end of online anonymity
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made a series of recent remarks drawing distinctions between privacy and anonymity in online environments. According to Schmidt, governments will soon demand much more information about internet users and their online footprints.
Will Israel bomb Iran?
The idea of a nuclear Iran has both the US and Israel freaking out and an Israeli attack against Iran is becoming a genuine possibility. Jeffery Goldberg speculates how it would unfold.
How to swear in politics
Deprived of the outrageous gaffes and old-fashioned biffo from this fizzer of an election season, we’re romanticising the days of feistier Hawke and Keating who often lashed their abusive tongues, writes Piers Kelly.
Coorong and Kooyong – what’s the diff?
One is famous for wetlands, the other is famous for tennis. The man who mistook them during the Coalition’s Murray Darling policy announcement yesterday - Coalition water spokesman Barnaby “bearded lady” Joyce - is famous for gaffes.
To connect or disconnect, that is the first world problem
Planning a holiday is easier thanks to Google Maps, Urban Spoon and TripAdvisor. But are we losing a little of that travel magic by constantly relying on technology on the run? asks Amber Jamieson.
Keane’s Talking Points: Rooty Hill didn’t teach us much, but how about a foursome?
A key part of the Coalition’s water plan released yesterday is ‘real action’ on on-farm irrigation infrastructure. “We will commit an additional $300 million to invest in rural water infrastructure,” the Coalition announced, which is “a crucial step in saving water for the environment”. This comes on top of billions of dollars already allocated to […]
The front pages: the battle of Rooty Hill … and a giant head butting fish
How some of the nation’s newspapers are leading this morning.
Crikey Says: Campaign Crikey morning edition: Day 26
”I’m a taxpayer. I’m a law-abiding citizen and I want to be able to say to that woman that I love: ‘Will you marry me?’ Not ‘Will you civil-union me?”’
Election Tracker: Day 25
It was another eventful day yesterday, with Gillard taking the bus from Melbourne to Western Sydney and Abbott at the mouth of the Murray River talking about, well, water. Then of course there was the face off at Rooty Hill RSL amongst a ring of 800 pokie machines.
The chips fall in favour of Abbott
Daily Media Wrap: It was the battle of Rooty Hill and Tony Abbott stood on top of the mountain as victor. But some questions were raised about the balance of the audience.
The smart money’s on Gillard
To win the election the Coalition needs Labor to lose eight seats, but the bookies have only ticked the box on five of them. Tony Abbott is far from down and out but the smart money is on Gillard for the much-trumpeted “photo finish,” says Stephen Senise.
The health debate continues on Croakey
Kudos to Nicola Roxon for observing a couple of hard truths at yesterday’s health debate with Peter Dutton. However, she also appeared to rank action on obesity as a lower priority than tobacco and alcohol and that doesn’t cut it. Croakey diagnoses (and continues) the debate.
