Category: Australia
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Ecuador shames Australia
The first responsibility of every democratic state is the welfare of its citizens, a responsibility that has been abdicated by the Australian government in the case of Julian Assange. As a result, Ecuador, a tiny republic in South America, has stepped into the breach vacated by the Australian government to protect one of our citizens.…
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Among the gum trees of Greece
Driving north from Athens to the secluded beach and headland at Sounion the other night, Oz-born journalist Brian “Digger” Williams drew our attention to the avenues of giant eucalyptus trees along the way. They look like the “ghost gum” variety we have in Australia except that the trunks are not long and slender, they are…
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After Fairfax: what’s the price of a free press?
The shocking overnight news from Fairfax – 1900 job cuts and press closures in Sydney and Melbourne – comes like a bolt from the blue. I’m lying. It was entirely predictable. Australia’s oldest newspaper group has been run by dolts, social climbers, profit gougers, chancers and failed business types for at least 30 years. Fairfax…
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Guess who’s coming to dinner
THE right-wing H R Nicholls Society will hold its 32nd annual shindig in Melbourne today with the usual conga-line of trade union haters.Guest speaker at tonight’s dinner will be Kathy Jackson, national secretary of the Health Services Union.Yes, that’s the Ms Jackson who is leading the campaign to have Craig Thomson, Labor MP for Dobell,…
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More on Labor’s fake Sydney “primary”
Linda Scott, Labor’s candidate to oppose Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore at the September election, has form.She was Labor’s candidate to oppose Ms Moore for the seat of Sydney at the State Election in 2007.In the run-up to the election Scott received a generous $20,000 campaign donation from Kristine Keneally, MP for Heffron who eventually…
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Gina’s employment coup
Thirteen months ago the Gillard Cabinet approved the introduction of Migration Employment Agreements between the giant mining houses and the Department of Immigration.It followed intense talks between Gillard and the mining groups over the mining tax. Gillard wanted an across the board agreement with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and the Australian mining billionaires and…
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Arbib’s mysterious exit
Julia Gillard’s easy victory over Kevin Rudd was predictable, the resignation of Mark Arbib wasn’t. The NSW ALP right has an unwritten set of rules and one of them is that members must gain any and every bureaucratic position they can in the labour and trade union movement, no matter now menial.Once they’ve gained those…
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Press junket to Israel
Greg Sheridan, the pro-American and pro-Zionist appropriately named foreign editor of The Australian, is just back from Israel on a privately sponsored trip.Sheridan writes in the second column of his article: “I have been spending a week in Israel, and visiting some of the Palestinian territories, under the auspices of the Australia Israel United Kingdom…
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What’s that smell of dead fish?
Welcome to Gambaro’s restaurant and seafood emporium in Brisbane. One of the beneficiaries of the fortune made by the seafood giant is Teresa Gambaro, the federal Liberal MP, Tony Abbott’s spokeswoman on citizenship and a vicious Howardite.She has told The Australian’s Patricia Karvelas (who else) that new immigrants should be taught the Australian custom of…
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Murdoch’s conga-line spewing over lost ABC contract
IF you needed confirmation that the Gillard Government did the right thing in awarding the Australian Network contract to the ABC, pick up a copy of today’s Australian, the local flagship of the Murdoch empire. (December 7, 2011). The decision to leave the $223 million contract with the ABC and to resist the temptation to…