In The Australian today:
"With this week’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook projecting deficits through to 2019-20, Australia’s prosperity is as threatened as our peaceful way of life. But while the horrors of terrorism have brought Australians together, the economic risks this country faces are tearing our political system apart. Whether the government can regain the initiative, focusing the nation’s attention on the dangers of simply letting our fiscal situation drift as export prices plunge, is the crucial question for the year ahead."
15 Dec2014
Talking sense on health spending
In today's The Australian
"It's the season for miracles. Unfortunately, today’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook is likely to show they are in short supply. But if divine intercession is too much to hope for, surely a sensible discussion about public spending is not. And with MYEFO adding to the focus on the proposed GP co-payment, health expenditure should be a good place to start."
"It's the season for miracles. Unfortunately, today’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook is likely to show they are in short supply. But if divine intercession is too much to hope for, surely a sensible discussion about public spending is not. And with MYEFO adding to the focus on the proposed GP co-payment, health expenditure should be a good place to start."
13 Dec2014
Double-edged sword of the new oil shock
Today in The Australian
"It's certainly been good news for Australian consumers. In October, a litre of petrol cost about $1.50; with prices now down to $1.25, the typical motorist is saving $60 a month."
"It's certainly been good news for Australian consumers. In October, a litre of petrol cost about $1.50; with prices now down to $1.25, the typical motorist is saving $60 a month."
08 Dec2014
Tony Abbott pays price for ignoring basic political principles in budget
In The Australian today:
"Like watching a dog hit by a car, the dying takes longer than one could possibly have imagined. But as budget measure after budget measure writhes in agony, the government has struggled to adapt to the situation it finds itself in."
"Like watching a dog hit by a car, the dying takes longer than one could possibly have imagined. But as budget measure after budget measure writhes in agony, the government has struggled to adapt to the situation it finds itself in."
01 Dec2014
Get better arms and a new map
In The Australian today
"With Victorians flocking to put King Herod in charge of the nursery, the federal Coalition could be forgiven were a sense of anxiety intruding like a creeping fog. Whatever its weaknesses, the Napthine government was neither incompetent nor corrupt; that it was thrown out after a single term suggests an electorate that is impatient, intolerant and unforgiving."
"With Victorians flocking to put King Herod in charge of the nursery, the federal Coalition could be forgiven were a sense of anxiety intruding like a creeping fog. Whatever its weaknesses, the Napthine government was neither incompetent nor corrupt; that it was thrown out after a single term suggests an electorate that is impatient, intolerant and unforgiving."
24 Nov2014
Barack Obama’s green smoke and mirrors
In The Australian today:
"Ain't love grand! Spell-bound, you see what isn’t there. But though it made the cow-eyed audience at the University of Queensland swoon, virtually none of the $US3 billion Barack Obama pledged for the Green Climate Fund is new money."
"Ain't love grand! Spell-bound, you see what isn’t there. But though it made the cow-eyed audience at the University of Queensland swoon, virtually none of the $US3 billion Barack Obama pledged for the Green Climate Fund is new money."