MetaFilter posts tagged with australia and politics

Climate change FAIL

wilful — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:36:10 -0800

Australia's emissions trading scheme, the "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme", is being debated in the Senate today. It is deeply flawed, and the Greens will not vote for it. Of more interest is that the Opposition are being torn asunder, exposing massive fault lines between the liberal modernising wing and the conservative agrarian group, who deny the science and have advocated delay for the past decade. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull's days are clearly numbered, while the Liberal party appear doomed to spend the next decade out of power. A link to Rudd's recent Lowy Institute speech I couldn't fit into the main body.

Former PM keating talks GFC

wilful — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:28:43 -0800

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating provides some observations on the GFC, including suggestions that the USA could become a defaulter, and identifying a need for a new international settlement to replace Bretton Woods. This is one for the policy wonks. This isn't a post about Paul Keating the man, though I think he deserves one some time. The first half is probably of more interest for an international audience. PJK was previously on Lateline in October 2008 discussing the GFC. Further discussions on this blog.

The Howard Years

Effigy2000 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:04:29 -0800

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard was booted out in the 2007 elections. He had been Prime Minister for 11 years and in that time he had taken the country to war and divided the country on issues like Aboriginal reconciliation and workplace reforms. The Howard Years, a four part documentary originally screened on the ABC, is now online and available to view for free and takes a detailed look at the legacy of his Prime Ministership. The four part series explores in greater detail than ever before Howard's fractured relationship with his deputy and heir apparent, Peter Costello, and also contains some startling revelations from Howard Government ministers that many candidly admit they would never have told you while they were still in Government.

Tenth Anniversary of the Patrick Stevedores Dispute

Effigy2000 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:56:27 -0800

Australian dock workers will stop work for a minute today to remember the Patrick stevedores dispute, an industrial dispute that involved the stevedoring corporation Patricks, the Howard government and the Maritime Union of Australia. A landmark event in Australian political and legal history, the dispute saw dock workers stand "in the first line against the Howard government and the Patrick corporation that was seeking to remove their legal rights, their right to go to work [and] the right to collective bargaining." In its wake, the event generated debate about the role of unions in Australia, an alleged conspiracy between Patricks and the former Howard Government and even spawned a controversial TV mini-series, Bastard Boys. For more history and analysis of the dispute, you can read about it from the view of the MUA or this account but for the definitive analysis see here.

The Lesser Of Two Weevils

Neale — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:45:22 -0800

Australia Votes. Polls have been predicting a Labor win for the past few weeks, and it's beginning to look like it just might happen. But that's not the real sport. The real sport is watching the seat of Bennelong, where our current Prime Minister, John Winston Howard stands the chance of losing his seat. This would make him only the second Australian Prime Minister to suffer such ignominy.

Senator On-Line

finite — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:19:45 -0800

Senator On-Line (‘SOL’) is a truly democratic party which will allow everyone on the Australian Electoral roll who has access to the internet to vote on every Bill put to Parliament and have its Senators vote in accordance with a clear majority view. They will be running candidates for the upcoming federal Upper House (Senate) elections.

The Soapbox.

Effigy2000 — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:12:06 -0800

The Soapbox is a collection of photographs, texts of speeches, transcripts of debates and political ads from Australian election campaigns (both State and Federal) from 1901 to the present day. More materials will be added when they become available.

Australian Federal Election 2007 on November 24

Effigy2000 — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:48:36 -0800

And we're off! Prime Minister John Howard has set the date for the Australian Federal election as November 24th, meaning we're up for a long six-week campaign. With Kevin Rudd leading the PM by between 16 to 18 points (depending on who you read) in recent opinion polls, this election seems the most likely to provide a change of Government since Howard was first elected 11 years ago. Antony Green's usual excellent election guide is up and running here, along with an excellent calculator which shows which seats are up for grabs dependent on a 2 party preferred swing. You might also want to check out the Vote-O-Matic, a fun but entirely disposable quiz which aims to help you decide who you'll vote for. Metafilter's international readers unfamiliar with the Australian political scene will likely be scratching their heads when trying to figure out just what the hell is going on over here, but this page offers a useful guide as a starting point. It can be handy to read over whether you're from outside Australia or a true blue Aussie yourself. Some other excellent Australian election resources include; Links to some of the contenders web pages; Australian Labor Party (plus the Kevin07 website). Liberal Party The Nationals Greens Australian Democrats Pauline Hanson's United Australia Party And here's some links to some excellent blogs which will no doubt continue to annoy the mainstream media throughout the campaign. Oz Politics Poll Bludger Possum Comitatus The Road to Surfdom Larvatus Prodeo Tim Dunlop's Blogocracy Mind you, the following two blogs are by mainstream media pundits, and right wing columnists Piers Ackerman and Andrew Bolt. Piers Ackerman's Blog Andrew Bolt's blog. And finally, Google's election guide, seen previously on Metafilter. The next six weeks are going to be long, grueling and if the experts are to be believed, incredibly negative. Strap yourselves in, folks. It's going to be one hell of a ride.

Googling the Australian Federal Election

Jimbob — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:57:09 -0800

Google launches a site dedicated to the upcoming Australian Federal Election with Youtube channels from each party, electoral boundaries integrated into Google Maps, a search engine to allow you to view what each candidate has said on a range of issues, from immigration to interest rates, news from your electorate, and graphs of media activity on candidates and issues. Australians have been lacking a comprehensive political resource like the UK's The Work For You, and Google has brought it one step closer. Unfortunately, many of the resources are in the form of gadgets you add to your iGoogle homepage, rather than standalone applications.

Poo Bum Dicky Wee Wee!

Effigy2000 — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:51:44 -0800

People vandalising Wikipedia is hardly a new thing but now even the office of the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, is getting into the act. Website Wiki-Scanner (previously) has traced several edits to Wikipedia articles by the Prime Ministers staff, according to Australian newspaper The Courier Mail. And they aren't confined solely to the Wikipedia entry on the PM himself; there was even an act of vandalism on a martial-arts related entry, in which one of Howard's ministerial staffers wrote, “Poo bum dicky wee wee” on the page. Not good news on the eve of a federal election that the PM is largely expected to lose. Meanwhile, 'new media' is being put to good use at Opposition leader Kevin Rudd's website, Kevin07, where a recent blog entry compiles Youtube's 'best' political videos. Hours of fun for the whole family!

John Howard in 'Cabinet: The Movie.'

Effigy2000 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:06:52 -0800

Cabinet: The Movie. Starring Australian PM John Howard and a bunch of chickens. [more inside]

Backpedal fast, Johnny!

andihazelwood — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:04:43 -0800

PM John Howard denies Iraq-oil link

McLeod's Pollsters

Effigy2000 — Thu, 17 May 2007 23:52:04 -0800

As the countdown to the Australian federal election continues ever onward, the key issue looks set to be industrial relations. The incumbent Howard Government's WorkChoices laws (now re-branded due to their increasing unpopularity) have seen the poll figures for challenger Kevin Rudd go up and up and up. But even as the Government prepares to unleash a major advertisement spree in an attempt to sell the alleged benefits of Work Choices, the new laws have come under attack from the most unlikely of places; popular prime time TV soap McLeod's Daughters, which last night aired this thinly veiled assault (youtube) on the central element of WorkChoices, AWAs.

Gooday mate....

adamvasco — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 03:01:22 -0800

Australia: the new 51st state John Howard's servility to the US is even greater than Tony Blair's. "John Pilger," wrote Harold Pinter, "unearths, with steely attention facts, the filthy truth. I salute him." via New Statesman.

WorkChoices: Fair or not, they're here to stay.

Effigy2000 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:19:48 -0800

Australiafilter: The Australian High Court handed down its ruling today on the constitutionality of the Howard Government's new Industrial Relations laws, called 'Workchoices', deeming them constitutional by a vote of 5 to 2 (full text of the decision here). Two dissenters, Justices Michael Kirby and Ian Callinan, argued that upholding the laws changes the very nature of the Australian federal system and is "in contradiction of, what was intended and expressed in the constitution by the founders." Whilst bloggers and academics debate the nature of the laws and how fair or unfair they are, the simple fact now is that the laws are here to stay unless there is a change of Government at the 2007 federal election. Find out what it means for you as an employee from both the Howard Government's view and the Union's point of view so you can know your rights at work and decide for yourself.

Imperator Howard's Tenth Year.

Effigy2000 — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:18:46 -0800

Today marks Australian Prime Minister John Howard's tenth year in the top job. The event has sparked the usual calls of when, if ever, he will step down to make way for his annointed successor, Peter Costello, and has also opened the flood gates on a range of editorial criticisms and praise from the usual suspects. But even with a new poll released today claiming that he is the most popular PM in Australia's modern political history, will the continuing AWB scandal (previously discussed in one of my own FPP posts here) and an unhappy Coalition partner finally end his seemingly endless run of political good fortune?

Kicking Back.

Effigy2000 — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:11:19 -0800

It seems increasingly more likely that Saddam Hussein's regime was getting kickbacks from the Australian Wheat Board and, worse still, the Australian Government may have known about it. This major scandal is causing big headaches for the Australian Government and is emerging as a diplomatic sore point between the US and one of its strongest Iraq War allies. The Australian Opposition is calling for the official inquiry into the matter, the Cole Inquiry, to be widened, whilst in the US, several US senators including Norm Coleman and Patty Murray are demanding answers whilst simultaneously calling for a ban on Australian wheat. [more inside]

Owzat!

nthdegx — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 12:16:36 -0800

You say bodyline, I say leg theory. Either way, the origins of one of sport's most enduring rivalries (leading to a near diplomatic crisis) make for a fascinating read to the budding cricket enthusiast. No wonder people turned out in their thousands to queue in the early hours for the final day of another nail-biting test. It's turning into a hell of an ashes series.

Sink, or swim?

Pinback — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 04:52:07 -0800

Happy Harold Holt Day! On this day in 1967, Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared whilst swimming at Cheviot Beach near Melbourne. Conspiracy theories abound. Today, his memory is honoured by a memorial swimming pool.

Fair-Weather Friends

chrisgregory — Wed, 18 Jun 2003 09:26:24 -0800

Coalition of the willing (if they know what's good for them). A decent little collection of articles about one of the most shameful events in Australian political history: the Whitlam dismissal. From an article that begins with a quote from former CIA agent Victor Marchetti: "Australia is going to be increasingly important to the United States, and so long as Australians keep electing the right people then there'll be a stable relationship between the two countries." to an interview with Christopher Boyce, whose experiences and actions were recounted in the book The Falcon and the Snowman and in the later John Schlesinger film of the same name. Attach some platitude about the virtues of friendship.

runthegamut — Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:12:05 -0800

"I think I'm big enough to play the game" says Australian Parliament member Barry Haase, referring to his "purchase" for a day by brothel owner Mary-Anne Kenworthy (heh heh, she said 'member'). Auctioned to the highest bidder (he fetched $1000Australian) at the local Rotary Club charity auction, Haase will perform such duties as cleaning the brothel in a "frilly apron" and conducting a tour of the premises. Wonder if he'll wear anything besides what the proprietress' called her "tour hat"...

magullo — Fri, 03 May 2002 06:57:11 -0800

Australia and Europe incensed over U.S. lies on free trade Bush: "The final provisions of the farm Bill are also consistent with America's international trade obligations, which will strengthen our ability to open foreign markets for American farm products". In other words, free trade good when we sell to you, bad when you sell to us.

Voyageman — Thu, 04 Apr 2002 11:16:39 -0800

Understanding what makes America tick "The belief that America is exceptional, in the double sense that it is superior and that it is different...The United States had a mission, a manifest destiny, to change the world in its image. This conviction echoes down through American history....Other countries—France, Britain, Russia—have from time to time in their history felt a sense of mission, of carrying their civilisation to other peoples and territories. But in their cases it has been episodic and not deeply rooted—usually limited to when their power was at its zenith and usually clearly recognisable as a rationalisation for what they were doing for other reasons. In the case of the United States, it has been constant and central." [Centre of Independent Studies in Sydney via aldaily] American Exceptionalism. Mix it with sole super power status and massive military might. Should make it quite an intoxicating ride these next few years.

skylar — Mon, 17 Sep 2001 09:54:59 -0800

The Chaser - satirical magazine from Australia. Warning: may be offensive to some, specifically with regard to the WTC tragedy. This is posted in response to the link below talking about how the Onion has ceased satire for the time being. I think the anti-Bush and Adam Sandler gags have merit, some others are quite tasteless. What do you think?