Keywords: Shadow Treasurer
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Byrne Garton
- 03 August 2012
2 Comments
Disability policy is no longer a short-term issue for political point-scoring, it is in the middle of the public policy sphere. While it is heartening that there is general consensus between political parties on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, some state premiers' bickering over funding has fuelled the distress of affected people.
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AUSTRALIA
- Steven Littlewood
- 17 June 2011
14 Comments
To view the mining sector as central to the welfare of the economy is a furphy. The mining industry is not supporting other sectors of the economy, it's holding them back. Even in the states where mining dominates, the positive effects of the industry boom on the wider economy are questionable.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 01 March 2011
15 Comments
Old men are hard to top when it comes to abuse of power: Egypt's Mubarak is 82, Italy's Berlusconi is 74, and Zimbabwe's Mugabe is 88. There are good arguments for removing leaders once they reach 'a certain age', even in relatively benign democracies such as Australia.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 08 November 2010
10 Comments
Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi dismissed Islamic banking as 'incompatible with Australia's Western values'. But Western values that uphold a banking system that treats its customers with disdain – as the Commonwealth Bank did last week – need to be questioned.
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AUSTRALIA
We have just experienced a Shakespearean moment. There is real excitement in the land, a sense of new beginnings, as the Elizabethan figure of Julia Gillard takes the reins as Prime Minister. Rudd, to his credit, has accepted the inevitable with grace and dignity.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Brian Matthews
- 24 February 2010
4 Comments
In Dickens' Barnaby Rudge, pet raven Grip is given to tantalising but incomprehensible
pronouncements, fluttering annoyingly around the edges of
conversational gatherings, and launching
sudden, inexplicable attacks.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 08 September 2009
1 Comment
With Nelson's departure the Liberals have lost yet another experienced but relatively youthful member of its leadership team. Even if the Party loses the next election they should urge Turnbull to stay on in a lesser
role, possibly
to serve with distinction in a future Liberal Government.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 29 July 2009
7 Comments
Hockey, a big friendly bear of a man, is popular in the electorate. Abbott suffers from his aggressive stance and his image as a conservative Catholic. Both are contenders for the Liberal leadership should Turnbull fall before the next
federal election.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 23 February 2009
3 Comments
The largely ignored United Nations World Day of Social Justice, and the task
of the crumbling Federal Opposition, are not entirely unrelated. For
both, holding governments accountable is the name of the game, or
perhaps dream.
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AUSTRALIA
- Tony Smith
- 30 September 2008
2 Comments
Not all Malcolm Turnbull's Coalition colleages wish him success. Influential Liberals from Melbourne will have their doubts following Turnbull's failure to realise that the Roosters rugby league team do not play AFL.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 29 September 2008
3 Comments
Online publications know that the flame throwers among those who post comments invariably draw a crowd. Such an environment is potentially fertile ground for character assassination, rather than reasoned argument.
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AUSTRALIA
- Scott Stephens
- 14 November 2007
2 Comments
Perhaps the clearest indication of the underwhelming torpor that has
become the defining feature of the federal election
campaign, is the fact that its highlights have been provided by
luminaries of Labor past — Paul Keating and Mark Latham.
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