The focus today is on new ministers and the new Liberal leadership team. But what about the people who do the leg work – the staff? Christian Kerr looks at their options.
Yes, Prime Minister. All change for the public service
Only half joking, senior public servants have been commenting on how much better the country has been running during the caretaker period, without an elected government running the show. That is all about to change, writes Stephen Bartos.
Jetstar annoys customers again
Jetstar’s latest stunt of offering a few 5 cent tickets played out in the predictable way last night – untold thousands of desperates wasted hours on an over-loaded website failing to get the advertised seats, writes Michael Pascoe.
Crikey Says: Crikey Says
It seems this campaign has run from eternity to the 12th of never, months of ersatz electioneering followed by six weeks on a road to where exactly? Who knows, but the essential thing is that the ultimate result must be greeted by a sea of jubilant/dejected/outraged drunks. There is one simple truth in Australian politics: […]
Rupert’s minions rip off young writers
In the Melbourne suburb of Darebin, Rupert Murdoch’s nondescript local giveaway, part of the huge Leader chain, stands accused of ripping off writers, some under 18. But whose fault is it?
Crikey Says: Crikey Says
Just five days to go, things are coming to a head in the long, long campaign to Election 2007. Over the next week we’ll be bringing you some other special features in your daily email: your essential Crikey Crib Sheets.
Caroline Overington v. the priggish pontificators
It’s official. Journalists must conduct themselves like funeral directors. Or solicitors in Victorian novels. That’s the wash-up from the Caroline Overington case, writes Christian Kerr.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups
Ecuyer: Why does Overington persist in writing about me? … When it matters, people won’t vote Labor … Liberals know all is lost … Wentworth … the states won’t co-operate with Rudd …
The Chaser …
Essay: The taking of the ABC
John Howard’s legacy will include an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Board packed with rightwing radicals, linked to industry funded think tanks hostile to public enterprise, writes Friends of the ABC spokesman, Professor Alan Knight.
Razer: Finding humour in election 2.0
This weekend past, I determined to hunt for neo-con humour, Liberal High-Jinks and general coalition contretemps. Deductive and inductive reason tells us there must be some amusing conservatives, writes Helen Razer.
Can BHP defy the market gloom?
How desperate is BHP Billiton to get its Rio Tinto bid up? There was a flood of leaks and tips from the BHP camp to weekend papers in London about all sorts of deals and moves. Glenn Dyer reports.
US drama and comedy struck down by writers’ protest
Screen writers in the US are striking for residuals, writes Peter Mattessi. They’ve seen the trucks of money being dropped at the studios’ doors for DVD sales, and want some of the action.
Flint: Garrett lets the “Real Agenda” out of the bag
Peter Garrett has well and truly let the cat out of the bag, his “Real Agenda.” He has been talking about this for weeks, writes David Flint.
Dollar spikes, stocks rally. Dollar plunges, stocks rally. Do the math.
The financial markets are a little more confusing than usual at present, credit and equity markets are contradicting each other – a contradiction that surfaced in yesterday morning’s JP Morgan credit and rates market commentary.
Barns: Oh, what a mess for Keelty and Andrews
The publication of an email in morning’s Australian, which details AFP plans to detain Mohammed Haneef if he was granted bailed, raises a series of questions which must be answered, writes Greg Barns.
The Perpetual redemptions start to flow over Gunns
Perpetual chairman Bob Savage has defended his company’s status as the biggest shareholder in Gunns by claiming that his customers weren’t at all worried about the controversial investment. But that was before the wide public recognition of the fact resulting from this week’s AGM, writes Stephen Mayne.
Robert Manne asks: Why does Gerard Henderson lie?
There are lies, damn lies, and Gerard Henderson. He is in a category of his own, writes Robert Manne.
The real, sad story behind the Quah photos
Questions still remain: Why did Quah take these photos, and who did he give them to? Who has betrayed Andrew Quah and introduced him to the pain of international humiliation? Cam Smith has the answers.
Family farce: the strange thoughts of Andrew Quah
If you want to become a Family First candidate, it all starts online, where you can email through your CV to the party, writes Jane Nethercote.
The end nigh, Conrad Black seeks heavenly solace
The final curtain is stirring in the wings for lapsed media tycoon Conrad Black, who has apparently turned to God in this his moment of greatest need. Some reading is in order.
The next four weeks? Boring as batsh-t!
Is there anything new in the Newspoll today? Not really. It’s more of the same old, same old – with the figures fine-tuned, writes Christian Kerr.
Talkback callers debate the debate
Talkback callers today weighed in on all matters debatical: who won, the bias of the worm, the reason for John Howard’s “spasm”, the Prime Minister’s mouth dryness, Kevin Rudd’s smugness and Peter Costello’s heckling.
Day Two: Talkback callers not sold on tax cuts
Today on talkback, it’s all about the Coalition’s promised tax cuts…
Comrie-Thomson: racing this time
Six weeks of the Reptiles waiting for a gaffe, a slip, a contradiction, a dummy-spit. No more “feeding the chooks” with selected leaks. Now is the chance to make a feather duster out of a rooster and leak from a great height, writes Paul Comrie-Thomson.
The Australian wheat crop falls on its ear
The United States Department of Agriculture has slashed its estimates for the value of Australia’s wheat crop and exports for the next year by over $2 billion, or more than 7 million tonnes, writes Glenn Dyer.
