Objections to WA electoral review

July 31, 2007, 10:27pm, 267 views,  Leave a Comment

Objections to the proposed WA electoral boundaries closed on Monday afternoon. There were 59 submissions, or 60 if you count the late one I heard about today from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, which isn’t listed yet.

In relation to the south-eastern part of the state, which is my area of interest, there are unlikely to be any changes to the proposals put forward by the commissioners.

The Labor and Liberal Parties have essentially endorsed the new boundaries. The ALP expressed misgivings about moving Esperance and Ravensthorpe into the Mining and Pastoral region, but acknowledged it was too difficult to come up with a viable alternative.

It’s unclear if Independent MP John Bowler will contest the new electorate of Eyre, where he would be up against popular Liberal incumbent Graham Jacobs. Eyre will be an interesting seat to watch. If Bowler does stand it will be a four-way contest between him, the Nationals, the ALP and Jacobs.

The only objections regarding the Kalgoorlie-based seat of Goldfields were suggestions from the Liberal Party, the Kalgoorlie Miner and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder that the Kalgoorlie name be retained.

If I get a chance to read some of the other objections I will comment on them later.

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Pay an Outback bonus

July 31, 2007, 10:17pm, 255 views,  Leave a Comment

I am strongly in favor of zone tax rebates. Australia needs to decentralise and there should be incentives to encourage this.

The government has already set a precedent by giving cash to influence population through the baby bonus. It’s not a huge leap of logic to reward taxpayers who are prepared to live away from the coast.

Apart from persuading Peter Costello and Wayne Swan, the other difficulty is to define those areas that are eligible. It’s not my job to do that, but one suggestion might be to grant a rebate of $5000 per year to taxpayers who live more than 500km from a capital city and more than 300km from the coast.

That would rule out most of the growing regional cities in the eastern States and give a huge boost to places like Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Imagine the impact that would have on fly-in fly-out? Five thousand dollars each for a husband and wife would be a big incentive for them to live in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, rather than Perth.

The baby bonus worked. Bring on the “outback bonus”.

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Interest rates

July 31, 2007, 5:57pm, 275 views,  Leave a Comment

The prospect of a rise in interest rates next month could be the end politically for the Howard Government. A cornerstone of the government’s success has been its image as a sound economic manager in turbulent times.

The threat from Iraq and terrorism has largely been proved false, contained and/or exaggerated.

Although governments aren’t directly responsible for what happens on the broader financial market, Howard’s credibility as the man with the lid on the genie bottle of inflation will be shaken if there is a rise in August, as widely expected.

The old fox is too clever to write off just yet. He has a swag full of funds to keep the pork barrel rolling. At this early stage though, my guess is it won’t be enough to win the election.

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Turnbull on the republic

July 29, 2007, 10:51am, 260 views,  Leave a Comment

Credit to Malcolm Turnbull for recognising the folly of Kevin Rudd’s idea to hold another referendum on whether Australia should become a republic.

Turnbull, who led the failed “yes” campaign, told Channel Nine there should not be another referendum until the Queen’s reign has ended.

He is not only being pragmatic, Turnbull is also showing respect for the previous referendum result and for the Queen.

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Steve Bracks

July 28, 2007, 7:56am, 259 views,  Leave a Comment

Steve Bracks resigned as Premier of Victoria yesterday and John Thwaites resigned immediately afterwards as Deputy Premier.

Bracks has been one of Victoria’s best ever Premiers and finishes just short of 3000 days in office, which would have entitled him to a statue in Treasury Place. In John Brumby’s words he restored “decency” after the excesses of the Kennett years.

Thwaites was under a cloud though after his involvement in the ski rorts affair and having asked for free accommodation at National Parks. It would have been difficult for him to step into the role of Premier, whereas Brumby is a cleanskin.

Contrast the responses yesterday from the Opposition parties to Bracks’ announcement. Liberal Party leader Ted Baillieu was wild:

“Just eight months ago Victorians were invited to elect a Bracks and Thwaites Government and now Victorians are entitled to ask themselves were they conned?” he said.

National Party leader Peter Ryan said:

Premier Steve Bracks rang me this morning immediately before his press conference to personally inform me of his decision to resign. I wished him and his family well for the future. Steve Bracks leaves public life with his head held high after a distinguished Parliamentary career.

While we have been fierce political rivals, Steve and I have always maintained a level of professionalism in our respective dealings. Unfailingly, he has treated me with courtesy and respect in our political and personal dealings.

While we may not have agreed on many policy issues affecting the future of country Victorians, I have respected his approach to the difficult role of leading this State. I personally thank him for his willingness to serve as a Member of Parliament and I acknowledge the contribution he has made to public life. I wish Steve and his family well.

The Liberal Party should possibly consider a coalition with Peter Ryan as leader and alternative Premier.

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Haneef terror charge dropped

July 27, 2007, 1:45pm, 227 views,  Leave a Comment

In breaking news, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has dropped the terror charge against Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef.

DPP Damian Bugg QC said the charge was dropped because there was no reasonable prospect of him being convicted on the evidence.

Comment: This was obviously a major stuff-up by the authorities, who appear with hindsight to have been over anxious to make an arrest. More later.

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Was it worth the coverage?

July 24, 2007, 5:47pm, 274 views,  1 Comment

Prime Minister John Howard tripped today while walking into a radio station in Perth. Australan Associated Press told the country about this momentous event.

At least AAP managed to work into the same article the equally earth-shattering news that Kevin Rudd gave the wrong name for a Labor candidate.

Neither is big news, of course, but in the age of excessive media scrutiny, getting a candidate’s name wrong is probably four on the tremor scale compared with zero or one for stumbling on a footpath (unless drunk).

So it’s a little strange that The Age in its online edition highlighted the Howard trip without mentioning the Rudd gaffe, and managed to link Howard’s near fall to his age and the party leadership.

That gives some credence to Andrew Landeryou’s theory of left-wing bias and hypocrisy in reporting.

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PM salutes mining industry

July 23, 2007, 5:31pm, 284 views,  Leave a Comment

Prime Minister John Howard was in Kalgoorlie today for the first stop on a three-day tour of Western Australia. He visited the Rural Clinical School and a local engineering firm before attending a Liberal Party fundraising lunch at the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame.

Predictably, he told the party faithful and supporters the world will come to an end if Labor wins power later this year. The economic good times would be undermined by Labor’s industrial relations policy, he said.

Howard saluted the mining industry and said that, unlike Kevin Rudd, he believed the boom would continue.

He paid tribute to Liberal MHR Barry Haase for his hard work and perseverance on policy pushes for higher zonal tax rebates and flow-through shares.

Howard ruled out a shift on both of those fronts, but said he would continue to listen to the arguments.

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Union membership in crisis

July 23, 2007, 11:19am, 227 views,  Leave a Comment

Making national news today is an ACTU admission that union membership in the private sector is in crisis. From The West Australian:

In an email widely circulated within the ACTU, assistant secretary Chris Walton urges his colleagues to concentrate on increasing union membership. “Private sector membership is at crisis levels of 15.2 per cent,” Mr Walton wrote.

“The ACTU must continue to drive the necessary changes and provide the necessary support to unions to achieve growth. There can be no greater priority.”

Membership levels, Mr Walton admitted, are only slightly stronger when the public service is counted.

The email also recommends the adoption of a permanent fighting fund levy. A levy was first introduced to raise money for the advertising campaign against the Federal Government’s controversial Work Choices laws.

I don’t think the revelations are actually new. They simply confirm that this year’s Federal Election is a watershed moment in industrial policy for this country.

A Labor loss would kill off the union movement in most sectors.

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Government in strife

July 21, 2007, 5:36pm, 263 views,  Leave a Comment

It is becoming increasingly apparent the Howard Government will struggle to win this year’s federal election. Here in Western Australia it’s taken longer for this information to be absorbed given the Liberal Party’s superiority in the local polls.

We know that elsewhere the polls are telling a different story and that Queensland and South Australia look set to deliver a Labor victory.

The reality of this likely outcome has hit home in the past week with turmoil in the top ranks of the government.

Peter Costello has ruled out a leadership challenge, according to The Australian, but his resentment is clear. The polls are showing a trend towards generational change.

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