This is good news. It just might be that the Bracks government is listening and bowing to community pressure.

I’ve certainly harped on from time to time about climate change on this blog. As I’ve said before it is the single most significant issue (social and environmental) the world has ever faced and the world is failing to act.
1360 scientists from 95 countries have had to reiterate their claims AGAIN, despite there being […]

I’ve just started on the latest edition of Quarterly Essays by John Hirst regarding the inadequacies of the Family Law Court in Australia.
I’ve only read the first section so I’m a little reluctant to pass judgement at this stage. However a couple of things are noteworthy. Firstly, that John Hirst has written it. […]

The ‘sphere and the media have been discussing issues of federalism and centralism, so I thought I’d weigh in on the debate.
It was all triggered by Howard’s comment that Australia didn’t need the states. Noteworthy contributions on the discussion come from John Quiggin and Troppo Armadillo.
I’ve stated before with regards to both Universities and […]

When I’m ‘between books’ I sometimes pick up my copy of Our Word is Our Weapon: Selected writings of Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos. It’s not the sort of book you can really just sit down and read as it is far too dense but it’s good to pick up on occasion and read a couple […]

I’ve never been a big fan of ‘I told you so’. However, if I remember correctly, I think I posted on the way the Bracks government’s increased stringency with regards to speeding was just a money grabber and that the reduced number of fatalities on the road was, quite literally, a coincidence. All […]

These people have no shame: “Several local Liberal branches will urge Mr Costello at the party’s state council meeting this weekend to cut the top marginal income tax rate from 47 to 30 cents in the dollar, a cost to revenue of up to $12 billion a year.”
I just don’t know where to begin!

For those of you who don’t know, “Rainbow” was a credible childrens TV show from the 70’s and 80’s. This clip was actually broadcast and watched by millions.
Check it out here.

From the PR Watch newsletter:
Australian journalist Neil Chenoweth has revealed that Rupert Murdoch “sidestepped stamp duty of $A53 million [U.S.$41.3m] and capital gains tax of up to $A1.2 billion [U.S.$936m] by moving control of his ultimate family company, Kayarem, to the Caribbean and listing it on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSE) a week before News […]

I don’t think I can really add much to the debate around Refugees except to express my disgust at the way we are incarcerating innocent people.
The recently announced “removal pending bridging visa” is the tiniest of concessions. It is excellent that these people, who have been incarcerated for over 3 years, will now be […]