Review of ‘Pushing Our Luck: ideas for Australian progress’

If you want an alternative to the Abbott future for Australia, this book is for you. It has the ideas and policy approaches with which to bombard politicians and opinion-makers.

The publisher, the Centre for Policy Development (CPD), was established in 2007, a progressive think-tank that grew out of New Matilda, providing an important counter to right-wing think-tanks such as the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) and the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA).

This IPA article is an example of what we are up against and why this book is so important.

In its six years of operation, CPD has already influenced Labor policy on health and its members regularly attend conferences, write articles, and make appearances on The Drum on ABC News 24. A young organisation, CPD is already making its mark. The people involved and who have contributed to this book help explain why. Many of the authors, experts in their field, you will know: for example, the editor Miriam Lyons; Eva Cox on welfare; Ian McAuley on restructuring the economy; Jane Caro, well-known from the ABC’s Gruen Transfer and a strong proponent of public education, one of two authors on education; and Geoff Gallup, former WA Premier, on a national vision and strategy.

I come to this book after 30 years of policy work in Aboriginal affairs, covering issues such as education and training, economic development and ‘development approaches’ to service delivery. I understand policy, and implementing policy, and the interplay of economic and social issues as they affect everyday lives. I know and like what this book is about.

Pushing Our Luck presents a wide ranging picture of the changes needed in our economic and social structures if we are to maintain our ‘luck’ into the future. Its approach matches my own experience linking people and economics, not considering the two as somehow divorced.

Such a linkage was stated strongly by the OECD in 2005:

... children of poor parents have less chance of succeeding in life than children of rich parents: a widening inequality of income risks leading to a widening inequality of opportunity. Because of these factors, a failure to tackle the poverty facing millions of families and their children is not only socially reprehensible, it will also weigh heavily on our capacity to sustain economic growth for years to come.

Despite that, our governments appear not to have come to grips with the concept. This book does and deserves attention; and deserves to be put under the noses of our politicians.

The ‘Introduction’ (by the editor, Miriam Lyons) asks the question why Australians feel financially insecure when economic indicators suggest Australia is at or very near the top of the league of developed countries. There is rising inequality and governments are providing fewer services, placing more risk and uncertainty back on the individual. The economy of the nation may be travelling well but many people are working longer, often in less secure employment, and not seeing the benefits of our economic success.

Returning to the old Australian concept of a fair and egalitarian society is part of the answer. Lindy Edwards pursues this in Chapter 9, ‘Welcome Home: Preventing the next culture war’. She asks for more emphasis on Australia’s democratic history: the radical path we trod in the late 1800s and early 1900s, giving women the vote and allowing ordinary people, not just an elite, to be elected to parliament. She relates the story of an early member of the Australian Parliament making a speech with holes in his suit pants because it was the only suit he had. The fact that Australia had the world’s first Labo(u)r government was no accident but a result of our founders ensuring that ordinary people were drawn into the political process.

The idea that human societies are not chained to repeating history and that we can create a better world runs deep in the Australian tradition. In recent years we have lost sight of how rare that philosophy was, and still is.

She calls her approach ‘egalitarian nationalism’ and presents it as an alternative but inclusive national narrative to that of multiculturalism. It is also highly relevant to the rest of the book as such a shift in our national narrative could create greater acceptance of the alternative policy proposals.

In both the health chapter (Chapter 3, ‘Getting better: prescriptions for an ailing health system’, Jennifer Doggett) and the education chapter (Chapter 2, ‘Getting past Gonski: every child deserves a good school’, Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro), the authors show the increasing divide occurring in access to services, with the well-off using private schools and private hospitals while public systems remain under-resourced.

In education both higher and lower achieving students are becoming more concentrated in separate schools. The authors support the Gonski approach to increase funding to those schools most in need but suggest neither the Coalition nor Labor is committed to taking all the steps necessary for equity and opportunity.

It is amazing that we are still discussing inequality in education. I have, from a time when we did believe in equality, Tom Roper’s 1971 book The Myth of Equality. In the subsequent 42 years there have been many changes in our education systems but Roper would recognise the same failings. We have not provided the funding necessary, nor adopted the policies that would change it. I agree that much needs to be done, perhaps even more than suggested by this chapter.

Eva Cox’s chapter on welfare (Chapter 4, ‘Putting society first: welfare for wellbeing’) argues for welfare payments that provide a reasonable income, not a minimalist safety net, and that pushing people into employment should not be the driving force behind welfare support. She refers to our current job market offering fewer secure jobs with predictable hours as a problem that our welfare system must address.

International literature refers to such work as ‘precarious’ employment and it is covered in detail in Chapter 6, ‘Taking the high road: a future that works for workers’ by Lisa Heap. Australia has an increasing number of workers who are casual, part-time, on fixed term contracts and similar forms of non-standard employment that may not offer the benefits of holidays, sick leave and so on. She proposes a basic set of conditions that should apply to all workers irrespective of whether they are full- or part-time. Employers are also avoiding their responsibilities to their workers by using them as sub-contractors or taking them from labour hire companies. This requires a broader definition of employment. Government, business managers, industry associations and unions need to look afresh at the way we now work rather than maintain an out-dated focus on ‘male full-time employment’.

In Chapter 5 (‘After the boom: where will growth come from?’, Roy Green) and Chapter 7 (‘Life after luck: building a more resilient economy’, Ian McAuley) the proposals are about productivity and economic restructuring. Green argues for new and smarter management and quotes evidence that changes in management have a proportionally greater impact on productivity than changes in labour and capital. The changes we need include not just technical but organisational innovation.

McAuley says our reliance, historically, on resources like gold, iron ore and coal has created a mentality not conducive to a modern economy.

Both agree we need to add value to our products and that simply reducing costs is no longer an answer. McAuley puts it like this:

Cost-based competition will always be a struggle. Instead focus on providing so much customer value through products or services that they can command premium prices.

As expected on such an issue, Chapter 8, ‘Climate change: reconnecting politics with reality’, John Wiseman goes furthest regarding the changes required to meet the challenges. Issues of productivity, economic restructuring, and creating an equitable society also link with these changes. A key difference in this argument is that the time has passed for incremental change. It is now necessary to adopt something like a ‘war footing’ to achieve a rapid transition to a new carbon-free economy.

In the book, ‘Chipping in: paying for a good society’ is rightly the first chapter, but I also link it to the big picture of the final chapter because it addresses how the alternative policies can be funded by government. Four authors were involved in this chapter (so I won’t list them all). I liked their reference to the ‘reality triangle’ in the business world: ‘fast, ‘good’ and ‘cheap’. The concept is that a product or service can achieve any two of these but never successfully all three. They suggest a similar triangle for governments: ‘low taxes’, ‘balanced budgets’ and ‘high quality public services’. In the electoral chase to lower taxes, we have been running into problems with the other two.

They propose changes to increase revenue and suggest the electorate may accept increased taxes if these quickly result in improved services, or if it can at least be shown that the increased revenue is committed to the services. That is consistent with the general support for tax levies identified for specific purposes, such as the ‘gun buy-back’, the ‘flood levy’ and the increase to the Medicare levy to help fund the NDIS.

The last chapter (Chapter 10, ‘The vision thing: we need a national plan’) by Geoff Gallop, provides a means to draw together the previous proposals. The author discusses a national plan and points to some successful approaches through the COAG Reform Agenda and the earlier introduction of the National Competition Policy.

It focuses too much on the practical aspects (as important as they are) and ignores key elements of a ‘vision’. In my experience, the vision is vital in showing how the underlying strategies fit into the whole: for example, how the education strategy ties into economic and social inclusivity strategies; why ‘a’ must precede ‘b’, thereby allowing people to understand why there is increased funding for one and not the other.

It should be obvious that one can’t provide refrigeration and computers to a community that doesn’t have a reliable electrical supply but that is a situation I encountered in my working life. It arises if a strategy is not linked effectively to an overall vision or, sometimes, an attitude that the important precursors are too expensive so let’s move straight to the cheaper parts. They are issues that can be overcome in the logic of the vision. Politicians should play a key part in explaining that logic – but first they have to find a vision! Starting with the policies in this book would help them.

In this short review I cannot do justice to the policies, evidence and background presented. For example, I found the first chapter on tax reform also effective as an economics primer. There is much to be found here, including the many sources listed at the end of each chapter.

This collection of articles, although only ten in number, is vital in developing an overall progressive vision for the future of Australia, one building on our luck not relying on it, and again making Australia an egalitarian society. I strongly recommend it for your Christmas list.

Pushing our Luck: Ideas for Australian Progress edited by Miriam Lyons with Adrian March and Ashley Hogan, published 2013 by the Centre for Policy Development, Haymarket NSW

If you want more information, or a copy of the book go to the Centre for Policy Development.




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tpsteam

24/11/2013Think tanks play a useful role in the development of a society. They fund the generation of ideas. It is pleasing to know that there are progressive "think tanks" in Australia as well as the better known conservative groups that seem to be able to garner significant media attention to prosecute their case. The Centre for Policy Development did not offer and [i]The Political Sword[/i] did not request any inducement for this review. When the Centre for Policy Development contacted [i]The Political Sword[/i] and suggested that their "e-book" be reviewed, we were honoured to have been considered. Ken Wolff (who is a regular contributor to this site) bravely put his hand up to download and read the "e-book" to make the decision if it was worthy of review. Ken's opinion is that the "e-book" adds to the current political discussion and should be on your Christmas list. This website wishes CPD every success with the sales of this book and commends it to our readers. As usual your comments are welcome.

Ad astra

24/11/2013Ken Wolff Thank you Ken for your review of this important book, made as it is against the background of your experience in policy development. As a progressive party, Labor needs to put as much effort into policy formulation as the conservative think tanks. As George Lakoff points out, in the US conservative think tanks are numerous, well funded, and very active. Progressive think tanks lag behind. The same seems to be the case here. The issue of equity comes up several times in your review, with regard to education, health, employment and welfare. If Lakoff’s thesis is to be believed, inequity results from the two very different viewpoints that conservatives and progressives have, from their different basic ideologies. Conservatives believe that those who are doing well deserve their rewards, while those who are lagging behind, the ‘have-nots’, deserve their lesser status, and ought not be supported by the ‘haves’. With such dissimilar worldviews, how can these two philosophies ever meet, how can they be reconciled, how can equity be ever achieved? It is salutary that this attempt has been made to outline a progressive agenda. It is to be hoped that Labor will study it and use the advice it offers to create a set of policies that will attract the electorate, one that will have more appeal than the conservative agenda with which we are afflicted at present. In the piece I am preparing for December, I will elaborate on Lakoff’s thesis, which provides an enlightening model that explains so much of contemporary political thought and action.

Ken

24/11/2013Ad Thank you for your comment. I agree on the basic difference between progressive and conservative approaches. On the other hand, the point behind my quote of the OECD was to indicate that even mainstream economic organisations recognise that a successful economy also requires successful social policies and not allowing increasing inequality I just don't understand why the conservatives don't get that. It's not as though the OECD is left-wing organisation!! I used to read a lot of OECD stuff when I was working because, more often than not, I would find our government would follow OECD policies within 18-24 months.

Casablanca

25/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Monday, 25 November 2013; 45 items[/b] SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 1. Australia's spy agencies targeted Indonesian president's mobile phone Ewen MacAskill in New York and Lenore Taylor in Canberra Secret documents revealed by Edward Snowden show Australia tried to monitor the mobile calls of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Kristiani Herawati. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/18/australia-tried-to-monitor-indonesian-presidents-phone 2. The slides that show Australian attempts to monitor Yudhoyono's phone Top secret documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal the Indonesian president, his wife and senior ministers were surveillance targets http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/18/slides-australian-yudhoyono-phone-indonesia 3. Indonesia's telcos to investigate their role in the phone tapping of president Australian Associated Press Communications minister gives Indonesian phone companies a week to investigate whether they helped Australian spies. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/indonesia-telcos-investigate-role-phone-tapping 4. Spying row: Australians deserve accountable intelligence services Malcolm Fraser The government should call for a review of its surveillance services to re-establish trust with Indonesia. Australians deserve to know that security services have not run amok http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/22/spying-row-australians-deserve-accountable-intelligence-services?CMP=ema_632 5. Australia’s row with Indonesia might mark a turning point for the good Natalie Sambhi The two nations have always had their ups and downs: the latest diplomatic rift could bring about new opportunities for honesty http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/australias-row-with-indonesia-might-mark-a-turning-point-for-the-good 6. Australia-Indonesia spying row: how the international press sees it Bridie Jabour Time targets Mark Textor’s awkward contribution while the New York Times wonders why the US has been spared opprobrium http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/australia-indonesia-spying-row-how-the-international-press-sees-it ABBOTT & TEXTOR 7. Mark Textor quits Twitter after death threats Michaela Whitbourn The managing director and co-founder of lobbying firm CrosbyTextor provoked a public backlash on Wednesday after he posted a series of racially-loaded tweets about top Indonesian government figures. Liberal pollster Mark Textor has quit Twitter after receiving death threats over his controversial posts about Indonesia's response to the phone-tapping revelations. Mr Textor reportedly said there were "too many death threats" and "it's not worth the oxygen", according to one tweet. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/mark-textor-quits-twitter-after-death-threats-20131123-2y2hf.html 8. Abbott will need to make those words good Michelle Grattan The most extraordinary intervention in a disastrous week for Australian-Indonesian relations came out of the blue. Who could have anticipated the provocative tweeting by Liberal party pollster Mark Textor?.. With feelings running high in Indonesia, the Textor behaviour added (literally) insult to injury and reinforced Indonesian impressions of the ugly Australian. http://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-abbott-will-need-to-make-those-words-good-20624 9. Saving face: lessons for Abbott on working with Indonesia Monika Winarnita & Nicholas Herriman It’s a cliché to say that saving face is important in Asian culture, but there is an underlying truth to this in Indonesian culture. If you don’t act malu when you should, you risk offending somebody. And one very formal – if rarely used – insult is tidak tahu malu, or: “you don’t have a sense of shame”. This was a prominent theme when Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono complained on Twitter about “the statement by Australia’s PM that belittles that spying on Indonesia", which was without rasa bersalah, which means “without feeling guilty/wrong” or “without remorse”. So, what’s the upshot of the diplomatic row? It’s clear that Abbott leads a rookie government that has backed itself into a corner. http://theconversation.com/saving-face-lessons-for-abbott-on-working-with-indonesia-20545 ABBOTT 10. Abbott 'lacks diplomacy skills', says former Indonesian intelligence chief Oliver Laughland Tubagus Hasanuddin calls for apology, as all non-urgent police co-operation between Australia and Indonesia is suspended http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/abbott-lacks-diplomacy-skills-says-former-indonesian-intelligence-chief 11. An Open Letter to Abbott voters Victoria Rollison ...you probably noticed, or more likely didn’t unless Kyle Sandilands/Stefanovic mentioned it, that approximately 60,000 Australians turned out on Sunday to rally for action to combat climate change. You know, climate change, that thing that you deny, discount, laugh at, and generally ignore every time you have the opportunity. And yes, if you’re an Abbott voter, I do believe it’s fair to put you in this bucket. http://victoriarollison.com/ 12. The Art of the Non-Apology Tracey Spicer. (May 30, 2013) Apologise early – and often http://thehoopla.com.au/art-non-apology/ 13. Played off a Break Andrew Elder The government has filled the (media) vacuum with a stable of Spokespeople You Have When Your Decision-Makers Go To Ground. People like Maurice Newman, Peter Reith, Amanda Vanstone, Alexander Downer, and even David Murray aren't just old hands with relevance-deprivation syndrome. They speak for the government when the government can't be bothered speaking for itself. Who are they who govern us? What are they about? The press gallery can't and won't see it, let alone explain it to us. http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/played-off-break.html 14. So far, Abbott’s best is not good enough Barrie Cassidy A Labor government created the problem with Indonesia, but only the Prime Minister can fix it. So far, he has done nothing other than place fresh impediments in the path of a solution. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-22/cassidy-indonesia/5110070?WT.mc_id=newsmail 15. Abbott cartoonist recalled to ridicule PM Justin Hale and Michael Bachelard The publication of a sexually lurid cartoon of Tony Abbott on the front page of Indonesia’s Rakyat Merdeka newspaper on Saturday is the second time in seven years that the same newspaper has courted the outrage of Australians by inking an offensive image of the Prime Minister. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/abbott-cartoonist-recalled-to-ridicule-pm-20131124-2y3e9.html 16. Politics, a Peep and a Pull Lauren Rosewarne Spying is portrayed as akin to peeping, phone-tapping to snow-dropping and espionage as the kind of porn that only the sleaziest scumbag could get off on. A clever image, a crass image, and one that can only work in a world where autoeroticism still chafes. http://theconversation.com/politics-a-peep-and-a-pull-20680 POLITICS 17. Coalition to axe pay rise for 30,000 childcare workers Bianca Hall A $300 million funding boost aimed at improving the wages of 30,000 childcare workers looks increasingly likely to be axed as the federal government continues to sit on the Labor-approved initiative. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/coalition-to-axe-pay-rise-for-30000-childcare-workers-20131123-2y2ma.html 18. Peak car: has Australia reached the limit? Errol Brandt @e2mq173 reports Errol Brandt Tony Abbott told Australians during the election campaign that he wanted to be known as ‘the infrastructure Prime Minister’. He may have made an excellent ‘infrastructure Prime Minister’ in 1963, but his ideas on transport don’t make sense in 2013... If the research is correct, history will show that Abbott’s transport priorities were completely wrong. The age of ‘peak car’ has arrived in Australia. http://nofibs.com.au/2013/11/22/peak-car-australia-reached-limit-errol-brandt-e2mq173-reports/#sthash.z0uFfW9F.dpuf 19. 10 Things - Yes, Tony, illegal torture can be difficult Andrew P Street Tony Abbott has had the misfortunate to be holding this particular hot potato when the music stopped, and has leapt into damage control in his own uniquely-effective way: by avoiding the specifics of the accusations but taking a more general overview of whether spying is fun and exciting in the abstract, and also seeming to argue that it's just another way of showing that we care. After all, Indonesia baby, we only snoop because we love you so much. Why you gotta be so cold? http://www.thevine.com.au/life/news/10-things-yes-tony-illegal-torture-can-be-difficult-20131119-268531 20. Patchy Politics & a Diplo-Shemozzle Paula Matthewson In politics, consistency is king. It’s only by being steadfastly constant that a politician can cut through the multimedia dross in voters’ everyday lives to leave a residual understanding of What They Stand For. This imprint is what shapes voters’ final decision on polling day. Tony Abbott’s consistent approach delivered his success in the 2013 federal election. Coalition voters were reassured by the reliability of Abbott’s three word slogans, his ubiquitous blue ties and his unapologetically alpha male persona. http://thehoopla.com.au/patchy-politics-diplo-shemozzle/ LABOR 21. Tony Abbott badly shaken but Labor can't be complacent Michael Gordon Some honeymoon. The first post-election Herald-Nielsen Poll is a reality check for Coalition MPs who think the election was an emphatic vote for their people and policies. It wasn't. It was a referendum on a rabble that could not muster the collective wit, will and discipline to govern itself and, as a result, was ruled ineligible to govern the country. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/tony-abbott-badly-shaken-but-labor-cant-be-complacent-20131124-2y42u.html?rand=1385301889737 22. To Zip or Not to Zip … And Other Tragedies Sarah Capper Rudd’s manic behaviour leading up to his 2010 replacement, his insistence on making and formulating policy decisions on his own, as well as other behavioural anomalies (or again, as Cassidy writes, his tendency of being “autocratic, exclusive, disrespectful and at times flat-out abusive”) led to his downfall. http://nofibs.com.au/2013/11/23/zip-zip-tragedies/#sthash.kcincFsj.dpuf 23. Voter mood turns on Coalition Mark Kenny Bill Shorten has made the strongest debut of any opposition leader since Kevin Rudd, propelling Labor into the lead against a government weighed down by its secretive asylum seeker response and an unconvincing commitment to action on global warming. The first Fairfax-Nielsen poll since the election on September 7 has charted a rapid recovery for the ALP, with the opposition shooting to a 52 to 48 per cent lead over the government, according to the preferences of respondents. This is the quickest poll lead achieved by any federal opposition after losing an election. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/voter-mood-turns-on-coalition-20131124-2y436.html ECONOMY + BUSINESS 24. Will Abbott be deficient on deficits? Ross Gittins Will the Abbott government ultimately be judged a great reforming government or the worst money manager since Whitlam? In a delicious irony considering all the phoney outrage Abbott & Co expressed on the subject in opposition, this judgment will turn on how they respond to the budget's deep structural problems. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/will-abbott-be-deficient-on-deficits-20131124-2y3wg.html 25. Ageing and the participation rate: an update Matt Cowgill After reaching an all-time high of 65.8% in November 2010, the proportion of people aged 15+ who are either in work or actively looking for work has declined sharply, hitting 64.8% in October this year. An important question for policy makers is this: is the participation rate declining because people are being discouraged from looking for work, or is it declining as a natural consequence of the ageing of the population? http://mattcowgill.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/ageing-and-the-participation-rate-an-update/#more-1708 26. Grattan Institute plan delays access to superannuation and aged pension until 70 Peter Martin Australians would be denied access to both superannuation and the age pension until they turned 70 under a radical plan that goes far beyond the one proposed by the Productivity Commission last week. The pension access age is currently scheduled to climb six months from 65 to 65½ in 2017. After that it will climb six months every two years until it reaches 67 in 2017. A new proposal from the Grattan Institute would double the pace from 2017 onwards, lifting the access age by six months every year until it hits 70 in 2025. After that it would be progressively lifted further in line with increases in lifespans, with no ultimate limit. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/grattan-institute-plan-delays-access-to-superannuation-and-aged-pension-until-70-20131124-2y3w6.html#ixzz2lZmMEaTK PHILOSOPHY, VALUES + ETHICS 27. The ethics of spying Andrew Hamilton Almost all [political] commentators agree that it is all right for governments to conceal from their people and parliaments the fact that they are spying on them and on world leaders.... An ethical approach to spying, lying and handling secrets should begin by reflecting on communication. In order to flourish we need to communicate with other human beings to develop relationships, do business, form groups and develop our world. And effective communication depends on a level of trust between the conversation partners. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38548#.UpH4QbeqpZY 28. Media misdirection Mark Pearson The ultimate test of ethical political reporting in a democracy is the extent to which that journalism best informs the citizenry to maximise the value of each and every vote. In that respect, Australian journalism still has much to learn. http://www.ethics.org.au/living-ethics/media-misdirection 29. Mark Textor and Ethics in the Age of Transparency Frances Jones “For some time now the Labor opposition has been highlighting the insidious and corrupting influence of Mark Textor on the Liberal Party, federal and state, and his growing influence on broad public policy in this country. We now have further evidence of his application of wedge politics within the Liberal Party, of the tactics of division and betrayal to achieve personal and political ends, no matter what the cost.” http://francesjones.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/mark-textor-and-ethics-in-the-age-of-transparency/ 30. On asylum Simon Longstaff The tragic loss of ... asylum seekers is bound to prompt fresh debate about Australian Government policies and what role, if any, these have played in sealing the fate of those lost to the deep. What follows does not consider the legal foundations for sound policy in this area. Rather, I wish to strip back to its bare ethical bones our national response to asylum seekers. So, to begin. http://www.ethics.org.au/living-ethics/asylum 31. Defying conventions Ben Saul In August 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Committee found that Australia’s indefinite detention of refugees alleged to pose security risks was contrary to Australia’s international human rights obligations. Despite this finding, Australia continues to unlawfully detain the refugees. The dismissal of the UN findings raises grave ethical questions about Australia’s commitment to its own legal promises, its standing as a good international citizen, and its moral authority to influence human rights in other countries. http://www.ethics.org.au/living-ethics/defying-conventions 32. Imaginative connections between Haiyan and climate change Andrew Hamilton When the typhoon and climate change are brought together in conversation and in postings on articles like this one, the discussion almost always becomes didactic, rebarbative and abstract. It seems impossible to focus on the persons whose lives have been lost and to explore with open minds and hearts the connections between their fate and the ways in which we handle the natural world. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38536#.UpIAdreqpZY 33. Governor-General shames politicians by leading public debate Mark Fletcher Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, has sent chins a-wagging, fingers a-shaking, tuts a-tutting, and brows a-furrowing for having the audacity to demonstrate that she is a woman of formidable intellect. Ordinarily, any woman in Australia demonstrating such qualities mark themselves out for abuse of some kind or other, but this particular round of sanctimonious disapproval stems from Ms Bryce’s decision to occupy the role of public leader while simultaneously occupying the role of Head of State....The Governor-General is in something of a unique position within our political environment. She doesn’t have anything to gain from expressing one view or another. She can engage, encourage, and lead a conversation without worrying about political advantage. She is the closest thing we’ve got to a Philosopher-King. When we’re so sick and tired of the political spin cycle, how refreshing it is to have somebody genuine and inspirational to engage in the conversation. http://ausopinion.com/2013/11/24/governor-general-shames-politicians-by-leading-public-debate/ 34. My experience as a nurse on Christmas Island changed the core of my being Emma Hunter Working with asylum seekers as a mental health nurse has transformed me and challenged my ethics, but I am proud to have shown compassion to people with unbearably tragic stories http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/21/my-experience-as-a-nurse-on-christmas-island-changed-the-core-of-my-being?CMP=ema_632 35. Power and the inconvenience of truth Tony Fitzgerald, QC The media causes another major distortion when it takes sides, which is a significant concern in Australia where media ownership is highly concentrated and some - for whatever reason - is ostentatiously biased. Advertising seeks to persuade. Propaganda seeks to deceive and is most effective when the truth is hidden. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/power-and-the-inconvenience-of-truth-20131122-2y1et.html#ixzz2lZqoOr5v ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 36. Carbon Emissions on Tragic Trajectory Stephen Leahy & John Hartz Burning of fossil fuels added a record 36 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere in 2013, locking in even more heating of the planet. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=2302 37. As jellyfish lap up warmer conditions, our ecosystem is getting wobbly Peter Hannam Australians heading to the beach this summer will be on alert for jellyfish and their trailing tentacles. When it comes to jellies, though, getting stung may be the least of our worries. Earlier this year, Whyalla faced a wipe-out unrelated to the carbon tax when a massive jellyfish bloom threatened local fisheries and ecosystems. Last month, Sweden's Oskarshamn nuclear plant shut down a reactor after jellyfish clogged its seawater pipes, the latest of a series of similar incidents. ''Most people just don't have any idea about the havoc that jellyfish are causing,'' said Lisa-ann Gershwin, a CSIRO research scientist and author of Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/as-jellyfish-lap-up-warmer-conditions-our-ecosystem-is-getting-wobbly-20131123-2y2q4.html#ixzz2lZjt85ol 38. Calm solar cycle prompts questions AAP The surface of the sun has been surprisingly calm of late - with fewer sunspots than anytime in the last century - prompting curious scientists to wonder just what it might mean here on Earth. Sunspots have been observed for millennia – first by Chinese astronomers and then, for the first time with a telescope, by Galileo in 1610. The sunspots appear in roughly 11-year cycles – increasing to a daily flurry and then subsiding drastically, before amping up again. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/calm-solar-cycle-prompts-questions-20131124-2y46p.html#ixzz2lZm57aBl 39. China surprised and disappointed by Australia’s carbon repeal Giles Parkinson Chinese officials have expressed their surprise and disappointment that Australia is seeking to repeal its carbon price, just as the world’s second largest economy and biggest polluter prepares to launch new carbon trading schemes of its own, and seek linkages with international markets. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/china-surprised-and-disappointed-by-australias-carbon-repeal-11338 ASYLUM SEEKERS 40. Asylum seeker children evacuated from Nauru due to health issues Julie-Anne Davies, Bianca Hall A group of unaccompanied child asylum seekers has been transferred from Nauru to Brisbane amid concerns about their mental health and fears they may try to self-harm. The medical evacuation, which began on Friday, has occurred in part because the Nauruan government has expressed safety concerns about the children. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/asylum-seeker-children-evacuated-from-nauru-due-to-health-issues-20131123-2y2mb.html 41. N. Sumatra loosens control over boat people Apriadi Gunawan and Bambang Muryanto. Immigration offices in a number of provinces have taken different measures in dealing with boat people heading to Australia through Indonesian waters, following the escalating political tension between Indonesia and Australia. In North Sumatra, the head of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Agency, Rustanov, said that no special surveillance of boat people heading to Australia would be conducted. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/23/n-sumatra-loosens-control-over-boat-people.html FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 42. Freedom: A Moving Feast Mr Denmore It's a curious brand of tribal tub-thumping by an organisation whose affinity with the concept of press freedom seems to wax and wane depending on who is in power - if it's a centre-left government, the state is the enemy; if it's their natural allies of the right, it's 'daddy knows best'... All the pious rhetoric about press freedom - much of it self-interested twaddle from the News Corp stable - is thus revealed as little more than a veneer of self-glorification constructed to protect its own commercial and ideological imperatives. http://thefailedestate.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/freedom-moving-feast.html 43. Ugly divisions proving unhelpful Bianca Hall For who is being blamed for the the government's predicament, now that the Indonesians have cut co-operation on people smuggling and military operations? You guessed it: the so-called leftist media, including the ABC, Guardian Australia and Fairfax. ''The hypocrites,'' thundered conservative columnist Andrew Bolt. ''The scoundrels. And is it too much to say they've sold out their country?'' Well, yes. Dubbing a free media ''treasonous'' for reporting on matters of public interest is baffling in the extreme, but it is exactly what many in the online Outrage Brigade have been doing for the past week, fanned by the likes of Bolt and his News Ltd colleague, Miranda Devine. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/ugly-divisions-proving-unhelpful-20131123-2y2fz.html 44. A free press is valuable, no matter what it costs Annabel Crabb What do Ani Yudhoyono's mobile phone, Nathan Rees' sex life and my pay packet have in common? http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/a-free-press-is-valuable-no-matter-what-it-costs-20131123-2y2fh.html 45. Review: Murdoch’s World – the last of the old media empires David McKnight David Folkenflik’s Murdoch’s World. It’s a well written account of some of the most dramatic events surrounding Murdoch’s career and impact. Folkenflik argues the hacking scandal reflects a corporate culture at News, a culture in which there is a contempt for rules which govern the rest of us. In Britain this took the form of no-holds-barred journalism in which cops were bribed and the law systematically broken. In Australia this culture of contempt for rules translates into a disregard for any balance when reporting certain issues or in targeting Murdoch’s enemies du jour. http://theconversation.com/review-murdochs-world-the-last-of-the-old-media-empires-20606 SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 25 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ###############################################################

Casablanca

25/11/2013 CASABLANCA'S CACHE Monday, 25 November 2013; 45 items[b] SBY said 'malu' towards us: Abbott heard 'maul' us![/b] (see item 9) http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/CASABLANCAS-CACHE-%28Current-Ed%29.aspx …

2353

25/11/2013Good reporting of the Neilsen Poll by Fairfax this morning (apart from the numbers looking reasonably good). This paragraph gives us a basis for determining the accuracy of the numbers that are headlined. [quote]THE NIELSEN POLL IS DONE ON LANDLINE TELEPHONES NATIONWIDE. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED NOVEMBER 21-23 WITH 1400 RESPONDENTS. MAXIMUM MARGIN OF SAMPLING ERROR TO APPLY TO THIS SAMPLE IS +/2.6%.[/quote] http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-storms-ahead-20131124-2y43r.html#ixzz2lbARNL9H So using this paragraph, we know that any value within 2.5% is really to close to call and if a household does not have a landline phone, their opinion was not sought. Given the age distribution of those without landlines, unless the pollster "moderated" the poll, it could be said that younger demographics are under-represented. Well done Fairfax - unlike Sunrise on 7 this morning where the results were reported as a "shock" and not the first item on the half hourly "news" segment.

jaycee

25/11/2013Have to laugh...theo polls go down and suddenly oppn' ministers are back hustling the airwaves....from kissing cod in fish-factories to kissing media arse in five minutes! The article is interesting and will draw me out later...

Jason

25/11/2013What is Open Labor? For more than a century the ALP has represented the hopes of millions of people. Many good people within it have fought for the big changes that have made Australia a better society. Yet the Labor Party is struggling to find the ideas and ideals to inspire Australians. Its structures and rules too often serve the interests of those who hold power, not the wider community and nation. We are a group of people – insiders and outsiders – who seek renewal of the Labor Party and a more open, optimistic and decent politics in Australia http://www.openlabor.net.au/

42 long

25/11/2013Labor does have to find it's evolving base but others need to also. I would say moreso because they only chant slogans they think encapsulates a process the keeps them in control and well served. Pretty much what has been around for centuries but refined to perpetuate it more effectively ( for them) Labor still has much more for most than they others and a fair go is still there, in it's core values. It still can represent the MAJORITY of the decent people of the country and produce a fair system with opportunity available for ALL it's citizens. Some formula for structure will always be argued. The FAR right can't act for anything but a select group that need control to continue and exploit the environment, and it's lesser citizens, for profit. Profit is their GOD and the guidelines they use don't take non-economic issues into the COST of the outcome. Ultimately there will be a cost, of this omission and we will ALL pay then. As far as the latest poor poll for the Phoney abbott mob, being a "SHOCK", obviously you can't fool all of the people all of the time. It restores (to some extent) my faith in the ordinary person, who has been worked over by "experts" of the art of deception. I hope the ultimate reaction will be a very strong one and Murky shown the DOOR with his LACKEYS, and their "childish" behaviour

Casablanca

25/11/2013At home with Abbott This can only be a Peta/Abbott PR stunt to give the impression that Abbott is humble and 'affable' and neighbourly and a man unaffected by the trappings of high office. The fact that the AFP have to guard 4 properties is glossed over, though the article does mention the $3,000pw unused residence in Canberra. [b]Being neighbourly in Forestville means you can keep up with the Abbotts[/b] Kim Arlington With The Lodge undergoing repairs, Mr Abbott stays at the Australian Police College while in Canberra, leaving a mansion rented on his behalf empty at a cost to taxpayers of $3000 a week. He is awaiting security advice before deciding whether to exchange Forestville, 15 kilometres from the CBD, for the harbourside Kirribilli House. No money has been spent on the family home to upgrade security. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/being-neighbourly-in-forestville-means-you-can-keep-up-with-the-abbotts-20131124-2y3xu.html

jaycee

25/11/2013Jason..sounds interestung...will peruse the policy and get back later...(at work).

jaycee

25/11/2013This idea of "cannibal economics", where you have one section of the community "feeding" off another via profiteering or wage-suppression...facillitated (in most part by conservative)by a manipulative media, has to be a thing of the past...I think we need to look to the European model societies that seem to encourage a more social equal / inclusive philosophy.

Catching Up

25/11/2013Does one get the impression, that O’Farrel might have no lover for Abbott and co. The NSW eduction minister has sided with Shorten, and sent out a warning to Pyne. ABC 24

Catching Up

25/11/2013 One could say, if religious, forgive them father, they know not what they do. Trouble is, this mob do know what they are doing. What they do not comprehend that only disaster will come from the beliefs and actions. They live for a utopian world, in their eyes. A world where those with the money and power rule. One where there are no things as taxes and regulations. One were the worker is kept poor, to serve their needs. Yes, they live for a pure capitalist economy. There is no such thing as an equitable world in their eyes. They see the only thing a government should be involved in, is defence and law and order. Not to keep them, those with the money and power, in line, but to control the populace. They say taxes are a discentive to business, yet over the last century or more, we have seen our world go forward in great leaps and bounds. We have seen more live worthwhile lives, over which they have some control. We have also seen for the last few decades, where lower taxes has been the aim, an increase among the have and have nots. Thanks for great moves forward in technology and communications, we have seen the economies of the world becoming global. At the same time, we have seen the inability to tax the same industries within the global concept. The answer seems to be, to put all the responsibly for taxes back on those at the bottom. Yes, Father, they do know what they do. Is this the world the rest of us want?

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25/11/2013I would regard them as some form of "Cult" at best and unsatisfactory as a model of government. If you don't condemn them on that basis, you could do it on lack of collective and individual intelligence ( with about one exception). You could do it by examining who supports them and what benefit THEY want in return as a criteria. You could consider things like INTEGRITY but we are getting into the realm of make believe there.

Catching Up

25/11/2013http://ghostwhovotes.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/nielsen-131125.png Interesting, it is the young that appear to be turning. The oldies still taking time to wake up.

jaycee

25/11/2013UK Labour call in Hawker..? http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/24/labour-australian-strategist-rightwing-attacks Might as well call for Groucho Marx!

Catching Up

25/11/2013Mr. Abbott must have thought it was not worth his time telling us about this. Wonder why? Where does it leave us, with what has happened in relation to the agreement on Iran. Seems once again, Abbott is the only one in step. Tony Abbott quietly shifts UN position to support Israeli settlements, upsetting Palestinians Jonathan Swan [quote].........The UN votes have largely gone unnoticed during the past fortnight as the Australian media has fixated on the Indonesian spying crisis. Bob Carr. "A shame, in the deepest sense": Bob Carr comments on Australia's decision to vote against the resolution. Photo: Marco Del Grande In keeping with the Abbott government's tight hold on information, there have been no news conferences about these changes in Middle East policy. Nor did the Abbott government consult the Palestinian community before making the changes, according to the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Izzat Abdulhadi. ''It is ver......... Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/tony-abbott-quietly-shifts-un-position-to-support-israeli-settlements-upsetting-palestinians-20131124-2y434.html#ixzz2lcp94CrA[/quote] http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/tony-abbott-quietly-shifts-un-position-to-support-israeli-settlements-upsetting-palestinians-20131124-2y434.html#ixzz2lcp94CrA

Catching Up

25/11/2013Listening to news on Iran. If things go bottom up, which seems likely, who do we back. Israel or the USA?

42 long

25/11/2013What effort at peace has Netanyahoo ever promoted?. USA responded to a more reasonable than most Iranian leader. Why not give it a try. What is the other alternative? More of the same. but getting worse? It is all end of the world stuff.

Ken

25/11/2013Just been following today's comments. Some interesting ones that relate to the book review - namely the type of progressive policies that Labor should adopt. Catching up The west bank housing issue is interesting. I always find it ironic that Israel labels so many opponents as 'terrorists' when Israel itself was founded on terrorism (against the English at the time). As you say, it places Abbott and Bishop in a strange position. The Yanks voted against the motion at the UN and Oz abstained but it was a shift in Australia's previous stand. And what has happened to Australia as Chair of the Security Council? Has that already ended? There has been absolutely nothing said about it.

Ken

25/11/2013jaycee @2:34 Agree about Hawker. I think he is useless. Groucho Marx would at least come up with some better 'slogans'.

jaycee

25/11/2013Why is it that upon reading the MSM. commentariat, and at the back of my mind is the mind-numbing, oafish, stupidity of the Australian electorate.....do I feel akin to living the myth of Sisyphus ?

Casablanca

26/11/2013 Jane Cattermole ‏@janecat60 14h “RT@James_Jeffrey: I'm guessing Abbott won't be changing his nickname for Shorten to [b]Electability Bill[/b] #newspoll #boomtish #earlydays #cough

Casablanca

26/11/2013 Whit Goughlam ‏@leftocentre 3h What do you call the difference between the education minister's pre election promises and implementation? [b]Pyne Gap[/b].

Casablanca

26/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Tuesday, 26 November 2013; 52 items[/b] EX-PMS AT MERCY OF IMMEDIATE SUCCESSOR 1. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard's taxpayer-funded retirement perks under review Patrick Lion KEVIN Rudd was yesterday still in the dark about his prime ministerial retirement perks as the Abbott Government scoffed at suggestions he or Julia Gillard would ever receive two taxpayer-funded offices. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/julia-gillard-and-kevin-rudd-demand-bigger-perks-for-former-prime-ministers/story-fni0cx12-1226766891140 2. Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd demand bigger perks for former Prime Ministers Samantha Maiden "Staff arrangements for Ms Gillard have been approved by Prime Minister Abbott,'' he said. "The guidelines for Ms Gillard are exactly the same as those applying to other prime ministers. Any queries should be directed to the relevant government ministers and departments." http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/julia-gillard-and-kevin-rudd-demand-bigger-perks-for-former-prime-ministers/story-fni0cx12-1226766891140 SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 3. From Down Under to where? bunn negara Now Indonesian officials want to meet Snowden. He has so far agreed to these requests and is likely to do so again. This week Russia agreed to the request by Indonesian officials to meet Snowden. Russian parliamentary leader Nikolai Levichev, in Jakarta during the week, confirmed that position on Thursday. http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnists/Behind-The-Headlines/Profile/Articles/2013/11/24/From-Down-Under-to-where.aspx 4. New Snowden leaks reveal US, Australia's Asian allies Philip Dorling Singapore and South Korea are playing key roles helping the United States and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links across Asia, according to top secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. New details have also been revealed about the involvement of Australia and New Zealand in the interception of global satellite communications. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/new-snowden-leaks-reveal-us-australias-asian-allies-20131124-2y3mh.html 5. Our politicians have failed yet again – it’s time we fixed the mess with Indonesia Joseph Camilleri However, the most pressing question raised by the spying fiasco is whether or not Australia is ready and able to develop a stable, close and mutually respectful relationship with Indonesia, its government, its leaders, and its people. How we answer this question will help determine how we negotiate the so-called Asian century. The key here, as we shall see, is cultural and political literacy. http://theconversation.com/our-politicians-have-failed-yet-again-its-time-we-fixed-the-mess-with-indonesia-20586?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+25+November+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+25+November+2013+CID_71f351eaef8b4acb5bb8c715c6157af7&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Our%20politicians%20have%20failed%20yet%20again%20%20its%20time%20we%20fixed%20the%20mess%20with%20Indonesia 6. Tony Abbott's 10 ways out of this mess Paul Sheehan The letter to Jakarta needed to contain all the elements that could, at the outset, have made this controversy a diplomatic victory for Abbott instead of a debacle. He chose to make it a debacle by listening to those intent on protecting their own skins and empires, the heads of defence, foreign affairs and intelligence. When Abbott spoke in Parliament I was thinking, ''No, this can't be happening.'' http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/tony-abbotts-10-ways-out-of-this-mess-20131124-2y3se.html#ixzz2ld1sgYd2 7. Howling of the hacks confronted by some real news Richard Ackland It wasn't always the case that secret information was off-limits to the News empire. In 1958 Rupert Murdoch, from his fortress at the Adelaide News, is reported to have written: ''In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win.'' http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/howling-of-the-hacks-confronted-by-some-real-news-20131121-2xyfd.html#ixzz2ldDJHTLF 8. Exquisite Karma I try not to gloat but such exquisite karma is rare. Tony Abbott. The self announced international statesman up to his armpits in political excreta. Should I throw him a snorkel as he slowly submerges so I can enjoy the spectacle longer, or just bash him down with a bicycle pump? Such philosophical questions. http://mycomment.com.au/2013/11/exquisite-karma/ 9. The Everingham files: The Indonesian interceptions Barry Everingham ... leaked translations of several telephone conversations recently intercepted by Australian intelligence agencies. http://www.independentaustralia.net/article-display/the-everingham-files-the-indonesian-interceptions,5917 10. Electronic Frontier Foundation Defending your rights in the digital world NSA Primary Sources https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/nsadocs 11. Indonesia boosting spying capabilities following phone tapping controversy Oliver Laughland Central Intelligence Committee will co-ordinate intelligence gathering across all agencies, including police and military. The Central Intelligence Committee will open a headquarters in Jakarta as well as branches throughout Indonesia, according to the Jakarta Globe. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/indonesia-boosting-spying-capabilities-following-phone-tapping-controversy?CMP=soc_568 POLITICS 12. Michael Evans ‏@mevanssmh 9h Caption ? i) margie, where did u put mr textor? ii) i know i filed that letter to bambang here somewhere #auspol https://twitter.com/mevanssmh/status/404730939638427648/photo/1 13. Coalition’s short walk from triumph to disaster Laura Tingle Tony Abbott may have proved himself electable against an unelectable government. But the first post-election Nielsen poll suggests voters find him and his government underwhelming. With the Julia and Kevin show over, voters have shaken off some of their sourness towards Labor, cured themselves of the view that Clive Palmer represents a real alternative and are viewing the new government in a more pragmatic light altogether. This will come as a rude shock to Abbott’s expanded backbench and provoke internal debate about the strategies pursued since September 7. The poll will quieten any government triumphalism and crystallises the question many voters are asking: what on earth is the new government actually doing? http://www.afr.com/p/national/coalition_short_walk_from_triumph_ENZxb2U9FGHI9cNzeC4N4I 14. Coalition’s honeymoon cut short Phillip Coorey In a finding which will give Prime Minister Tony Abbott pause for thought, should he be considering an early poll on climate change, 57 per cent of voters believe Labor should vote to abolish the carbon tax. But the most popular alternative is Labor’s proposal to move to an emissions trading scheme (ETS). Just one in 10 voters support the Coalition’s direct action policy. http://www.afr.com/p/national/coalition_honeymoon_cut_short_eadpIvJYy2dBZubXuxRaeO 15. Who said it: Ayn Rand or Gina Rinehart? - quiz One celebrated the virtues of selfishness in a right-wingers' set text. The other's a billionaire mining magnate who once wrote a terrible poem. Or is it the other way round? Take our quiz http://www.theguardian.com/business/quiz/2013/nov/25/ayn-rand-gina-rinehart?CMP=twt_gu 16. Removing employer responsibility for Paid Parental Leave Luke Buckmaster New Abbott Government legislation will remove the requirement for employers to make payments to employees under the national Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme from 1 March 2014. Instead, employees would be paid directly by the Department of Human Services, unless the employer chooses to make the payments. The Government's reason for making the change is to 'ease administrative burdens on business'. http://parliamentflagpost.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/removing-employer-responsibility-for.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter 17. Abbott's a few sparks short of a global power agenda Keith Orchison ...not fronting the New York meeting next year will not be an option for the Prime Minister. It wouldn’t play well politically at home and it wouldn’t be a good look for a country that has been chairing the Security Council. The question is whether the government can use the intervening 10 months to pursue a domestic agenda that will work for it on the global stage. Abbott has the carbon price legislation to wrangle through federal parliament, the renewable energy target to review, an impending domestic gas price crisis to mitigate and a new energy white paper to produce. Are these building blocks for a performance at the UN next September that will be respected, or are they stumbling blocks? http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/25/politics/abbotts-few-sparks-short-global-power-agenda?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=527602&utm_campaign=pm&modapt= 18. Parliament's mid-winter sitting hints at carbon tax repeal wait AAP, with Jonathan Swan Federal MPs will be required for a rare mid-winter sitting of Parliament in July in a sign the government might wait for the new Senate to pass its carbon tax repeal bills. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/parliaments-midwinter-sitting-hints-at-carbon-tax-repeal-wait-20131125-2y59t.html 19. Julie Bishop says stealthy switch on Israel about 'balance' Jonathan Swan While 158 countries supported the UN in calling for an end to Israeli settlements, Australia joined eight other countries, including South Sudan, Cameroon, Panama and Papua New Guinea, in abstaining from voting. Labor governments under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard condemned the settlements. Many within the international community regard the expansion of Israeli settlements as an act of hostility towards Palestinians, hampering the likelihood of peace. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julie-bishop-says-stealthy-switch-on-israel-about-balance-20131125-2y59k.html ABBOTT 20. Voters’ remorse: Tony Abbott gets a shock as his leadership is found wanting Leo D'Angelo Fisher Abbott, on the other hand, promised “purposeful, methodical, calm” government. The Prime Minister must be choking on his victory cake because government is proving a lot more difficult than he envisaged. The on-again, off-again “budget emergency”; the indecision over the proposed sale of GrainCorp; the less than smooth sailing of its Operation Sovereign Borders policy; and the dog’s breakfast response to the Indonesian phone tapping fiasco: this is a government which is proving itself all at sea. http://www.brw.com.au/p/leadership/voters_remorse_tony_abbott_gets_BtbHnhGo3eqlHEpWlBb9nM 21. Tony Abbott's honeymoon horror Bob Ellis This morning’s Neilsen poll suggests the Abbott Government has had the shortest honeymoon in Australian political history. This means the ‘undecideds’ who went warily, uncertainly to Abbott after September 3 are now flocking back to Labor after having had a look at him. http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/tony-abbotts-honeymoon-horror,5919 22. Tony Abbott just about makes grade as Rhodes scholar Alex Needham The prime minister's degree transcript reveals he lags behind the likes of studied world leaders Bill Clinton and David Cameron. “For me the biggest mystery is that Tony Abbott is a Rhodes scholar,” said Germaine Greer on Q&A a few weeks ago, to roars of approval from the crowd and the anger of right-wing columnists. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/tony-abbott-just-about-makes-grade-as-rhodes-scholar?CMP=soc_568 23. Oh This Old Thing? Just Tony Abbott’s 1983 Academic Transcript From Oxford University Steph Harmon Tony Abbott’s 1983 Academic Transcript from Oxford University http://junkee.com/oh-this-old-thing-just-tony-abbotts-1983-academic-transcript-from-oxford-university/24136 24. Being neighbourly in Forestville means you can keep up with the Abbotts Kim Arlington With The Lodge undergoing repairs, Mr Abbott stays at the Australian Police College while in Canberra, leaving a mansion rented on his behalf empty at a cost to taxpayers of $3000 a week. He is awaiting security advice before deciding whether to exchange Forestville, 15 kilometres from the CBD, for the harbourside Kirribilli House. No money has been spent on the family home to upgrade security. www.canberratimes.com.au/.../...0131124-2y3xu.html 25. Five alternative uses for Kirribilli House Jazz Twemlow Since Tony Abbott seems disinclined to live in his official residency, here's what the premises – currently standing vacant – could be used for instead. If we’re so obsessed with Kirribilli House, it might be an idea to find some use for the stately residence before it gets washed away by rising oceans spurred on by the person that’s meant to be living there. Presented here for you then, are five potential ways we could utilise Kirribilli House and turn it into somewhere the Prime Minister really doesn’t want to live. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/five-alternative-uses-for-kirribilli-house?CMP=soc_568 GONSKI Vs PYNE 26. samantha maiden ‏@samanthamaiden 6h Abbott's plans re Gonski are not about the dollars. About obliterating Julia Gillard from history. 27. The Coalition may sabotage Gonski, but the Greens won't stand for it Penny Wright Gonski came with a large dollar figure attached, but investing in kids from a disadvantaged background is a winner. The Coalition government has no mandate for their U-turn http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/25/coalition-pyne-gonski-funding?CMP=soc_568 28. States to fight federal changes to Gonski school funding deal Josephine Tovey and Dan Harrison Victoria has joined New South Wales and Tasmania in warning the federal government they will not support any dismantling of the new school funding model, with the states saying any changes made to the Gonski reforms could see schools lose money. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/states-to-fight-federal-changes-to-gonski-school-funding-deal-20131125-2y5k3.html 29. Back to drawing board for Gonski, says Christopher Pyne Lauren Wilson As the opposition accused the Coalition of backing away from its "unity ticket" on school funding, Mr Pyne told The Australian the Abbott government planned to review all aspects of Labor's education funding reforms, amid revelations Kevin Rudd never signed off on the $1.6 billion deal with the Catholic education sector, nor finalised bilateral funding agreements with the Victorian and Tasmanian state governments before the September election. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/back-to-drawing-board-for-gonski-says-christopher-pyne/story-fn59nlz9-1226767435893#sthash.VL5Efll0.dpuf 30. Gonski school funding: NSW, Victoria urge Coalition to honour deals made under Labor Emma Griffiths, Liberal governments in New South Wales and Victoria look set to butt heads with their federal colleagues over the "Gonski" school funding agreements. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/gonski-funding3a-nsw-government-plans-to-fight-changes/5114880?WT.mc_id=newsmail MADAM SPEAKER 31. Peter Van Onselen: New Speaker Bronwyn Bishop not cut out for the job Peter Van Onselen Every day of Question Time over the past two weeks Bronwyn Bishop showed her partisan stripes. She was condescending to the Opposition, to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and, particularly, to manager of Opposition business Tony Burke...Bishop has only just started in the role, so the many slip-ups forgetting members' electorates and basic procedures can be forgiven. But the overtly partisan style she has adopted is unlikely to change. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/peter-van-onselen-new-speaker-bronwyn-bishop-not-cut-out-for-the-job/story-fni6unxq-1226766827831?sv=18e642d9e6122eb76cda2ccf837fd62e#.UpKrBQKO3Dw.twitter 32. Bronwyn Bishop orders new rules on Twitter posts for MPs Jacqueline Maley During the debate over the carbon tax repeal legislation, it was brought to Madam Speaker's attention by the ever-helpful manager of government business, Christopher Pyne, that Labor MP Rob Mitchell had tweeted that the Speaker had used the personal pronoun ''we'', when referring to the government. He concluded the ''independence of chair [is] gone''. Pyne complained Mitchell had, via Twitter, reflected on the chair, which is not allowed under the standing orders. Ms Bishop decreed that social media could be used in the chamber, but that it must still comply with the standing orders, a ruling that is both fair and unenforceable. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/bronwyn-bishop-orders-new-rules-on-twitter-posts-for-mps-20131121-2xyq0.html LABOR 33. End of Gillard-Rudd era has voters giving Labor a second look Geoff Kitney It is no coincidence that the jump in Labor’s primary support in the first post-election The Australian Financial Review/Nielsen poll has followed the resignation from federal Parliament of Rudd. The poison from the bitter rivalry between Rudd and Gillard has been purged. The political cost of that rivalry was massive – a minority government in 2010 and heavy defeat in 2013. The message for Labor is also clear: it can be competitive as long as it is united. http://www.afr.com/p/national/end_look_gillard_rudd_era_has_voters_ULiugxvQHjhEHbALHmmESO 34. UK Labour call in Australian strategist to advise on rightwing media attacks Patrick Wintour Labor strategist Bruce Hawker to address negative campaigning as Ed Miliband accuses David Cameron of mud-slinging http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/24/labour-australian-strategist-rightwing-attacks JULIA GILLARD 35. Julia Gillard talks spying, sexism and losing power Mick Krever This article was first published on CNN and Christiane Amanpour's interview with Julia Gillard will screen again on Friday November 22 at 10pm AEDT on CNN. http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/top-stories/julia-gillard-talks-spying-sexism-and-losing-power/201311223245 36. My vote for Julia Gillard – Daily Life – Women of the Year Award Trish Corry ⋅ Julia Gillard has earned my vote, as she has shown such strength through times of adversity. Times of adversity, that have been led by a group of men, who used their power and the power of the media to attempt to undermine her position and worth as Prime Minister of our great country. She has shown me true dignity and true resilience towards men who size me up and are vocal about my worth, on the basis of my choice of clothing, my ‘attractiveness’, and my rights to have an opinion based on my gender. She has empowered me personally to understand that it doesn’t matter how men judge us or specifically men in power judge us; women have a place in society to have an equal footing of power to make the changes they see necessary through their eyes and their view of the world. http://polyfeministix.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/my-vote-for-julia-gillard-daily-life-woman-of-the-year/ ECONOMY + BUSINESS 37. Dangerous advice may undo Abbott Editorial The Abbott government's commission of audit was appointed just a month ago...It will recommend the "tough love" it says is needed to restore a structural budget surplus. The path it plots will extend far beyond the mandate Tony Abbott sought during the election campaign. The benefit of having a commission of audit deliver these uncomfortable messages is that the Prime Minister can use its ostensibly independent advice to build a case for radical actions: the kind of extreme reforms that some Coalition supporters desire but are difficult to sell politically...Mr Abbott has given his commission of audit terms of reference that mirror almost exactly those that Mr Howard set 17 years earlier. It's likely the report he receives in January will include very similar recommendations, too. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/ct-editorial/dangerous-advice-may-undo-abbott-20131124-2y3si.html#ixzz2lczJAkZh 38. Great Australian dream of home ownership becomes a fantasy Greg Jericho Bureau of Statistics figures reveal housing has become less affordable than ever – pricing first-home buyers out of the market http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/25/australian-home-ownership-less-affordable-abs?CMP=twt_gu 39. Balancing budgets: tough choices we need John Daley A reform package could add about $37 billion a year to Australian government budgets and help to tackle Australia’s growing budget crisis. The package would broaden the GST to include fresh food and private spending on health and education, raise the age of access to superannuation and the Age Pension, remove the exemption of owner-occupied housing from the Age Pension assets test, and limit tax concessions on superannuation deposits. http://grattan.edu.au/publications/reports/post/balancing-budgets-tough-choices-we-need/ 40. Superannuation changes to slash savings of half of all working women, say industry funds Justine Parker Industry superannuation funds are warning plans to axe a rebate for low-income workers will affect half of all working women and will disproportionately hit rural workers. The funds are proposing a tax offset for all workers and scaling back the Coalition's paid parental leave scheme in order to maintain the rebate. The Coalition plans to scrap the $500 Low Income Super Contribution for people earning less than $37,000 a year as part of its bill to repeal the mining tax. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/industry-funds-warn-axing-super-benefits-will-hit-women/5115352 41. The $600 billion question for Canberra Jennifer Westacott As Australia takes over the chair of the G20 on December 1, we have an opportunity to both influence the global economic agenda, and demonstrate through action our commitment to the G20's focus on promoting open trade and investment. It is equally important that Australia set a domestic example for the open investment regime we would like to see our own firms encounter when they look to invest offshore. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/25/economy/600-billion-question-canberra 42. Budgeting was easier when life was brutish and short Alan Kohler It’s grimly amusing that when the age pension was introduced in Australia in 1908 the age of eligibility for men was set at one year ABOVE average male life expectancy of 64. Way to go Mr Deakin. Now eligibility is still 65 and life expectancy is 16 years longer. The great achievements of modern medicine have ruined the budget. Balancing the books was so much easier when life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short", to quote Thomas Hobbes.The latest contribution from the Grattan Institute on Australia’s budget problems shows that governments are simply not raising enough in taxes to fund the medical costs of helping us live longer, or to pay the extra living costs via the age pension. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/25/economy/budgeting-was-easier-when-life-was-brutish-and-short PHILOSOPHY, VALUES, ETHICS & IDEAS 43. Quentin Bryce: a model of even-handedness Paula Matthewson She is undoubtedly a progressive, and an outspoken one at that. But most importantly she is a champion of equality in education, employment, protection and opportunity. It would be a mistake to view her comments on same sex marriage and an Australian head of state as partisan meddling. They are a statement of her firm belief in equality for all. Nothing more and nothing less. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/25/quentin-bryce-a-model-of-even-handedness?CMP=soc_568 44. Review of ‘Pushing Our Luck: ideas for Australian progress’ Ken Wolff Pushing Our Luck presents a wide ranging picture of the changes needed in our economic and social structures if we are to maintain our ‘luck’ into the future.... our governments appear not to have come to grips with the concept. This book does and deserves attention; and deserves to be put under the noses of our politicians. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/post/2013/11/24/Review-of-%E2%80%98Pushing-Our-Luck-ideas-for-Australian-progress%E2%80%99.aspx#comment 45. The ABC is right to pursue the Snowden documents; The Australian is so predictable ethicalmartini Oh dear, the predictability and monotony of The Australian‘s whining about the ABC was taken to new heights this week on two fronts: firstly, the revelation that the national broadcaster has to pay market rates for its premier on-air talent and, secondly, feigned moral outrage that the ABC would cover the very newsworthy disclosure that the Defence Signals Directorate wanted to listen-in on the phone calls of the Indonesian President and his wife. http://ethicalmartini.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/the-abc-is-right-to-pursue-the-snowden-documents-the-australian-is-so-predictable/ ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 46. Climate change: reconnecting politics with reality Brian After the rally on Sunday 17 November Ben Eltham took a look at climate activism in the digital age and nominated climate policy as “the central battleground of 21st century politics.” Sooner or later, somehow or other, climate activism has to be turned into real politics. As one of the ten themes in the Centre for Policy Development’s Pushing our Luck: ideas for Australian progress Professor John Wiseman, Deputy Director of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at the University of Melbourne looked at the shape of climate policy for the future. http://larvatusprodeo.net/archives/2013/11/climate-change-reconnecting-politics-with-reality-2/ 47. How rich countries dodged the climate change blame game in Warsaw Graham Readfearn The steps in Warsaw towards a new global climate change deal looked more like shuffling of feet. Rich countries are desperate to avoid taking the blame for the impacts of climate change on nations with a lot less money but an awful lot more to lose (like their entire country, for example). More specifically, the developed countries won't let any statements slip into any UN climate document that could be used against them in the future. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2013/nov/25/climate-change-warsaw-rich-countries-blame-paris-deal 48. Mapping sea level rise Department of Environment Coastal areas will be vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise in different ways, in large part due to the topography, or elevation, of the landscape. Highly accurate mapping of the elevation of the landscape is therefore essential to identify low-lying areas that are potentially at risk of inundation from rising sea levels. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/climate-change/adapting-climate-change/australias-coasts-and-climate-change/mapping-sea-level-rise ASYLUM SEEKERS 49. Unaccompanied asylum seeker transferred from Nauru after self-harming, Scott Morrison confirms Emma Griffiths Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that a young, female asylum seeker has been transferred from Nauru to Brisbane after an incident of self-harm. The girl is one of three unaccompanied minors who have been moved off Nauru to the Queensland capital in recent days. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/morrison-confirms-a-young-asylum-seeker-transferred-from-nauru/5114618 50. Immigration detention centres no longer formally report childbirth Paul Farrell The birth of children and clinical depression are no longer being formally reported as incidents in Australian detention centres, while self-harm events have been downgraded from critical to major, according to new guidelines from the detention service provider Serco. The new guidelines were created in March this year, when the previous Labor government was in office. Incident reports are how Serco communicates with the immigration department about events in detention centres, such as births, deaths, assaults and escapes. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/immigration-detention-centres-no-longer-formally-report-childbirth?CMP=soc_568 SOCIAL MEDIA + TWITTER 51. Real Life or Twitter, a Grub is a Grub Noely Neate Seriously? Mark Textor is no victim. He is an acerbic, nasty tweeter who likes to prove that he is the smartest man in the room at all times, and to be quite frank, I am surprised he has not been attacked like this before. Pretty much, he is a nasty piece of work and Twitter will be improved without his divisive presence.... Twitter is not any worse than any other form of Social Media and basically just like real life, if you act like a dickhead, tosser, princess etc. You will be responded to accordingly. Cheers, Noely PS. It is not hard to be a decent human being :) http://yathink.com.au/article-display/real-life-or-twitter-a-grub-is-a-grub,98#comment-1137680225 52. Winning formula for digital activism University of Washington There is a winning formula for successful digital activism, a study has found. The University of Washington study said that digital activism worked best when online campaigns were combined with street-level organisation and used a variety of social media tools. And it was more successful targeting government than business. http://theconversation.com/winning-formula-for-digital-activism-20637 SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 26 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ################################################################

Casablanca

26/11/2013 CASABLANCA'S CACHE Tues, 26 November 2013; [b]TA has shortest honeymoon in Australian political history [/b]http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/CASABLANCAS-CACHE.aspx

jaycee

26/11/2013The way I see the political situation in Aust' at the moment and into the future, is that there is only one thing that can save us.....: that great "leveller" ; climate change. This total fraud that has been foisted upon us by a combination of ignorance, stubborn stupidity and a duplicitous mainstream media, will do untold damage in it's blind rampage of criminal bulldozing of social, economic and clinmate policies, with little oversee and almost no stopping of it. It seems with the AFP. in the back pocket of the LNP., there will be no more investigation into Ashbygate, Thomson nor the Hanson crimilisation....justice will not be done....with the intention of politicising the ADF., the LNP. will direct foreign policy to a conservative agenda. The last election was a choice between pig-ignorance and rational consideration...pig-ignorance prevailed...we progressives have been betrayed.

jaycee

26/11/2013Too late the Hero. There is no point anymore in observing Anzac Day...no respect in the sad silence of Remembrance Day...no longer such "emergency" in the warning of the Holocaust ; "Never let this happen again!"....for even here, in our own country...a country of the "fair go"...the "easy-going Aussie"..the "land that is for everyone”...it is gone. How many people in the world marched against the Iraq war?...one..two ...TEN million?...yet it was delivered with the now commonly recognisable "Howard-shiteater-grin", standing next to his neo-con USofA. mate ; D. Rumsfeld as they promised and delivered "shock and awe"...which destroyed an entire nation and stole the breath of at least a million citizens of that nation...and created the exodus of refugees that we react against today. Where a scalpel-cut execution of the so-called "reviled leader" could have been done as has been done (under the very noses of security) of several since. No, this war was another anti-Semite war, for the majority of Iraqis are Arab...this was another religious “crusade”...too late the cry of “never again!”, ..it was done! And Anzac Day?...that day of sombre celebration of unity against adversity...courage against onslaught...camaraderie as mateship and unity as strength. It is a mockery of those who faced and endured such trials and tribulations, when we have abandoned even the pretence of such in our everyday lives...the disbanding and dismantling, with the voted-in permission of the Aust’ electorate, of all those community services and policies that WERE for the benefit of the MAJORITY of citizens lends a mockery to those that ran, bent-backed, across the deadly sands of Gallipoli....we mock their memory as the “everyman-Australian”while we mock universal social reform for everybody. And Remembrance Day?..for all those who went to a war zone, whatever their individual reason, that suffered and died for what they believed was right and for the common good...for freedom and fraternity. By giving one minute’s silence for their sacrifice , while we clamour and holler endlessly for our “rights and demands” for the individual to plunder and rob and connive and abuse our fellow citizens.....THAT has to be the saddest mockery of all.....a minutes silence for their lost youth and lives while we enjoy seemingly limitless selfishness and endless “sunshine”. It is a mockery and a travesty of civil-society, that the LNP. has declared itself the sole arbiters, through the most minority of winning margins, to dictate a diminished capacity for the citizens of our country to live a respected and respectable life. The shrill accusations of this govt’ does crude mockery to our fallen, our revered memories, our honourable intentions and our international good name. It will be left to us to maintain the rage...let us hope we will be permitted the capacity!.....because, by Christ!...I believe the nation will demand the satisfaction!

Catching Up

26/11/2013Sign and send Tony Abbott a clear message: we want our Better Schools. http://www.alp.org.au/support_better_schools

Catching Up

26/11/2013So one needs a retired army chief to deliver the letter. What is it with Abbott and the army. Maybe he should have delivered it himself. It appears that the President is making him wait. Just like the school principal does with naughty boys. Lets them sweat outside the door, to dwell on what they have done wrong.

jaycee

26/11/2013http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/alan-moir-20090907-fdxk.html I believe it was in Tacitus, that while watching the Emperor Caracala making a fool of himself in a public display, that one senator suggested to another that he take a laurel leaf from his headpiece and chew on it as the bitter taste will stop any give-away smile!

KHTAGH

26/11/2013I love some of the ideas in this book Ken. This following bit is a copy from a comment on the AIM site by Kaye Lee this morning, very frightening. [i]I have to say, I can’t decide whether to laugh at Young Liberals or to be vewwy afwaid. At the LNP State Conference in Queensland, The Young Libs put forward three proposals. Sanity prevailed and these first two were defeated: “Random illicit drug testing for long term unemployed and welfare recipients was voted down, as well as removing Australian content quotas for free-to-air television.” Their third proposal was passed. While hundreds of people protested outside about school closures, what was upper most on the YL agenda? They want cracker night! “The plan was hatched by the younger party members, many of whom were not alive to see the maimings associated with firecrackers before sales were banned in the 1970s. Young LNP state president Hermann Vorster urged the government to now adopt the policy and believes the “Cracker Night” could be a boon for tourism. “I think more than anything this is about sending a message that we don’t necessarily subscribe to the notion of the nanny-state,” Mr Vorster said.” They really should stop feeding these kids lines like “nanny-state” and “socialism”. They just sound silly as they repeat them ad nauseum about everything to do with government. They seem to fail to realise that the government has a share of all our money and an obligation to invest it in stuff for US and to make rules that protect US. This isn’t daddy’s business venture kids.[/i] http://theaimn.com/2013/11/23/an-open-letter-to-abbott-voters/comment-page-4/#comment-36757

Catching Up

26/11/2013At last, a media conference where the journalist are doing their job. The questions and coming hard and fast. Pyne ABC 24 It was never about the amount. It is about the model. The present model is unfair and inequitable.

Catching Up

26/11/2013What I do like at this PC. The camera is focusing on the journalist when they ask questions. The questions are being heard.

Catching Up

26/11/2013"............On Monday Mr Morrison acknowledged he had not spoken to Air Chief Marshal Djoko since the phone-tapping revelation. He said talks at operational level were continuing but General Djoko's spokesman said that was untrue. "Honestly, even the dialogue at technical level is temporarily stopped, too," he said. "We are still waiting for Mr President's instructions since he received the letter from Prime Minister Tony Abbott." Rift with Indonesia over spying deepens Michael Bachelard Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/rift-with-indonesia-over-spying-deepens-20131125-2y68h.html#ixzz2liOXah5L or at http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/rift-with-indonesia-over-spying-deepens-20131125-2y68h.html#ixzz2liOXah5L Once again, Morrison caught out lying.

Michael

26/11/2013As C Pyne dumps needs-based education for the next generation of Ozzie Kids, The Abbott Error continues to set in concrete its own Three Rs. Rescind. Repeal. Revert. The Three Rs holes Abbott and co will dig for themselves. Day in and out.

jaycee

26/11/2013I don't know if this has been seen.. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/23/n-sumatra-loosens-control-over-boat-people.html

Casablanca

26/11/2013Jaycee, It was item 41 in Monday's Cache but whether it 'has been seen' is another matter! The link was as follows: 41. [b]N. Sumatra loosens control over boat people[/b] Apriadi Gunawan and Bambang Muryanto. Immigration offices in a number of provinces have taken different measures in dealing with boat people heading to Australia through Indonesian waters, following the escalating political tension between Indonesia and Australia. In North Sumatra, the head of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Agency, Rustanov, said that no special surveillance of boat people heading to Australia would be conducted. www.thejakartapost.com/.../...ver-boat-people.html What seems to be beyond doubt is that Morrison did not see it or that he is in complete denial. Most likely the latter. See also the article that Catching Up cited at 01:33 PM: [b]Rift with Indonesia over spying deepens[/b] Michael Bachelard www.canberratimes.com.au/.../...0131125-2y68h.html

jaycee

26/11/2013Should have guessed!....sorry to have doubted!

Pappinbarra Fox

26/11/2013 OR [quote]What seems to be beyond doubt is that Morrison did not see it or that he is in complete denial. Most likely the latter. See also the article that Catching Up cited at 01:33 PM: Rift with Indonesia over spying deepens Michael Bachelard www.canberratimes.com.au/.../...0131125-2y68h.html [/quote] He is just lying, his default in his DNA, option.

jaycee

26/11/2013Breaking news on the ABC. site..: "Indonesia may cut beef quotas..."

2353

26/11/2013this is getting better & better. I reckon that it was widely known that Australia spied on regional leaders mobile phones for years. This tit for tat is because Abbott wanted to play hardball on asylum seekers - and he is losing badly.

Casablanca

26/11/2013 [b]Sign & send Abbott a clear message: we want our Better Schools. http://www.alp.org.au/support_better_schools … [/b] 9,611 signatures @ 6.07pm 2day

Ken

26/11/2013KHTAGH November 26. 2013 11:51 AM Yes, the book is very good and provides a start in developing progressive policies for the future. Your quote about the Qld Young Liberals emphasises the point that there is little policy nous on that side of politics. And if these are the future Liberal party members of parliament then, in Paul Keating's words, 'God help us!'

Casablanca

26/11/2013 Cartoon Where Has That Mandate Gonski? http://www.kudelka.com.au/2013/11/where-has-that-mandate-gonski/

jaycee

26/11/2013Katherine Murphy on The Guardian trying to curry favour with the readership she once betrayed!.....I won't speak the word!

jaycee

26/11/2013If Gonski won't be supported, then the NDIS is a certainty to get the chop!...but not the PPL. for superior women!

Casablanca

26/11/2013 Er, Women of calibre

jaycee

26/11/2013Casablanca.."Er, Women of calibre".....I'm talking about females here, not women rifle shooters!

TalkTurkey

26/11/2013Ken, I never saw a better book review. You are scholarly indeed. I'm sad to say, I'm not, very. I'm not well read really, I just sound a bit like it as long as I don't need to go deep. I get most of my reading now on the 5th Estate which is of course of uncertain quality in bits but which overall is a mighty tool for Truth. And it has people like yourself, and those with familiar names for their perspicacity outspokenness and articulation of current issues. So I still feel fairly well informed! I read shamefully few books, and I almost certainly won't be reading this one, but Comrade it's good to know that there are enclaves, and I suppose exclaves, of sensible thoughtful people like those whose work you review here. And even if I don't read the book, I get some of the feeling from you in the review. The best opinions and ideas do not always come to the top, but overall it is the Left that has them, and from there it's up to the rest of us to spread them and to fight for them. Gonski and NBN are cases in point. Will they happen? - Not without a huge vituperative FIGHT! Rally round the Light on the Hill Folks. We have to learn to fight better.

Bacchus

26/11/2013You've been a little quieter than your usual self TT - even on Twitter. I hope all is well ;-)

jaycee

26/11/2013Another beautiful interview with Paul Keating....though, I think this time I'd give the gong to "Red" Kerry !...it was sublime watching him use his wincing-eye timing to wring that grain of truth from Keating... I'd go so far as to say these interviews are amongst, if not, the very best of our times. Beeudiful!

jaycee

26/11/2013"SBY wants Aus Govmt to sign up to new behaviour protocols and code of ethics … Then bilateral cooperation can be continued.— George Roberts (@George_Roberts) November 26, 2013" Christ!..can you just picture the hands in the air wailing and the gnashing of teeth at the thought of Abbott ans co. having to frame something...ANYTHING ! "with a code of ethics and behavious protocols"?

Casablanca

27/11/2013The poodle morphs into pyneocchio Check out #pyneocchio https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pyneocchio&src=hash also images at: Elikifil https://twitter.com/Elikifil/status/405189001331490816/photo/1/large https://twitter.com/Elikifil/status/405189001331490816/photo/1 GeorgeBludger: https://twitter.com/GeorgeBludger/status/405240564292919296/photo/1

Casablanca

27/11/2013Jaycee @ 08:24 PM: T'was just a gentle reminder of Abbott's actual words! Abbott: 'Paid parental leave scheme for women of calibre' http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/big-business-slams-abbotts-paid-parental-leave-scheme/story-e6frfm9r-1226636500339 @10:07 PM: [quote]Another beautiful interview with Paul Keating...[/quote]I agree wholeheartedly.

Casablanca

27/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Wednesday, 27 November 2013; 30 items[/b] GONSKI 1. Where Has That Mandate Gonski? Cartoon http://www.kudelka.com.au/2013/11/where-has-that-mandate-gonski/ 2. Government of ‘no surprises’ rewrites history. Laura Tingle ....education is something that affects almost everyone. It now seems the Coalition neutralised a positive issue for Labor by lying about its intentions. This is the only possible conclusion you can draw from Christopher Pyne’s attempts to rewrite the history of what he said before the election at a fiery Canberra press conference on Tuesday. The government’s attempt to hide behind a suggestion of a ‘budget shortfall’ left by Labor only makes the politics of this look even more tawdry. http://www.afr.com/p/national/government_of_no_surprises_rewrites_YFgxK864VRKFbRIi44ovzN 3. Why Labor had it right on education funding Jane Caro There are three simple reasons why Gonski is the right way to fund education in Australia. I have been listening with interest to the statements Christopher Pyne has been making in the past 24 hours. And, while I confess I had very little faith in the 'unity ticket' on education funding touted by Pyne and Abbott before the election, even I did not expect the promise to be broken quite so quickly. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/caro-gonski-funding/5117260 4. Daniel Hurst ‏@danielhurstbne 4h Attn reporters asking about Pyne's comment on ALP $1.2b school funding cut: This was known before election: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/gonski-holdout-states-are-saving-canberra-12b-20130812-2rsi6.html… #gonski 5. Gonski hold-out states are saving Canberra $1.2b Daniel Hurst The federal government will bank more than $1 billion in budget savings as a result of three conservative leaders failing to sign up to school funding reforms. Fairfax Media has learnt the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook, to be released on Tuesday, will show Canberra has saved $1.2 billion due to stalled talks with Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/gonski-holdout-states-are-saving-canberra-12b-20130812-2rsi6.html 6. Coalition to ditch Gonski model and renegotiate school funding agreements ABC The Federal Government has announced it is scrapping Labor's plans for school funding and will renegotiate agreements with all states and territories within a year. Education Minister Christopher Pyne says Labor's arrangements will stay in place for the coming year and will then be overhauled. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/pyne-adamant-gonski-school-funding-needs-overhaul2c-despite-st/5116978?WT.mc_id=newsmail 7. Abbott wants to deny vital Gonski funds to schools State School Teachers' Union of WA “Just a week ago (1), Minister Pyne was restating the Coalition commitment to Gonski, along with the first four years of federal funding. One week later, he has abandoned that promise,” Australian Education Union Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said. http://sstuwa.org.au/sstuwa/public-education-federal-campaign/sstuwa-federal-funding-campaign-news-a-updates/9584-abbott-wants-to-deny-vital-gonski-funds-to-schools?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter 8. Government's double Gonski backflip an act of brazen politicking Mark Kenny Christopher Pyne is too occupied with ripping down the education funding architecture of the past Labor government to spend a bit of extra time studying it first. An offer by members of the Gonski panel to take him through the detail before he begins the demolition job has been rebuffed. Of all portfolios, for a minister of state for education to appear so wilfully uninterested in further evidence is concerning at several levels. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/governments-double-gonski-backflip-an-act-of-brazen-politicking-20131126-2y6zx.html 9. Christopher Pyne's funding model 'quick and dirty': Gonski panel member Bridie Jabour and agencies Education minister backs away from pre-election pledge to stick with reforms implemented by Labor http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/26/christopher-pyne-new-school-funding-model 10. Education Minister Christopher Pyne breaks pre-poll promise on school funding Dan Harrison Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne has abandoned his pre-election pledge that every school would receive the same amount of funding under the Coalition as under Labor. Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Mr Pyne refused to reiterate his promise, made on August 29, that ''you can vote Liberal or Labor and you'll get exactly the same amount of funding for your school''. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/education-minister-christopher-pyne-breaks-prepoll-promise-on-school-funding-20131126-2y6mz.html 11. Gonski school funding: NSW, Victoria urge Coalition to honour deals made under Labor Emma Griffiths Liberal governments in New South Wales and Victoria look set to butt heads with their federal colleagues over the "Gonski" school funding agreements. Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said the Coalition cannot go ahead with the "Gonski" funding arrangements and will go back to the "drawing board". http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/gonski-funding3a-nsw-government-plans-to-fight-changes/5114880 12. Christopher Pyne, and how to shift from mincing poodle through doofus to dipstick in one easy lesson ... Loon Pond. (an oldie but goodie from, March, 2010) You can almost guess the game. Get hold of the curriculum, count the number of references, feel the weight, do a quick search on a couple of key terms to see if they bob up in the search, and when they don't, hey presto, you have Pyne's doofus blather about a curriculum disaster. It's such a stupid quantitative analysis that you have to wonder if there's a qualitative bone in Pyne's brain. And of course by a mere quick glance at the actual curriculum it's easy to pick to pieces. http://loonpond.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/christopher-pyne-and-how-to-shift-from.html#.UpQ6abeqrX4 13. Why Pyne is right to review the Gonski reforms Kevin Donnelly With its misguided emphasis on students' socioeconomic backgrounds and its discrimination against private schools, the Gonski education reform needed to be reviewed, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/donnelly-why-pyne-is-right-to-review-the-gonski-reforms/5117438 SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 14. Indonesian president responds to Abbott's spying letter ABC Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has spoken about the Australian spying scandal three days after receiving a letter from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott... The Indonesian president called for calm on the issue, but said bilateral cooperation would not resume until the Australian Government signs up to behavioural protocols and a code of ethics. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/indonesian-president-responds-to-tony-abbott27s-letter/5118518 15. Without fear or favour: why we broke the spy story Kate Torney The ABC projects Australian democracy to the world not by acting as a mouthpiece for government, but by reporting the news as it is with rigour and independence. That's why you'll continue to see us breaking stories like the one on Indonesian phone-tapping http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/torney-why-the-abc-broke-the-spy-story/5116594 16. Australian espionage and the history of foreign intervention in Indonesia Thomas Reuter Indonesia’s response to the spying imbroglio last week – when president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recalled his ambassador and suspended security co-operation with Australia – reflects a political history of constant foreign intervention in Indonesian affairs that few Australians are aware of. http://theconversation.com/australian-espionage-and-the-history-of-foreign-intervention-in-indonesia-20648 17. Indonesia considering cutting Australian beef imports in wake of spying scandal George Roberts Indonesia's trade minister says his country is considering cutting Australian beef imports in the wake of revelations of Australian spying. Gita Wirjawan says he last week asked parliament to start looking at whether legislation can be adjusted to allow Indonesia to import beef from other countries instead of Australia. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/indonesia-considering-cutting-australian-food-imports/5117970 18. Spy backlash hits Aussie teachers Andrew Tillett Jakarta schools are suspending English language classes taught by Australian teachers. It is believed the order was given by Indonesia's education chiefs as part of the downgrading of co-operation with Australia in the wake of the phone-tapping scandal. Chairman of the Perth-based Indonesian Institute Ross Taylor said four or five schools had been affected. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/19999135/spy-backlash-hits-aussie-teachers/?cmp=twitter POLITICS 19. Doing the sums: How much is Clive Palmer worth? ABC Fact Check The verdict: Based on publicly available information, as at June 30, 2012, Mr Palmer's wealth is $1.13 billion although some of the companies he owns made losses that year. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/clive-palmer-is-a-billionaire/5002500 20. Australia's U-turn on Israeli settlements in occupied territories is shameful Michael Brull Just as Abbott excused human rights violations in Sri Lanka, so he does in Palestine. As such, Australia is complicit in breaches of international law which cause severe and ongoing suffering ECONOMY + BUSINESS 21. We simply can't have our cake and eat it too Tim Colebatch Frankly, it's no compliment. It suggests that we prefer politicians who tell us what we want to hear, and pander to our prejudices, rather than those who try to get us to confront reality when it doesn't fit with what we would like to believe. May I submit four exhibits:.... http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/we-simply-cant-have-our-cake-and-eat-it-too-20131125-2y5wg.html#ixzz2ljF2CMJS ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 22. Cleaner energy: a revolution that ordinary people can drive Tim Flannery There will be no decisive moment in the climate battle. Rather, it’s a war of attrition, being won one solar panel, one wind turbine, and one electric car at a time http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/22/cleaner-energy-revolution-warsaw POLITICS & REFORM 23. Modern Labor: What Would John Curtin Think? Michelle Grattan The Curtin Family Home Lecture for the National Trust of Australia (WA), delivered on November 25, 2013. http://theconversation.com/modern-labor-what-would-john-curtin-think-20716 24. Can we get back our reform mojo? Michelle Grattan While we should be careful not to romanticise the past, there is not the appetite for tough but advantageous changes that there was in the 1980s, and there are more hurdles. There are many reasons for this. One canvassed by Gary Banks, former head of the PC, in his Garran Oration this week is the lack of trust now afflicting the political system. http://theconversation.com/can-we-get-back-our-reform-mojo-20665 ASYLUM SEEKERS 25. 'Enhanced screening' means enhanced trauma for asylum seekers Elaine Pearson and Mary Laurie Asylum seekers fleeing Sri Lanka, a country obviously unsafe for many of its citizens, deserve to have their claims heard to the same extent as any other refugees http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/26/enhanced-screening-means-enhanced-trauma-for-asylum-seekers 26. Indonesia may give asylum boats free passage to Christmas Island Oliver Laughland National police chief says boats headed to the Australian territory 'do not come under our authority' http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/indonesia-may-give-asylum-boats-free-passage-to-christmas-island VIOLENCE + SEXUAL ABUSE 27. No copping out of abuse blame Frank Brennan | If Catholics deny the ongoing adverse effects of clericalism, and if police officers just sit back and play the blame game while media commentators profess the smug assurance of all knowing hindsight, these inquiries will not have dug deep enough for the truth. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38554#.UpQXu7eqpZY 28. Justice reform: a better way to deal with sexual assault Rob Hulls All too often, governments take the lazy option when faced with public outcry about sexual offences. Their automatic, knee-jerk, politically charged response is to “get tough on crime” by imposing mandatory sentences, removing parole, cutting back on rehabilitation and demonising offenders. http://theconversation.com/justice-reform-a-better-way-to-deal-with-sexual-assault-19692 HEALTH + SCIENCE 29. Mapping redheads: which country has the most? Mona Chalabi Ever wondered which country tops the ginger charts? And where can you find the highest concentration of blondes? http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/25/mapping-redheads-which-country-has-the-most?CMP=ema_632 30. Health Check: are you eating the right sorts of fibre? Arwen Cross, Christopher Hammang & David Topping A healthy digestive system is critical for good health, and fibre promotes digestive health. While most of us feel uncomfortable talking about our bowel movements, having an understanding of what is optimal in this department can help you adjust the amount of fibre in your diet. http://theconversation.com/health-check-are-you-eating-the-right-sorts-of-fibre-20089?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+26+November+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+26+November+2013+CID_0015461ffc05f371a8d77b84f10895b7&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Health%20Check%20are%20you%20eating%20the%20right%20sorts%20of%20fibre SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate. http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/ Politifact Australia http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 27 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ###############################################################

jaycee

27/11/2013It's like they are all queuing up to ditch the previous govt's policies...the whole LNP. front bench..one after the other..like a taxi rank...first ; Abbott with his three-word intellect.;"Ditch the "tax" "...then Morrison..."Stop the boats"...Then Hockey ;" Big budget emergency"..Now ; Pyne.." Stop the education"..then it will be "stop the welfare"..then "stop the wages"....stop the NDIS. this mob have ONE agenda...Fascism. The corporate state.

jaycee

27/11/2013On receiving the "Abbott Protocol".. "...a presidential spokesman earlier on Tuesday said the letter was "in accordance to our expectations". Just what does THAT mean?...this buffoon of a PM. has painted Aust' into a corner. Now, to save face internationally and his arse domestically, he's NOT going to sacrifice HIS pride to get Indonesia's respect back..He's going to sell this nation's integrity and tread our country's name into the dirt for HIS and the LNP.'s benefit. They're a filthy piece of work!

Ken

27/11/2013TT I can add that I greatly admire your comments here on TPS, so I take your comment on my book review as high praise indeed. You are right that good ideas such as those in the book do not always rise to the top. But the book also uses an interesting quote from Milton Friedman. Although he is somewhat of a godfather to the neo-cons and neo-liberals, his statement can also apply to the ideas of the Left [quote]Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When the crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.[/quote]

2353`

27/11/2013[quote]Australia has squandered a “once in a century” mining boom, with the benefits flowing to a small group of wealthy people rather than funding critical infrastructure, according to a new report.[/quote] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/26/mining-boom-a-once-in-a-century-lost-economic-opportunity-report-finds

Catching Up

27/11/2013Labor left nothing to cut. [quote]Hockey will soon have a deficit of his own By Ben Eltham* Lucky Joe Hockey. His economic credibility is unravelling. But no-one is noticing, owing to the Abbott government’s first major crisis in the Indonesian spying scandal. That’s the take-home point from last week’s intriguing Senate Estimates hearings, which saw a remarkable spectacle: the Coalition attacking Labor for slashing jobs in the public service. Say what? That’s right, the Coalition is upset at how many public servants Labor had slated for redundancy. Scratching your heads as to why the Coalition is upset about a shrinking public service? Join the club. The news came to light on Tuesday, when Hockey and Finance Minister Mathais Cormann issued a bizarre media release complaining about Labor’s cost-cutting in office. “More evidence of Labor’s budget deception has emerged,” the release began, “with advice showing the former Government concealed almost 14,500 public service job cuts initiated before the last election.” Quelle horreur! Labor has stolen Hockey’s thunder! Not content with holding government expenditure to lower levels than the Howard government, it now appears that Labor’s dreaded efficiency dividend has so squeezed the Canberra bureaucracy that the jobs Joe Hockey wanted to cut aren’t there to cut anymore. Nothing left to cut As Bernard Keane remarked, “you’d think this would be a pleasant surprise”. The real surprise is that Hockey and Cormann are trying on such a ridiculous argument. Labor’s efficiency dividend was hardly a state secret. It was the for.....[/quote] http://vic.psnews.com.au/FeaturesVICpsn3393.html

Catching Up

27/11/2013'............For a good explainer of the history of the Gonski reforms and what’s at stake, read David Zyngier, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education at Monash University at The Conversation today. He calls the “unsurpising” move “bitterly disappointing”, and a broken promise to Australian parents. “Gonski was the most comprehensive review of school funding in 40 years – one designed to make the system better for all kids. It called for funding to be allocated based on the needs of the students; to be topped up with additional funding to take into account types disadvantage different students experience, such as Indigeniety, remoteness, second language learners, refugee children and disability,” writes Zyngier. “Pyne claims their new model will be “flatter, … simpler, … fairer [model] … and it will be equitable for students so that the school funding reaches those who need it the most”. But what is more equitable than the Gonski model that is blind to sector and funds students and schools according to need?” And this: “The once in a generation opportunity to redress the incredible levels of disadvantage in public education, that has been instrumental in Australia’s fall in international test results has now been lost.”..." http://thehoopla.com.au/every-trick-dodgy-polly-handbook/ One does yearn for truth. Pyne announced another sum of money, from that empty cupboard, full of spiders today. Was asked, why he did not make the announcement yesterday. Sis not hear the answer. Pyne is looking forward to Friday. One has to marvel at his arrogance and blind confidence.

Catching Up

27/11/2013[quote]The Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, which has operated since 1966, learned on Monday its funding would cease immediately. The council is the peak body for organisations working to minimise the harm caused by drugs and alcohol, providing professional development, information sharing and advocacy services on an annual budget of $1.6 million from the federal Health Department. Professor Ian Webster. "In 46 years, this is the only government that has decided it can do without ADCA's advice": Professor Ian Webster. P ......... Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/alcohol-and-other-drugs-council-of-australia-in-administration-after-tony-abbott-cuts-20131126-2y836.html#ixzz2lotreroM[/quote] We have a big drug problem, as Morrison told us today. How much has Mr. Abbott save here.

Michael

27/11/2013Abbott's gumnint is bent on demolition. So bent it doesn't seem to be watching where all the dominoes are stacked, so that it will eventually begin knocking over 'natural allies'. Which will, I predict, eventually lead to the demolition of the gumnint itself by the gumnint itself. Too stupid to see itself coming. Round the bend.

jaycee

27/11/2013One can see a devious plan in the LNP. "taxi-rank" dismantling of Labor policy. One gets the idea their "strategy advisors" have told them to dump their obligations by the end of the year and look to the MSM.(particularly the Murdochracy) to "gild the lily" of the polished turds over the holiday period and start the new year bright and shiny! We have to keep the MSM. to their duty as the forth estate of democracy.

42 long

27/11/2013Abbott leader of the barbarians. Nothing is worth anything unless it has his stamp upon it. Overall just how much damage has this mob done? Let's start with trashing due process everywhere. You word is worth nothing in abbott's world. yet he accuses Gillard of the big lie by quoting out of context, originally relating to a Carbon price V/s carbon TAX. Doesn't matter about how it was done it achieved the desired result with a complicit MSM. He works by sneaky character assassination plots. Thomson Slipper Gillard. denigration of Malaysia, scientists, refugees etc. How much damage with exaggerating the effect of the carbon price? The budget emergency. Now it's blaming everything on the labor government. When will they give up on the spin and deceit and get on with showing us how good they really are? Unfortunately I think we have already seen how good they aren't.

TalkTurkey

27/11/2013Ken, Thanks for your kind word but I know that my own appraisal of my depth of wisdom is at once less glowing and more accurate than yours. But thanks again for the glow. Hello Bacchus, Yes I missed a couple of days' gobbling, I hate that actually, sometimes my Muse don't move me, and I find it tough going for [i]me[/i] to move [i]Her[/i]. But it's nice that I've been missed for the fact that I've gone missing, that means that fact wasn't missed! er ... But [i]lots[/i] of people have gone missing, let's round 'em up eh? No I know we're not Lynnie & Ad astra, - toughest double act on the planet to follow! - - But Damn, we're [i]Casablanca[/i], (She deserves Special Mention!) Plus All You Lead Article Writers that ever write here, Plus all US ever-so-modest footsoldiers that write comments, Plus all those that ever did, Plus Faithful Lurkers, to whom Hi too. Time we got in touch with everyone and fire up their hearts a bit. Think on that please All. This is a pretty good time to say Hello, Greetings, Salutations, Cheers, Common Tally-Voo? Because of course many of us are down-hearted now. Well we just have to lift! The Fighting 5th has a job to do, and no-one else will do it for us. This mob thinks it can get away with anything, well let me say I think they are in for some very unpleasant surprises IF We put real effort into making it so for them! The Abborrrtians created this sense of panic, of urgency, of bloody crisis, well let us use the anger boiling inside ourselves to oppose their spiteful idiotic destruction of all things progressive! We can only do it through our voices and our numbers. There is no easy nor direct way to do it, mere petitions and even huge public meetings have no effect as we found out finally as a result of the massive pre-Iraq-invasion protests in 2003. There [i]is[/i] the valid sanction eventually of [i]Strike[/i] if the Government reneges on signed deals. Has anyone the moral fortitude to strike anymore? Teachers and educators and parents and students should be bristling by now, that is a massive section of the population, but it's our job to convince as many of the stupid anti-Gonski minority that the LNP really has dudded them so appallingly (on NBN etc etc too). And Education Unions SHOULD be prepared to strike for Gonski, as should Carers on behalf of the NDIS, and so on. [i]Strike is more than a right when it is right, it is a moral obligation because the beneficiaries are not primarily the strikers but for those to whom they give services, and, through that, for the society as a whole.[/i] It's OUR JOB to make people aware and righteously enraged I tell ye. About as enraged as jaycee and Catching Up should do it! An early great test of our resolve will be whether in six months we have lobbied the new Senators so successfully that they are not in the Coalition's pocket after all. We are probably assuming that they are Araldited-on LNP supporters, and we are probably right, but don't forget Independents Oakey'n'Tony's origins, there may be some of the PUPs who prove amenable to reason, and the sense of duty which moved those two good men. Wouldn't that be a turn-up eh, and it's not impossible. Otherwise we'll have Abborrrttians in control of both Houses, And the Lying Rodent as our new GG. So FIGHT!

Bacchus

28/11/2013That's more like the TT we all know and love! We can all contribute in various ways, but the passion of the likes of Talk Turkey is the catlyst required to arouse the FIGHT we need to take up to this, the most disgusting government in my lifetime. John Winston Bloody Howard in the Fraser government cemented me as a Labor voter, but the Abbott is a much more dangerous creature - our future is at extreme risk! So FIGHT!

Casablanca

28/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Thursday, 28 November 2013; 54 items[/b] GONSKI 1. Every Trick In the Dodgy Polly Book Wendy Harmer Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s performance in explaining his position on changes to school funding has been a marvel to observe. In a string of interviews over the past two days he’s used every trick in the dodgy pollies’ handbook – obfuscation, moving the goalposts, erecting straw men, misinformation, semantics, denial, side-stepping and even offering his credentials as a father – in a breathtaking combination rarely seen in modern Australian politics. http://thehoopla.com.au/every-trick-dodgy-polly-handbook/ 2. Christopher Pyne blames journalists for government's apparent Gonski backflip Jonathan Swan and Dan Harrison Education Minister Christopher Pyne has blamed journalists for getting confused about his school funding promises, amid growing anger over the Coalition's reneging on its pre-election commitments. ''It's not my fault if some people in the press gallery don't understand the complicated nature of the school funding model,'' Mr Pyne told ABC Radio on Wednesday. Asked whether the widespread confusion over the Coalition's education funding plans was because voters were just ''not very bright'', Mr Pyne replied: ''I didn’t say voters . . . I said members of the press gallery.'' http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/christopher-pyne-blames-journalists-for-governments-apparent-gonski-backflip-20131127-2y91g.html 3. Ditching Gonski: what’s so unfair about funding based on need? David Zyngier Pyne claims their new model will be “flatter, … simpler, … fairer [model] … and it will be equitable for students so that the school funding reaches those who need it the most”. But what is more equitable than the Gonski model that is blind to sector and funds students and schools according to need?..... The once in a generation opportunity to redress the incredible levels of disadvantage in public education, that has been instrumental in Australia’s fall in international test results has now been lost. http://theconversation.com/ditching-gonski-whats-so-unfair-about-funding-based-on-need-20795 4. Gonski is gone but can anything be salvaged? Louise Watson Let’s hope Pyne’s desire to produce a “flatter” and “simpler” funding model does not result in the abandonment of agreed policy goals such as encouraging schools to focus on educational attainment; raising expectations among students, teachers and parents; making teaching more student-centred and responsive to individual learner needs; and delivering education in partnership with other service providers and with the school’s external community. http://theconversation.com/gonski-is-gone-but-can-anything-be-salvaged-20704?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+27+November+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+27+November+2013+CID_4b0d46f6548f48cb3624398c2af3a4d4&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Gonski%20is%20gone%20but%20can%20anything%20be%20salvaged 5. Legally binding or not? Why breaking the Gonski funding deals matters Shipra Chordia Education minister Christopher Pyne has announced the new government will dump the agreements with the states on the Gonski school funding reforms, negotiated by the former Labor government. Pyne has said the new government is planning major changes and a possible return to a Howard-era system after 2014.… http://theconversation.com/legally-binding-or-not-why-breaking-the-gonski-funding-deals-matters-20782 6. Tony Abbott rejects claims of broken election promise on Gonski school funding ABC Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected accusations the Coalition misled voters on education funding ahead of the election, saying Labor "utterly mismanaged" the issue. The Government will scrap Labor's so-called Gonski plans for school funding and renegotiate agreements with all states and territories within a year. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/government-denies-breaking-election-promise-on-school-funding/5119204 7. Gonski education funding: Colin Barnett tells counterparts to 'get real' over Coalition's overhaul ABC West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has told his state and territory counterparts to "get real" over the Federal Government's decision to scrap Labor's Gonski education model. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/barnett-tells-premiers-to-get-real/5120810 8. Pynocchio – an untrue story! rossleighbrisbane Once upon time, there an old word-carver called Abbotto. He carved a wooden puppet which he named Pynocchio. Abbotto was lonely because he didn’t have a son, and he wished upon a star that Pynocchio would come to life. That night, Pynocchio was visited by a blue fairy – just for drinks, mind you and there was no mention of Cinderella’s Slipper. And the next day, Abbotto was surprised to see how much life there was in Pynocchio. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/27/pynocchio-a-fable/ 9. A Pyne Statement, Indeed! rossleighbrisbane Dear Christopher, I have gone over your press release and made some changes. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/26/a-pyne-statement-indeed/ SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 10. Tony Abbott refuses to commit to spy code of ethics, flags security round table Dan Harrison, Michael Bachelard Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declined to immediately commit to the spying code of ethics demanded by Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but suggested a ''security round table'' be established so both nations could be more open with each other and build greater mutual trust. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-refuses-to-commit-to-spy-code-of-ethics-flags-security-round-table-20131127-2y8u4.html 11. East Timor accuses Australia of spying for commercial gain during Timor sea negotiations Conor Duffy, Nikki Tugwell, Peter Lloyd and staff Australia is under further pressure over spying in the region, with East Timor accusing spies of bugging its cabinet room for commercial advantage, and threatening to scrap a potentially lucrative treaty that could have earned Australia billions in royalties. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/east-timor-says-australia-spied-for-commercial-gain/5120738 12. Abbott playing with diplomatic fire in Asia As Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces two major foreign-policy tests, they both went bad on him last week. One is Indonesia, where we can only hope that Abbott's mistakes have taught him that just saying you want a good relationship is not enough. You have to make sacrifices to make the relationship work. Time will tell whether his reply to President Yudhoyono's letter contained sacrifices sufficient to get things back on track. The other test is positioning Australia between America and China, where the stakes are even higher and the trends are even worse. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/abbott-playing-with-diplomatic-fire-in-asia-20131125-2y5we.html#ixzz2lrP2aOQN 13. Australia: Calls For Prime Minister To Retract Sri Lanka Torture Remarks Eurasia Review Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott should retract his November 15, 2013 remarks condoning the use of torture in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Law Centre, Amnesty International Australia, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, and the Castan Centre for Human Rights said today in a letter to the prime minister. http://www.eurasiareview.com/26112013-australia-calls-prime-minister-retract-sri-lanka-torture-remarks/ 14. Beijing furious over Julie Bishop's 'irresponsible' remarks Philip Wen The Chinese government has delivered an angry rebuke over ''irresponsible remarks'' made by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop regarding its newly declared air defence zone in the East China Sea, in the latest diplomatic headache for the Abbott government in Asia. Ms Bishop summoned Chinese ambassador Ma Zhaoxu on Monday to express the government's concern over the new zone, which covers airspace over a string of uninhabited islands - known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan - at the centre of a longstanding territorial dispute between the two regional powers. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/beijing-furious-over-julie-bishops-irresponsible---remarks-20131127-2ya2q.html 15. China rejects Julie Bishop's 'irresponsible' criticism of new air zone over East China Sea ABC China has dismissed Australian criticism of its newly declared air defence identification zone as "completely mistaken", and raised the possibility of damaged relations between the two trading partners. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/china-rejects-australian-criticism-of-new-air-zone/5120920 16. Does Australia's international perception matter? Paul Davis The focus of this post is three recent events: Spying, Climate Talks, and Queensland laws targeting groups. I'm not suggesting those things carry more weight than other matters, such as Australia's aid response to Typhoon Haiyan. Rather, I have selected these three as they display different facets of Australian politic: the security apparatus, Australia's participation in international forums, and the possible international impact of State based laws on international perception. http://thinkyness.com.au/article-display/does-australias-international-perception-matter,7 17. Australia's relations with Indonesia will not be normalised for some time, say government insiders Mark Kenny, Michael Bachelard, Heath Aston Relations between Canberra and Jakarta appear to be improving thanks to the letter Prime Minister Tony Abbott had hand-delivered at the weekend, but a senior government source said it would be some time before they were ''normalised''. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/australias-relations-with-indonesia-will-not-be-normalised-for-some-time-say-government-insiders-20131127-2yagh.html 18. Andrew Robb departs from script by confirming Indonesian phone tapping Katharine Murphy Trade minister says phone tapping is 'a fact of life' but later clarifies that he is 'not privy to any specific details' http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/27/andrew-robb-departs-from-script-by-confirming-indonesian-phone-tapping ABBOTT 19. Is Tony Abbott a sociopath? Turn Left (Alison Parkes) with Penny Carter Actually, I have no idea whether Tony Abbott is a sociopath or not. I am not a psychiatrist. I am also not going to put up a list of Hare’s traits of a sociopath checklist and then trawl through Tony Abbott’s long history of violence, bullying, intimidation and abuse to find instances of quotes or actions that may correspond with that checklist. What I will do, is put up Hare’s checklist, and let readers draw their own conclusions, not about whether Tony Abbott is a sociopath, or not…but whether the entire country as a whole needs some time on the leather couch talking about our feelings, our childhoods and our mothers.… http://progressivesteaparty.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/is-tony-abbott-a-sociopath/ 20. When Tony Abbott met Socrates Graham Priest The Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned and put to death for “corrupting the youth” of Athens. The same fate is unlikely to meet contemporary philosophers. Indeed, it is much more likely… http://theconversation.com/when-tony-abbott-met-socrates-20360 21. Why I’m happy that Tony Abbott is PM! rossleighbrisbane At various times over the past few years, I’ve felt enormously frustrated. Not just on social media and reading comments on some of Murdoch’s Media Sites, but listening to the garbage that people have written and said about the Labor Government. I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool, Labor forever lefty as anyone who disagreed with me wanted to suggest – I even voted for Fraser in 1975 – so it’s wrong to dismiss me as someone who’d justify the ALP whatever they did. But that seemed to be what happened any time I defended anything that the Labor Government was doing. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/25/why-im-happy-that-tony-abbott-is-pm/ POLITICS, POLICY + BROKEN PROMISES 22. The great pretenders Benjamin Reeves I watched my children playing ‘tendies’ the other night – ‘(pre)tending we’re in a cave . . . (pre)tending there’s a troll . . . (pre)tending there’s not . . .’. I was charmed by such vital displays of the creative and destructive human imagination, but it also dawned on me: this is a perfect word to describe the tenor of our new government. The Liberals have been doing a lot of ‘tending’ lately. First of all, they’re ‘tending’ there’s a need to restore civility to government, as if they were not the ones who debased the whole notion of respect in parliament with constant and vicious personal attacks throughout their entire period in Opposition. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/25/the-great-pretenders/ 23. Are you furious yet? Ash Ghebranious Well are you? The coalition have robbed low income workers of their super, robbed your grandchildren of the planet and now want to rob your children of an education. They may as well be riding your daughters pony. They are stealing your dreams. Time to steal them back. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/are-you-furious-yet/ 24. Abbott's boulevard of broken promises Gareth Hutchens They promised before the election to be a “no-surprises” government. But since winning power the Abbott government has lengthened its list of broken promises and policy surprises by more than one a week. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/abbotts-boulevard-of-broken-promises-20131127-2yac4.html 25. Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia in administration after Tony Abbott cuts Dan Harrison One of the nation's oldest health organisations has been placed in voluntary administration after its funding was cut by the government. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/alcohol-and-other-drugs-council-of-australia-in-administration-after-tony-abbott-cuts-20131126-2y836.html#ixzz2lotreroM 26. “Talk To The Hand” — The Australian Government, To Everyone Mike Seccombe Whether you’re a poor Australian or a spied-on foreign head of state, the Coalition is fair in dispensing short shrift to all comers. Why, he asked the PM, are families, low-income earners and small businesses, a lower priority than tax breaks for some of the largest corporations in the world? Well, Abbott was terse. The government had flagged its cuts before the election, and it was going to stick to its promised cuts, he said. “They voted for us knowing it wasn’t going to be all beer and skittles,” he said. And he sat down again. Short answer. Short shrift. http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/talk-to-the-hand-the-australian-government-to-everyone/746/ 27. Pyne's broken promise set to haunt Abbott Mark Kenny The Prime Minister should remember how broken election pledges damaged Julia Gillard, as he reneges on Gonski. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/pynes-broken-promise-set-to-haunt-abbott-20131127-2ya8p.html#ixzz2lrLeGPQs 28. The benefits of being dumb in politics Paul Frijters It is natural to think of our political leaders as either superhumanly clever and benevolent when we agree with them, or else dumb as dishwater and evil when we don’t agree with them. Yet, if one takes our own group-loyalty out of the picture, we can ask the simple question what kind of mental qualities are likely to thrive in our Western political environment. http://clubtroppo.com.au/2013/11/27/the-benefits-of-being-dumb-in-politics/ 29. Three Cheers For Capitalism, Now Show Me The Money! rossleighbrisbane Let’s be quite clear on our terms. What does it mean to be a right-winger or a left-winger? What does it mean to be socialist or communist or capitalist? These terms are usually bandied about with such carelessness that I’d like to start by setting down some sort of definition. Most definitions of right wing suggest that they are the “conservative or reactionary” part of a group or country, whereas the left is defined as “the radical, reforming, or socialist section of a political party or system.” http://theaimn.com/2013/11/24/three-cheers-for-capitalism-now-show-me-the-money/ ECONOMY + BUSINESS 30. Big decisions on budget problems lie ahead for Tony Abbott Ross Gittins What they didn't tell us was the truth: that for most of us, wages and pensions were rising faster than the cost of living - meaning our standard of living has actually been improving - but that this was due partly to the resources boom, which couldn't last, and partly to the government doing more for us in the budget than it could afford to go on doing unless we were prepared to pay a lot more tax. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/big-decisions-on-budget-problems-lie-ahead-for-tony-abbott-20131126-2y7wa.html#ixzz2lpL6RKYo 31. Hockey offers privatisation bonus AAP, with a staff reporter Treasurer Joe Hockey has offered the states and territories incentive payments to sell off public assets and put the money into new job-creating infrastructure, also saying that states are worried about the federal government's debt ceiling. The details of the incentive payments deal will be worked out by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the premiers and chief ministers at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra on December 13. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2013/11/27/national-affairs/hockey-offers-privatisation-bonus?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=530637&utm_campaign=pm&modapt= 32. Big Australia? Big deal Rob Burgess It’s a good thing the Bureau of Statistics didn’t release its latest population growth estimates before the September 7 election. Had they done so, we’d have been treated to a load of Chicken Little malarkey about over-populated Australia being ‘swamped’ with migrants. As a political meme, ‘overpopulation’ works. As the sound basis for policy making, it’s utterly insubstantial. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/27/national-affairs/big-australia-big-deal 33. Will the new Student Start-up Loan save money? Andrew Norton Today the Liberals introduced legislation for Labor’s conversion of the Student Start-up Scholarship into a new income-contingent loan, the Student Start-up Loan. Overall, its design is closely linked to the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). However, people who take out SSLs will not have to start repaying until after they have repaid their HELP debt. Potentially, that is not for a very long time. Experience with the former Student Financial Supplement Scheme, under which students could trade in $1 of income support for a $2 loan, suggest that there is significant adverse selection with income support loans. http://andrewnorton.net.au/2013/11/20/will-the-new-student-start-up-loan-save-money/ 34. Europeans look to Australian ancestry to escape economic troubles and unemployment David Mack Europeans are looking for family connections to Australia as they seek to escape the economic troubles that have plagued the continent since the global financial crisis hit. Five years after Europe was hit by an economic crisis, unemployment rates remain at staggering levels across the continent. The figures are particularly grim for young Europeans, with more than half of all Greeks and Spaniards under 24 unable to find work. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/young-europeans-looking-to-australian-ancestry-to-escape-econom/5120796 35. Floating the dollar was worth the pain Greg Jericho The float of the Australian dollar led to real wage reductions, but in the end that was a price worth paying for increased competitiveness and control over monetary policy. Next month will mark 30 years since the float of the Australian dollar. It brought momentous change to our economy, and largely was about control: government gave up control of the exchange rate in favour of control of the monetary system. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/jericho-floating-the-dollar-was-worth-the-pain/5118028 36. States' push for GST on online shopping is just small change John Freebairn. Both Labor and Coalition states are pushing the federal government to extend the GST to more online purchases as they look for additional sources of revenue. And while the Coalition had promised no changes… http://theconversation.com/states-push-for-gst-on-online-shopping-is-just-small-change-20755?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+27+November+2013&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+27+November+2013+CID_4b0d46f6548f48cb3624398c2af3a4d4&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=States%20push%20for%20GST%20on%20online%20shopping%20is%20just%20small%20change ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 37. Clean Energy Finance Corp warns shutdown will hit budget ABC The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has warned that the Federal Government's plan to shut it down could cost the budget hundreds of millions of dollars. "We're investing and trying to develop the market's appetite for participating in this field," she said. "Grants have a very different role, and when you're investing, you're going to get the funds repaid and you're earning a return on your money. Making a grant is just a straight expense. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/clean-energy-finance-corp-warns-of-budget-cost-of-shutdown/5118212 38. As the Warsaw climate talks end, the hard work is just beginning Fiona Harvey Weary delegates trudging home from an exhausting and sleep-deprived fortnight of climate change talks in Warsaw may be unwilling to acknowledge it, but the hard work is just beginning. Like schoolchildren after a packed day of lessons, they have been sent back to their national capitals to "do their homework". By the first quarter of 2015, countries must come forward with their "contributions" to global reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, that will come into force from 2020. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=2308 39. Relax - wind farms aren't stressing out your emus Simon Chapman What links the phenomena of allegedly stressed emus, dancing cattle and disoriented echidnas? Nothing but the ill-founded trend to blame anything and everything on wind farms http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/chapman-the-hysteria-over-wind-farms/5119734 40. How will China’s carbon markets work in a non-market economy? Alex Lo & Michael Howes This week, China will launch the pilots of its Beijing and Shanghai emissions trading schemes. But the operating environment for these schemes will be vastly different to that in Australia or the European Union. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-n/ 41. New research shows alpine grazing does not reduce blazing Grant Williamson, Brett Murphy, and David Bowman. The scale and impact, both economic and ecological, of recent bushfire disasters demands a rethink of fire management strategies. A controversial approach receiving more attention internationally is the… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-p/ ASYLUM SEEKERS 42. United Nations slams living conditions for asylum seekers at Nauru, Manus Island detention centres John Stewart and staff The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has raised serious concerns about the living conditions for asylum seekers being held at the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres. In two damning reports, it has called on the Federal Government to stop sending asylum-seeker children to the detention centres. It singled out the Nauru centre in particular, saying it is rat-infested, cramped and very hot. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/unhcr-report-on-nauru/5118588 43. The High-Stakes Mistakes Of “Enhanced Screening” Nick Olle While Australia’s immigration minister has expanded its controversial refugee triage system, the wrongful near-deportation of one asylum-seeking Vietnamese family highlights the serious problems with “enhanced screening”. http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/the-high-stakes-mistakes-of-enhanced-screening/751/ LEGISLATION + COPYRIGHT LAW 44. Legislation and the financial initiative: what happened to the Opposition amendments to the Carbon Tax Repeal Bills? Sophia Fernandes The Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 and other related Bills passed the House of Representatives on 21 November 2013 with no amendments. While this is not an unusual occurrence, what is notable is that Opposition amendments to the package of bills were not debated during the consideration-in-detail stage. 45. Copyright and Fair Use. John R Walker In his introduction to his translation of the Analects of Confucius, Pierre Ryckmans likened that ‘literary classic’ to a coat hook that has over the centuries acquired so many layers of coats that it can no longer be seen-has become so big that it completely obscures the corridor it was hung in. And that is not a bad metaphor for ‘copyright’ itself. Something that started, in 1709 as a fairly simple statute “An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors .. for “.. the Term of One and twenty Years” has by now become such a huge multilayer, intertwined, spaghetti cake that it is virtually impossible to sanely approach it as a totality. Not going to try. http://clubtroppo.com.au/2013/11/26/copyright-and-fair-use/ 46. Truth or lies: overturning wrongful convictions David Hamer, and Gary Edmond A person is wrongly convicted of a serious crime, then fresh evidence reveals they are, in fact, innocent. It’s a thriller movie formula and you’d hope that if this were to happen, justice would prevail…The reason few errors are discovered is that it’s so hard to identify them. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-e/ PRIVACY 47. The more troubling Snowden revelations concern spying on us rather than world leaders Sarah Joseph But realpolitik may force spies to reconsider the extent of their activities. The “should we do it” question must incorporate the question of “what happens if we get caught?”. As noted, the chances of “getting caught” have increased along with spying capacities. As we are seeing now with the nadir in Australia/Indonesia relations, the consequences of getting caught can be considerable. The increased “sunshine” on spies is, ultimately, their greatest source of accountability. It may already be the key means of controlling them. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-yh/ INDEPENDENT MEDIA 48. Yes, we are independent and this is why Michael Taylor I’ve lost count of the number of times LNP supporters have visited this site with less than complimentary remarks about our, in their terms, ‘alleged’ independence. We can’t be independent, they argue, when nearly all of our articles are critical of the Abbott Government and before that, the Abbott Opposition. We are simply a bunch of whining lefties, again in their opinion, and we couldn’t possibly be independent whilst we sit on just one side of the political fence. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/27/yes-we-are-independent-and-this-is-why/ ARTS & CULTURE + CULTURAL CRINGE 49. Arts and minds: the humanities are as vital as science Kymme Laetsch The Coalition’s pre-election condemnation of ARC research funding in certain areas of the arts as “ridiculous” and a waste of taxpayer dollars has left those of us working in this field feeling under pressure… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-a/ 50. Lilley's series expose the racism that lies at the core of "accepting" Australians Michelle Smith Australians love to know that we’ve been noticed overseas. When floods and fires strike, news broadcasts frequently ensure that excerpts from CNN or Fox are shown. It doesn’t matter if the event is a naturally occurring catastrophe rather than any form of achievement, we need to see that other countries registered our existence, especially the United States. This need for external approval is related to Australian cultural cringe. When A.A. Phillips first used the term in 1950, he referred to the tendency to perceive Australian literature, music, theatre and art as inferior to British and European high culture. Since then the need for overseas recognition in order to prove the worth of Australian creativity has extended to include all kinds of popular culture, including film and television. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-w/ HEALTH + SCIENCE 51. Sniffley tweeters help researchers locate flu outbreaks Lee Coleman Twitter has become the latest online tool to be used to monitor the spread of disease. Researchers are looking at whether health providers can identify the locale of a disease outbreak by monitoring the social media network for complaints of illness. http://theconversation.com/sniffley-tweeters-help-researchers-locate-flu-outbreaks-20626 52. Navel gazing: healthy gut bacteria can help you stress less Chelsie Elise Rohrscheib Striking new evidence indicates that the gut microbiome, the ecological community of microorganisms that share our body, has a huge effect on brain function – much larger than we thought. It has long… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-x/ 53. Life without antibiotics – the rise and rise of superbugs Matthew Cooper Heralded as a “miracle of modern medicine” when they were first discovered, antibiotics have been overused for so long that most have become ineffective. Stories about superbugs (bacteria resistant to… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-q/ 54. Inside cricketer Jonathan Trott's head: how depression causes brain freeze Alan Stokes When suffering depression, every day means sitting an exam that you have set yourself. You must get 100 per cent every time or you have failed. But every day, before you sit that test, you wake up in a hangover-like stupor in a miserably cold and wet hut at the bottom of Mount Everest. You can barely sense anyone else there. You don't want to get out of bed. Eventually, you do. It's out of duty to family and workmates, or the need to relentlessly pursue relief, or a self-preservation drive to protect your ego. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/inside-cricketer-jonathan-trotts-head-how-depression-causes-brain-freeze-20131126-2y7wc.html#ixzz2lpM6z81E SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate. http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/ Politifact Australia http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 28 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ################################################################

Casablanca

28/11/2013 CASABLANCA'S CACHE Thursday, 28 November 2013. [b]The new 3Rs: Rescind, Ridicule, Renege.[/b] http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/CASABLANCAS-CACHE-2013-11-27.aspx

2353

28/11/2013Not satisfied with insulting Indonesia, our intrepid Foreign Minister now has a go at China [quote]Australia risks becoming embroiled in another diplomatic spat in Asia, with China rebuking Foreign Minister Julie Bishop over comments she made condemning its decision to declare an air defence zone in the contested East China Sea.[/quote] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/china-rejects-australian-criticism-of-new-air-zone/5120920 Congratulations Ms Bishop (the younger), offending two of the three largest countries in this region within the first 100 days of offices demonstrates real talent and skill.

42 long

28/11/2013Why would Bishop's performance be a surprise? Hasn't anyone been watching her at QT over the past 4 years or so?

jaycee

28/11/2013Alexander Downer says that the East Timor allegations of phone tapping are (wtte)"posturing and unwarranted"...so it's all true then!

jaycee

28/11/2013And goes on to take the "cannot comment" waiver on spying activities BUT..then blames any spying on the Labor govt's watch!!??.....can this man be trusted?....oh don't be so stupid!...what am I asking THAT question for?

jaycee

28/11/2013Onyer TT. ! One of the lads I went to school with died a couple of months ago...of a heart attack, I am told. His name was Maris Zalups...Of course, we kids lazily condensed his Latvian surname to more suit our casualness and his happy easy-going nature to "Slopsy"....His brother's name was Arrtis (sp?).....too hard!...he got called : "Harry"....Harry grew from a gangling boy to a full-blown archetype "Viking Warrior" in both phiz and psyche!.. a body like "Conan the Warrior" and a voice like Barry White....he was much in demand by the "gentler sex"....we scowled in the corner of the local front-bar...but we scowled quietly! Their parents were escapees from a turmoiled Europe after the second world war...the father was a very good musician...before a very bad motorcycle and side-car accident....I remember him tiresly trying to teach Harry the piano, and he suceeded..even against Harry's whishes (too much sun..too much surf in Australia!)...there was a small bust of Ludwig van ' on the upright piano and Harry would everyday be there rolling out some turgid piece, with his father smoking a dour pipe whilst sitting in a teacher's contemplate at the end of the keyboard. I remember once the father went out of the room to fill his pipe as Harry played...he had no sooner gone than the rebellious spirit grabbed the youth's hands and a playful Jerry-Lee Lewis piece sprung from the keyboard....parents came running and Harry immediately fell back into the rythmn of the classical piece as if nothing had happened! Maris was a lost cause as far as artistic instruction went and his father left him alone and he, with all us adventurous kids would immediately make for the gully to swing with ropes from the trees like Tarzan, or wooden sticks in hands, make for the seaside sand-dunes ala Beau Geste!...we could always see Harry, finally released from Tchaikovsky, running toward us in frenetic glee! Their mother was an artist..with oils...she could often be seen UNDISTURBED! in a small side room off the shed painting away. I remember once..I must have been about nine or ten..chasing Harry through the house and we were pulled up in the lounge room where Mrs. Zalups had a lot of her framed paintings propped on the chairs there...She held us up .."Boys, boys...stop!..I would like you to meet Mr...." of course, young boys are even less inclined to remember names than manners and we said hello and then ran on. It was only many years later, whilst walking down Rundle Mall, past a Myers window display of a full-size photo cut-out of a man in a grey suit with several framed paintings of his on display that I recognised him as that same gentleman in Mrs. Zalup's lounge-room ..and her introductory words came straight back to me.."Boys, boys..stop!..I would like you to meet Mr. Hans Heysen". This is an important story...look at the players..Myself ;Italian / Irish..them Latvian..others in our group incl' English, Dutch , German..and well..you know it.....AND...let us embrace the reality..: All Australian! This..is the Australia I vote for, not a mean-spirited polarising of one ethnic group against the other...for there is no one ethnic majority that can work this huge nation on it's own...there never has been....This is the Labor objective I support..it's motto, no less intense than us kids on a limb of a huge pine tree about to group-swing way out over the gully depths, all clasping onto the one many-knotted rope..: "One in -All in!".....GO!... this is the spirit of the people who still stand united together around the "light on the hill".

Ken

28/11/2013jaycee @10:08 Beautiful piece/comment. Worthy of being an article early next year with a few more words/examples. Fully endorse your sentiments. I commented a few months back about the growing Muslim population in western Sydney and gave my father-in-law's reaction to Turkish neighbours - "Can't stand their bloody music but they're good people". It only takes a bit of getting to know people to break down barriers. It's the old story that while the 'wogs', 'refos', or whatever derogatory word is used, a person doesn't know are bad, the ones they do know are usually 'good'.

Catching Up

28/11/2013Senate hearing now on NBN By the way, Turnbull is angry that they were made to appear.

42 long

28/11/2013Maybe something to his detriment will be exposed. The senate still has punch. May it be used effectively while it can.

Casablanca

28/11/2013 Monicas wckd stpmthr ‏@Monicas_WS 1h .@P_bogan @SpudBenBean Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Myanmar - how many "best friends" do we have according to Abbott? "Best" implies ONE

jaycee

28/11/2013My take in The Guardian on working till you are seventy... There is a presumption in the debate that the "spirit" within the worker will outlast the "spit" on the hands ! As one of the last generations that left school at too young an age to work full-time in a hard-labour industry, I can say without fear of contradiction that while the flesh may JUST be capable at the age of 65yrs....the mind is fast losing interest in ANY sort of labour! For many aged workers in physical exertion industries (yes! they still exist!), the thought of fronting the 'coalface' after the 65th. birthday would be enough to drive a person to drink!...as a matter of fact, those 6 oclock swills back in the days of yore, were most probably one of the few things that kept a working man sane! ...in the future it may just be ; "the 6 oclock methamphetamine pill-pop" that does the job!

42 long

28/11/2013How can we seriously require people to keep working till they are 70, or beyond? How does one get a job when you are flat out getting re-employed at 50 or even under that. Many managers will not employ anyone older than themselves. Are we going to demonise the oldies, now? We make the low paid fund recovery. Any attempt to get money from the rich is touted as a class war. Make people start paying tax when they earn $120 a WEEK which no-one could live on in this country. Give it a break. Plenty now work for nothing doing Grandad and Grandma duties and working in Clubs. (Not the poker machine variety) Getting "permanents" out of caravan parks gives many of them nowhere to go. We need to look hard at what we are doing with our society. Abbott and his scaly mob care not.

jaycee

28/11/2013The big lie is that the elderly cost too much..The truth being for the vast majority of pensioners, any pension they do get goes straight back into the economy via utility payments, food, living expenses etc. it's only the wealthy spend their money on luxury.

jaycee

28/11/2013weak as water ; Sales!...she could have pressed Pyne on the changed model, not harp on about the "same amount of funding"..THAT played right into Pyne's hands!

Casablanca

28/11/2013 [b]PETITIONS RULE![/b] I have been urging people to sign a petition organised by the ALP to let Tony know that we object to the dumping of the Gonski Reforms. On twitter others , incl Jane Caro, have urged people to ring Pyne's office. (the tweet providing phone numbers is below). The point that I wish to make it that while a phone call may have greater immediacy, it has no Constitutional status. A petition, on the other hand does, as outlined on the APH website: [quote]A petition is basically a request for action. The right to petition Federal Parliament has been one of the rights of citizens since federation, and it is the only way an individual can directly place grievances before the Parliament.[/quote].. [quote]The House is able to inquire into and report on matters relating to petitions following their tabling in the House, and the petitioning system in general.[/quote]...Similiarly, [quote]the presentation of a petition to the Senate is a proceeding in Parliament and is protected by parliamentary privilege.[/quote] http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Petitions The petition that I have been drawing attention to has only garnered 15,737 signatures over about 3 days. There may well have been hundreds of thousands of phone calls and comments on social media & in the MSM over the same period but these carry no formal weight in the Parliament. A signature on a petition will impact, in a legal way, more than any number of phone calls and comments on social media or in the MSM. I hasten to add that the calls and comments are important in the overall protest and for maintaining the rage, but of themselves, they cannot impel the Parliament to take any action or to initiate an inquiry. A record of phone calls received on a particular topic will carry no status in the parliament. So please, value and act on your right to petition the parliament while you also raise merry hell in social media, the MSM and via telecommunications. The ALP initiated petition is at: http://www.alp.org.au/support_better_schools Selena Griffith @selenajoy2 tweeted the following: Give a #gonski ? call Christopher Pyne's offices (08)84312277, (02)62777350 to protest de-funding of #Education reforms. Our kid's matter! - 28 Nov PS. please let TPS know of any other petitions on Gonski that are circulating.

Curi-Oz

28/11/2013The thing that fascinates me is that the correlation between what those in the bottom quintile of income knows about how money sloshes in and out of one's control never seems to make it into the pontificating of particular politicians who have lots of ease in their incomes. Wasn't it Henry Ford (surely a candidate for the IPA?) who decided that paying his workers well made more money available so that goods could be purchased?

Casablanca

28/11/2013 ANOTHER GONSKI petition This petition has garnered just over 18,000 signatures http://igiveagonski.com.au/

Casablanca

29/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Friday, 29 November 2013; 42 items[/b] GONSKI 1. Australia's schools are underfunded, undervalued and, yes, unequal Jane Caro Minister Christopher Pyne refuses to believe there's an equity issue in schools across the country. Tell that to teachers who have to pay for classroom items out of their own pockets http://www.theguardian.com/profile/jane-caro 2. Christopher Pyne rules out return to Howard-era school funding Daniel Hurst and Lenore Taylor Education minister moves to quell criticism two days after saying the old funding system would be 'a good starting point' http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/28/christopher-pyne-changes-his-mind-about-howard-era-school-funding?CMP=soc_568 3. Christopher Pyne's backdown means $2b body blow for NSW education Amy McNeilage, Anna Patty ''I really want to emphasise that the impact is on all schools - public, private and Catholic - they are all going to lose money as a result of this decision.'' http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/christopher-pynes-backdown-means-2b-body-blow-for-nsw-education-20131127-2yagl.html 4. Why is Christopher Pyne dumping Gonski? Bridie Jabour Things have changed dramatically since the Coalition told voters it was on a 'unity ticket' with Labor on school funding http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/28/why-is-christopher-pyne-dumping-gonski?CMP=soc_568 5. There’s no interest in education Stephen Koukoulas The folly is that the $1.2 billion that cannot be found to put to education is almost exactly the same amount that Treasurer Joe Hockey has ear-marked for the interest cost for giving the RBA $8.8 billion for reserves that it did not ask for and does not urgently need. http://www.marketeconomics.com.au/category/uncategorized 6. Under Libs, the richer the school, the bigger the pie Justine Ferrari THE most affluent private schools received the biggest boost in funding in the 10 years of the Howard government system, touted by Education Minister Christopher Pyne as a fairer and more equitable needs-based funding model than that introduced by Julia Gillard... In introducing the SES system, the Howard government removed the measure of a school's capacity to raise its own income, and so the biggest jump in funding flowed through to the high-fee private schools. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/under-libs-the-richer-the-school-the-bigger-the-pie/story-e6frgd0x-1226769988352#sthash.nrpnplvw.dpuf (paywalled) 7. Pyne to meet with states over school funding after dumping Gonski plan ABC Education Minister Christopher Pyne will hold talks with his state and territory counterparts tomorrow, in what is likely to be a fiery meeting in the wake of his decision to dump Labor's Gonski school funding model. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/pyne-heading-for-state-showdown-over-gonski/5123800 8. It's too early to start breaking promises Andrew Bolt I BELIEVE Christopher Pyne when he says Labor left its education reforms in an "incomprehensible mess". Trouble is, I also believed the Education Minister before the election. I believed Pyne when he said: ''You can vote Liberal or Labor and you'll get exactly the same amount of funding for your school." Now, after several days of Pyne spin, I don't know if the Government will break its first reckless promise or not. But it had better not. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/its-too-early-to-start-breaking-promises/story-fni0ffxg-1226769885959 SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 9. Stop attacking Aunty The Spectator Australia This magazine rarely misses an opportunity to criticise the ABC. So readers may be surprised to find us defending Aunty at a time when our conservative friends are taking aim at the public broadcaster. Apparently the ABC’s sin was to team up with the Guardian Australia on 18 November to air intelligence secrets that Australia spied upon the Indonesian President and his inner circle, including his wife. But defend the ABC we must, and it is important to keep in mind a key issue at stake: the principle of editorial independence. http://www.spectator.co.uk/australia/australia-leading-article/9089581/leader-3/ GOVERNMENT REPORT CARDS 10. The first hundred days Ed Butler Indeed, more than any new government I can think of, this one is defined by opposition. The coalition spent their time in opposition as a highly effective, attacking adversary. This effectiveness was spurred by a ruthless desire to unseat a government that they clearly viewed as illegitimate...But by defining themselves as ‘not them’, they neglected, it seems, to develop any kind of a coherent idea of what they wanted to do once they got in. This is stunning, really....it appears that no effort was put in to considering what their long-term agenda might be. http://ausopinion.com/2013/11/28/the-first-hundred-days/ 11. The teachable moment Andrew Elder ...there are deficiencies among the Coalition that were detectable before they entered government. They are well and truly on display right now. There is no evidence of bureaucratic envelopment or wise counsel or other measures that might help this government grow the brains and capabilities that it so copiously lacks, and has always lacked. http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/the-teachable-moment.html 12. Early Polling for the Abbott Government Adrian Beaumont The early polls make it clear that there has not been a post-election honeymoon for the Abbott government. A honeymoon is the expected aftermath of a change in government election, and the Hawke, Howard and Rudd governments were all polling better than their election result at this stage of the political cycle. http://theconversation.com/early-polling-for-the-abbott-government-20850 13. A Liberal Defence rossleighbrisbane We’re Liberal – With The Truth! There have been far too many anti-Government posts and I’m taking it upon myself to defend the actions of Abbott and company. Let’s start with the clear bias being showed by certain media outlets. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/28/a-liberal-defence/ 14. So how’s Abbott’s Australia traveling so far? Michael Taylor In a nutshell,...very badly. We have been condemned worldwide for....I’m struggling to find one positive thing that has happened since this government came into power but the negative list grows by the minute. Their only goal is to erase every piece of legislation passed by the Gillard Government regardless of its worth. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/28/so-hows-abbotts-australia-traveling-so-far/ FOREIGN AFFAIRS & TRADE 15. Australian trade with Indonesia: what’s really at stake? Arianto Patunru Indonesia has a population ten times as big as that of Australia, but its per capita income is only one-tenth of Australia’s, so what’s really at risk if the trade relationship between the two countries… http://theconversation.com/australian-trade-with-indonesia-whats-really-at-stake-20889 16. Does China know what it’s doing? Mark Beeson How times change. Only a couple of years ago, China watchers were preoccupied with its ‘charm offensive’ as China’s policymakers worked overtime to assure traditionally nervous neighbors that its rise posed no threat. Now much of the region is having a collective attack of the vapors and looking to the US to make good on its promise to ‘rebalance’ toward Asia. http://theconversation.com/does-china-know-what-its-doing-20932 17. Interview with Professor Jindong Yuan and Professor Hugh White Scott Bevan. Transcript of Lateline Jindong Yuan Associate Professor of Government and International Relations at Sydney University and Hugh White Professor of Strategic Studies and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the ANU discuss what the disagreement over China's declaration of an 'Air Defence Zone' means for Australia's relations with Beijing and the potential for a wider conflict involving China, the US and Japan http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3901393.htm 18. China row: Bill Shorten says Coalition has had a ‘rocky start’ in foreign affairs Australian Associated Press Foreign minister Julie Bishop denies overstepping the mark in her criticism of China’s new air defence zone http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/28/bill-shorten-accuses-rocky-start-foreign-affairs?CMP=soc_568 19. Rudd’s foreign policy legacy Mark Beeson [Rudd] may prove to be the last Australian prime minister who believes this country can make a difference internationally. http://theconversation.com/rudds-foreign-policy-legacy-20375 ECONOMY + BUSINESS 20. Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation Stephen Koukoulas The ABS has released a terrific data set – Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation. The link is here: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6239.0?OpenDocument There is a stack of interesting information in the release, but something that caught my eye was the overview of those of working age who were not in the labour force and the number of those who were actively looking for work. http://www.marketeconomics.com.au/2438-barriers-and-incentives-to-labour-force-participation 21. Mining construction take big hit as sector moves to production Kylar Loussikian Declining commodity prices and high production costs are hampering investment in the mining industry, with new figures revealing… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-h/ 22. Half of Australian job seekers want part-time hours: ABS ABC Part-time working hours are "very important" to nearly half of Australians seeking work, with study, child-care issues and job satisfaction among the reasons given for not seeking full-time jobs, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/half-of-australian-job-seekers-want-part-time-hours3a-abs/5122664?WT.mc_id=newsmail ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 23. Australian waters polluted by harmful tiny plastics Julia Reisser and Charitha Pattiaratchi Each square kilometre of Australian sea surface water is contaminated by around 4,000 pieces of tiny plastics, according to our study published today in journal PLOS ONE and data repository Dryad. These… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-i/ 24. Drowning Kiribati Jeffrey Goldberg Kiribati is a flyspeck of a United Nations member state, a collection of 33 islands necklaced across the central Pacific. Thirty-two of the islands are low-lying atolls; the 33rd, called Banaba, is a raised coral island that long ago was strip-mined for its seabird-guano-derived phosphates. If scientists are correct, the ocean will swallow most of Kiribati before the end of the century, and perhaps much sooner than that. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-21/kiribati-climate-change-destroys-pacific-island-nation 25. Indian Ocean linked to bushfires and drought in Australia Wenju Cai In a study released today in Nature Geoscience, we show that extreme weather events in Australia such as drought and bushfire are linked to temperature changes in the Indian Ocean. Much like El Niño in… http://theconversation.com/indian-ocean-linked-to-bushfires-and-drought-in-australia-20893 26. To cut more emissions, a carbon tax needs to raise less revenue Jack Pezzey Carbon (emissions) taxes have proved unpalatable world-wide, compared to (carbon) emissions trading schemes. But taxes give stable carbon prices while prices in emissions trading schemes yo-yo, plunge… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-s/ 27. Hell won't sell - using humour to inspire action on our biggest threats Alessandro R Demaio In a summit at last week’s Warsaw UN Climate Conference, I gave a talk urging the Climate Change community to rethink their communications tactics. In short, to move away from current negative-focused, doomsday rhetoric - which I feel has disillusioned rather than engaged or inspired populations - and look to more creative ways which focus on the opportunities and present the issue in a positive light. Including the use of humour. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-yk/ 28. An Emissions Reduction Fund could work, if well designed Ken Coghill, Monash University The Abbott Government’s Direct Action Plan (DAP) - its substitute for Labor’s carbon tax - could be made to work if imagination, innovation and leadership are applied to its design. Submissions on its… http://theconversation.com/an-emissions-reduction-fund-could-work-if-well-designed-20460 29. Australia needs a price on carbon and direct action says new research University of Queensland Australia’s carbon emissions policy requires a price on carbon as well as direct action according to new research by the… http://theconversation.com/australia-needs-a-price-on-carbon-and-direct-action-says-new-research-20636 ASYLUM SEEKERS 30. Traumatising and inhumane: why TPVs have to go Kerry Murphy People smuggling has cost the lives of at least 1,199 people between August 2008 and November 2013. Those fortunate enough to survive these tragedies at sea face enduring trauma: mandatory detention, loss… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-a/ 31. Offshore processing centres are no place for asylum seeker children Jane McAdam Recent reports that three asylum seeker children have been transferred from Nauru back to Australia because of concerns about their health raises a more fundamental question that lies at the heart of Australia… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-z/ PRIVACY 32. Encryption ethics: are email providers responsible for privacy? Adam Henschke Ex-National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden’s various leaks – the most recent being a slide showing that the NSA infected 50,000 of computer networks with remote-controlled spyware – confirm… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-n/ CLERICAL SEX-ABUSE 33. Knowing the unknowns of clerical sexual misconduct STEPHEN DE WEGER Is there an agony in the garden of Catholicism which has yet to be faced - the dark figure of clerical sexual misconduct involving adults? From my research into this issue, two aspects have become quickly apparent: that it is a 'known unknown' within Catholic life, and that it is a very complex issue. That it occurs is not in doubt. More often than not, the victim is blamed http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0015zJwOQzT5qtQnV68ZDZUpoYNLZ__BSNgkI4wLIdGFSuHs86G94EbbwxtGMtIdT-L3oNX7mPeVXv3KLTxUIGIV5ai9CTFdG1xVTfeE-zup4k79tqv07EUm-8VwJMsRgbGUQoGCYeLLzdOOczAtlD0luN_chjrRiDRd_uDQOulfZg= INEQUALITY 34. Inequality is a political problem, not an economic one Tim Dunlop When successful businesses are paying such low wages that they find it necessary to ask for donations of food from customers in order to help out their employees, we have crossed the line between good economic management and social pathology. It is not just a case of direct economic policies lowering taxes on the wealthy and redistributing national wealth upwards - though that happens in spades. Something more insidious is at work. The very tools we use to assert ourselves as citizens against these special interests are themselves attacked and undermined. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/dunlop-inequality-is-a-political-problem-not-an-economic-one/5122022?WT.mc_id=newsmail 35. Where the government stands on women in the workplace Catherine Fox We haven't heard much from the Prime Minister on the topic of women's issues lately so it was good to hear he is very supportive of the new Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation according to Senator Michaelia Cash, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women. http://womensagenda.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=30f81b85614c4a46de129a5d6&id=c3ca9cde17&e=87e80a7b7d 36. Why do Facebook, Microsoft and Xerox publicly support gay marriage? Nareen Young The inability of governments to keep up with changing public opinion on marriage is fortunately not reflected in other areas of the law. Legal protections for LGBTI people have moved ahead in leaps and bounds in recent years with the former federal government coming very close to finishing the job in terms of law reform last year with new discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status, and after amending 84 laws in late 2008 which still discriminated against same sex couples in a wide range of areas including taxation, social security, employment, Medicare, veteran's affairs, superannuation, worker's compensation and family law. Sexual orientation is now also included in anti-discrimination legislation in each state and territory and same-sex couples can adopt children in New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. http://womensagenda.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=30f81b85614c4a46de129a5d6&id=2755fcb20f&e=87e80a7b7d HUMAN RIGHTS 37. Aung San Suu Kyi: democracy, human rights and national reconciliation in Myanmar Fron Jackson-Webb Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was today awarded an honorary doctorate from UTS and the University of Sydney…Along with the addressing the rule of law and ethnic conflict, Suu Kyi said amending the constitution was a key battle in ensuring Myanmar could become a truly democratic nation. Here, we publish her formal speech in full. http://theconversation.com/aung-san-suu-kyi-democracy-human-rights-and-national-reconciliation-in-myanmar-20859 38. Myanmar’s constitutional transition is the military’s call Melissa Crouch, National University of Singapore Myanmar’s democracy icon and member of parliament Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is currently visiting Australia. This historic trip is just one reflection of the broader political and legal changes currently taking… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-e/ HEALTH + SCIENCE 39. Electronic health records review set to ignore consumer interests Merle Spriggs, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute The rollout of the Australia’s Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) has encountered various problems since its inception. But it all got worse when the new health minister, Peter Dutton… http://theconversation.com/electronic-health-records-review-set-to-ignore-consumer-interests-20563 40. Life without antibiotics – the rise and rise of superbugs Matthew Cooper Heralded as a “miracle of modern medicine” when they were first discovered, antibiotics have been overused for so long that most have become ineffective. Stories about superbugs (bacteria resistant to… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nhkuyuk-trhltityg-q/ 41. Salt in soluble drugs increases risk of heart attacks and strokes Aneeka Simonis and Rachel Worsley The salt found in common effervescent and soluble drugs may be exposing consumers to an increased risk of heart problems, according to a study published in the BMJ today. The study found it’s possible… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nklthkd-trhltityg-q/ 42. UK: Cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging after a U-turn by David Cameron Nigel Morris & Ian Johnston The Government is to press ahead with plans to force tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packaging. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cigarettes-to-be-sold-in-plain-packaging-after-a-uturn-by-david-cameron-8968261.html SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate. http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/ Politifact Australia http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 29 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ##############################################################

Casablanca

29/11/2013 CASABLANCA'S CACHE Friday, 29 November 2013. [b]See report cards on Prime Sinister Abbott (items 10-14)[/b] http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/CASABLANCAS-CACHE-2013-11-27.aspx

Casablanca

29/11/2013 [b]Confidential briefing: NBN unlikely to meet Coalition's deadline[/b] David Braue The Coalition’s national broadband network model will prove inadequate for many businesses, is poorly planned and is unlikely to be completed on time, according to NBN Co’s internal analysis for the incoming Abbott government. Obtained by Fairfax Media, the analysis casts doubts over the timing and cost-effectiveness of the government’s proposed fibre-to-the-node model, highlighting numerous legislative, construction and technical challenges likely to blow out the Coalition’s 2016 and 2019 delivery deadlines. The draft document also slashes revenue projections important for the project’s commercial viability by up to 30 per cent by 2021. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/it-pro/government-it/confidential-briefing-nbn-unlikely-to-meet-coalitions-deadline-20131128-hv3tp.html

2353

29/11/2013Even Bolt is criticising the Federal Government. (Refer Casablanca's item 8 above.) You'd have to be concerned if you were Abbott & Co. Maybe Credlin hasn't handed out the script this week.

TalkTurkey

29/11/2013Casablanca I've skimmed your links already, I am now updated on every important matter in Australian public affairs, that is what your Cache provides for the rest of us. Gee I didn't think anyone would [i]ever[/i] be a worthy successor to Lynnie, but there you are! We are spoiled here, we are so used to being fed these précis that it seems like our entitlement. I just want to remind us all that this is a huge effort by you, making it so easy for us ... It reminds me of the Bacon & Eggs parable: all in a day's work for a hen, total commitment by the piggie. Well don't take that too literally, but you get my drift. Thank you always Casablanca.

TalkTurkey

29/11/2013... and speaking of Lynlinking ‏@lynlinking ... So how’s Abbott’s Australia traveling so far? @MigloMT I’m struggling to find one positive thing excerpt http://theaimn.com/2013/11/28/so-hows-abbotts-australia-traveling-so-far/ … Expand Reply

jaycee

29/11/2013Wasn't it just a couple of months back we had "The fool Abbott" saying (wtte) ; Aust' was punching above it's weight on climate change relevance in the world...and now we hear him shooting his mouth off on the China thingo! Hopeless, gutless and useless!

jaycee

29/11/2013What were the cries BEFORE the election in regards the LNP. front bench...remember ? : Tony Abbott ; PM?.....OH NO! Julie Bishop ; Foreign Affairs?....OH NO! Joe Hockey ; Treasurer?...OH NO! Mal' Turnbull ; Communications?...OH NO! Pyne...: Education? ...OH NO! Dutton..; Health?...OH NO! Need I go on?.....OH NO!

KHTAGH

29/11/2013All swordsters Take heart, when we all woke up this morning we were one day closer to the end of Typhoon Tony's tyrannical one term. If we end up with a Lieberal government down here in March the GST will be widened & increased, when that happens it will be the final nail in the Mad Monks coffin. Even the combined efforts of Credlin & Leigh Sales wont be able to save him them. It really is like watching a slow motion train wreck.

jaycee

29/11/2013Tony Abbott...Train-wreck...theme song..; 'Casey Jones (asteamin' and a rollin')'.

Catching Up

29/11/2013Senate Hearings on NBNCo now on.

Catching Up

29/11/2013KHTAGH, sadly they are suggesting Hockey as a replacement. Funny, day 73 of this government, and many are saying Abbott is on the way out. Has to be record.

jaycee

29/11/2013Talk about "train wreck"...Tony Abbott..; meet Casey Jones ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aejTPnAoyk

TalkTurkey

29/11/2013Gobbling on Twitter from Bratfink ‏@PlanetBratfink 2m We mourn the passing of Comet #ISON, who, like Icarus, flew too close to the sun. We were hoping for great things, but it was not to be. My Reply TalkTurkey ‏@TalkyTurkey 10s @PlanetBratfink Or who, like this Government, proved its lack of substance as soon as it met a bit of heat. Expand Reply Delete Favorite More

TalkTurkey

29/11/2013 TalkTurkey ‏@TalkyTurkey 11m Twitter really cramps simple verse! Cnureadths? Wt do u get w t LNP? U get enuf pricks 2ROOTAustralia! That's what u get~aTotalFailure! Please nevervote4them agen! http://www.lyricsdepot.com/dionne-warwick/ill-never-fall-in-love-again.html …

Michael

29/11/2013Too bad we are actually having to live through The Abbott Error. It might make for entertaining reality TV watched from another place. I don't know, Indonesia, perhaps? China? From Number 10 Downing Street? The Abbott Error might screw Australia comprehensively even in the time normal parliamentary cycles allow, but all of a sudden, I'm a 'three year terms' convert!

Curi-Oz

29/11/2013IN the [u]Women's Agenda[/u] article (http://tinyurl.com/lh4kz3y), Senator Cash comments[quote]she would rather work with someone who has an ambitious target[/quote]. So how come she is supporting Mr Abbott? Just asking ...

Jason

29/11/2013The alarm bells about the Abbott government are becoming deafening. And they are ringing around the world. What started as a rumble in Jakarta is now echoing through the capitals of every nation which has any dealings with Australia. http://www.afr.com/p/opinion/what_is_going_on_with_the_abbott_LHjm79n9ebdFQfBaZUxVCK

Ad astra

29/11/2013Casablanca Thank you for your continual supply of excellent links, which I browse in the evenings. Since returning to the south coast much of my time has been consumed with property maintenance, and I’ve still got lots more to do to get ready for the Festive Season when the kids come here for holidays. All that we predicted about Abbott and Co before the election is unfolding day after day before our very eyes. We predicted he would be vengeful, and we are seeing that with Gonski and the NBN. We predicted he would be weak, and we are seeing that revealed in his unwillingness to upset the Nationals over the sale of GrainCorp. “Australia is open again for business”, but not this sort of business it seems! It is amazing that in just twelve weeks, Abbott has managed to seriously mishandle relationships with Indonesia, which now look like taking months or years to repair, and has angered China, with which he hopes to conclude a free trade agreement by the end of 2014. He has adroitly give Indonesia and China the upper hand in bilateral relations, has set back his ‘stop the boats’ campaign so badly that Indonesia is now releasing from detention those found trying to escape to Australia by boat, and has given China a psychological advantage in trade negotiations. Soft commentators put these missteps down to ‘inexperience’; I put them down to the continuance in government of the bare-knuckle street fighter approach he successfully used in opposition. He knows only one mode of operation – the ‘whirling dervish’ approach, one he has used since student days. As we knew they would, he and Pyne have reneged on the spurious ‘unity ticket’ they claimed they shared with Labor regarding Gonski. What we are seeing this week is exactly what they planned pre-election. They took voters for suckers, as indeed those who voted for them were. They lie barefacedly without a trace of remorse or embarrassment, much more flagrantly than they insisted Julia did. Yet she was flagellated; they get away with lie after lie, thanks to a largely complaint Fourth Estate. By hiding information, by infrequent press conferences, and by minimal parliamentary sittings, they are giving the electorate the big bird, knowing that it is still three years to the next scheduled election, by which time the liars will have sought forgiveness and will overlay their broken promises with more promises which will likely be swallowed just as naively as last time. What is disconcerting is that they don’t care what voters think. They have fought for power, and now they have it they will exercise it ruthlessly and without shame. And in doing so, they will convince themselves and their sycophants that they are doing the right thing, and that they are honouring all their promises. By using to the letter their traditional model for viewing the world, they feel certain they are on the right track and no one will convince them otherwise. Just how this contortion of their minds is possible is something I will explain in my December 8 piece: [i]The myth of political sameness.[/i]

jaycee

29/11/2013As that Fin' review article posted by Jason notes....The Abbott govt' is fast running off the rails...it never was stable..and the lies and deceit that was used for it to gain office are now revealed as breathtaking!! Stand ready for when the shit REALLY hits the fan! It wouldn't suprise me if there isn't some sort of "higher authority" intervention...and I'm not talking divine!..Our national respect is going down the drain real fast..there are those who do not like such events and I suspect contingency plan 'A' is already being examined! What was that Daffy Duck moment?...oh yes!..: "A little travelling music please!"

jaycee

29/11/2013London to a brick, G. Pell is "burning the knee-pad rubber" praying like the living-B-jeezus to whoever is the patron-saint of preservation, that Tony be preserved in his current position!..(and pray God THAT is not indecent!)

Curi-Oz

30/11/2013Eighty-four days, and counting ... http://wp.me/p3xJZ6-6h My reaction to some recent postings on various blogs in response to reactions prompted by recent reportage.

Casablanca

30/11/2013 [b]CASABLANCA'S CACHE Saturday, 30 November 2013; 80 items[/b] GONSKI 1. Backdown a betrayal, say angry principals Rachel Browne Schools across the public, independent and Catholic sector in NSW have reacted angrily to the Coalition's backflip on funding, with many saying the uncertainty over budgets makes planning impossible. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/school-funding-backflip-a-betrayal-say-angry-principals-20131127-2yagp.html 2. Country children fall behind city peers Daniela Miletic Country schoolchildren have poorer cognitive abilities and are less likely to do well at school than children from major cities, according to a new Australian study. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/education/childrens-learning-in-country-behind-that-of-city-peers-study-finds-20131127-2yaet.html 3. Coming, ready or not Dean Ashenden Technology is going to drive the first revolution in schooling since the invention of the printing press, says. But it's not just a matter of the machinery http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MUngk&m=K3TXXToGV4hdzG&b=WVgbl6oZn8YLpGvdh1Q1lw 4. Gonski reversal ignores evidence Adrian Piccoli The federal government's decision this week to dismantle the needs-based school funding model - known as Gonski - ignores the solid evidence that the former socio-economic status model was broken. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/nsw-education-minister-adrian-piccoli-rejects-return-to-broken-socioeconomic-status-model-for-schools-20131127-2yaa8.html 5. Pyne pledges $230m as Abbott government goes into damage control over Gonski decision Judith Ireland, Anna Patty, Jonathan Swan The federal government has gone into damage control over school funding reforms, promising extra cash and blaming the media for not understanding the issue, as the row over its backflip on education funds continues. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/christopher-pyne-pledges-230m-as-abbott-government-goes-into-damage-control-over-gonski-decision-20131127-2yagk.html 6. Back to the drawing board on Gonski: no logic in abandoning school reforms Emma Rowe Education minister Christopher Pyne says it’s necessary to go “back to the drawing board” on schools funding and abandon the previous government’s funding reforms – commonly known as the Gonski model… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nkruyyk-trhltityg-k/ 7. Culture wars, Pyne’s education Carol Taylor September 30, 2013 Education in Australia, emulating principles established in Mother England has always been class based, and at times deliberately advanced as a method of social control; to keep the lower classes in their place while providing confirmation of the status of those perceived to be “of better breeding”. http://theaimn.com/2013/09/30/culture-wars-pynes-education/ 8. Abbott must explain backflip on education Bill Scales The Gonski panel, [of which I was a member] gave 18 months of serious consideration to a funding model that has been widely accepted. So why tear it up now? http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/abbott-must-explain-backflip-on-education-20131128-2ydy8.html 9. Former panellists unite in support of Gonski reforms Gareth Hutchens Former members of the Gonski review panel have joined a formal coalition of school principals, charities and church groups calling on the federal government to use the ''Gonski'' model to fund Australia's schools. They have also signed an open letter to federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-panellists-unite-in-support-of-gonski-reforms-20131128-2yecj.html 10. Angry education ministers say meeting with Christopher Pyne achieved no certainty Judith Ireland State and territory education ministers are fuming after meeting federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne on Friday, arguing that the Coalition government is not providing enough certainty around schools funding. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/angry-education-ministers-say-meeting-with-christopher-pyne-achieved-no-certainty-20131129-2yfta.html SURVEILLANCE, REVELATIONS + ACCOUNTABILITY 11. Australia's Jakarta phone-tapping: was it illegal? Alison Pert A look at the domestic and international legality of phone-tapping and espionage http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MUngk&m=K3TXXToGV4hdzG&b=d9jUAFM_9DXEzmh8YKnRgw 12. Indonesia's road map dashes hopes for quick reopening of relations Michael Bachelard, Heath Aston Prime Minister Tony Abbott's hopes for a quick resumption of co-operation with Indonesia appear dashed after Jakarta outlined a road map to restoring relations that could take up to a year to implement. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/indonesias-road-map-dashes-hopes-for-quick-reopening-of-relations-20131128-2yecl.html 13. Abbott spurns Beijing demand to 'correct' comments on air dispute Mark Kenny and Philip Wen Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to take a backward step in a deepening diplomatic spat with Beijing declaring ''China trades with us because it is in China's interest to trade with us''. The unapologetic comments came after Beijing issued a stern warning to Canberra http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-spurns-beijing-demand-to-correct-comments-on-air-dispute-20131128-2yebk.html#ixzz2lyAA1829 14. Timor minister backs spying code of ethics Dan Harrison A senior East Timorese minister backs the Indonesian President's call for a code of conduct on spying, questioning whether intelligence gathering by some nations had got out of hand. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/senior-east-timorese-minister-backs-indonesias-call-for-spying-code-of-conduct-20131128-2yb1z.html 15. Rights and wrongs of ABC spy reports Walter Hamilton The ABC does not have a special responsibility to be 'diplomatic' in deciding what to report and what not to report. ...It must only exercise its professional judgment as to 'news value', and be accountable for it. http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I_7maOUUrQkqTyblbnHODDN0bkxUgKVQCv6YGXDSQ7zZYBTrTbgzUtKXjwz_6FVzYkIDLw08TwopZjZ1WHHoSlUMzwsTj8dVtr99RO0VqY7tJ9W7AdOGM5t5dLpcVIrmLU3Zq5QzBJxZ-UCJTpjexnpdZ5xV6mkWjGsWORsUDb0= GOVERNMENT REPORT CARDS 16. A wrecking ball won't help you in government Jonathan Green Trash talk and calculated deception can bring a party to power, but once it is there, these ploys are empty and ultimately self-defeating http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/green-a-wrecking-ball-wont-help-you-in-government/5121528?WT.mc_id=newsmail 17. What is going on with the Abbott government? Geoff Kitney The alarm bells about the Abbott government are becoming deafening. And they are ringing around the world. What started as a rumble in Jakarta is now echoing through the capitals of every nation which has any dealings with Australia...This is a completely new brand of conservative politics. The new “brand Australia” that the Abbott government is presenting to the world is neo-conservative nationalism, with a populist twist. http://www.afr.com/p/opinion/what_is_going_on_with_the_abbott_LHjm79n9ebdFQfBaZUxVCK 18. Government plays fast and loose with trust and truth Michelle Grattan David Gonski and members of his panel on school funding, who included Kathryn Greiner and Carmen Lawrence, have every reason to feel appalled at the way their work has been treated and trashed by both… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nkruyyk-trhltityg-h/ 19. Stopping the cheques Nic Maclellan Australia's performance at CHOGM and in Warsaw this month will accelerate the decline of its influence in the Pacific http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MUngk&m=K3TXXToGV4hdzG&b=M8ZmFLrwl3XMUH4h2f9Gsw 20. Foreign Affair – The train wreck that is foreign affairs since Abbott and Bishop took control Peter Wixxy In running this great nation of ours there are three top jobs in Australian politics. One of these is clearly the Prime Minister the other two would be the Treasurer and the Foreign Minister. http://wixxyleaks.com/ 21. GrainCorp: Any other decision would have been huge headache for Abbott Michelle Grattan The Abbott government is sailing in heavy waters, in a boat that is less than entirely shipshape...Would it want, right now, a full scale crisis within the Coalition? One wouldn’t think so... The Liberals were themselves divided, but the Nats were feral. http://theconversation.com/graincorp-any-other-decision-would-have-been-huge-headache-for-abbott-20980 22. Moon Landing A Fake Reveals Government rossleighbrisbane Shortly after Christopher Pyne’s announcement that the new education policy would include an abacus for every student, the Abbott Government has declared that it is suspending all contact with other countries. “They keep causing us trouble,” a spokesman said. “First Indonesia, then China and now, the so-called United Nations. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/29/moon-landing-a-fake-reveals-government/ 23. How I learnt to love Tony Abbott: A bromance Greg Sheridan A cut & paste of effusive statements by Greg Sheridan. Shortly after he was elected, our beloved Prime Minister remarked that “happy is the nation that finds itself more interested in sport than politics”. [12 October 2013] http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/december/1385816400/greg-sheridan/how-i-learnt-love-tony-abbott 24. Business, nation, pine for Turnbull Houses and Holes …the strange thing over the past month or so is having been out talking to different groups of company directors, bank customers, economists and the like about the new government, the same question has inevitably surfaced: when will the Coalition bring Malcolm Turnbull back. http://macrobusiness.cmail2.com/t/i-l-ahlttk-dtyueir-ii/ 25. Credibility shot after three months: Australians Pyne for good Government Mark Enders After less than three months in power, Australia's "adult" Abbott Government is already making good on its tacit pre-election promise to wreck the place... This is yet another low for a government full of bottom dwellers, who continue to cover themselves with further shame at break-neck speed. http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/credibility-shot-after-three-months-australians-pyne-for-good-government,5929 26. Indonesia crisis entirely of Tony Abbott’s making Alan Austin Australia’s media are keeping readers ignorant of critical aspects of the diplomatic crisis with Indonesia, while some coverage is actually worsening it. http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/indonesia-crisis-entirely-of-tony-abbotts-making,5922 FOREIGN AFFAIRS & TRADE 27. What will the Trans-Pacific Treaty Agreement mean for copyright? Angela Daly An examination the leaked chapter of the treaty's recent draft http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MUngk&m=K3TXXToGV4hdzG&b=PpdCG9R3n_X4ZEih6j9LBw 28. How to make the G20 matter again Jim Chalmers If Australia is serious about our leadership of the G20 we need to put multilateral trade at the top of the agenda, writes Jim Chalmers. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/chalmers-how-to-make-the-g20-matter-again/5122586?WT.mc_id=newsmail 29. The Australian government doesn't appreciate China’s growing confidence Hugh White The row in the East China Sea between China, the US and Japan has created an ugly rip in Australia’s relations with Beijing. Canberra must learn to live with China's power http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/29/the-australian-government-doesnt-appreciate-chinas-growing-confidence?CMP=ema_632 30. Tony Abbott's torturous patrol boat diplomacy Peter Wicks When Tony Abbott says that he accepts the horrendous war crimes committed in Sri Lanka, Peter Wicks says he doesn’t speak for him or the Australia he knows http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/tony-abbotts-torturous-patrol-boat-diplomacy,5912 31. Diplomatic gaffe strains Australia-China relations, Abbott government threatened Dimitar Dimitrov Less than three months after his landslide victory, Abbott's conservative government is facing criticism from both Indonesia and China...The deterioration of relations between Australia and key regional powers has generated fears that trade, investment and security will suffer. Consequently, Abbott's Cabinet is rapidly losing popularity. http://www.standartnews.com/english/read/diplomatic_gaffe_strains_australiachina_relations_abbott_government_threatened-1716.html POLITICS & POLICY 32. A new government, but no change in politics Laura Tingle "“The government is jawboning on boat people. Ministers are jawboning on the budget. They are jawboning on carbon. They must be picking up some signals that it is not working. There seems to be a complete lack of cognisance that simply going out and repeating these mantras is not something that works once you are in government.”" http://www.afr.com/p/opinion/new_government_but_no_change_in_u0uFcKpDqJd0l14Hp4RGYO 33. Government by the old, for the old? Rodney Tiffen The politics of the aging electorate is complicating government responses to the ageing society. http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=MUngk&m=K3TXXToGV4hdzG&b=92QKvFBBh8mnqKULlXC7nQ 34. Will you still employ me when I’m 64? OnlyTheSangfroid Back when I was a kid, old people had fought in a war. They could tell you stories about growing up in the Great Depression, about the spread of mass manufactured cars, and about personally trying to shoot Hitler.. Today, old people are rubbish. They’ve never done anything worthwhile. http://ausopinion.com/2013/11/29/will-you-still-employ-me-when-im-64/ 35. Right hand drive: The Abbott government is doing U-turns on policy Tom Allard The Abbott government is doing U-turns but are they driven by ideology or finance? http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/right-hand-drive-the-abbott-government-is-doing-uturns-on-policy-20131129-2yh2n.html 36. PM can't stamp out factions John Warhurst Tony Abbott has brought together a group of four party elders to investigate ways of reforming the Liberals' preselection process so that, in his words, candidates are preselected ''on the basis of their ability not on the basis of their factional alignment''. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/pm-cant-stamp-out-factions-20131127-2ya0p.html 37. Jacksonville 63: The "doomed" prosecution case against Craig Thomson Peter Wicks In a Melbourne court .....the shambolic prosecution case against Craig Thomson toppled and teetered even closer to total collapse. http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/jacksonville-63-the-doomed-case-against-craig-thomson,5926 38. Lord George Brandis and Fresh rightwing corruption at UQ Glenn Davies A winner in Canberra, Senator George Brandis may not be so happy about the decisive swing away from the right that occurred after the drawn out UQ student union elections, which revealed widespread corruption by his faction. [...] http://www.independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/lord-george-brandis-and-fresh-rightwing-corruption-at-uq,5933 39. Public Sector Union warns government cuts already putting services in jeopardy Noel Towell More cuts to the public sector risk damage to Australia's social infrastructure and following Britain down the road to the ''Big Society'' http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/public-sector-union-warns-government-cuts-already-putting-services-in-jeopardy-20131128-2yeov.html#ixzz2ly7IEUCi 40. Howard-era mandarin appointed despite public sector hiring freeze Noel Towell As thousands of Canberra public servants face redundancy, a senior Howard-government era bureaucrat has been plucked from retirement by his old department on a wage equal to $300,000 a year. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/howardera-mandarin-appointed-despite-public-sector-hiring-freeze-20131129-2yfw9.html#ixzz2m2oYW9SC 41. Carbon price repeal bills: quick guide Kate Loynes | Parliamentary Library The newly elected Government has promised to introduce legislation to repeal the carbon price and associated measures as its first item of business for the 44th Parliament. This guide provide links to futher information on the carbon price and the process of repeal. http://apo.org.au/research/carbon-price-repeal-bills-quick-guide?topic=politics&tid=71 ECONOMY + BUSINESS 42. Open letter to state treasurers: you should all be sacked Michael Pascoe Dear treasurers, Aside from the slight complication of your opposition shadows being no better than your second-rate selves, how do you justify taking public money when you know you're doing a poor job, when you know you are putting your party's short-term political interests ahead of the long-term good of the country? http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/open-letter-to-state-treasurers-you-should-all-be-sacked-20131129-2yf7u.html 43. Hockey willing to ditch debt ceiling Mark Kenny Treasurer Joe Hockey flags dumping Australia's debt ceiling altogether as a way of breaking a political deadlock over where to set the cap. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/joe-hockey-willing-to-ditch-debt-ceiling-to-break-deadlock-20131128-2yc37.html 44. Hockey’s decision leaves GrainCorp issues unresolved Laura Tingle A certain pattern has emerged in recent years in the way the public discussion about a contentious foreign investment decision runs, driven by the fact that such decisions are among the few where the key decision-makers conspicuously absent themselves from the debate. http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/hockey_decision_leaves_graincorp_6IXpmpYrnQ6MOKsmsce1lM 45. ADM's rejection goes against the grain of logic Stephen Bartholomeusz In blocking Archer Daniels Midland’s $3 billion-plus bid for GrainCorp, Treasurer Joe Hockey has made the wrong decision for the wrong reasons...a signal to the world that Australia’s foreign investment decisions can be perverted by the internal politics of the Coalition. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/29/economy/adms-rejection-goes-against-grain-logic?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=532630&utm_campaign=pm&modapt= 46. Hockey fails the leadership test on GrainCorp Rob Burgess There is a perverse logic underpinning Treasurer Hockey’s decision to block Archer Daniel Midland’s takeover of GrainCorp http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/29/politics/hockey-fails-leadership-test-graincorp?utm_source=exact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=532630&utm_campaign=pm&modapt= 47. Gasp: Separating the wheat from the aft Mitchell Neems Joe Hockey is caught between acting in the national interest and the interest of the Nationals on GrainCorp... Poor Joe “open for business” Hockey found himself in between a rock and a wheat belt http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/11/29/politics/gasp-separating-wheat-aft 48. Big win for Nats as Hockey rejects GrainCorp bid Michelle Grattan Treasurer Joe Hockey has rejected the US company Archer Daniels Midland’s A$3.4 billion bid for the Australian agri-giant… http://theconversation.com/big-win-for-nats-as-hockey-rejects-graincorp-bid-20948 49. One-eyed Maurice Newman continues Labor blame game Leith van Onselen Earlier this month, the head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Maurice Newman, delivered a one-eyed speech to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), where he blamed the former Labor Government for the economy’s and Budget’s woes. http://macrobusiness.cmail2.com/t/i-l-ahlttk-dtyueir-q/ 50. The super balancing act: reduce red tape, but protect people's savings Helen Hodgson The consultation paper released by Treasury on the governance of superannuation funds doesn’t include any surprises. There are no policy recommendations of the type the Grattan Institute called for in… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nkruyyk-trhltityg-o/ NBN 51. Confidential briefing: NBN unlikely to meet Coalition's deadline David Braue The Coalition’s national broadband network model will prove inadequate for many businesses, is poorly planned and is unlikely to be completed on time, according to NBN Co’s internal analysis for the incoming Abbott government. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/it-pro/government-it/confidential-briefing-nbn-unlikely-to-meet-coalitions-deadline-20131128-hv3tp.html 52. Coalition's slower NBN will 'make less money' Jonathan Swan Facing aggressive questioning from former communications minister Stephen Conroy, government officials admitted that the company building the NBN would have to lower its revenue forecasts, partly because of the cheaper, but inferior, technology preferred by the Coalition. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/coalitions-slower-nbn--will-make-less-money-20131128-2ybre.html 53. NBN petitioners target Turnbull, MPs National broadband network (NBN) campaigners are delivering a petition with 270,000 signatures to MPs across the country as they fight for a fibre-to-the-premises plan. The online petition is being presented to 145 federal parliamentarians and to NBN Co headquarters in Sydney on Tuesday. The petitioners want the Abbott government to invest in the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) model over the cheaper, but much slower fibre-to-the-node option the Coalition campaigned on at the election. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/it-pro/government-it/nbn-petitioners-target-turnbull-mps-20131126-hv3t1.html 54. Petitioning Tony Abbott Nick Paine The Liberal Party of Australia: Reconsider your plan for a 'FTTN' NBN in favour of a superior 'FTTH' NBN http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/the-liberal-party-of-australia-reconsider-your-plan-for-a-fttn-nbn-in-favour-of-a-superior-ftth-nbn 55. Malcolm Turnbull gives thumbs down to fibre NBN petition Lucy Battersby (September 13, 2013) Malcolm Turnbull, who is expected to be appointed communications minister next week, has given his thumbs down to an online petition asking the incoming government to keep the fibre-to-the-home broadband model of the previous government. The petition was started by 20-year-old student Nick Paine on change.org shortly after Saturday's election... Mr Turnbull on Thursday criticised the push for fibre as ideology. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/it-pro/government-it/malcolm-turnbull-gives-thumbs-down-to-fibre-nbn-petition-20130913-hv1po.html 56. Sorry, but I’ve changed my mind. I was paid to. Michael Taylor ...at a 2013 senate estimates hearing, Switkowski said Telstra’s copper network is ‘robust’ and has been well-maintained for decades. In 2003 while he was chief of the telco he told a senate estimates hearing that Telstra will replace its century-old copper wire phone network with new technology within the next 15 years, saying the ageing lines are now at “five minutes to midnight”. http://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/ 57. Telstra's copper network held together with plastic bags, Senate told Australian Associated Press The union representing Telstra field staff estimates up to 80% of the telco's "disgraceful" copper-wire network pits have been patched together by plastic bags or ring-barked cables. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/28/telstra-network-held-together-plastic-bags?CMP=soc_568 ENVIRONMENT + ENERGY 58. Message in a (plastic) bottle Errol Brandt Australia’s Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) recently released information showing a rapid move away from glass bottles...If the decline continues at the same rate, enjoying Coca-Cola in a glass bottle will be impossible by 2016 http://nofibs.com.au/2013/11/29/message-bottle-errol-brandt-reports/ 59. Attacks on scientific consensus on climate change mirror tactics of tobacco industry John Cook The importance of public perception of scientific consensus has been established in a number of studies. Perhaps nothing underscores its importance more than the strenuous efforts that opponents of climate action have exerted in attacking consensus. http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=2312 ASYLUM SEEKERS 60. Asylum seeker family's fight to stay in Australia resumes Kim Lyell Lawyers representing an asylum seeker family with a sick newborn say the Commonwealth has begun negotiations about their future. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-29/asylum-seeker-family-continues-fight-to-stay-in-australia/5124988?WT.mc_id=newsmail 61. Cruelty? It's part of the Australian experience Adam Brereton Our treatment of refugees is barbaric in an authentically Australian mode, given our early history of penal settlements. Cruelty is a product of our loyalty to the current political order. How can it be that Australia, a nation whose self-image is of fairness, frankness, and anti-authoritarianism, is so cruel to asylum seekers? http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/28/cruelty-its-part-of-the-australian-experience?CMP=ema_632 62. Stopping people smuggling requires more than just Indonesia’s help Sara Davies Setting aside the lack of information on the number of boats, it’s difficult to know whether current trends are a result of Operation Sovereign Borders, former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s “PNG solution”, or even the prior work of the Gillard government. http://theconversation.com/stopping-people-smuggling-requires-more-than-just-indonesias-help-20585 Latte Sipping Loonies 63. Letter to the Editor “Morrie Hits Back” johnlord Last week, with my permission John Lord published a letter from Morrie Moneyworthy. It is fair to say that it drew a number of derogatory remarks. Again in the interest of balance I thought we should give Morrie a right of reply...All those comments were just what I would have expected from the left wing latte sipping loonies of the proletariat. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/29/letter-to-the-editor-morrie-hits-back-2/ 64. Political Poetry by Truthseeker johnlord2013 Disclaimer. Be warned. It’s very leftist. The evil Prince Tones. When the evil Prince Tones, hatched his plans of deceit To gain power, he’d pay any cost And he gathered a crew who’s scruples were few And who’s morals were permanently lost... http://theaimn.com/2013/10/25/political-poetry-by-truthseeker/ Political Engagement 65. 20 tips for interpreting scientific claims William J. Sutherland, David Spiegelhalter & Mark Burgman This list will help non-scientists to interrogate advisers and to grasp the limitations of evidence. Calls for the closer integration of science in political decision-making have been commonplace for decades. However, there are serious problems in the application of science to policy — from energy to health and environment to education. One suggestion to improve matters is to encourage more scientists to get involved in politics. Although laudable, it is unrealistic to expect substantially increased political involvement from scientists. http://www.nature.com/news/policy-twenty-tips-for-interpreting-scientific-claims-1.14183 66. Taking political engagement online: an experimental analysis of asynchronous discussion forums Peter John Public authorities are increasingly using information and communication technology (ICT) to engage citizens. In this experimental study we analyse the effect of participation in an online asynchronous discussion forum on the direction and magnitude of policy preferences relating to youth anti-social behaviour amongst a large sample of online panel members. http://apo.org.au/research/taking-political-engagement-online-experimental-analysis-asynchronous-discussion-forums 67. The people's voice: instrument for change or just a lot of noise Jon Faine, Peter Chen The forum discussed the ability of ordinary citizens to drive change through the use of SMS, Twitter, Facebook, Google and other social media. http://apo.org.au/video/peoples-voice-instrument-change-or-just-lot-noise?topic=politics&tid=71 68. Churches fight for economic justice Brian Lawrence In his recent address to the Yarra Institute about Christian social thinking, Fr Frank Brennan expressed the view that 'Christian churches are all but absent from the economic debate other than making the occasional, predictable utterance about ensuring that no one is left worse off as the result of new policy measures'. This seriously understates the public advocacy of the Australian churches and does a disservice to many people and organisations. http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001I_7maOUUrQmlfzkzvXh4_6mG0ap_QOCDD3We4lU7tW_78V4xRlAKpw1925plvLmHOb1keIa5Wy5Xi2GM1DBrqbJoCq9BTudegJZX0H2xoCjfHlrLBrjfafF18I6AMRJQS7FvKAISasnVLO7Wjox7RgJhVcNo3ofx6CozTILFTAY= JOURNALISM + MEDIA 69. Kerning, spacing, leading: the invisible art of typography Louise McWhinnie. If the type that surrounds us clamours for our attention, then the space that surrounds it is the silent component: ever-present, but only considered when it imposes upon, hinders or muddies type’s meaning or message. http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nkruyyk-trhltityg-m/ 70. Leveson: Britain's press needs to learn humility – I should know David Yelland As a former Sun editor, I know newspapers are dictatorships. Their hysterical reaction to Leveson proves it. One year on from Leveson, the country finds itself in a crazy place where facts don't seem to matter and generalisations are repeated so often that untruths almost seem truths. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/29/leveson-humility-former-sun-editor-i-know 71. Walkley Awards recognise online journalism – it's time we all did Brian McNair For the first time, the 2013 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism include prizes for Multimedia Storytelling and Podcast… http://theconversation.createsend1.com/t/r-l-nkruyyk-trhltityg-q/ 72. Ladies’ night at the Walkleys for women in media Brian McNair The future of news in Australia is in good hands. Last night’s Walkley Awards in Brisbane showcased the very best of Australian journalism, and highlighted in particular the depth of female talent now operating at the highest level across the range of journalistic genres. http://theconversation.com/ladies-night-at-the-walkleys-for-women-in-media-20940 INEQUALITY 73. How marriage inequality prompts gay partners to adopt one another Koa Beck "A 65-year-old man legally adopted his 73-year-old partner in Pennsylvania for financial protection because marriage was not available to them. The couple told ABC News that they were primarily concerned about Pennsylvania's inheritance tax… Men of this vintage can't sit around and wait for marriage equality to show up, so they've legally changed their relationship from partners to father and son." http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/how-marriage-inequality-prompts-gay-partners-to-adopt-one-another/281546/ 74. Tony Abbott should follow the lead of the French minister for women Georgina Dent & Briana Everett / Oct 21, 2013 15:38PM Last month Vallaud-Belkacem proposed a new law that will fine companies 1% of their total payroll per month if they fail to meet the standards for gender equality. The draft law also proposes to include a measure offering fathers six months of paternity leave. http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/world-of-women/tony-abbott-should-follow-the-lead-of-the-french-minister-for-women/201310213076 75. Taxing the rich is not class warfare turnleft There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there – good for you! But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. http://theaimn.com/2013/11/29/taxing-the-rich-is-not-class-warfare/ HEALTH + SCIENCE 76. Aspirin may prevent dementia and cancers, world's largest study shows Felicity Ogilvie Preliminary medical testing results have shown that aspirin may prevent dementia and intestinal cancers. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-28/aspirin-may-prevent-dementia-cancers-world-largest-study-shows/5122836?WT.mc_id=newsmail 77. Health at a glance – OECD indicators (200 + pages) Almost six years since the start of the global financial and economic crisis, economic conditions vary widely across OECD countries..After a period in which, as part of the stimulus packages, greater resources were channelled to welfare and social protection programmes, the shift towards restoring sound fiscal conditions has often implied substantial cuts in public spending. Like other government programmes, health care has been the target of spending cuts in many OECD countries. http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Health-at-a-Glance-2013.pdf BOOK REVIEWS 78. A rum rebellion Stephen Mills How did an unelected campaign consultant come to exercise such influence over Labor’s 2013 campaign. A review of: The Rudd Rebellion: The Campaign to Save Labor. By Bruce Hawker. Melbourne University Press | $24.99. http://inside.org.au/a-rum-rebellion/#sthash.b35jAjum.dpuf 79. The very heart of history Frank Bongiorno Three biographies reveal twentieth-century Australians in the thick of things.. http://inside.org.au/the-very-heart-of-history/#sthash.h8O5Osga.dpuf 80. The ageless question Sara Dowse Reviews of three new books about what it means to grow old http://inside.org.au/the-ageless-question/#sthash.PE5sULdx.dpuf SOME ADDITIONAL SOURCES Refugee Boat Arrivals The updates that the Morrison Military Machine want to hide. http://archiearchive.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/refugee-boat-timeline-updated-to-november-23rd/ ABC Fact Check determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate. http://www.abc.net.au/news/factcheck/ Politifact Australia http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/ Ashbygate on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/585444634841472/ The Finnigans' Home of the BISONs The Beautiful Inspiring Set of Numbers http://www.thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ • ROULE REPORT — Issues of Today http://paper.li/RouleReport/1334728962 • AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES www.thepaperboy.com/australia/front-pages.cfm • NEWS HEADLINES 30 November 2013 http://www.hotheadlines.com.au/ ###################################################

Casablanca

30/11/2013 [b]From Gonski to conski to sameski to flipski[/b] During the federal election campaign the Coalition cleared one of its great policy hurdles – Labor's generous school funding model – by announcing it was on a "unity ticket" with the then government. We rate this as a Full Flop. http://www.politifact.com.au/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/nov/27/christopher-pyne/gonski-conski-sameski-flipski/

Casablanca

30/11/20132 more.... [b]Abbott's in, now what?[/b] Peter Hartcher What is the point of the Abbott government? The Coalition government has yet to display purpose. It offered itself as a way to make the unattractive Labor spectacle go away. It accomplished that. But what now? Events have found the government flat-footed. Appearing pointless and aimless, the Abbott government is in a weaker position in the polls than any new government in the 40 years of the Fairfax Nielsen poll. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/abbotts-in-now-what-20131129-2yh1g.html [b]Clouds on the horizon - may be turbulence[/b] Ross Gittins It's a funny thing about the awful truth: people are much more inclined to talk about it after elections than before. And it seems as though, of late, our top economists have done little but tell us our economic future is a lot more ''challenging'' than was contemplated during the election campaign. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/business/ross-gittins-clouds-on-the-horizon--may-be-turbulence-20131129-2yh2h.html

TalkTurkey

30/11/2013I've posted this before but it's so-o-o-o poignant now! For Wile E Coyote read Abborrrttians; for Road Runner, read Labor. Check the question his mate asks Wile E as they feast on RR ...! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riY5ubYpFiQ

Bacchus

30/11/2013Thanks for that TT - a really good belly laugh goes a long way!

TalkTurkey

30/11/2013Michael Taylor ‏@MigloMT 1m The AIMN site will be changing web hosts. It should be a smooth changeover but there is an outside chance that we... http://fb.me/15yS6rClT

jaycee

30/11/2013Pyne..another in the conga-line of LNP. ministers who have spent the first half of their life trying to look intelligent...and the second half proving they're not!

jaycee

30/11/2013That Wiley Coyote clip is a beaut, TT!

Casablanca

30/11/2013 Mark ‏@markjs1 5m @awelder Thanx Andrew ...so many Govt stuff-ups ...so few twitter characters ;-) Mark ‏@markjs1 2h [u]Fucked so far:[/u] Foreign affairs #NBN #Gonski Asylum seekers Debt & deficit [u]To come:[/u] Industial relations Disability care Budget

Catching Up

30/11/2013Day 74 of this government. No signs that things are getting better, only worse. Maybe this week, with parliament sitting will bring some positive surprises. Well one can hope.

TalkTurkey

30/11/2013jaycee It's Wile E. Coyote. (He's sensitive about that and his mental health is a bit compromised so don't upset him.) * I wrote another post this morning but touched [b]<-Backspace [/b] and it all vanished. It only does it randomly! Does anyone have the same problem? Oh well I can remember some of the points so I'll précis it a bit. I started with my astonishment at Casablanca's huge Cache today, a record altogether. I thanked her as always, but I made the point too about all these splendid writers in the 5th Estate, so many, so good, it is impossible not to be 'umble. I thought a little about the nature and meaning of pride and of humility. I said they were like the inside and outside of the same glove, they complement each other and are mutually inseparable. But where pride has two faces - justifiable pride in achievement and puffed-up pride as in 'comes before a fall' - humility is always and necessarily modest. Then I said that I personally have no problem with staying modest and humble, despite Bacchus' best attempts to puff my tiny grain-of-rice brain (I have much to be modest and humble about, truly). This comment is only half-flippant, but I'm serious too in that from the first I have known that Ad Astra's wisdom and experience, not to mention his writing abilities, encompass my own: that realisation keeps my feet firmly on the ground. I acknowledge him my personal guru (light in darkness) because I have never seriously disagreed with anything he said, and I have learnt a great deal from him, as have we all, Dear Comrades of the Sword. As we all learn from each other, and especially from Casablanca's Cache, catching so many, so good writers. Oh and that's where I came in at the start of this rave eh. Ad I'm looking forward very much to your thread, to hear your more-leisurely-written thoughts of the last three months. * Bill Shorten spoke with a bit of fire today! I thought it would never happen! Well he's certainly got plenty to fire up about, and plenty of fuel too. [i]So fight on, write on, Put a proper bite on, While we got the chance. [/i]

Ad astra

30/11/2013Casablanca So Peter Hartcher has finally had an Epiphany - what took him so long? The Fifth Estate has been prompting him for years that Abbott is a DUD. TT Haven't we been telling Wile E Coyote for years he's DUD. Now he knows. Slow learners are everywhere!

Casablanca

1/12/2013 Stan Steam ‏@StanSteam2 11h Senior Indonesian politician calls for Mark Textor to be put on immigration blacklist http://www.republika.co.id/berita/nasional/politik/13/11/28/mwy9d3-dpr-minta-mark-textor-masuk-daftar-hitam-imigrasi-ri #auspol https://twitter.com/StanSteam2/status/406616867281698816/photo/1

Casablanca

1/12/2013 Casablanca's picks for today [b]Inequality at the heart of rejection of Gonski program[/b] Peter Martin I get that Christopher Pyne likes private schools. But what I don't get (or didn't get until this week) is that he could possibly want to take money away from poor schools to give to richer ones. I couldn't understand how anyone would want to do that. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/inequality-at-the-heart-of-rejection-of-gonski-program-20131130-2yi54.html [b]What politicians won't admit: most of us are coasting [/b] Crispin Hull ..both sides of politics have put their very similar stories to the public which, together, are a recipe for financial catastrophe. Those storylines are: ■ You are doing it tough. ■ Elect us - we will make it better. ■ We will give you even more in the form of extra spending on education, the disabled and maternity leave. ■ And we will not increase taxes. (In fact, the Coalition wants to remove two taxes). The worst of these four storylines is the first... In the face of this ''doing it tough'' storyline, no government can tackle the revenue side of the budget. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/what-politicians-wont-admit-most-of-us-are-coasting-20131128-2yctg.html

TalkTurkey

1/12/2013First Dog's view from the Moon ... https://twitter.com/davidbewart/status/406883935847596032/photo/1

TalkTurkey

1/12/2013Government by disingenuity, subterfuge and obfuscation! http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbotts-more-controversial-speeches-disappear-20131130-2yimm.html

TalkTurkey

1/12/2013We think we got troubles. All Support Cat ‏@AllSquareCat 56m @wherepond This graphic sent to you via request from the Tigress #DayOfRage #StopPrawerPlan #Anonymous <3Cat pic.twitter.com/F1UxsVkpjr

TalkTurkey

1/12/2013Try this then. Sorry. https://twitter.com/AllSquareCat/status/406877295530364928/photo/1

Catching Up

1/12/2013When the post disappears while writing. Try the undo button., Sometimes one gets it back.

jaycee

1/12/2013pinched from Leone down at the pub! http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/11/27/malcolm-fraser-criticises-govts-leasehold-plan

Catching Up

1/12/2013There is a theory that the Libs are trying to encourage a debate of private versus public education. If one reads comments on MSM sites, this is indeed true. All one reads is that private is better etc. Nothing about the funding model, and being sector blind. This is the greatest positive of the Gonski model. No Malcolm Farr, I do agree that is so. I also believe that the Libs want to only see education in this country, completely private. They want the public sector to disappear. Nothing else makes sense with this government. Yes, the changes that Howard put in place, with his SES model, result in the private sector growing rapidly. Mostly by community religious schools, of all sects growing. This was reversed slightly by Gillard in the last six years.

Catching Up

1/12/2013Have not heard anyone say, that ditching the toxic tax, has not saved Gove. That their problems was caused by falling prices and high dollar. Wonder why that is. That is what happened everytime when a similar situation occurred under Gillard. Abbott now on Bolt. Cannot even pronounce the word Guardian correctly.

Catching Up

1/12/2013Abbott will not repeat the promise he made before the election when it comes to Gonski. Bolt is demanding he does. He is going to keep the promise he made, not the promise that people thought he did. Back to slogans. Bolt not happy with reply.

Catching Up

1/12/2013I forgot, Bolt's father was a teacher, that taught in the outback, in Indigenous communities.

Catching Up

1/12/2013Abbott has a problem, when it is not even safe for him to appear on the Bolt show. He Was forced, and did so, defend the actions of the GG strongly. Abbott admires her greatly and thinks she is a wonderful woman. He just might need her, if he wants to go ahead with a DD. the 75 th day of this government. Politics makes no more sense, this the

Catching Up

1/12/2013Meet the Press should not be missed today. Even Bolt is revealing. That is as long as one ignore the usual rubbish that comes out of Bolt's mouth. Abbott, Costa and Costello on Bolt. Kate Lundy on Meet the Press.

Catching Up

1/12/2013Sorry, Kate Ellis.

jaycee

1/12/2013This is the sort of logic that pervades the "Consciencious Private School Parent" arguement on most days! "... Fee paying parents are willing to do without things like holidays, a new car, a pool, air conditioning - all things my state school friends have. Luxury items that some choose to buy. Their choice. Just like it's others choice to spend what extra they have on education..." And this is my response! "If you and your parents and one must then presume your children AND grandchildren ALL follow the mantra you describe of doing without - hoildays, decent cars, AIR-CONDITIONING!!!..any good times at all ! ...JUST so you can send the seeming unending genetic line of your family to private schools...can one ask..: "JUST WHAT IS THE MEANING OF YOUR LIVES??"....is it "suffering for suffering's sake"....or "suffering for the sake of conservatism's sake" ?"

Catching Up

1/12/2013So Abbott is going to keep the promises he made. not the one we thought he made. It is now our fault, that we cannot comprehend what the Coalition says. Also the diversion today, is to turn up with Cando in Brisbane, in an effort to put Palmer out in front. Yes, attacking Palmer is todays news.

jaycee

1/12/2013Perhaps AA. can answer this q'..: Is it a mental health illness that prevents the right-wing from comprehending that the taxing of the WHOLE community in an equitable way is what provides them with the State delivered water they drink down to the sewerage that is taken away at the other end? Is it the apparent incapacity to understand that the roads they drive upon, the police that "police" them, the defence forces that protect us all and so-on and so-forth are a part of a community contribution that allows those right-wing ferals to as much benefit from civil-constructs that let them presume the freedoms they presume are to be theirs alone...are these inherent truths SO invisible to the right-wing mind, because they suffer from some as yet undiagnosed insanity?...or is it just plain stupidity that is their problem?

Catching Up

1/12/2013Pyne is setting up committees, to advise him. In fact he is setting up these committees to reinvent the wheel. The advice he is seeking can be found in the Gonski reports. The first is to advise him on the best way to train teachers. http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/say-after-the-minister-old-is-new-again-20130927-2ujhn.html#ixzz2mBeyVfB4 Ths same van be said with what they are doing with CEF. Dismantling policies that now exist. to reinvent them in Direct Action. At least the ABC are now calling Abbott's actions as back flips. In fact, one should go further, and describe his actions ans a con, and lies.

Catching Up

1/12/2013jaycee, I suspect just being selfish,m and unable to conceive the needs of others. Just people whop are not quite human.

Catching Up

1/12/2013QT is going to be entertaining this week, in both houses, I expect.

Michael

1/12/2013Abbott's hit a new low in disgusting political hypocrisy. 'You heard "school's"? We said "schools".' Pyne reckoned the Press Gallery was too dumb to figure out education funding earlier this week. Now Abbott tells voters they were so dumb they didn't understand what he said!!?? They weren't paying proper attention. People who voted for him were stupid. I've never doubted that. But for him to now tell them just how stupid they were is... beyond incredible. Dumb dumb dumb, rhymes with quantum. But guess who'll be watching the New Year's fireworks from the verandah of Kirribilli House this year? "Schools ain't school's, stupid." Has the leader of any nation anywhere ever treated the voters who put him in power with such unvarnished public contempt?

jaycee

1/12/2013Bob Ellis is always good for a comment! http://www.independentaustralia.net/article-display/the-madness-of-christopher-pyne,5939

jaycee

1/12/2013The MSM....nowhere to run..nowhere to hide.

Catching Up

1/12/2013Tony out three times today. Must be concerned. Would have been better to stay home. Wonder where Peta is? Bolt, Brisbane and Bondi.

Jason

1/12/2013jaycee, The MSM are as thick as the scaffolding planks I used to use. I can't remember the last time a journo done an interview that looked as though they had done some research on the policy portfolio the guest is in charge of or would like to be in charge of. Instead we have most of the interview taken up with the hack doing their research in front of our very eyes. Pyne got one thing right most of the media didn't understand what the coalition were saying because they couldn't be bothered asking any questions from one presser to the next about anything as soon as Abbott was under pressure he'd turn on his heels and go with their blessing. I suppose it's only a matter of time before the MSM blame the public for them not doing their jobs.

Catching Up

2/12/2013Shorten RN. Fran doing her best to spread Abbott spin when it comes to education.
How many umbrellas are there if I have two in my hand but the wind then blows them away?