When it comes to infrastructure, what we need first and foremost are not new rail lines. Not even fast rail lines. What we need are new cities.
Lateline
Wong may backtrack on renewables
It looks as if the government may succumb to political pressure and withdraw its Renewable Energy Target legislation from the CPRS next week.
Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog: Tim Palmer channels Tammy Wynette
Henderson hits back at Rundle’s Murdoch/Stalin comparison, Leigh Sales’ climate change coverage, Bob Ellis’ return to ABC Unleashed and more.
Guy Rundle: Lateline and the ‘Latvian hooker’ index
Following Godwin Grech’s hospitalisation, there has been some soul-searching in the media about putting manifestly wrong people in front of the camera. Just ask Tony Jones.
Turnbull record is clear on executive pay and “merchant banker” smear
Spending four years running Goldman Sachs Australia does not make Turnbull a career investment banker in the overpaid risk-taking mould that brought down the global financial system, writes Stephen Mayne.
ABC clears ABC over Mutitjulu reports. Quelle surprise.
The Lateline scandal is a very intricate story. It’s also bloody fascinating, writes Chris Graham.
The Crikey F-ckability Index
We rate TV people on the Westacott scale.
The Monk’s not mad
Tony Abbott might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is a decent bloke, writes Christian Kerr.
Bahnisch: Reading from the Karl Rove playbook
Maybe Australian journos don’t spend too much time following American politics. For reasons which are completely obscure, there was a bit of a “shock horror!” beat up about American pollsters advising the Labor Party, writes Mark Bahnisch.
Aunty’s digital focus continues to impress
The ABC’s latest annual report reveals some very impressive numbers on its ever increasing push into the digital world, writes Glenn Dyer.
War talk on Iran shows failure to learn from Iraq
The long-running controversy over Iran’s nuclear program flared up again this week. Superficially, it looks as if there’s no reason for conflict on the issue so a resort to war should never appear on the agenda, writes Charles Richardson.
My year at Media Watch: EP Tim Palmer tells
Tim Palmer, the outgoing executive producer of Media Watch, fully expects the press to jump to conclusions about his move to become executive producer of the current affairs program Lateline. Andrew Dodd invesitgates.
Need APEC access? Just be a Liberal candidate
Sydney-siders have been told by the PM that the lockdown of their city is the result of nasty protesters who have been banned from the no-go zone. Yet while some protestors are forced to apply to the courts for permission, my old Young Liberal pal John Ruddick and his Aussies 4 ANZUS crew have been given the kind of access other protesters can only dream of.
Peter Garrett? Who’s Peter Garrett?
Where has Shadow Environment Minister Peter Garrett been hiding? How is it that a close friend of Prime Minister John Howard is now more vocal on a major environmental issue than the man who once penned the lyrics to Blue Sky Mine?
Interest rates and election years: Is the so-called conventional wisdom a furphy?
On Friday we heard that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens, has stated he is prepared to raise the interest rate during an election campaign, contrary to received wisdom. This was actually two pieces of news for me, since I’d never heard about the received wisdom in the first place. James Farrell breaks down the myth.
Time to take a cold shower on Queensland amalgamations
Labor candidates are betraying their nerves in the face of the PM’s latest tactic in the focus group driven War On The States. To borrow a phrase from Rudd’s old boss, Wayne Goss, they should all probably take a cold shower, writes Mark Bahnisch.
Noel Pearson doesn’t have a clue
Better write nothing and have people question your intelligence than blog away and remove all doubt, might be the paraphrase occasioned by Noel Pearson’s blog, writes Guy Rundle.
Shhhh! Noel Pearson’s just living the dream
Noel Pearson is right about one thing – much of the criticism of the NT military occupation (and has it got a handy name yet – I’d suggest Operation Deja Vu) is not only beside the point, but arises from an exhausted politics of left and right that doesn’t effectively translate to this issue.
