It wasn’t that long ago when ex-Treasury Head Ken Henry talked about the Australian economy being in a ‘Golden Age’. I guess when you can retire on a lucrative public service pension and then parachute into a highly paid job as an advisor to the Prime Minister the future does probably seem bright. But now in early 2012 as unemployment appears set to rise and the economy is showing signs of weakness, Ken Henry’s ‘Golden Age’ comment might end up in the same category as Tim Flannery’s ‘Dams will no longer fill’ prediction.
Entries Categorised as 'Politics'
North Korea’s Khrushchev.
January 11th, 2012 · 1 Comment
Scenes of Pyongyang citizens wailing the death of “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il remind us how easily dictatorships can manipulate public opinion. But are the rest of us so immune to similar manipulation?
Japan’s economic morality play.
October 26th, 2011 · 3 Comments
World attention focuses on the problems of the Greek economy — no doubt with a large helping of schadenfreude added: There, but for the grace of God, go the rest of us is the thought.
A bear market, the G-20 circus & another report.
September 28th, 2011 · 38 Comments
This week the Australian stock market slid into what I would call a bear market although some would argue that it has avoided such fate by a whisker. The reality is however that the ASX All Ordinaries did close below 4000 recently and that represents a drop of just over 20% from levels seen in April. If it looks and feels like a bear market, then for me it is a bear market.
The stampede towards global economic pessimism
September 13th, 2011 · 29 Comments
A sure sign that an economic trend has been established is when the OECD finally jumps on the trend bandwagon and recently the OECD has joined the group of recently converted economic pessimists. Gone are the days when big borrowing, big spending governments would save the day – the theme of the day now is hang onto your hats because we might be in for a bumpy ride.
It’s the stupid Australian economy, stupid.
August 24th, 2011 · 19 Comments
Over the last few months media commentary regarding the Australian economy has turned decidedly gloomy. The wonders of the mining boom are now being questioned, the U.S. and European economies matter again and people are starting to wake up to the reality that an economic strategy that basically relies on China dragging Australia along for the ride might not be that clever.
Swan’s lazy 2011 budget and Australian economic madness
May 16th, 2011 · 6 Comments
On budget night Wayne Swan could have saved us all a lot of time by simply standing up and saying that his plan for the Australian economy was to simply sit back and hope the mining boom continued. As I have said for over a year now, Australian policy makers have set the economy up for a severe downturn if commodities prices slump and there is no Plan B.
Gillard, Rudd, Brown, Wilkie, the nightmare continues
May 7th, 2011 · 13 Comments
For a while I have resisted writing about the political situation in Australia simply because it is too depressing. Of all the possible political outcomes after the election last year it looks like the Australian people have ended up with the worst case scenario – a leaderless dysfunctional government adrift at a time when major ecomic challenges loom.
Carbon, a new tax and Gillard’s Lifeform Levy
February 27th, 2011 · 33 Comments
The recent announcement by Julia Gillard that she is breaking an election promise and will attempt to bring in a Carbon Tax should come as no surprise to anyone. It is simply a reflection of the madness that is the Greens/Labor Party alliance and another example of a policy developed by a Government hooked on spending and raising taxation.
The floods, the loony Greens and a new tax
January 27th, 2011 · 10 Comments
The devastating floods across much of Australia should remind people that Australia has been for a long time, a land of drought and flooding rains. The floods have tragically not only taken lives, but will also have a lasting negative impact on the economy and sadly the Government seems intent on using the floods as an excuse for it’s own poor management of the economy.
ASX All Ordinaries drifts sideways, the NBN and political turmoil
November 25th, 2010 · 4 Comments
Over the last few months it has become increasingly difficult to write about the Australian stock market simply because not much has been happening. During the last 12 months the market has basically moved sideways with just the occasional dip or rally to break up the boredom.
43 ways to spend the National Broadband Network’s $43 billion
November 2nd, 2010 · 13 Comments
I have been a vocal critic of the National Broadband Network for a long time and was talking about what a mess it would be way before the mainstream media woke up. So to further illustrate my point I have put together a list of areas or ways where I believe the taxpayers $43 billion could be better spent and deliver better outcomes for the Australian people.
The great Australian election hangover.
September 16th, 2010 · 36 Comments
Well after a few weeks of uncertainty following the federal election in Australia, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has managed to pull together a ragged alliance and hold onto power. Some people say that a minority government will be a refreshing change and can work well, but I believe that the coalition that Julia Gillard has put together will result in few tough decisions being made and could end up damaging the Australian economy.
A federal election, selfish voters and the media circus.
August 17th, 2010 · 32 Comments
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.
A tall poppy is cut down: Gillard could bloom awhile.
July 20th, 2010 · 5 Comments
Strange things happen to Australian prime ministers. One (Harold Holt, 1966-67) disappeared while swimming near a Melbourne beach; speculation says he may have been eaten by a shark.
Farewell Rudd, Gillard takes power and the palace coup.
June 27th, 2010 · 25 Comments
Amazingly Kevin Rudd is no longer the Prime Minister of Australia and lost his position without a single vote being cast. Does this mean the days of the Government borrowing and wasting money are over or is Julia Gillard going to be an even bigger spender than Rudd? What a week, and worst of all Wayne Swan is representing Australia at the G-20 meeting in Toronto in Canada!
