Eden-Monaro, renowned throughout the land as the bellwether seat that goes with the party who wins the election, is something of a microcosm of New South Wales if not the entire country, writes William Bowe.
Politics
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Aluminium, industry policy and losing our way on reform
The closure of the Kurri Kurri smelter lifts the lid not merely on a troubled industry but a troubled policy process.
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Crikey Says: Should the Future Fund be ethical?
Does it matter that the Future Fund has invested over $200 million in tobacco shares? Should taxpayers be asked to accept a poorer return on their investment for the sake of avoiding a controversial product?
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Crikey Says: Money better than blood in Afghanistan
The international community, Julia Gillard insisted overnight at the NATO meeting in Chicago, had sacrificed too much and worked too hard to fail to support the Afghanistan military.
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Photos in the White House come and go, but this one remains
Photographs that line the walls of the White House are regularly changed and rotated. Jackie Calmes explains why one hasn’t moved for three years.
The birther craze has a sequel: the afterbirther craze Photos in the White House come and go, but this one remains
Photographs that line the walls of the White House are regularly changed and rotated. Jackie Calmes explains why one hasn’t moved for three years.
Michelle Obama and ‘food deserts’: fact or deep fried fiction?
Michele Obama’s hypothesis about “food deserts” argues that poor health results such as childhood obesity are a result of low density of supermarkets coupled with an abundance of fast food outlets. Alan Davies isn’t convinced.
Poll Bludger’s Seat of the Week: Eden-Monaro
Eden-Monaro, renowned throughout the land as the bellwether seat that goes with the party who wins the election, is something of a microcosm of New South Wales if not the entire country, writes William Bowe.
Aluminium, industry policy and losing our way on reform
The closure of the Kurri Kurri smelter lifts the lid not merely on a troubled industry but a troubled policy process.
Shared understanding is what’s missing in productivity debate
“Productivity” is starting to sound a little “gourmet” — a word that means very different things to different people, writes Jo-anne Schofield, executive director of policy network Catalyst Australia.
The bottom line: retail’s doing it tough worldwide
You name it, Australian retail is doing it tough at the moment.
The green tape slugfest that is the EPBC Act
Nothing gets interest groups more riled up than a proposal to reduce “green tape”. Andrew Macintosh and Richard Denniss on how strangled businesses really are.
They flew here, but the journey is still long for immigrants
With national attention remaining on asylum seekers who arrive by boat, journalist Jack Davies asks who are the plane-people and what are the circumstances in which they can immigrate?
Campbell Newman’s ‘attack on gays’ could face legal test
Family and human rights lawyers are considering grounds to halt what they see as a pair of targeted attacks on the LGBTI community from the Queensland government.
Crikey Says: Should the Future Fund be ethical?
Does it matter that the Future Fund has invested over $200 million in tobacco shares? Should taxpayers be asked to accept a poorer return on their investment for the sake of avoiding a controversial product?
Concern rises over use of drones in America
America has used drones largely for anti-terrorist and illegal immigration assignments, but the number of domestic drones are increasing and civil liberty advocates are ringing alarm bells, reports CBS News.
At the ballot booth, Egypt makes history
“It is like honey to my heart,” said one Egyptian lining up to vote in the country’s first free election, of which no clear front-runner has emerged, writes David D. Kirkpatrick.
Is reducing the number of bottle shops to curb domestic violence a ‘bone-headed’ idea?
A Melbourne research fellow argues that reducing the density of liquor outlets also reduces domestic violence. The downside in this sort of thinking is that it deflects attention from root causes, writes Alan Davies.
Thomson could face jail if found in contempt (and he wouldn’t be the first)
The House of Representatives has the power to imprison for up to six months an individual found to be in contempt of Parliament by the privileges committee, and it’s a punishment they’ve doled out before, reports Scott Barnes.
Kransky snags sizzle as Victorian Labor tensions simmer
A senior Victorian Labor strategist has slammed the party’s “top down” Right faction for failing to embrace democracy and policy reformfollowing Saturday’s otherwise staid state conference at Moonee Valley.
Trade treaty ‘secrecy’ — does anyone benefit?
It’s time governments abandoned their selective secrecy when it comes to making treaties.
Howes wants the magic pudding, OECD says it’s already here
The contrast between Paul Howes’ Press Club address yesterday and the OECD’s overnight forecasts demonstrates the current tension in economic debate. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.
Lack of security a worry as Egyptians head to polls
A field of 12 candidates are on show as 50 million Egyptians head to the polls to vote for the country’s first-ever civilian president, writes Vickie Smiles from the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Rhiannon caught out bagging Greens in ghost-written op-ed
Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and her media adviser ghost-wrote a controversial article attacking her party for accepting a $1.68 million donation from internet entrepreneur Graeme Wood.
Twitter mapping and how we choose our own adventure
Lessons from the latest map of the Australian Twittersphere: #auspol is driven by hardline conservatives, evangelical Christians don’t talk to outsiders, and the South Australian tourism, food and wine fraternity have formed their own little enclave on Planet Adelaide.
The political leader who told women to ignore gender discrimination
Asked for advice by a woman who said she was experiencing discrimination in her position as a local councillor, SA opposition leader Isobel Redmond suggested she ignore it. Suzie Keen was outraged.
Crikey Says: Money better than blood in Afghanistan
The international community, Julia Gillard insisted overnight at the NATO meeting in Chicago, had sacrificed too much and worked too hard to fail to support the Afghanistan military.
Will Obama make Clinton his veep?
A recent poll conducted by the NYT shows Mitt Romney ahead of Barack Obama in support among women. With this in mind, what are the chances, asks Michael Tomasky, of the president making Hilary Clinton his running mate?
OECD echo the words of Wayne Swan
It is rare occurrence for the OECD to comment on a member country’s economy without official approval, but this week the organisation did just that by echoing the words of Wayne Swan, reports Richard Farmer.
Is the old and creaky strata system keeping up with high density growth?
The strata title system was introduced in the 1960s to address problems associated with shared ownership of common property, but, Alan Davies is it keeping up with current levels of growth?
