Trevor Cook on public relations, social media and politics

Category Archives: Business & economics

How to pitch bloggers – PR gives social marketing advice

May 18, 2009 – 7:51 pm
By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Advertising & marketing, Public Relations, Social Media | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

The myth of an independent Treasury

May 16, 2009 – 3:18 pm

The claim that Treasury is an institution independent of government fundamentally misconstrues the relationship between the federal government and the Commonwealth public service.  While it is not surprising to see politicians fail Economics 101, it is more surprising to see them also failing Political Science 101. The government now routinely hides behind Treasury and RBA [...]

By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Federal politics, Politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Australia and the Global Economy – a potted history

May 9, 2009 – 1:39 pm

On Thursday I gave a lecture to undergraduate and postgraduate foreign policy courses which stressed Australia’s long-term dependence on the global economy. The notes are here. I also recommended to easily accessible sources for anyone wanting to read more: Ian MacFarlane, The Search for Stability, and John Edwards, The Quiet Boom.

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Zombie Bank

May 8, 2009 – 8:22 am

Night of the living dead tellers.

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Can a 70 billion buck deficit be called a “tough” budget?

May 6, 2009 – 8:04 am

Next week’s budget will deliver the biggest DEFICIT in Australian history, and yet journalists, particularly those embedded in Parliament House, insist on pushing the Government’s spin about it being ‘tough’. The SMH even runs with ‘horror‘. How the media minders must chortle.
Tough is when you deliver a surplus, delivering huge deficits is not tough. Tough [...]

By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Federal politics | Tagged | Comments (0)

The possible economic cost of swine flu

May 1, 2009 – 11:24 am

Not as straightforward as you might think, from the Economist:
THE scares over bird flu since 1997 and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 have spurred research into the economic costs of pandemics. Studies paint a grim picture of what swine flu could mean for the world economy. For example, World Bank economists estimated last [...]

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Cluetrain stalled at the platform

April 29, 2009 – 7:23 pm

So it’s been ten years. For a few years, I was like a latter day Karl Marx scouring the newspapers looking for evidence that the revolution was underway. Now, I don’t bother anymore. There’s lots of marginal stuff, many organisations that are dipping their toes in the water. But for the most part, like say [...]

By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Advertising & marketing, Enterprise 2.0, Public Relations, Social Media | Tagged | Comments (1)

UK soak the rich tax slug a hit with voters

April 24, 2009 – 11:25 am

Will Rudd, Swan and co be emboldened by Darling’s popular move?
Alistair Darling’s decision to introduce a 50 per cent tax rate for high earners next April is backed by a majority of voters, according to the first post-Budget opinion poll.
The Populus survey on Wednesday evening shows broad support for the main Budget measures, though there [...]

By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Federal politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The ten dumbest money-saving tips

April 21, 2009 – 10:42 am

The Times provides an antidote to all those dopey guides for the recession that pop up in the media and in blogs.

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Why Australia is not Ireland

April 20, 2009 – 4:17 pm

Paul Krugman has a good piece today on the plight of the Irish economy, it’s headed towards depression. Two reasons (no doubt there are more) why Australia is (not yet) headed that way too is the strong fiscal position and strong banking sector (well-regulated) that was built up in Australia during our recent long boom. [...]

By Trevor Cook | Also posted in Federal politics, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)