I really cannot imagine what the NSW Labor Government has to hide from an inquiry into its deal on electricity distribution sales that can be as damaging to its already sordid image as the bad publicity from trying to stop the inquiry, declares Richard Farmer.
January, 2011
Vale Pete Postlethwaite (1946 – 2011)
British actor Pete Postlethwaite has passed away today, age 64. His death has come as a shock to many, including myself, but evidently – though information at this point in time is scarce – Postlethwaite’s death came at the end of a long battle with cancer, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Bob Gosford’s Bug of the Week: jewel bugs in the front yard
There are something like 6,000 known species of bugs in Australia and they come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Bob Gosford has spent many hours peering into witchetty bushes in this front yard, and found some beautiful jewel bugs.
film reviews The Tourist — passport to lunacy
Stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie look feeble and worse for wear in this awkwardly timed, awkwardly acted, awkwardly written action/comedy/crime caper from distinguished German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Gazing into the crystal ball of American media in 2011
They may not be based on anything other than hunches, but Peter Lauria has a handful of predictions for the American media industry in 2011 and he’s adamant at least some of the them will come true - including an Oprah ratings failure and a move towards online movie streaming from Google.
Democracy, inch by inch: Burma in 2011 and beyond
Last November the people of Burma went to the polls for the first time in two decades, and although the country’s slow journey towards democracy has generated widespread resentment it marks a crucial turning point in its plight to shake its reputation as a pariah, writes Nicholas Farrelly.
Where else but Capricornia?
The UK’s Daily Mail published an odd representation of the Queensland flood: a map that featured the additional Australian state of Capricornia, reports Jeremy Sear.
PHOTO GALLERY Fire in the Great Sandy Desert
Central Australia has generated near record rainfall since January, but the dangerous flipside is a very busy fire season ahead. Guest blogger Steven Rhall has photographed the first big fire of the season near his town.
Digital Television: one decade on
Boy, how the time flies. Ten years ago on January 1, 2001 digital television was launched in Australia. Crikey TV blogger Dan Barrett remembers coughing up $799 for a set top box. Now digital TV has passed more than three quarters of the population.
The top ten films of 2010
‘Tis the season for best of the year lists, and Crikey film reviewer Luke Buckmaster throws his hat in the ring with a selection of the very best films of 2010, including Melbourne-set crime opus Animal Kingdom and Pixar’s bright and cuddly Toy Story 3.
So far on the 2011 electoral calendar
The following events have been confirmed for the 2011 electoral calendar: NSW Labor’s date for an election shellacking will be March 26, Johm Brumby’s exit from politics will result in a by-election in a safe seat and four of the 15 seats in Tasmania’s Legislative Council will become vacant this year, writes William Bowe.
NSW Labor election promises: big war chest, no hope
According to The Sunday Telegraph NSW Premier Kristina Kenneally has a war chest of $1.4 billion available to fund election promises. However the bald truth is that there will not be a Labor government after the March election to spend anything, writes Richard Farmer.
