Worry about MPs’ pay being too low

FEW issues are so uniting as politicians’ pay. MPs on both sides unite in favour of pay rises and voters of all persuasions unite against. The most recent Remuneration Tribunal ruling, as its happens, came as the Labor Party agreed on a conscience vote for gay marriage and as Liberal Party MP Peter Slipper deserted his party to take up the lucrative position of Speaker. Continue reading “Worry about MPs’ pay being too low”

Target corporate welfare dependants

WE HAVE had a bucketful of budgetary numbers in the past week. But both Opposition and Government have put quantity before quality. The Opposition’s mantra is to cut government spending. The Government’s mantra is that the Budget will move to surplus come next financial year. Continue reading “Target corporate welfare dependants”

Dysfunctional Congress damns free trade

SPARE us another “free trade” deal with the United States. At APEC this week, leaders were agog with talk of windfalls gains all round and more jobs in Australia (or insert your favourite APEC nation as appropriate). Prime Minister Julia Gillard was among the most effusive. Continue reading “Dysfunctional Congress damns free trade”

Australian’s paywall may hurt right-wing views

THIS week Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd took The Australian behind the paywall. The interesting point is that the paywall is not very high – just $2.95 a week, say $12 a month. If you do not pay for a login you no longer get the full suite of articles. The big question is will the other News Ltd capital city papers in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Darwin follow, and what will Fairfax do with its papers in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle and elsewhere. Continue reading “Australian’s paywall may hurt right-wing views”

No faith in “anti-terrorism” laws

NOW would be a good time to put an end to two things inherited from the Howard Government: the likely-to-be ruled-unconstitutional school-chaplains scheme and the human-rights-infringing anti-terrorism laws. Last week the Government announced the next round of funding applications for the school-chaplains program – a bit cheeky seeing that the High Court has reserved judgment in a case challenging its the constitutional validity. Continue reading “No faith in “anti-terrorism” laws”

Regugee move right deed for wrong reason

HOW nice to see Prime Minister Julia Gillard so concerned with child welfare that she put a telephone call in to the teenager jailed in Indonesia for allegedly breaking that country’s drug laws. And in the same week that her government put before Parliament legislation that would have enabled the Minister for Immigration to bundle refugee children to a foreign country and wash his hands of them. Continue reading “Regugee move right deed for wrong reason”

Race bar too low for free speech

THEY have lined up in an utterly predictable way in the week since the Federal Court brought down its judgment that Andrew Bolt breached the Racial Discrimination Act. The Murdoch punditocracy and the Federal Opposition to a man and a woman declared it to be an outrageous infringement of freedom of speech. The left, including Fairfax’s usually sound and always funny Mike Carlton, declared it a victory against racism and bigoted journalism. Continue reading “Race bar too low for free speech”

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