THIS week’s Productivity Commission Five-Year Productivity Review contains page after page of sensible, mostly obvious, recommendations for change that would improve Australians’ living standards – with one glaring omission. Continue reading “Productivity Commission ignores major issue”
Category: Uncategorized
Every week, Turnbull’s government becomes more Trump-like
MALCOLM Turnbull’s government grows more Trump-like every week. Last week’s health-insurance announcement and this week’s energy announcement illustrate the point. Continue reading “Every week, Turnbull’s government becomes more Trump-like”
Plebiscite huge own goal for conservatives
WE ARE about to witness the most spectacular own goal on the conservative side of Australian politics since Malcolm Fraser called the early 1983 election and lost. There is enough polling evidence now to presume that the marriage plebiscite has been an utter miscalculation by the conservatives on several fronts. They thought they could defeat marriage equality. They will not. Continue reading “Plebiscite huge own goal for conservatives”
Luther’s 500 years of influence
FIVE hundred years ago this month, Martin Luther, placed (some say defiantly nailed) his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church in what is now Germany, thus sparking the Protestant Reformation and changing the tide of human history. Continue reading “Luther’s 500 years of influence”
Cognitive ability’s application to politics
RESEARCH published (but not widely published) this week has the potential to change the practice of the art (or perhaps science) of politics. Francisco Perales, of the University of Queensland, was looking at the marriage plebiscite, but his work has much wider application. Continue reading “Cognitive ability’s application to politics”
Tricky question of getting better banking
THE chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, has always championed competition as the friend of the consumer. In the past few years he has been especially critical of state-owned utility monopolies and privatisations that lead to monopolies and structures that hurt consumers. Continue reading “Tricky question of getting better banking”
Equality demands all or nothing on marriage question
MARRIAGE is like bankruptcy, childhood, insanity or being under sentence, and that is why I will be answering Yes in the absurd, unnecessary and costly statistical survey asking people whether they think people of the same sex should be able to marry. It is also why people of religious convictions whose religion holds that marriage is to be only between a man and a woman should do the same. Continue reading “Equality demands all or nothing on marriage question”
Nationality challenge: expect unexpected
THERE’S one thing you can expect from the High Court when it interprets the Constitution: the unexpected. For example, it has permitted the same-sex plebiscite despite some of Australia’s best legal brains saying that that was unlikely. Continue reading “Nationality challenge: expect unexpected”
No way to keep the lights on
YOU can’t stop progress, the saying goes. But former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has turned that on its head this weekend, arguing that, “You can’t stop regress.” He argues Australia should build a new coal-fired power station to “keep the lights on”.
YOU can’t stop progress, the saying goes. But former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has turned that on its head this weekend, arguing that, “You can’t stop regress.” He argues Australia should build a new coal-fired power station to “keep the lights on”. Continue reading “No way to keep the lights on”
Quadrella of Republican folly
UNTIL this week President Donald Trump had not fully signed up to the losing quadrella of folly marked by all Republican Presidents since Eisenhower: tax cuts for the rich; less regulation of markets; austerity for middle- and lower-income people; and indefinite war. Continue reading “Quadrella of Republican folly”