Fears grow of Labor election loss
Fears grow of Labor election loss
- From: The Australian
- May 28, 2010
THERE are senior and experienced federal Labor MPs who say quietly and privately that they can see the possibility “that we could lose the election”.
This is incredible not only because the people are not newcomers unused to dealing with falls in polling and tough periods of politics, but also because no Labor MP at all would have even thought it possible six months ago.
The incredible nature of this situation is heightened for Labor because where there was once certainty about how to defeat the Coalition there is now tension within the ranks about what should be done.
A “class war” waged against the “rich mining barons” over the new mining profits tax is losing its appeal by the day as collateral damage to the sharemarket, public confidence, retirement funds and claims about the future of the resources industry suggest any such plans are counterproductive.
Debate hots up on pulp mill future
Debate hots up on pulp mill future Updated 1 hour 29 minutes ago Forestry industry talks and the resignation of Gunns’ chairman have restarted the debate over a proposed pulp mill in Tasmania’s north. John Gay was with the company for 37 years and was a major driver of the proposed $2 billion Tamar Valley Continue Reading →
The three stupidest things said about the BP oil spill
The three stupidest things said about the BP oil spill 91
1. “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”
— Tony Hayward, May 13, 2010
2. “I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest.”
— Hayward, May 18, 2010
3. “Do I feel that anything I’ve done I would have done differently? Not at all.”
— Hayward, May 18, 2010, after previously admitting in an interview published May 14, “We made a few little mistakes early on.”
Hayward easily holds the top three gaffes about the gusher, but as a bonus, here are four more oiy-ly instances that have slipped into the running.
Gunns chairman John Gay quits
Gunns chairman John Gay quits Updated 15 minutes ago Gunns chairman John Gay is quitting the timber company and all its subsidiaries. (ABc News: Josh Goodyer) Gunns chairman John Gay has announced he is quitting the timber company and all its subsidiaries. In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Gunns Limited says Mr Gay is Continue Reading →
A summer heatwave will not affect our ground water
A summer heatwave will not affect our ground water
It is dry winters that lower water tables and decrease river fl
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- The Guardian, Thursday 20 May 2010
- Article history
Paul Brown is right to imply that “building houses across the south without any reference to available water supply” is not a good idea, especially at a time of climatic uncertainty (Weatherwatch, 10 May). He is also right that in southern England “the last three years [have seen] heavier than normal summer rainfall”.
I would however take issue with him that it is only this unusual summer rainfall that has “maintained” the flows of the south’s rivers for the last three years, and I disagree strongly that “a single dry summer, maybe this one, will find us out”.
As I am sure Brown knows, aquifers (layers of permeable rock) receive most of their recharge during winter and early spring, when plants are not growing and the soil is not grabbing most of the rainfall; it is therefore dry winters that pose the problem for ground-water resources, not dry summers.
When Hyperbole Comes Back to Bite
federal politics
24 May 2010
When Hyperbole Comes Back To Bite
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Kevin Rudd has made plenty of big promises, including that he would govern by “evidence-based policy”. As Ben Eltham writes, he’s now struggling to keep up with his own claims
On Lateline earlier this month, Leigh Sales asked Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner a question that has continued to resonate.
Discussing the very bad poll results for Labor in early May, she reminded Tanner that Kevin Rudd had once called climate change “the greatest moral challenge of our time”, and that Wayne Swan was calling his tax reform package “the greatest reform in living memory”. She then went on to ask: “Does this government have a problem with hyperbole?”
Tanner spun his way through the interview, but the “hyperbole problem” has started to pop up in other media too, perhaps because it describes one of the key characteristics of this Government so well.
Part of the problem for Rudd and his senior leadership is that — like any politicians — they are struggling to match words with actions. If Rudd hadn’t reneged on his promise to introduce an emissions trading scheme, he wouldn’t be getting reminded of the phrase “moral challenge” at every opportunity.