Thankfully one of the least productive uses of resources on a national scale, a federal election, will soon be over. As usual the government of the day amazingly comes up with a whole range of great ideas that it failed to come up with during the previous 3 years and the crowd trying to gain power, attempt to convince us that they could do better.
Entries Categorised as 'Opinion'
The G20 Toronto Summit: the end of consensus.
July 6th, 2010 · 3 Comments
As readers of this blog will know, I believe that the G20 leaders meetings are generally a waste of time and fossil fuels. After each meeting all we ever get is some vague declaration that basically says all the G20 leaders are wonderful with the mainstream media simply rehashing press releases and happy to go along for the ride. The latest G20 gathering in Toronto, Canada, was no different except that more police cars were set alight.
The Resources Super Profits Tax, twisted logic and why Henry must go.
June 7th, 2010 · 98 Comments
Quite clearly the debate regarding the Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) in Australia and abroad has not died down. Despite what the Government would like people to believe, it is not just the foreign mining companies that are opposed to this new tax, but also small Australian mining companies, business owners and the public in general.
The two speed economy, debt and the fantasyland federal budget.
May 17th, 2010 · 26 Comments
Now that the major stock markets around the world are falling the Australian media have become obsessed with the concept of a “two speed economy”. I am not sure who first started using this term, maybe it was the gurus at the Treasury or the Reserve Bank, but in my view there is no such thing as a two speed economy. The situation we have now is that the economy has simply been mismanaged.
The tax review, health reform and Rudd fatigue.
May 7th, 2010 · 74 Comments
Well the Government’s response to the Henry Tax Review has been released and even Ruddites like David Koch from Kev07’s public relations program “Sunrise”, seem annoyed by the way the report is basically being shelved. Suddenly the business media has woken up to the fact that Rudd and Swan are economic dills, but as reader’s of this blog will be aware I have been warning about what these two would do to the economy for years.
What might an Australian economic slump look like?
April 30th, 2010 · 127 Comments
If you are an investor and you have not contemplated an economic slump in Australia during the next few years then in my view, you might be in for a nasty surprise. Yes the Australian economy did hold up well during the worst of global financial crisis, but the crisis isn’t over yet and it still has some sting left in it’s tail. (just ask the people of Greece!)
Another G20 love-in, the global recovery and China.
April 25th, 2010 · 36 Comments
All hail to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, for according to the communiqué from G20 meeting in Washington, they have saved the world from a financial crisis and will now lead us into a new era of growing global trade. Of course if the G20 actually functioned properly in the first place we would not be in the mess we are in now, but I guess they don’t talk about that much at the meeting.
Pink batts, a revived Federal Opposition and an election year.
February 17th, 2010 · 21 Comments
I have not focused on the Australian political landscape for a few months but the recent tragic deaths of 4 people installing home insulation as part of the Rudd Governments spend-a-thon, has reminded me of the dangers of a government obsessed with poll numbers and popularity.
Why the Ken Henry taxation review will achieve little.
January 26th, 2010 · 19 Comments
For some time now investors and the public in general have been drip fed details of what might or might not be included in grand sounding “Australia’s Future Tax System Review”. Now that the report has been handed over to Wayne Swan and the Government it might be tempting for us to think that we will see sweeping changes to Australia’s tax system, but I am here to tell you that little will happen and here’s why.
Climate change fakes and fakers: the mindless mob.
January 15th, 2010 · 10 Comments
Over the past year or so those who have questioned the science behind Anthropogenic (human-induced) Global Warming have been subjected to ridicule and harassment especially by dim witted journalists and politicians. But the real villains in the global warming story are those who preach climate change, but do little to rescue their own carbon footprint. Why are these people not held up to ridicule I wonder?
The recent COP15 conference in Copenhagen is an excellent example of how ridiculously stupid the whole climate change issue has become. Around 40,000 people were in the city for a conference that without a doubt resulted in tonnes of CO2 being pumped into the air, especially as a consequence of the delegates and media personnel who flew to Denmark for the conference. (most of whom did not need to be there)
The outcome from days of meetings, receptions, dinners and drinks was that the gathered world leaders basically “noted” that climate change is a threat to humankind. Couldn’t they have achieved just as little via a few video conferences?
Australia led the pack at Copenhagen in regards to being the biggest climate change fakes. Our delegation of around 140 was one of the biggest and achieved basically nothing. Even our bright idea of hiding carbon emissions under a rock was dismissed as people have sort of woken up that clean coal isn’t really that clean.
But climate change fanatics don’t seem to worry about the lunacy of having an unnecessary conference about climate change where they actually undertake the sort of activities that they say is causing the problem in the first place. Perhaps next they can have a three day feasting event to talk about world hunger where all the food comes from poor nations?
There are climate change fakers everywhere and they are in no way morally superior to those who question the science behind AGW. Those who are labelled “deniers” simply see another side of the debate and want questions answered.
Most climate change fakes don’t really understand the science behind AGW, often pretend they do but worst of all, somehow expect CO2 emissions to be reduce via a tax because they are not prepared to make significant lifestyle changes themselves.
So next time you hear someone ranting on about how the oceans or temperatures are going to rise because of human activity use this check-list to see if they are a climate change faker.
Australian climate change fakers check-list.
You can tell a person is a climate change faker is they believe (or say) the science behind AGW is “undeniable” but….
1. They fly overseas or domestically for holiday.
If a person really believes that human activity is causing the planet to warm then why the heck are they jetting off on holidays leaving a trail of carbon as they travel. How can a person justify in their own minds getting worked up about the “deniers” and then fail to see the irony when the planes engines start.
If they stay at home they will help reduce the demand for air travel and this will help reduce global CO2 emissions. Simple to do, but don’t expect the number of people going to Bali to drop off any time soon.
2. They fly in business or first class.
If a follower of Al Gore’s climate change theory has to fly for business or personal reasons then they should try and limit their CO2 footprint by heading back into cattle class. Sure it is a bit rough rubbing shoulders with the general public, but it is a small sacrifice to make in order to help reduce CO2 emissions.
Eventually airlines will take the hint and pull out the business and first class seats, thus allowing them to squeeze more people onto the plane. Maybe they can even find a way to take out all the seats and make us stand…instead of earth hour we can stand up for the planet for 10! (well not me actually, because I am one of those nasty people who questions the science behind AGW)
However you will find plenty of climate change fakers up at the front of the aircraft because although they reckon we need to save the planet, it is not so important it seems as to justify them missing out on a glass of wine, leg space and a gourmet meal.
3. They drive a sports car.
Sports car’s are not designed to get the maximum amount of energy out of each litre of fuel. If a person pours scorn on climate change “deniers” and then merrily drives a sports car then they are the ultimate climate change faker. Enough said.
Those who own 4WD vehicles in the city that rarely see a dirt road are also probably climate change fakers as well.
4. They drink bottled water.
Need I go into how ridiculous it is for someone who reckons they are worried about how human activity is changing the climate to drink bottled water? If they drink imported bottled water then they really mustn’t do much thinking at all.
I wonder if they had bottled water at the COP15 circus?
5. They have a large screen TV, home entertainment system or other unnecessary consumer electrical appliances.
Since most of Australia’s electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels then a climate change believer should be leading by example and using the minimum amount of electricity at home. Simply turning off appliances when not in use is not enough, the power hungry appliances have to go.
The fact is that if we reduced our household electrical consumption by 30% we would go a long way towards meeting any carbon emission reduction targets, but the reality is that most people are hooked on TV’s, air conditioners, home coffee makers, computers and gaming consoles etc.
A person who endorses the Emissions Trading Scheme but has a home full of consumer electrical goods is a major league climate change faker.
Oh and I know people try to justify having a large flat screen TV because it uses less electricity than an older type TV but here is a hint, a small flat screen TV consumes even less and having no TV will really help reduce home electricity consumption.
6. They live in a home larger than their needs and/or have a holiday home.
Housing activity creates vast amounts of CO2. Just think about all the carbon that is released when homes are constructed or renovated. Then factor in all that nasty human activity required to fill the home with furniture and fittings, not to mention the impact housing has on the environment via land clearing.
There is no need to implement a tax to reduce CO2 emissions in Australia, we could simply bring in legislation that bans the private ownership of holiday homes and regulates the size of private residences.
Since Kevin Rudd says climate change is the biggest moral issue we face then he could introduce legislation to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions created within the housing sector this year. He has the power to save the planet in his hands! (well at least he thinks he has)
But this will never happen of course because Kev07 knows Australian’s would never stand for such an infringement of their rights. Climate change might be the biggest threat we face according to the global warming fanatics, but if they have to live in a house without a double garage and family room then the burden is too great!
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I know the above list is a little extreme, but my point is that 90% of the people I see supporting an ETS would scream from the rooftops if they had to make any serious personal sacrifices in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
In their own minds they care passionately about the earth’s future, but not enough to do something significant about it. (apart from switching off the lights for “Earth Hour” and feeling all warm and fuzzy about it)
Climate change fakers are the villains in the global warming story, not the heroes. They are all for reducing Australia’s carbon footprint as long as it doesn’t affect them too much.
I don’t have a problem with people who believe in AGW if they practice what they preach so to speak. But I would guess the number of people in Australia who fall into that category would be very small indeed.
Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong might not like the global warming “deniers”, but at least these people are asking the right questions and not leading some sort of carbon double life. Being a climate change faker and part of the mindless mob is nothing to boast about.
Farewell 2009, goodbye GFC and a Happy New Year to all!
December 31st, 2009 · 2 Comments
Well 2009 is almost over and although stock market investors did it tough in the first quarter, overall the ASX All Ordinaries and S&P/ASX 200 posted healthy gains of around 30%. This means stocks & shares were in fact a good place to have your money over the last 12 months.
The madness of King Malcolm and the Emissions Trading Scheme.
November 27th, 2009 · 16 Comments
From the moment the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) concept was floated I had an uneasy feeling about it and unlike a lot of recent anti-ETS converts, I have voiced my opposition to this legislation for many, many months. Simply put, I don’t see the logic in trying to help the planet with a tax.
GDP growth does not equal a quality Australian economy.
November 3rd, 2009 · 7 Comments
It would be easy to get the impression by listening to the Government, the Reserve Bank, the Treasury, financial journalists and many economists that it is undeniably good if Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expands, but is that entirely correct? Is there such as thing as bad GDP growth?
The forgotten economic giant: The European Union.
November 1st, 2009 · 3 Comments
In the frenzy to churn out China growth stories most financial and business journalists in Australia appear to live in a world where the European Union either no longer exists or does not matter. I must admit I also do not pay enough attention to European economic data, so today I will have a quick look at the European Union and outline why I believe we should all pay more attention to developments on the other side of the planet.
Ken Henry and his tax review: should we be worried?
October 6th, 2009 · 165 Comments
Back in May 2008, when times were good and the inflation genie was free, the Government announced that a review of Australia’s tax system would be undertaken. But that was before the global financial crisis struck and a lot has changed since then, so should we be worried about what recommendations the review panel will make?
A G-20 love-in, world leaders on parade and spoonfed journalists
September 26th, 2009 · 17 Comments
Thank goodness for the G-20 meetings, they are 2.5 time more exciting than the G-8 ones and they require more people to jet around pumping lots more Co2 into the atmosphere. After the latest lovefest in Pittsburgh it seems the global economy has been saved, the world is united in fighting global warming and Elvis was found serving drinks at one of the cocktail parties.
A double dip recession, fear and keeping an open mind.
August 27th, 2010 · 29 Comments
Well the Dow Jones closed this morning below 10,000 and for those financial writers who focus more on grabbing reader’s attention rather than on facts, that can only mean one thing: the U.S economy is heading for a double dip recession! Of course the fact that the U.S economy is actually expanding, as are other major economies like China, Japan and Germany, appears irrelevant to many market commentators who seem intent on making investors fear that another economic crisis is at hand.