Wayne Swan’s copped a lot of criticism for his attempt to stop banks raising interest rates, but mostly for the wrong reasons. Swan’s only powers over bank interest rates are persuasive, not real. He heavied the banks and was ignored, stripping bare any perception of power. Next time he […] Continue Reading…
January 15, 2008 | Graham
Swan’s ugly duckling with the banks
Posted by Graham at 10:41 am |
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January 15, 2008 | Graham
US universities – best quality at lowest cost
Generally the more in demand an item, the more expensive it is. So an Ivy League university ought to be pretty pricey. Not if you’re Yale. The press release pasted below implies that most Australian students could get into Yale for around $2,000 to $5,000 per year and pay […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 10:35 am |
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January 09, 2008 | Ronda Jambe
Hey dude, who moved my super?
Like many Australian approaching retirement age, I have started to move other assets into an industry super fund. The tax free lure dangles like the golden ring on a merry-go-round. The only hitch is that it really is a merry-go-round, and my ticket only gives me a limited number […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Ronda Jambe at 12:34 pm |
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January 03, 2008 | Ronda Jambe
A 12 step program for saving the environment
It’s as easy as 1-2-3: Intention – Design – Governance. Times 4, because you need to keep looping around.
Hello, this is my Thursday Blog, in fulfillment of the only New Year’s Resolution I dare to make. A committment to blog each week is made all the easier for having […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Ronda Jambe at 12:15 pm |
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December 19, 2007 | Graham
Senior Liberals warn Parer off amalgamation
There’s consternation in the Queensland Liberal Party that President Warwick Parer is even having informal talks with the National Party about amalgamating the parties, and very senior office-bearers want him to back-off now.
Local Brisbane media have been carrying the Nationals’ version of the story, complete with the incorrect claim […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 4:04 pm |
Comments (1)
December 18, 2007 | Graham
Clem Jones – the modern Labor template
I was too young to be paying much attention when Clem Jones was Lord Mayor of Brisbane, but I do remember some things.
Some of the members of my mother’s deeply conservative North Queensland family voted for him, much to mum’s consternation. They would only have done this because he […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 10:17 pm |
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December 18, 2007 | Graham
Cancer clusters, another panic
A number of firefighters in Atherton have developed cancer, so it is reported (it would appear from Google most prominently by the ABC) that we have a “cancer cluster”. The ABC is likely to be sensitive to this because of the cancer cluster at their former studios in Brisbane.
The […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 10:02 pm |
Comments (1)
December 18, 2007 | Graham
Icy trips, snowy slips… and venomous centipedes
Sometimes press releases bizzarely turn-up in my inbox from the most interesting quarters, including this one from The Information Centre, an “independent NHS Special Health Authority that collects, analyses and distributes national statistics on health and social care”.
I thought the Nanny State would be more serious than this, but […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 9:30 am |
Comments (1)
December 14, 2007 | Graham
Liberal problems are deep-rooted, not structural
The Liberal Party always talks about restructure when it loses an election. This generally has little to do with actual reform, but rather tipping the field so that your enemies are at a disadvantage.
When John Moore took control of the Queensland Liberals after the 1983 losses he set about […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 8:32 am |
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December 13, 2007 | Graham
Beattie’s disgraceful Fabian speech
Peter Beattie, who once hounded a governor-general from office because he didn’t show enough empathy with victims of paedophilia, can’t even say sorry for the disgraceful treatment of a young Aurukun girl which occurred while he was Premier.
In a speech to the Fabian Society in Sydney he blamed everyone […] Continue Reading…
Posted by Graham at 8:51 am |
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