Keynesian purists are all clutching their foreheads, but actually it’s pretty fabulous that Australia’s politicians are competing with each other to promise budget surpluses.
John Howard
Abbott’s nostalgia for Howard’s Oz is no basis for an economic policy
Nostalgia is a fine political tool if you can use it and half his luck if Abbott can make it work for him. But it’s no basis for an economic policy.
Essential: we like our local BER, and Howard’s the best PM
Parents like the BER program and think it benefited their children’s school, today’s Essential Report finds.
Why Howard flunks the test on teachers and schools
Teachers are not people, per se, but politically Left chalk outlines madly cooking up hysteria about climate change. At least that seems to be the opinion of John Howard, who needs to take a chill pill and cop a dose of reality, writes Mike Stuchbery.
The politics of playing against type
John Howard advocating the leftist cause of Timor Leste, Julia Gillard campaigning against gay marriage — sometimes politicians can surprise us by defying our expectations, writes Politically Homeless.
Canberra royalty gather for lamb, jewfish and a US president
It was a glittering night for Australia’s most powerful as they headed to Canberra to dine with Barack Obama. Former PM John Howard, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou and crooner Kamahl were amongst the attendees, reports Tom Cowie.
Crabb: Liberals like a nanny state as long as they’re the nanny
Conservatives in Australia have their long johns in a knot over planned pokie regulations, arguing that Australia is turning into a nanny state. So why were they pro the Howard-led Intervention in the NT against indigenous Australians? asks Annabel Crabb.
Crikey Says: The little carbon tax that could
Now that wasn’t that hard, was it?
Keeping Labor’s 12% — why not the Howard-Costello approach?
Don’t worry too much about the Coalition’s promise to fund the compulsory super increase - it’s dealt with this problem before.
Labor will eventually return to the Rudd brand
Brands are critical to Prime Ministers and Julia Gillard’s brand is very likely terminally damaged. There’s only one viable brand in Labor ranks.
Productivity needs a shot in the arm — why not a GST boost?
Iin a political climate where people are craving leadership, and Australia’s productivity needs a desperate shot in the arm, advocating a tax swap should be opportune, writes Adam Creighton, a research fellow at The Centre For Independent Studies.
Leak for a healthier democracy
It almost always takes a difference of opinion within a cabinet to cause a leak of details of what happened in a cabinet meeting.
Crikey Says: Crikey says: must have a short memory
An interesting example of how short the public’s memory is from Essential Media today:
Will it be Kevin ‘11?
Ignore the political “experts” in the papers who say Kevin Rudd cannot make a comeback. As Lazarus himself, John Howard, explained on Sky TV, it’s all about arithmetic, writes Paul Barry.
Julia undeserving of At Home with … and so are we
Once I watched At Home with Julia, my discomfort flourished, bloomed and became generally exponential, writes author and editor Sophie Cunningham.
Guy Rundle: Manufacturing … there’s nothing left to cut
As much as people didn’t want to lose jobs, most could see that the manufacturing jig was up.
Denniss: my tactics for debating Monckton
Only the media can explain why they have given so much attention to extreme and ill-informed views about climate change and choose not to give a similar platform to a range of other conspiracy theorists, writes Dr Richard Denniss.
The difference between need for News inquiries in UK v Oz
There are inconsistencies in the many and varied calls for inquiries into Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
Latham’s Henderson Watch: … taking on the sensitive petal
One needs to read Gerard Henderson’s words carefully, to understand the circular nature of his arguments, writes former Labor leader Mark Latham.
Carbon pricing: is it really the GST revisited?
A new tax, praised by policy nerds but distrusted by the general population: it’s not hard to pick the analogy between carbon pricing and the GST.
The cheek of it all: does Gillard get a bum rap from cartoonists?
When you picture Julia Gillard in cartoon form, what comes to mind? Her pointy nose? Her flaming hair? Her receding chin and long neck? Or her bum?
Peter Reith may be the answer, but what’s the question?
If you ever wanted a demonstration of the chaotic nature of the Liberal Party’s factional landscape, the fight for the federal presidency should do it.
Richardson: elections aren’t always what they seem
Ollanta Humala is the legitimate president-elect of Peru, and he’s entitled to make what he can of his opportunity. If he succeeds, this could be remembered as the time his country made a decisive choice.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Morally defending refugees
Crikey readers have their say.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The climate change challenge — do we really want to?
Crikey readers have their say.
