Month: October 1998

THIS week’s Federal Court decision on Kerry Packer’s tax has caused justifiable outrage. There is more.

In 1996, Kerry Packer and his son James made a great issue of the need to build a great Australian media company.

“”What we are talking about here is the preservation of national identity and pride. Forceful, quality, internally competitive companies can reap enormous benefits for the economy,” said James.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_packer tax”

The ACT Government has ended the trial of four-way stop signs in Lyneham and O’Connor. It says that after more than a year of trial that they had not significantly deterred drivers from rat-running through residential streets to Civic and they had not reduced speeding traffic.

The trial was not a failure. Indeed it was a success, in many ways. Nor should the result deter the Government from other experiments in traffic management. As any scientist knows improvements in knowledge come through experiments and data collection. The trial suggests that four-way stop signs are not as effective as roundabouts, which the Government will now install on two of the intersections in question. It appears that restricting morning peak-hour traffic through a no-right-turn sign at the entrance to those suburbs has been as effective, or more effective than the stop signs.

Four-way stop signs have worked well in parts of North America, but were not effective in North Canberra. When combined with an obvious determination by drivers to go as quickly as possible, they probably reduced residential amenity and added to traffic inconvenience.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader29oct”

The ACT has the lowest road death rate to population of any state or territory, yet it apparently has the worst driver attitude in the country. The former is easily measurable. The latter comes out of a survey by AAMI insurance which revealed that ACT drivers were more willing to speed or run orange or red lights than interstate counterparts.

Oddly, the two things might be linked. The ACT has excellent roads. It has very low population density and therefore low traffic volumes. It has low rainfall compared to most other capitals, making driving conditions on the whole better. It has higher income levels resulting in a newer, safer car fleet. In short, driving in the ACT has low apparent risk for damage to life, limb and property. It means that the ACT road toll is lower per head of population than elsewhere.

Further, the apparent risk of being fined or banned from driving might be lower than elsewhere. Police presence in the ACT does not appear as strong as in NSW or Victoria, though the evidence for that is sketchy. Certainly the AFP Association bemoans low resource levels. The low police presence adds to the low overall risk for drivers in the ACT.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader28oct red light cameras”

The defamation action running in the ACT Supreme Court is taking on some of the characteristics of films made by actors of the same name as the plaintiffs.

On Wednesday former Labor Foreign Minister and Governor-General Bill Mr Hayden appeared as a witness in a defamation case brought by Treasurer Peter Costello, Employment Services Minister Tony Abbott and their wives. He told the court about the damage false sexual smears could do, using detailed examples of false rumours about former Prime Minister Paul Keating.

Yesterday he expressed dismay and shock at the widespread media coverage his evidence received.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader23oct hayden defo”

Independent MLA Michael Moore is to move in the Assembly next week for an increase in the size of the Assembly and for four-year terms to replace the current three-year term.

Both moves have profound affects for our democracy. This is aside from the fact the Mr Moore will be pre-empting a select committee set up by the Assembly to consider these issues among others.

At present it requires an Act of the Federal Parliament to change the size of the Assembly, but the Assembly itself can change the length of the term of the Assembly. Both these arrangements are unsatisfactory.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader21oct act assembly”

Prime Minister John Howard has made the correct observation, albeit belatedly, that becoming a republic would not hurt Australia. He made the observation when reaffirming his commitment to hold a referendum late next year on the republic in accordance with the model decided at this year’s constitutional convention.

He said, “I am of the view that whatever the outcome of that referendum, and I frankly don’t know what the outcome of the referendum will be, the fabric of the Australian community is not going to be any way damaged or hurt by the process.”

He is quite right. Australians are mature enough to debate the change and if there is to be one, which seems likely, those who voted against change would still uphold the Australian Constitution, is as much the same way that patriotic Australians embraced Advance Australia Fair after the event, even though they had supported God Save the Queen to remain as anthem.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader17oct repub”

Local councils in NSW look like adopting a sensible response approach to bank closures in their districts. Hitherto, councils and others in the regional, and now suburban, Australia have bemoaned bank closures and demanded they be stopped. But it was an unheard cry, and rightly so. Why should the banks run unprofitable branches in regional towns and the suburbs? The banks are not charities. Not unexpectedly, the banks have ignored pleas to keep branches open.

Now three Sydney councils have threatened to withdraw $100 million in business with the Commonwealth Bank if they close local branches. It is not so much a statement of blackmail, as a statement of condition of business. If you want the business of this council you must have a local branch is the message. Banks, of course, like big customers with large sums of money be transferred in each transaction. Now when they look at the profitability of a suburban branch they have to look not only at small local customers, but large local customers in the form of councils.

In short, the councils are using the very market forces and economic pressure that the banks have been using in closing small branches.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader15oct bank closures”

John Howard is now a politically crippled Prime Minister. His claims of an embrace, an avalanche and a mandate are absurd and grandiloquent. The reality, as distinct from the view from Kirribilli, is that he will have only a very narrow majority in the House of Representatives. That majority might be so narrow that it cannot be relied up to pass the legislation for the GST. Several National Party MPs are determined against it, or are at least determined against a GST on essentials. And even if he gets it through his own party room and the House of Representatives, it faces an impossible hurdle in the Senate.

The Democrats have done very well in the Senate. They appear to have picked up a certain two and more likely three seats to take their tally to 10 senators. It is a balance of power in its own right. After the new senators take their place on July 1 next year, the Democrats can side with either major party to form a majority to pass or block legislation.

The gain is significant enough for Democrats leader Meg Lees to claim a mandate to insist that the GST exempt food. The pertinence of her claim will be her power to give effect to it. If the Democrats insist on the food exemption, Mr Howard will have to yield to it, or surrender his beloved GST altogether. After Saturday night’s effort, he could not possibly contemplate and early double dissolution. Far too many Liberal MPs hold their seats by very small margins indeed to permit that. Moreover, the performance of Opposition Leader Kim Beazley in the campaign is a formidable obstacle.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_leader05oct”

Senate election results are likely to face constitutional challenge if any result swings on split-preference tickets.

A successful challenge to the tickets would damn Democrat Rick Farley’s chances because he must rely on preferences from Labor Senator Kate Lundy’s split-ticket preferences.

The national president of the Proportional Representation Society, Bogey Musidlak, advised voters yesterday that the only way to be sure was to vote below the line, numbering every square consecutively.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_invalid votes”

Mind cf heart and eyes.

Downer..osborne flex…moore with libs even on an education issue (shows no longer any need for kate to keep him in line).

Leg overturns exec on an exec matter… and money matter.
Continue reading “1998_10_october_forum kate gary”