I don't need to know about that bit.
- Gladys Berejiklian to Daryl Maguire
An earlier version of this post focused on the fact that the budget was announced last week, and right now there are compromises and horse-trading underway to get it passed into law, and that any member of the federal parliamentary press gallery worth their salt should be onto this and what it might mean for our country in these uncertain times.
I don't need to know about that bit.
- Gladys Berejiklian to Daryl Maguire
An earlier version of this post focused on the fact that the budget was announced last week, and right now there are compromises and horse-trading underway to get it passed into law, and that any member of the federal parliamentary press gallery worth their salt should be onto this and what it might mean for our country in these uncertain times.
Sad news to wake up to this morning. My first iteration of this blog had banners that were all images from Diana Rigg’s stunning era as style icon Emma Peel. Of course Ms Rigg did so much more in the many decades since then. It’s sad to see her go. I plan to update this post later with all the images I ever posted of her but I’ll have to ferret out some backups first.
When one major party is in government in Australia, the most significant figure of the opposing party is usually the opposition leader.
When one major party is in government in Australia, the most significant figure of the opposing party is usually the opposition leader.
On Saturday 4 January 2020, after returning from his overseas holiday during the worst bushfires this continent has ever experienced, prime minister Scott Morrison called a joint press conference with former Army Reserves Brigadier, Liberal Party staffer and current defence minister Linda Reynolds, and current Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell.
A: No. Why ask such a ridiculous question?
When it eventually dawned on the Australian government that a global pandemic requires governments to spend money, the prime minister was devastated. As treasurer, Morrison handed down the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 federal budgets. All were in deficit. Morrison and the Canberra press gallery called these deficits ‘bringing the budget back into surplus’, a typical tory time machine lie.
Building a network of safe cycling routes in our major cities isn’t a post-pandemic ‘nice to have’; it’s a necessity. The immediate priority is putting it together very, very quickly Is this the hour of the two-wheeler?
Yet again politicians reach for the High Speed Rail elixir – this time as a prescription for national economic recovery from the pandemic. But it’s snake oil Is High Speed Rail the game-changer we need now?
*Waving from an appropriate distance*
Hi everyone! How are you? How is everyone you know, and those you care about most?
Since Mary posted at the end of February about the effects on mothers of the string of closures we were seeing, things have obviously got a lot more extreme. Here in Australia we had just got through the worst bushfire season of all time, before we were driven indoors once again. This year has really turned into a game of choose-your-apocalypse.
This post is written on unceded lands of the sovereign Darug people. I offer my respects to their elders and express my profound gratitude that our family may live safely here.
It has come to my attention that there are some gaps in Australian public knowledge of how Australian federalism works. While underemployed at home, I thought it might be useful to write up a bit of an explainer.
First Peoples First
The second most powerful man in Australia is hospitalised with Covid-19. In a crowded field, few men have done more to tear at the fabric of the Australian polity than Peter Dutton.
Some wonderful poetry by David Byrne of Talking Heads: