Crikey » POLITICS

The proposals to limit (but not ban) sports betting ads

Crikey — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:42:48 +0000

There are at least five proposals to limit TV advertising on sports betting -- but none of them will ban Tom Waterhouse completely, writes Dr Charles Livingstone from Monash's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

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Richard Farmer’s chunky bits

Richard Farmer — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:42:23 +0000

As Australia's first bookie to sponsor a football team (well, a coach, really), Richard Farmer has reason to think Tom Waterhouse's ads must be profitable. Plus other political views along the way.

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Cybersecurity awareness week: be aware you’re being lied to

Bernard Keane — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:24:58 +0000

It's cybersecurity awareness week. So you should be aware that you're being lied to about cybercrime, who's behind it, and how your rights and freedoms are under threat.

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The trans-Tasman cat fight: why Fluffy has to go

Crikey — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:49:54 +0000

Wandering cats are a menace to native birds and wildlife, but the cat "right to life" lobby is preventing them being euthanased. Gareth Morgan and Geoff Simmons of NZ's Morgan Foundation want a cat crackdown.

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Who’s afraid of Ford’s closure? It was logical and no bad thing

Crikey — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:49:29 +0000

In the context of its struggling global operations, Ford's decision to shut up shop in Australia is logical. And recent economic history tells us it will have few repercussions, say Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane.

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Woolwich attacks remind us terrorists want a voice — so we shouldn’t give them one

elsewhere — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:23:51 +0000

Packer cuts his Echo losses and goes all-in on Barangaroo

Myriam Robin — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:31:51 +0000

James Packer courted rival casino group Echo Entertainment and ousted its chairman only to sell out yesterday and bet the house on his planned Barangaroo casino development.

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Europe, Australia and the slow death of carbon trading

Crikey — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:15:01 +0000

Europe’s carbon pricing woes cast further doubt on the credibility of Australia’s scheme and on Treasury’s revenue forecasts. Climate change law research Fergus Green writes at Inside Story.

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Ford closure is overdue and irrelevant to Australian manufacturing

Bernard Keane — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:46 +0000

The closure of Ford in Australia, announced today, is overdue and says little other than that a protected company lost touch with consumers. The eventual cessation of taxpayer bribes to Ford to maintain an uncompetitive production line is welcome...

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Running shoes leave bloody footprints: inside Asia’s garment trade

Crikey — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:36 +0000

Think Bangladesh is the only country with unsafe labour practices? Garment workers are not safe in so-called "clean" south-east Asian countries either, writes Australian Phnom Penh Post journalist Shane Worrell.

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The ethics of enforced child vaccinations

Crikey — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:35 +0000

There is a broad consensus in the medical community that immunisation is safe, effective and healthy -- although not all parents agree. Monash University Law School associate professor Dr Paula Gerber says making childcare conditional upon being...

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The Power Index: election deciders, TV news directors at #8

Matthew Knott — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:27 +0000

The nightly TV news remains the key battleground for the federal election. So who are the all-powerful news directors who oversee their stations' coverage of the election campaign at Seven, Nine and the ABC? The Power Index talks to them -- as well...

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Mental illnesses in the DSM are more politics than science

Crikey — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:26 +0000

Mental illness has surpassed back pain as the most common cause of disability. But as psychiatrist and writer Tanveer Ahmed writes, it's not as easy to diagnose as the DSM might have you believe.

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Richard Farmer’s chunky bits

Richard Farmer — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:50:15 +0000

There is a real danger signal for Labor here, and it suggests to me that a major change is needed in its campaign strategy that continues to centre around those daily visits to schools. Education as an issue is just not working

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What if Nick Xenophon decides our carbon future?

Tristan Edis — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:43:04 +0000

If Nick Xenophon holds the balance of power in the Senate after the election, climate change policy will get very interesting. Here's one possible scenario -- which sees an ETS return, but in a different form.

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A call for meaningful action: previewing national mental health summit

Crikey blogs — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:08:17 +0000

On any given day, a person with serious mental illness is twice as likely to die. A national meeting tomorrow will be the first of its kind -- and all eyes will be watching how the money is doled out, writes Mark Ragg.

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Memo to Hockey: what’s really wrong with the Tax Office

Chris Seage — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:56:15 +0000

Joe Hockey wants to shake up the Australian Taxation Office. It's welcome news to accountants and taxpayers, but he'll need more than rhetoric to fix the ATO's problems.

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Here’s a new way of looking at the budget — but it won’t suit Hockey

Bernard Keane — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:45:47 +0000

New estimates of the structural budget balance sit poorly with opposition claims about the Gillard government's poor fiscal mismanagement. Turns out things might not be so bad after all ...

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Get Fact: did half-a-million Aussies drop health insurance this year?

Crikey — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:45:33 +0000

Millions of Australians would walk away from their private health insurance if the Gillard government means-tested the rebate, the industry warned -- and they produced "research" to prove it. Nine months after the means test started, freelance...

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iSentia index: Australia’s next PM hogs the limelight

John Chalmers — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:45:18 +0000

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott bested the Prime Minister for media coverage this week by a wide margin. Australia has more or less made up its mind that he will be in power come September.

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Richard Farmer’s chunky bits

Richard Farmer — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:45:15 +0000

The Scots learn that the more booze you buy, the more you drink, and the Spaniards design a cracking submarine -- that is so heavy it sinks. Plus other political views noted along the way.

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The mystery of Treasury’s disappearing revenue: Parkinson explains

Crikey — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:16:03 +0000

The Treasury Secretary's discussion of what has gone wrong with revenue forecasting in recent years provides a context for the coming challenges on fiscal policy. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer report.

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No, News Ltd, RBA’s rate cut had nothing to do with the dollar

Glenn Dyer — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:57:08 +0000

News Ltd columnists were quick to proclaim that the RBA had cut rates to combat the high Aussie dollar. Turns out, that was a crock -- but where are their heartfelt apologies?

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The great threat of bullshit: former Clinton speechwriter derides the age of ‘malarky’

elsewhere — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:25:52 +0000

On time passing, and India changing: writer Anita Desai reflects

Cathy Alexander — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:06:22 +0000

Thrice nominated for the Booker Prize, writer Anita Desai reflected on her place in India's rapidly changing literary canon in a speech in Melbourne last night.

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