The federal government’s decision to push for the structural separation of Telstra has generally be welcomed by those who feel it will enhance competition / reduce monopolisation in the telecommunications sector, whilst receiving a less than positive response from some large Telstra investors who fear it will harm the value of their assets. Debates around [...]

The Age reports that the Business Alliance for Asia Literacy – a coalition of sixty business groups, unions and corporations – is calling for a greater educational focus on Asia, with the leader Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout, saying “understanding Asia, knowing the languages, cultures and traditions and teaching our children about our near neighbours [...]

The federal government’s announcement that they will fund the building a National Broadband Network at an estimated cost of $43 billion is the sort of story guaranteed to get internet sites and net nerds buzzing with comment. A lot of the comments from bloggers and twitterers that I have seen thus far seem to be [...]

Among all the discussion of the possible flow-on consequences of the global financial crisis, one which may have very significant long ramifications is the impact on the long-term future of Europe as a political and economic entity. Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman questions whether European governments were wrong to let themselves become so tightly [...]

Given public statements made by both the Coalition and the Greens, it is very hard to see a majority of the Senate insisting on any amendments it makes, should the government reject them in the House of Representatives. This means Labor will make the eventual decision on what type of amendments, if any, they are willing to wear and the Senate debate will serve mainly as a vehicle for the various parties to do some positioning on what is still a politically significant issue.

A little over a week ago I pondered which country would be next to follow Iceland and Latvia on the list of national governments which have fallen as a result of the global economic turmoil. Reports suggest Ukraine is heading into some major instability, with daily queues outside banks and some cities “going days without heat [...]

The Global Financial Crisis* led directly to the collapse of Iceland’s government last month. Now Lativa is following suit, with their Prime Minister handing in his resignation. As with Iceland, it looks like this will lead a new Coalition government being negoitated, rather than an immediate election. Just a few years ago, Latvia’s economic growth [...]

Given the enormous under-representation of Indigenous Australians in full-time employment, it is hard not to be sympathetic or supportive of any efforts aimed at increasing employment opportunities, even if one has doubts about the prospects of success. So the announcement last year by mining magnate “Twiggy” Forrest that he was working with the federal government [...]

Last week, the federal Immigration Minster released a draft of new regulations affecting temporary skilled workers in Australia – often known as 457 visa holders. These changes flow on from a review conducted last year by Barabara Deegan, who has a background in industrial relations.  Her final report is available at this link. This visa class has [...]

The widely varying views over the merits or otherwise of the stimulus package put forward by the Rudd government shows just how uncertain the overall economic situation is.  Economists giving evidence to the brief Senate inquiry have expressed differing views.  Even after you take out the partisan talking points, the same variance of views is occurring [...]