The Gunns Ltd AGM in Launceston this morning was one of the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen, reports Stephen Mayne.
Favour
WA News rejects Mayne, defends Armstrong
The West Australian Newspapers AGM in Perth on Friday was full of drama with plenty of lively debate and interesting voting, although none of it has yet been reported anywhere in the mainstream press, writes failed candidate for WA News board Stephen Mayne.
People bored by politics not on electoral roll! Shock!
Strange as it may seem to you, dear, gentle Crikey reader, there are thousands – nay, millions – of Australians who are not obsessed by politics. Some – and I hate to say this to you – couldn’t care less about the federal election, writes Christian Kerr.
Better polls, financial disaster: all good news for Howard
Prime Minister John Howard will be pleased the Newspoll dice rolled in his favour this morning with the two party preferred vote for Labor returning to the 55% level it had been fluctuating around for months before the jump a fortnight ago to 59%.
Bateman plays his $500m card and scuttles Symbion merger
There was much drama at the extraordinary meeting of Symbion Health shareholders this morning when the mercurial Ed Bateman from Primary Healthcare sent his proxy along to tell the meeting he was going to use his 20% stake to scupper the merger with Heathscope. And that’s what he did, reports Stephen Mayne.
Confident Queensland: the Beattie legacy
Peter Beattie was a cunning political survivor who cut his teeth in the Bjelke-Peterson era of semi-democracy and rose through the ranks of the centrist ALP Unity faction as a tough campaigner and political operative. His legacy will be a newly confident Queensland that threw off its “deep north” image in favour of a dynamic and increasingly sophisticated sunbelt economy - but one which is beginning to struggle with growth pains.
Poll-of-polls: ALP gap growing; no nail-biting in sight
Today’s Crikey-Mumble (Crumble?) poll-mix, prompted by the Newspoll, serves as a reminder that that pollster really should take its preferences more seriously.
Crunching the polls
The Reuters graph is a fine thing, but it has some shortcomings, and I reckon we can do better. So from now until election-day I’ll be regularly mixing up the polls, using my own herbs and spices, and publishing headline two party preferred numbers to the nearest half a percent, writes Mumble’s Peter Brent.
The beastly beatitudes of Saints John and Kev
The National Press Club was a Web 2.0 mount as day boyz delivered their tepid Sermons. Flanked by disciples, Kev and John took pause from healing the sick to have a word in the nation’s most devout ears.
ConsMin takeover battle takes another twist
The intriguing battle for Consolidated Minerals took another turn this morning, with the Pallinghurst Investment fund abandoning its planned scheme of arrangement and launching a $3.30 per share, all-cash takeover offer for ConsMin – a price which is below ConsMin’s current market price.
