A Royal Commission on the Queensland floods should be set up by the Bligh government as soon as possible, an expert in public inquiry says. But unlike the review into Victoria’s deadly Black Saturday fires, any flood inquest is unlikely to become a witch hunt, with the focus on how any future disaster can be avoided.
January, 2011
The Queenslander spirit at its best, no dunny paper notwithstanding
The community spirit of those who turned out to help is a great example of Queenslanders at their best, writes Brisbane resident Richard Scott.
The shame of Citigroup … fiddling while the poor burn
Citigroup has a rather different take on all of this. It notes that the rich have been getting richer and they want to help them to get yet richer, writes Professor Gavin Mooney, a health economist.
Despite violent clashes, Sudanese referendum result will stand
Under the rules governing southern Sudan’s independence referendum, the result will only be valid if at least 60% of those registered cast a ballot. On Wednesday this figure was surpassed, writes Rafiq Copeland in Nairobi.
Crikey Says: Wivenhoe has done its job — and well
Crikey readers have their say.
Media briefs: Media briefs: unprecedented used of unprecedented … thoughtless news.com.au headline …
Unprecedented yet there’s a precedent. The Australian fails to heed its own advice. Plus, sharks on the beach? Not worthy of a local newspaper front page. And other media news of the day.
Political snippets: The rise and rise of Anna Bligh
oter satisfaction with Anna Bligh as measured by Newspoll has sunk considerably — but what will it be now?
Video of the Day: Obama calls for calm in Tucson
At an emotionally charged memorial service held in Arizona yesterday for victims of the Tucson shooting massacre, Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech to a 12,000 strong crowd that may be remembered as a watershed moment in the flailing President’s career. Calling for calm and civility in the wake of the horrific incident in which […]
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours
Are the ALP forlorn in Drummoyne? In a sign of the Liberal Party’s confidence and campaigning resources, John Sidoti, the Liberal Party’s candidate for the NSW seat of Drummoyne in Sydney’s inner-west, recently distributed a glossy, neatly folded, colour A3 campaign pamphlet… This is the third mass mail out by Sidoti. He has previously distributed […]
Vintage First Dog: passion, betrayal, hot chips…
First Dog on the Moon is still on holidays. He’s somewhere south of Bermagui and will be returning to your Crikey email sometime at the end of the month. We will be featuring classic First Dog cartoons until his return. Today’s cartoon is from 3 August 2010.
Crikey Says: Crikey says: help before blame
The media must look beyond the death and destruction. Important questions arise from the floods across Queensland and NSW and traumatised residents will want answers.
iPad 
A sneak peak at The Daily
In the lead-up to the first demonstration of Rupert Murdoch’s upcoming iPad newspaper The Daily, Damon Kiesow took a peak at the website’s source code and sneakily retrieved a couple of marketing images of the new app.
Another Catcher in the Rye
Literary creation Holden Caulfield, the young protagonist of JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is set to return to the page in an unofficial sequel blocked from release in the US and Canada. They may have a bad rep but unofficial sequels aren’t necessarily a bad thing, writes David Barnett.
Who’s aspirational now? Williamson’s Party as vapid as the times
David Williamson got to his feet at the premiere of Don Parties On to be applauded, a polite if halfhearted acknowledgement. He smiled contentedly. Williamson is nothing but content. Blithely, indolently content, writes Jason Whittaker.
World Bank expects Australian GDP growth of 3.2% in 2011 and 3.8% in 2012
The World Bank expects Australia to grow more rapidly this year than global high income countries as a whole, reports Richard Farmer.
Anna Bligh is salvaging her reputation with plain speaking genuineness
You have to take every tick-a-box website poll with a grain of salt, but one from Fairfax representing overwhelming support of the manner with which Anna Bligh has handled the Queensland flood crisis is spot on, writes Richard Farmer.
QLD floods: the blame game begins
Crikey media wrap: The water hasn’t finished receding and the cleanup has barely begun, but the blame game has already started. Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman is calling for an “open and transparent inquiry”, run by the state, into the floods.
Arizona shooting Reactions to Obama’s rousing speech in Tucson
Crikey media wrap:: At an emotionally charged memorial service held in Arizona yesterday for victims of the Tucson shooting massacre, Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech that may be remembered as a watershed moment in the flailing President’s career.
podcast Televised Revolution: media coverage of the Queensland floods
In this week’s TR podcast Dan Barrett discusses television coverage of the Queensland floods and speaks with the Managing Director of Channel 9 Queensland.
The social significance of the Arizona massacre
We are now seeing a concerted attempt to obscure and confuse the meaning of the terrorist act that took place in Tucson, Arizona.
Media tips for covering Arizona shooting, Australian floods
After the recent shooting in Arizona, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma in the US has put together some resources for journalists and news managers covering the shooting.
The NT Emergency Response Act, the law, and a toilet
That part of the Northern Territory Response Act can now be used to deny consideration the hurt and suffering felt by the custodians of the sacred site at Numbulwar is surely a bizarre.
Queensland floods Holding back the floods: the difficulty of managing Wivenhoe
Only last year Queensland authorities were considering lowering the flood prevention buffer at the Wivenhoe Dam — the buffer which is currently preventing a whole lot more water flowing into Brisbane. But the Queensland Water Commission stopped short of advocating a reduction in flood mitigation levels.
