Last month the Menzies Centre for Health Policy released a survey measuring Australian perceptions of our health system. A number of the same questions were asked in a 2008 survey and contrasting the responses reveals how Australian opinion has changed, writes Possum Comitatus.
December, 2010
lol 
A year in Crikey office iPhone photos
It’s been a big year for the Crikey office, from federal elections to new staff members. The only way to explain it properly is through the magical lens of the Jesus phone, explains Amber Jamieson.
travel An Expat Opinion: the opening line
“I’m high on the bridge, looking over the hill, to the MCG…”, sings Paul Kelly. And I’m surprised to find tears pricking my eyes, writes Jay Martin, an Aussie expat living in Poland. This is the first of a regular column.
Ken Henry’s unfulfilled legacy
Ken Henry can leave Treasury knowing he was responsible for one of the greatest public policy successes since Federation, the response to the GFC. It’s a pity both sides of politics treated him poorly.
Rundle: time for WikiLeaks to announce a process — autonomous, at that
To the pumps, to the cannons. To the whatevers. From both within and without WikiLeaks the next stage of the process needs to begin.
Cox: NBN the scariest business model I’ve ever seen
No wonder the minister delayed releasing the NBN plan until after the end of the parliamentary year and why he will never let it be exposed to a cost benefit analysis, writes Peter J.Cox, of Cox Media.
Ask a climate scientist: is ‘natural’ climate change just as bad as ‘man-made’?
So what happens if we finally get all the climate policies into action, cut down carbon emissions, sign a global agreement etc and then Mother Nature throws us severe droughts, floods and other major natural disasters anyway? It’s a fair question, so we put it to some climate scientists.
Boeing going gone … is the Qantas Dreamliner over?
The Boeing Dreamliner project is now caught in a destructive sequence of setbacks that threatens that company as well as major customers like Qantas with very serious consequences.
Gome: the billionaires’ distraction tactics
Why the furore over online retail by our country’s billionaires? Could be diversion tactics, writes Crikey and SmartCompany CEO Amanda Gome.
Kohler: now THAT’s a broadband business plan
After reading the NBN business plan it’s actually a bit hard to remain aloof and unexcited.
Australia’s renewable roadblocks: Clean Energy Council reports
The clean energy industry in Australia enjoyed one of its most successful years in 2010, but it’s not entirely clear that it has that much to celebrate, writes Giles Parkinson of Climate Spectator.
WikiLeaks update: when a public official falls from grace
Today’s WikiLeak cables chart the fall of powerful Brazilian politician and US embassy contact José Dirceu. Luke Miller rifles through the latest document dump to paint a picture of Brazilian politics in crisis.
Health reform efforts … and the verdict is …
CHF has welcomed the deal between the government and Medicines Australia that will bring savings of $1.9 billion over four years, drive down the prices of some medicines, writes Carol Bennett, chief executive, Consumers Health Forum
Crikey Business Awards (part 1): the forgotten stars of 2010
Over the next two days, Crikey will remind you of some of the forgotten stars of 2010
Mayne: directors club scrambling to retain barriers to entry
Directors of Australian public companies have long enjoyed something of a closed shop with substantial barriers to entry and very few new entrants attempting to barge their way in uninvited.
The seedy year of the sports star, the smartphone and social media
Once there was a time when a sports star, from any code, could undertake any type of unseemly act, be it with human or animal, and be safe in the knowledge that the chance of it becoming public was remote.
The internet v the world part 2: why interconnectedness threatens the powerful
The greater interconnectedness offered by the internet is inherently political. Powerful institutions have long understood that interconnectedness is a threat, but now their capacity to strike back is declining.
Muller: what WikiLeaks means for media ethics
A lot of attention has been paid to the legalities surrounding the avalanche of leaked diplomatic and security material by WikiLeaks, but not much to the ethical issues it raises for the media, writes Dr Denis Muller.
Letter from...: Letter from: Nairobi, where crimes against humanity set the mood
It is understandable that the mood in Nairobi was tense. It is not every day that a country’s political elite is accused of crimes against humanity, writes Rafiq Copeland from Nairobi.
People smuggling won’t stop until the customer base dissolves
It’s virtually impossible to adequately police the thousands of kilometres of Indonesian coastline and prevent Indonesia’s fishermen from crewing boats to Australia, writes Sue Hoffman, a Perth-based refugee advocate.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The unbreakable daily mirrors of WikiLeaks
Crikey readers have their say.
Daily Proposition: Stock the fridge with festive ale
With only a couple of shopping days until Christmas it’s time to get cracking on the most important shopping list of all: your festive season beer supplies. Christopher McNamara presents the 12 beers of Christmas.
Media briefs: Lunch money for Agers … News 24 goes dark … PR disasters of 2010 …
In today’s Media Brief’s: Christmas is coming to subs at The Age, Gremlins returned to the ABC control room, Jay Rosen names the best articles of 2010….by him and more.
Political snippets: Labor pains in New South Wales
That NSW opinion poll verdict — A remarkable thing about that Newspoll verdict today on politics in New South Wales is not just how poorly Labor is doing but just is how few of the discontented Labor voters have actually turned to the Liberals and the Nationals. The predicted Labor vote is down a massive 15 percentage […]
Video of the Day: Following the birth of Jesus
How would the Christmas story be told if Jesus was born today?
