Australia
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Rough waters and rocky boats, but we’ll get there
This side of the stretch of water over which Australian tourists fly in droves to exotic holiday destinations and considerably smaller numbers of asylum seekers travel in rickety boats in the opposite direction, frequently drowning in the process, it was never clear how the new Abbott government was going to get the Indonesians to stamp Continue reading
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Some Points on the Pension
24 October 2013 Ross Fitzgerald had this piece in the Sydney Daily Telegraph today. It makes a good argument for policy change. I have some views on that too that I’ll blog about later. In the meantime, read on: Government can’t ignore retiring baby-boomers THE year 2011 was the year when people born Continue reading
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AUSTRALIA’S ELECTION: Why I’ll be voting Liberal on Saturday (and no, it’s not because I usually do)
It’s fair to say that neither of the major parties – Labor and the Coalition (taken collectively this is sometimes a fractious prospect as we have seen demonstrated in recent days) – totally inspire confidence. But that’s democracy. You get a choice, but it is never a clear one between inexhaustible excellence on one hand Continue reading
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HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, March 7, 2012
Dolts Rule It’s always fun visiting the Odd Zone; it’s the very best of your diarist’s former domiciles, for all sorts of reasons, most of them a cause for wry smiles or irritated grimaces. There’s the traffic, for one thing. It largely obeys the road rules and even stays in lane; what’s more, at traffic Continue reading
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The Carr That Skittled Kevin
Appointing Bob Carr as foreign minister-designate – ahead of the New South Wales parliament formally electing him to the vacancy caused by the unexpected departure of no longer faceless man Mark Arbib – may be just what Prime Minister Julia Gillard needed as a circuit-breaker. There are certainly signs the Liberal opposition thinks so Continue reading
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SOME NECESSARY INFORMATION
28 February 2012 Statement Australia supports Indonesia’s territorial integrity Australia is fully committed to Indonesia’s territorial integrity and national unity, including its sovereignty over the Papua provinces. This is a fundamental obligation of the Lombok Treaty between Australia and Indonesia. The meeting being held by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua Continue reading
8º of latitude 