The most surprising thing about the LNP’s so-called dirt file is that they had to pay an outsider $3,075 to compile it. If their parliamentarians weren’t aware of just about all that was in the files then they aren’t doing their jobs properly. They could have set-up an inhouse wiki and pooled their resources for […]

The Graham Perrett threat to quit parliament if Julia Gillard is rolled probably makes only a miniscule difference to whether we will get an early election, but it does strengthen the hand of Kevin Rudd in the tussle for the ALP leadership. It’s really a non-story. and is only a story because it is a […]

Australian motorists have had a charmed ride compared to those overseas because of the bouyancy of the Australian dollar. That ride seems to have come to an end with news reports that the price of fuel is set to hit a 3 year high. PETROL prices are on the rise again with the cost of […]

Is this a new development in the global warming debate? The most recent Times Atlas, regarded in Britain apparently as the most prestigious atlas which is reflected in its cost of £150, has shaved 15% off the ice cover of Greenland. No-one seems to know why as the ice loss has in fact been less […]

Labor has made it virtually impossible to appoint any sort of churchman to any sort of high profile government role. It did this by the disgraceful way it demonised Peter Hollingworth, former Anglican Archbishop, and drove him from the role of Governor-General. Hollingworth was ostensibly crucified, not because he abused a child, not because he […]

For a second, when I heard the news reports, I thought online media had risen in importance to the point where the government wanted to investigate them along with print. Closer reading of the terms of reference rebuts this presumption on my part. They’re interested in the Internet, but only to the extent that it […]

The government is establishing a media inquiry, but apparently it won’t look at divestment, despite the Greens demands that it do so. This is probably a good idea because I can’t see how you could actually execute a workable divestment. News Limited owns 70% of the eastern seaboard newspapers, and it is claimed that this […]

The government and its supporters are currently putting a lot of effort into trying to discredit workplace reforms. They claim that work choices, or individual contracts, it doesn’t appear to matter which, actually decreased productivity, and therefore living standards, or had no effect on it. The latest offering is from David Peetz Shopping around a productivity […]

Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis probably did the ALP a favour by referring Craig Thomson to the NSW police. Now the government can claim that he has been exonerated. Not that this is the smartest thing to do, but it is a stronger position than they were in before the referral. Makes you wonder why they […]

There is nothing in the doctrine of the separation of powers that says Julia Gillard can’t criticise a High Court decision after it has been delivered, huffing and puffing by lawyers and the opposition notwithstanding. While the doctrine says that the legislature, the judiciary and the police must all act independently, it doesn’t say that […]