http://www.ozcomments.com News and views on Australian life, politics and society Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:17:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Western Australian election will be much closer than it should have been thanks to the Liberal Party installing Colin Barnett as leader. Premier Alan Carpenter was right to call an early election. It caught the Liberals off guard and gave Barnett no chance to establish his authority. If Carpenter had waited ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/192 Talk is rife the Reserve Bank will lower official interest rates, but the banks won't pass on the reduction to customers. The banks are crying poor about "funding costs" on the wholesale market. Sorry, but they really have to accept a small drop in profits and pass on the reduction if ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/189 I called Gippsland early for the Nationals and I'm calling Lyne for the independent, Rob Oakeshott, if he decides to run. The Liberals will be his biggest threat if they choose to run a serious candidate. The only way I can see the Nats winning is on Liberal preferences if ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/187 Unions are planning to target school children in a bid to boost their ailing membership numbers. The front page of The Australian today says it all: "Unions to recruit children". It's bizarre but true that such indoctrination is allowed in Australia. Declaring their aim to "capture the next generation of workers", union ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/182 The Australian Newsagency Blog has a section devoted to "newspaper masthead desecration" with 37 posts. The author is referring to a new habit among publishers to place advertising stickers on their front pages. Numerous examples are given, many from Fairfax broadsheets the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. It's particularly galling to ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/177 The Pope has apologised to people sexually abused by members of the clergy in Australia. It was a noble gesture, perhaps required because of the pressure for it to happen, but it was largely unnecessary. Nobody seriously believes the Catholic Church, or any other mainstream denomination, condoned the abuse of children ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/175 The National Party has struggled for leadership since the days of Doug Anthony and arguably Ian Sinclair. A lot of people were big wraps for Tim Fischer, and while charismatic he didn't improve the party's fortunes. The main problem has been the Nationals' slavish devotion to the Liberal Party and a ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/172 I can't say I've shed any tears at the demise of the Australian Democrats. They were political prostitutes who never had to concern themselves with the responsibility of government. That said, they appear rational and businesslike compared with the senate successors The Greens. The Democrats gave us some characters like Don Chipp and ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/171 Alexander Downer's impending retirement from the Federal Parliament is no surprise. It's disappointing from the taxpayers' perspective that he isn't seeing out the term, or that he didn't quit at the same time as former Cabinet colleague Peter McGauran. That said, Downer was one of the best performing Howard Government ministers ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/170 The Australian share market ended the day as it did the fiscal year - in the red. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed down 0.4 percent at 5215.3 points, bringing its losses for 2007-08 to nearly 17 percent. This is the first year of losses since 2003-04 when the index contracted by ... http://www.ozcomments.com/archives/169