Entries Categorised as 'Politics'
The 2013 Federal Budget, the Australian Economy and Gold
May 20th, 2013 · 31 Comments
For the last few years I have been warning that steps needed to be taken to prepare the Australian economy for when the commodities cycles would turn downwards. Back when I first started writing about this, it was almost considered treason to even suggest the mining boom may draw to a close. But these days even the RBA, Treasury and Wayne Swan are talking about the end of the commodities boom.
Gillard’s last stand & Wonky Wayne and the Budget Factory.
April 25th, 2012 · 30 Comments
Foolishly during Kevin Rudd’s Australia 2020 Summit a few years ago I thought that the political circus in Canberra couldn’t get any more ridiculous. Sadly I was wrong. The Gillard led government is now doing its very best to destroy what little respect the public have left for politicians and Wayne Swan is sure to produce another work of economic & finance fiction – the 2012 Federal Budget.
Has the economic boom in Australia been managed into a bust?
March 12th, 2012 · 23 Comments
According to many experts, Australia is in the midst of a mining boom and the government often tells us that the Australian economy is performing better than most if not all, of the world’s major developed economies. Certainly the commodities boom has delivered record profits for many companies, generated massive tax revenues for the federal and state governments plus created many thousands of jobs.
Europe’s potion is now its poison with China inheriting the benefits.
February 17th, 2012 · 15 Comments
Today’s lecture is on the sorry state of that dismal science called economics. Hands up, economists who foresaw the Lehman collapse in the United States. OK, I see a few hands out there. Now hands up, those who also foresaw the eurozone crisis? Not so many, it seems.
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 · 30 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 · 34 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 · 18 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.
