For some time, it appeared that the severity of the global financial crisis had created a compelling “learning moment” that promised to return the world to a more civilised form of capitalism. Insufficient…
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Of all the homemade winter cure-alls, chicken soup is the best known and most loved. In fact the term “chicken soup” has become idiomatic for all things restorative; benefiting every possible problem from…
Greens leader Bob Brown’s concern over acquisitions by China’s Shenhua Watermark Coal of farms on NSW’s Liverpool Plains is but the latest flurry in a gathering storm of controversy over mining developments…
The Australian government has begun to focus on the issue of financial inclusion, as reflected by an allocation of $60.6 million in this year’s federal budget. This follows earlier government support for…
Planting trees in cleared agricultural landscapes is one way for the land use sector to help offset emissions of atmospheric carbon dioxide. But will it displace agriculture? Establishing trees is a robust…
Ever heard the one about the morbidly obese (and probably mentally unbalanced and somehow dangerous) teenage “gamers” locked in their bedrooms playing online computer games? Turns out, they’re really wealthy…
Athens is no longer considered by scholars as the birthplace of democracy but all of a sudden it has become the epicentre of a powerful political earthquake rocking the foundations of every democracy in…
The phrase “growth hormone” conjures up images of either the very tall or the very short. And yes, growth hormone is important for promoting linear growth but this hard-working hormone also controls many…
Given the growing evidence of catastrophic extinctions in the world’s oceans due to climate change and overfishing (see, for example, the recent IPSO report) one would expect a groundswell of demand for…
Welcome to “One small thing …”. We asked our authors what one small thing they, or you, could do for the environment. We’ll bring their answers to you on Friday afternoons. Today’s one small thing comes…
“Julia Gillard’s retrograde changes to workplace relations law are slowly burning our economy and in time the voices of embattled business will be heard across the country.” – Peter Reith, The Age, June…
GAMBLING IN AUSTRALIA – Addiction to gaming machines (or “pokies”) is of growing concern in Australian society. In Victoria alone there are 30,000 of these hi-tech poker machines with many in suburban…
Smokers who quit with the assistance of a text messaging service are nearly twice as likely to be smoke-free six months later than smokers with no support, according to a study published this week in The…
The purchase of 43 farms in northern NSW by a state-controlled Chinese mining company has prompted calls this week for tougher restrictions on foreign investment. Greens leader Bob Brown, independent Senator…
After his failed attempt at winning the Liberal Party presidency, Peter Reith has become a liberated soul. As president he would be expected to avoid controversy, especially on policy issues. But now…
Peter Reith’s spectacular re-emergence into Australian politics has enlivened the so-called “IR” debate. His intervention has called forth a flood of commentary, from Tony Abbott (who now supports “practical…
With political debate dominated by carbon and mining taxes, the recent stirrings by Peter Reith about industrial relations may have come as a bit of a surprise – out of left field, if you will excuse the…
When it comes to improving living standards in Australia today, labour market reform is not a first-order issue. Achieving better health and social outcomes for the Indigenous population - yes. Increasing…
Peter Reith’s recent column in The Age arguing that the Liberals need to revisit and radically change their industrial relations policy explains precisely why Tony Abbott did not support him for Liberal…
Fair Work Australia’s annual wage determination takes effect today. Importantly, we’re set to see award wages rise not by a single dollar sum, as in the past, but by 3.4%. This goes someway to addressing…
Welcome to If I had a blank cheque I’d … a new series in which leading researchers reveal what they could do in their discipline if money were no object. Today we hear from Malcolm Walter, professor of…
I, along with many Australians, listened to the news coverage on Monday morning of the Lowy Institute’s annual survey, with reasonable disappointment and initial surprise. This is a respected polling exercise…
On the television show House, doctors try to diagnose mysterious illnesses, and often when time is running out all other options have been exhausted, one of the characters will offer a diagnosis of last…
Is it wise to try to block a speech by Christopher Monckton? Are there other options? Monckton, a well known climate change sceptic, was invited to speak at Notre Dame University in Fremantle on 30 June…
I have some very fond memories of the mid 1980s. The fluoro shirts, the feathered haircuts, dancing to Wham! at the local blue light disco. But this week I’m having a disturbing ‘80s industrial relations…