Countries of the South Pacific have good reason to encourage China and other countries to assist them with infrastructure. And there is nothing that Australia should, or could, do about it.
But climate change is far more important
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week released data on Australia’s residential housing stock, which was valued at a record $11.6 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, equivalent to $1,017,000 per dwelling. The following chart compares the value of Australia’s dwelling stock to the country’s GDP. It shows that the entire residential housing
Russell Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who has been composing, recording and performing music since the late 1960s. Some of his songs have been among my favourites since I was in my teens. He has recently completed his final tour, and we went to see his final concert of this last tour at the concert hall of the Sydney Opera House last Sunday1. The concert hall seats 2,600 people and it was booked out. Most of the people there were about our age, and I doubt there were more than a few dozen under the age of 40.
President Donald Trump has vowed to pursue not only the assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk but also those he accused of funding and fueling “radical left” political violence across the United States.
Queensland LNP pledges to burn coal “for many decades” as federal Labor wrestles with climate pledge
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 2.5% since July 2024, taking the OCR down to 3.0% from a peak of 5.5%. The Reserve Bank has slashed rates so aggressively due to the pervasive weakness of the New Zealand economy. In particular, New Zealand’s labour market has suffered
The little dog was not fussed
His master was mad but nonplussed
Screaming obscenities at the crossing crowd
While pushing a pram of recycled stuff
Smoking a butt in a vanishing white puff
Making a trotting mutt so most proud
The master was saving the whole planet
On such important business taking a bet
For the mad ruler of the universe in Tel-Aviv