Victoria has at last signed up. We can now look to one federal authority to manage the unfolding environmental disaster in the Murray-Darling Basin, writes Richard Kingsford.
Murray Darling Basin
Labor’s new federalism shows its first cracks
While the cooperative Labor federalism promised by Kevin Rudd had a relaxed start in late 2007, we’re now seeing the reality of different levels of government with different policy agendas and political needs trying to work together, writes Bernard Keane.
Media Monitors’ annual media index
Climate issues dominated the Australian media in 2007, with the continuing severe drought and debate over the future of the Murray Darling Basin easily garnering the most coverage over the full year.
Letting the rivers run
The regulation and control of the Murray River is a long vexed issue. Richard Farmer sums up.
Where’s the bush in this election campaign?
Both parties seem to be involved in a race to mediocrity when it comes to “big thinking” policies to develop our rural areas, writes rural journalist Chris Brown.
Farming the water market for profit, or survival
With dams drying up and the skies remaining disappointingly blue, the national water market is an economic meeting place for farmers, speculators, regulators, and even horders.
Seven things the Liberal leadership hysteria didn’t fix
Politics this week was all about politics, but not the politics of rolling one’s sleeves up and getting things done. It was not an arm-wrestle of ideologies, a punch up over policy, or a spat over preselections. Here is a Crikey list of what our politicians didn’t fix this week.
Bracks’ resignation: what he said — and what bloggers are saying
The blogs were onto this morning’s Steve Bracks story immediately. Here’s what some are saying.
Murray cocktail could be Howard’s green legacy
Policy made on the back of an envelope can go awry, and if John Howard pushes ahead with his plans to takeover management of the Murray-Darling Basin Australia may end up with something very different to what the PM has had in mind.
Howard’s federalist legacy
During Mr Howard’s 11 years in office, the move towards making State Governments mere administrative agents has accelerated at a pace Labor’s Gough Whitlam would only have dreamed of, writes Richard Farmer.
Policy on the run keeps on running
The Prime Minister’s $10 billion water package, it emerged, was drawn up on the back of an envelope. Treasury and other key authorities were left out of the loop.
Howard invokes Twain on Rudd and horse races
John Howard is on Mark Twain’s side if not quite as eloquent. “It is not best that we all should think alike,” wrote the American, “it is differences of opinion that make horse races.”
Acting in a Prime Ministerial way
John Howard did not need this morning’s Newspoll to tell him that acting as a Prime Minister doing Prime Ministerial things was his only hope of still being in the job at the end of the year.
