I’m agnostic as to whether Simon Crean should have stayed on the front-bench or not. What I do have strong views about is the way in which his front-bench position was saved. It illustrates many of the reasons why the electorate didn’t have the confidence to vote for Mark Latham and Labor. I deliberately twin […]

When Pauline Hanson announced she was running for the Senate she made a remark that she was putting her own money on the line. It sounded like a good fundraising pitch, but it’s only right that she stump up. If today’s Sunday Mail is correct, she will be close to being a millionaire by the […]

I’ve been waiting for the John Howard to start hitting the buttons that our research says he should. One of those is that voters feel Latham is not sufficiently experienced to be Prime Minister. In this article from The Age Howard says that the government has no plans to decrease the rate of the GST […]

Pauline Hanson won’t win a senate seat, but her candidacy should put the National Party over the line in Queensland and enhance the chances of the Democrats of retaining theirs. Last election the senate results were as follows: Liberal 34.7% National 9.1% Labor 31.6% Green 3.3% Democrat 6.6% One Nation 10.0% Others 4.7% The only […]

Labor’s education policy ditches Howard’s transparent and fair funding formula in favour of rewarding Labor state governments and teachers’ unions at the same time playing the politics of envy and the art of the sectional special deal. For decades now the teachers’ unions have been waging a campaign against Federal Government funding of private schools. […]

I remember the 2001 leader’s debate. On my scoring, and that of the “worm”, Howard lost. Later that week I realised that in a way he had won. The people in the studio audience weren’t those he was talking to. He was broadcasting to the sort of person who voted for One Nation, and they […]

Now I know what I’m talking about. Between surveys I feel like a complete fraud. Journalists ask me what I think is happening, and I tell them, qualified with the observation that I am only speculating because I am only one vote. Now I know much more about what is happening, because I have asked […]

ONE of the issues really making an impact in the United States elections (although the polls might not indicate it) is the “outsourcing” of job in areas such as call centres to overseas countries, notably India. John Kerry has promised to impose taxation penalties on US companies that outsource jobs overseas. I expect the Bush-Cheney […]

This post is a quick summary of the economics and politics of Latham’s tax and family package. The Economics According to today’s papers Latham’s tax policy is an $11 B pitch for battlers which will return an average $8 per week. This will be funded by changes to the superannuation system, slugging smokers and people […]