European efforts to avoid an immediate meltdown of the financial system look like succeeding. In Finland the parliament has voted to provide its share of the next bailout of Greece and the expectation is that Germany will do the same . But don’t be fooled into thinking that the crisis has passed. There’s merely been [...]
READ MORESeptember, 2011
A cavoodle loving Prime Minister
So we have a Prime Minister who loves lap dogs. A cavoodle is about to arrive at the Lodge. A cavoodle! One of those designer dogs! A cuddly little ball of fluff to be delivered as a 50th birthday present. So what is this creature? Let’s turn to that font of all wisdom The Burke’s [...]
READ MORENZ government: sitting pretty and looking safe
With the New Zealand meeting this week for the last time before the 26 November election we can start taking the opinion polls seriously. And the message of the latest ones looks clear: the National Party Prime Minister John Key looks set for re-election. This morning’s Fairfax Media-Research International poll has the Nationals on 54.3% [...]
READ MOREA joke story from AAP
“Simon Crean favourite to topple Julia Gillard as PM” said the headline tonight on the news.com.au website. “Former federal Labor leader Simon Crean is the punters’ favourite to oust Julia Gillard from the prime ministership before the next election,” said the AAP story. “Online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au has slashed the odds of Mr Crean and former [...]
READ MOREGoing after News Corp in the USA
Alexandra Wrage, president of Trace, a not-for-profit firm that helps companies comply with anti-bribery laws, believes US federal authorities will “go after” News Corporation under the the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the FCPA). The 1977 law bans American firms from paying bribes to government officials abroad. “News Corp. is a U.S. company, and the FCPA [...]
READ MOREIn Greece, the black economy has run riot for years
A large part of the financial mess that is Greece is the result of the Greek people making an art form of tax avoidance. The black economy has run riot for years and income tax for many outside the bloated ranks of the public service appears to have been an optional extra. Yet despite this [...]
READ MOREChange the news, not the limited
The tawdry revelations about the phone tapping activities of the Murdoch press in Britain just keep on coming. Last week’s story from Reuters tells of the News of the World hacking extensively into the voice mail of a minister in Britain’s former Labour government. Voice mails left for Denis MacShane in 2004 and 2005, as [...]
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A parliamentary drinker’s week
A few drinks with fellow Northern Territory Senator Trish Crossin gave Senator Nigel Scullion a featured role in this week’s number one political topic – whether or not Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has been ringing his colleagues canvassing votes for a Labor leadership challenge. And this morning another Senator Scullion drinking occasion has made the [...]
READ MORECracks in the strange creation of Queensland’s Liberal National Party
There was always something strange about the combination of the Queensland Liberal and National parties into a single Liberal National Party. The interests and beliefs of city and country conservatives have their differences but they were papered over in the quest to create the united front that would defeat the dreaded Labor Party. It might [...]
READ MOREWhat to do when only one side of the debate shows up.
The Wheeler Centre was faced with the prospect of hosting an exercise in shadow-boxing yesterday, when The Australian’s Paul Kelly withdrew from a debate with Robert Manne in the wake of the publication of Manne’s ‘Bad News’. What to do? Manne has already given presentations on his essay and this was meant to be a [...]
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