Often when I listen to Radio National, I’ll learn something I didn’t know before. In this case, I was listening to Saturday Extra last week. Cutting power consumption? One item talking about electricity efficiency noted that enormous amounts of money are being invested in distribution networks, instead of being spent on measures to cut consumption ... [More]
Category: Politics and activism
I’m a troublemaker sometimes
Stakeholder and interest group commentary on the State Budget usually happens out the back of Parliament. And when it starts raining, everybody huddles under the shelter near the back door. Here’s my State Budget summary — well, the PT bits: Four new stations on existing lines to be built — Caroline Springs (V/Line), Williams Landing, ... [More]
Categories
Thoughts on tax
The tax return My 2008-09 tax return took ages to come back. What happened to it? An old fashioned IT screwup: We know some people have experienced delays and frustration caused by our essential systems upgrade. Unfortunately, the size of the systems we deal with means they are incredibly complex. Also, given the importance of ... [More]
It’s time for a cleanout of links and half-written/baked posts. Fascinating for MSM watchers A former Fairfax staffer is starting his own free magazine in collaboration with real estate agents and is expected to win millions in advertising revenue away from Fairfax. Webber’s nanny state During the recent furore over Mark Webber’s claims Victoria was ... [More]
Categories
This makes no sense
From ABC’s AM on Monday, on the rise of anti-government rhetoric in the USA: BILL CLINTON: A lot of the things that have been said, they create a climate in which people who are vulnerable to violence because they’re disoriented, like Timothy McVeigh was, are more likely to act. We ought to have a lot ... [More]
Categories
Health insurance
The Medicare levy surcharge is, in my opinion, an stupid tax designed to force some people into getting private health insurance, whether they want it or not, by taxing them more than the cost of the premium if they don’t, all in order to subsidise the otherwise unprofitable private health industry. I earn enough to ... [More]
Categories
The quest for policies
Some of the letters in the papers (particularly the local paper) are obviously from cranks, but many are worthwhile, and this one in this week’s Moorabbin Glen Eira Leader just perfectly enunciates what I suspect a lot of people are thinking: Libs need to state policies IN RESPONSE to the letter by the Liberal candidate ... [More]
It must be an election year — in the past few weeks we’ve got fridge magnets with emergency numbers, from both our federal Member of Parliament Andrew Robb (Liberal) and also from state MP Rob Hudson (Labor). So, you know how I like to treat political issues seriously. Which fridge magnet is better? Rob Hudson ... [More]
My view, as I’ve expressed before, is that healthy debate is important, but it relies on the participants sticking to the facts, and not just making things up. Otherwise you get stuff like this, which concerns a Bacchus Marsh resident who apparently misinterpreted what he read and contacted Leader (newspapers) with concerns about seniors ticket ... [More]
Categories
Giving a hand-up
Was having a chat to somebody the other week when Liz, a fellow Bentleigh resident and fellow troublemaker, wandered past and said hello. Liz has got active in the debate over social housing, following the furore over a proposed development in the very SE-corner of Bentleigh to accomodate disadvantaged women. (In my book given it’s ... [More]
Categories
KRudd quoting Twitter
Nice to see the Prime Minister quoting a Twitter post in parliament, but jeez — reading it off a printout? Surely his staffers could have sent it to him on his Blackberry or something so he looked at least a little tech-savvy. (via Mumbrella)
Categories
Why yes, I have done that
Ever tried to do a press conference at Southern Cross station and compete with a locomotive for the microphone? Don’t try. Locos 1. Me 0. — Kevin Rudd PM on Twitter Amusing. It occurred to me that there’s not very many people who would be qualified to reply in the affirmative to that, so even ... [More]