Blogotariat

An interview on Lateline Business with Harley Dale (HIA) and Saul Eslake makes for interesting viewing on whether Negative Gearing will be grandfathered and quarantined to new housing only in the upcoming May budget. At about the 10 minute mark Harley Dale makes an extraordinary statement that if this was to occur, there would be […]

By Leith van Onselen Business Spectator’s Callum Pickering has written another good article today on a particularly important issue: Australia’s growing youth unemployment: Australian society is failing its youth and setting itself up for economic disaster. The persistent rise in youth unemployment will reverberate across the economy for decades to come, potentially reducing productivity and [...]

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Please find below an interesting debate between economist, Matt Cowgill, and Godfrey Moase. Assistant Secretary of the National Union of Workers General Branch, on housing policy. The debate was in response to an article that Matt wrote in The Guardian late last year in which he challenged the notion that affordable housing can be achieved [...]

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Only a political partisan would accuse ICAC of bias for bringing down NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell. Elected to clean up Labor's corruption, O'Farrell has himself to blame, writes Ben Eltham

By Leith van Onselen The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released new motor vehicle sales for the month of March 2014, which registered a 0.3% seasonally adjusted fall over the month and a 2.8% decrease over the year (see next table). It was the third consecutive monthly decline in sales. Sales in March [...]

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Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich has raised concerns over transparency in parliament, with little interest from the Government. Barry O'Farrell's replacement must do better

By Leith van Onselen Around six months ago, I attended a friend’s bucks party in Melbourne’s CBD. As bucks nights usually go, we ended up at some seedy bars along King Street, where the night ended around 2 am. As is so often the case in Melbourne, we were unable to find a taxi. Luckily [...]

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Ted Mack is credited by Wikipedia as “the only person ever to have been elected and re-elected as an independent to local, state and federal government in Australia”. While Mayor of North Sydney (1980-88) Mack sold the mayoral car and set out to improve accountability. In 1981 he was elected to the seat of North Sydney in the NSW Legislative Assembly.

Malcolm Turnbull yesterday made several statements on the ABC's Triple J radio station regarding financial projections for Labor's National Broadband Network project which the Communications Minister is aware are false, with the former investment banker inaccurately conflating investment capital and government expenses for the project as well as exaggerating financial figures.

Wasn't sure if this metaphor would hold up for 500 words. But it did. Cos I got metaphor muscles.

Wasn't sure I could even get 500 words out of the state gubbermint's stupid Strong Choices website. Until I realised just how stupid it was.

At Blunty.

By Leith van Onselen In the week ended 17 April 2014, the RP Data-Rismark 5-city daily dwelling price index, which covers the five major capital city markets, rose by 0.37%. It was the seventh consecutive weekly rise in values (see next chart). Values rose in four major capitals and fell in one (see next chart). [...]

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By Leith van Onselen While driving home from the swimming pool on Tuesday night, I listened to an ABC radio interview  featuring former leader of the National Party, Tim Fischer, alongside Beyond Zero Emissions’ Gerard Drewe, lamenting how the proposed second Sydney airport would lessen the prospect of building a high speed rail line linking [...]

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When the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer, part of his call is “come to success” (Hayya ʿala ‘l-falāḥ, literally “hasten to success”). The idea is that Islam leads to success in this world and the next. For the key problem in Islam is ignorance, and the answer to ignorance is guidance; specifically, the instructions given to Allah’s guide (Muhammad) by Allah.