Talk It OutTalk It OutThis blog is about issues that we do or should care about and talk about - politics, womens issues, law, society and the like. It's aim is to create a space to discuss and debate Articles
Aspirational nationalism or nationalist aspirations?
2007-08-21 15:51:00 In a speech given yesterday, Howard set out the "agenda" for a fifth term in government. The third item on the agenda was "to embrace a sense of aspirational nationalism to guide relations between different levels of government in Australia". The term "aspirational nationalism" sounds like a political slogan rather than a concept with meaningful ... More About: Australian politics , Howard government , States , Nationalism
Sleazy clubs and sleazy politics
2007-08-19 14:26:00 Newsflash, newsflash! Four years ago Kevin Rudd had bit too much to drink (ie got pissed) and visited a "gentleman's club" (ie a strip joint) in New York. How absolutely dreadful! It's not like every one of us overindulged in alcohol at some point in our lives and its not as though almost every Australian ... More About: Politics , Clubs , Australian politics , Poli , Politic
It?s all because of land rights, stupid!
2007-08-15 15:58:00 Mal Brough, the Indigenous Affairs minister has finally nailed the cause of the disadvantage of the indigenous people in Australia. The land rights are to blame! You see, they foster collectivism and according to Brough, that just doesn't work because it means individuals don't have anything themselves. Thanks Mal, I for one am relieved to know ... More About: Rights , Stupid , Land
400 thousand to be disenfranchised
2007-08-14 15:39:00 A little while ago the Howard government quietly changed electoral laws so that the electoral roll closes when the election is called. Those who are not enrolled at the time that the election is called immediately become ineligible to vote at the election. Needless to say that persons most likely to find themselves in that ... More About: Democracy , Australian election , Thousand , Franc
Trust us - its not like we are after higher profits
2007-08-12 08:45:00 It's not like we have enough misleading Howard government advertisements clogging up our TV screens, a coalition of business groups have now released their own "independent" advertisement in support of Howard government WorkChoices laws (designed by Liberal party pollsters, no doubt for maximum independence from the government!). If anyone was in any doubt about whom ... More About: Profits , Trust , Political advertising , Industrial relations , Business groups
The flu hits home
2007-08-09 03:58:00 In case any of my readers are wondering where I disappeared of to - the flu outbreak that you probably heard about on the news has hit with a vengeance! As writing coherently and a fever don't go together, I am going back to bed More About: Home , Hits
Cause of Howard government war on States revealed!
2007-08-06 14:54:00 The Howard government knows its in trouble. The polls aren't looking good. Despite the millions of taxpayer dollars the government is spending advertising its unfair WorkChoices laws, the electorate isn't convinced. The interest rates have risen 4 times since the last election in 2004, when the government ran a scare campaign against Labor and promised ... More About: Government , Political advertising , Australian election
Don?t blame me, blame the States
2007-08-04 08:50:00 Howard loves to take credit when things go his way - be it a slight dip in unemployment rates, a strong economy at a time when economies prosper around the world or the interest rates, when they are low. While most of us may think that taking credit for something means you need to accept ... More About: Economics , Australian politics , Howard government , States , Blame
Akerman?s war on good sense - again!
2007-08-03 16:18:00 Piers Akerman can always be counted on for a senseless rant. If you are looking for an example of really bad journalistic writing, Akerman's his latest piece titled "Leadership foreign to Haneef pawns" doesn't disappoint. As usual Akerman displays his ability to write in a balanced and unbiased manner by starting his article with "A week ... More About: Media , Sense , Howard government , Good
Idiotic government advertising
2007-08-02 13:57:00 If the Howard government wasn't spending insane amounts of taxpayer money on advertising itself, some of its ads could be considered funny. Not because they are by their nature humorous, but because they are utterly idiotic. Consider this ad: That telephone pole got in the way when I was taking the photo, but the left part of ... More About: Funny , Government , Advertising , Political advertising
Andrews wins gold in suspicious character competition
2007-07-30 14:48:00 If coming up with ludicrous accusations was an Olympic sport, Kevin Andrews would be a gold medal winner. His statement that the the speed of Dr Haneef's departure from Australia only made him more suspicious would have been funny if it didn't suggest that something is truly rotten in our government. Haneef's speedy departure is suspicious? ... More About: Competition , Gold , Australian politics , Character , Howard government
Haneef and the true dangers of anti-terrorism measures
2007-07-29 15:41:00 After a four week ordeal, Mohamed Haneef has finally left Australia. Kevin Andrews refused to reinstate his visa, but allowed him to go back to India. This "generosity" comes at a price - Haneef is free to leave only on the condition that he doesn't talk to the media or allow his picture to be ... More About: Terrorism , Human Rights , Australian politics , True , Howard government
Haneef fiasco and the politics of (ir)responsible government
2007-07-28 09:45:00 I am in the process of writing a post about what the dangers of overzealous anti-terrorism measures as illustrated by the Haneef case. But before that post is complete, it is worth commenting on responsibility of the various actors in the Haneef fiasco and the hypocrisy of denial of that responsibility by the government. A government ... More About: Politics , Government , Howard government , Poli , Asco
Can democracies deal with terrorism?
2007-07-27 12:47:00 There was an opinion piece in the Australian concerning the difficulties for politicians in a democracy in showing restraint in their responses to terrorism. The author argued that the shock value, rather than fatalities of terrorist acts means that politicians have no choice but to demonstrate that they are tough on terrorism, especially in a ... More About: Terrorism , United States , World Politics , Deal , Australian politics
A clear case of prejudice
2007-07-26 00:12:00 Two days ago the Democratic Audit of Australia released a report titled "How well does the Australian democracy serve sexual and gender minorities?". The answer is not very well at all, really. While significant advances have been made at State and Territory level, little advancement in rights of sexual minorities occurred at federal level. The ... More About: Human Rights , Case , Howard government , Clear , Dice
Real choice and Workchoices
2007-07-24 16:10:00 I was at the Law Institute of Victoria Workplace Relations Section debate yesterday. The topic was "AWAs: Should they stay or should they go?" and the two combatants were Jeff Lawrence of Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) and next secretary of ACTU and Christopher Platt from the Australian Mines & Metals ... More About: Unions , Australian politics , Real , Industrial relations , Choice
Back in the land of the living (back online), with an amusing Howard video
2007-07-22 14:02:00 I have taken myself off line for two days to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before someone spoiled the plot for me. Doesn't sound like much, but its a lot of time for a computer addict. Anyway the book is now read - it is a bit like getting off a roller coaster ... More About: Video , Funny , Living , Online
Re-creating Tampa
2007-07-21 01:00:00 Once upon a time the Howard government was dangerously close to losing an election. But its fairy godmother delivered it a special election time gift - a ship called Tampa , with its cargo of a couple of hundred desperate bedraggled refugees rescued from their sinking boat. It's arrival saved the government. The carefully stirred fear ... More About: Human Rights , Creating , Australian politics
Ruddock and the rule of law - who rules and whose law?
2007-07-18 14:57:00 Ruddock's apparent response to an opinion piece in the Australian regarding flaws in the process of selecting federal judges could not have been published at a worse time. Given that the government has just subverted judicial process and undermined the rule of law by locking up Haneef after he'd been granted bail, Ruddock's "opinion" piece, ... More About: Rules , Australian politics , Rule , Rule of Law
The true face of terrorism measures
2007-07-16 14:46:00 Earlier today a magistrate ordered that Dr Haneef be released on $10,000 bail, pending his trial on charges of recklessly providing resources or support to a terrorist organisation (aka giving his cousin a SIM card that wasn't even used in the attempted attacks). Given that obtaining bail in matters concerning a "terrorism offence" is very ... More About: Terrorism , Human Rights , Face , True , Sure
More misuse of public resources by the Howard government
2007-07-15 10:32:00 No, I'm not referring to the expensive refit of Howard's plane or the posh cabinet chairs - travelling in luxury is not the most objectionable example of Howard government 's misuse of public funds. Misusing taxpayer money to keep himself in power is much worse - especially when the money is directed to misinformation of the ... More About: Government , Resources , Public , Australian politics
Though shalt not share thine SIM card!
2007-07-14 14:42:00 Australians, you have been warned! If you give your SIM card to a relative, who later turns out to be a terrorist (even if you don't know about it at the time), you can be hunted down, arrested, charged with something like recklessly providing material support for terrorism and jailed for 15 years. Everyone knows ... More About: Card , Share
un-Australian conduct
2007-07-13 14:00:00 The Australian newspaper claims to support free speech. Earlier this year, News Ltd (which owns The Australian), in conjunction with other media organisations launched the "Australia's Right to Know" campaign, aimed at reviewing the increasing restrictions on media freedom. The Australian even has a web page, titled "Your right to know", dedicated to freedom of ... More About: Media , Blogosphere , Democracy , Freedom of Speech
The inversion of justice
2007-07-12 14:59:00 Usually we lock people up because there is evidence that they are guilty. Under terrorism laws this principle has been inverted. Dr Mohamed Haneef has now been in detention for some 10 days. He has not been charged. Worse still for much of that time, his lawyers have not been told what exactly the accusations against ... More About: Justice , Version , Inversion
Now THAT?s a scare!
2007-07-12 11:38:00 Sometimes media do funny things. Take today's MX (ok, maybe it doesn't qualify as "media", but bear with me) - half the front page is occupied by a headline which screams "PM gun scare". Anyone expecting a juicy story about a foiled assassination attempt would have been disappointed. The so-called scare involved a man who was in ... More About: Media , Funny
A forgotten election issue
2007-07-09 15:21:00 I was very interested to read an article in the Australian by Professor George Williams about the impact the next election will have on the composition of the High Court of Australia. With the political focus on WorkChoices, Iraq, indigenous affairs and the non-exploding car bombs in UK it is quite understandable that even those ... More About: Election , Howard government , Australian election , Gott , Forgotten
Did the health department deny cancer patients the best treatment?
2007-07-09 12:26:00 I just saw a 7.30 report regarding an inquiry into health department conduct in relation to a report recommending PET technology for cancer patients. PET stands for Positron Emission Topography. The technology is widely acknowledged as the best way of ascertaining the status of and diagnosing some cancers, including breast cancer and prostate cancer, the ... More About: Health , Cancer , Department , Treatment , Patients
Julia Gillard?s speech
2007-07-07 16:11:00 On 26 June 2007 I had the good fortune to be present at a breakfast organised by the Maurice Blackburn Cashman Women 's Law Section, where Julia Gillard was a guest speaker. The speech has now been published on Gillard's website, so I thought now is a good time to discuss it without much risk of ... More About: Family , Howard government , Industrial relations
Some weekend entertainment - Search for a scapegoat part II
2007-07-06 15:49:00 A few weeks ago I posted a video made by "killerspud" about John Howard's search for a scapegoat for the next election. Now there's a second installment as the search continues. Thanks to killerspud for his permission to use the video on this site. Hope you enjoy watching it. More About: Funny , Entertainment , Search , Weekend , Australian politics
A truly Minimum wage increase
More articles from this author:2007-07-05 15:43:00 The Australian Fair Pay Commission released its July 2007 wage decision (which will come into effect in October 2007). The summary of the decision can be viewed here. The Commission increased the federal minimum wage by a princely amount of 27 cents an hour for the workers on pay scales under $700 per week and ... More About: Poverty , Australian politics , Industrial relations , Minimum Wage , Business groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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