After training as a doctor in Scotland and Britain, Norman Swan became infected with the radio and writing bug. He’s the latest participant in the Crikey quality journalism project.
Articles by Amber Jamieson 
About Amber Jamieson
Amber is part of a long(ish) line of former Crikey interns lucky enough to get hired full-time. Her job title is journalist, but she works predominately on the website in aggregation, moderation and writing the odd thing here and there. She also manages Crikey’s travel blog Back in a Bit and its enviro blog Rooted.
Email: ajamieson[at]crikey.com.au
Twitter: @ambiej
Cutting policies, and carbon emissions, in the new blue states
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu yesterday announced it was scrapping the Brumby government’s climate change emissions target introduced in 2010 of reducing targets by 20% by 2020. He’s not the only premier dismantling state based climate change programs.
Syria signs UN cease-fire but battle continues
Crikey media wrap: The Syrian government agreed overnight to a peace plan drawn up by UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan, but the fighting between Bashar al-Assad forces and rebel groups continues.
Labor decimated in Queensland
Crikey media wrap: “Can-do” Campbell Newman “can did” on the weekend, leading the Liberal-National Party to a crushing victory of Queensland Labor and winning a likely 78 seats in a 89-seat parliament.
Queensland election: the final countdown
Crikey media wrap: It’s Anna Bligh’s last full day as Premier of Queensland, with the Liberal National Party expecting an easy victory for new leader Campbell Newman at the polls tomorrow.
Queensland votes: three days to go
This Saturday Queensland heads to the polls to elect a premier, with Liberal National Party leader Campbell “Can-Do” Newman expected to cruise to victory over current Labor leader Anna Bligh.
Hotter, more erratic weather and higher sea levels: CSIRO
Australia’s getting hotter — particularly at night, rainfall is erratic, carbon emissions are up and our sea levels are increasing at two to three times the global average. That’s the latest data to emerge from the State of the Climate 2012 report, which observes Australia’s climate and analyses the factors that influence it. Scientists from the Bureau […]
Rebekah Brooks arrested in NotW crackdown
Crikey media wrap: Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was arrested overnight with five other people on allegations of suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in the phone hacking scandal.
Political tensions worsen after US soldier kills Afghan civilians
Crikey media wrap: A US sergeant on deployment in Afghanistan went on a civilian killing spree in a remote village in southern Afghanistan, murdering 16 people — including nine children.
Talkback radio: the one medium where feminism dare not enter the waves
When you ask Amanda Blair, the only female radio presenter on commercial AM radio in Australia, if she’s encountered sexism in the workplace, her war stories seem to never end.
Super Tuesday results
Crikey live blog: Mitt Romney has won Ohio in a neck-and-neck battle with Rick Santorum. It adds to his tally of Massachusetts, Virginia and Vermont, while Santorum picks up North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Floods force thousands to evacuate
Crikey media wrap: Floods in NSW and Victoria continue to threaten homes, with thousands of people evacuated from Wagga Wagga overnight after concerns that levees may break today and inundate the town.
Victorian nurses defy court ban to tell their stories on Facebook
Victorian nurses and midwives on Facebook have taken to using code names to discuss protests after the Bailleu government demanded that all comments on the Australian Nursing Federation’s Facebook page that “organise, advise or assist” industrial action must be deleted.
Syrian rebels withdraw from Homs
Crikey media wrap: After a violent month of military assault from Syrian forces, opposition rebels made a “tactical retreat” from Bab Amr in the city of Homs. Reports are already emerging of reprisal killings of civilians.
James Murdoch resigns from News
International
Crikey media wrap: As more News of the World hacking claims emerged involving News International staff themselves being targeted, James Murdoch quit his job as executive chairman of News International.
The quality journalism project: the Human Headline
Derryn Hinch courts controversy more than most Aussie journalists. He’s the latest participant in Crikey’s Quality Journalism Project.
Police reveal ‘culture of illegal payments’ at Murdoch’s Sun
Crikey media wrap: The Murdoch-owned UK Sun tabloid is embroiled in an illegal government official payment scandal, the head of police investigations into journalistic behaviour told the Levenson Inquiry.
ALP leadership spill live blog: Gillard wins, Rudd addresses media
Crikey live blog: Labor Senator and sports minister Mark Arbib has just announced his resignation, saying it was due to his role in the 2010 coup and for personal reasons.
ALP spill: Day 2 — Rudd will challenge
Crikey live blog: Prime Minister Julia Gillard questioned why Kevin Rudd did not deny undermining the government with off the record conversations with journalists, after Rudd launched his formal challenge for the Labor leadership.
Climate scientists debate: is Heartland leaker a hero or villain?
Is a scientist who adopts a fake identity in order to get information from a group that actively works to discredit the science a hero or a villain? The Heartland leak poses interesting questions.
Gonski: good report but too expensive?
Crikey media wrap: A landmark report into Australian education that calls for an overhaul in education funding was greeted with a lukewarm reception by the government.
Heartland launches legal action against climate change bloggers, journos
Controversial US think tank the Heartland Institute has sent legal letters to bloggers and writers who reported on the release of the leaked Heartland Institute documents last week.
Rudd v Gillard: game on
Crikey media wrap: A showdown now seems inevitable: Kevin “the Comeback Kid” Rudd versus Julia “strong confidence of my colleagues” Gillard. After weeks of leadership rumblings, it became clear on the weekend that a full scale leadership battle had broken out.
Who’s the Anon Donor keeping a climate sceptic think tank afloat?
Yesterday a dump of leaked documents from the Heartland Institute — a US-based think tank that pushes a strong climate change denier agenda — revealed the inside workings of the organisation and the funding it receives from tobacco, telecommunications and drug companies. After Graham Readfearn wrote for Crikey on the leaked documents yesterday, the Heartland Institute overnight released a statement acknowledging the leaks […]
