Australians have the benefit of the latest scientific and economic information about climate change, and our leadership has a mandate to act decisively on the issue. We already have a very high standard of living, and will continue to do so under any sort of carbon-related belt-tightening. Despite this, the prospects of drastic action are still pretty slight. What hope is there then for the rest of the world? (more…)

Although this isn’t the US where fear of not “supporting the troops” is enough to close down political debate, under John Howard the lionisation of the Aussie digger reached new heights, and we have seen few indications that this will change soon. So before I have a look at the hallowed place of the mighty digger in our history, I’d like to lay out my qualifications.

I’ve never experienced the fear and doubt of a war, but I’d like to think I have an idea of what military service means to the country and to a family. My paternal grandfather was a digger – he served in the Somme in World War I, and amongst other injuries got a dose of German mustard gas there. My maternal grandfather was a digger – he saw combat in the Pacific in World War 2. My father served in the RAAF in wartime, too. (I won’t get into the uncles, and can only guess what service my great-great grandfathers must have performed in the Prussian army.) To my regret, this tradition of service ended when the Australian Army rejected me thanks to poor sight in my left eye (I was 18). (more…)

I think most of us agree that if a drug dealer buys himself a Ferrari with heroin money, the car is forfeit if it can be proved the money he bought it with was derived from illegal activity. A bank robber shouldn’t be allowed to keep the money he stole, even if he serves the time. This is a long-standing pillar of criminal law, and despite the headaches modern international tax law must give prosecutors, it’s pretty uncontroversial.

What if the profit is accrued less directly? Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, literary proceeds are also illegal (that is, subject to confiscation). Leaving aside the tabloid hilarity of Corey Delaney, few of us would be comfortable with a killer getting a handsome payday for a Today Tonight interview while his victim’s parents are still coping with a devastating loss. If it would sell ads, the media would pay for a story – it’s their business and they can’t realistically be faulted for that – so it falls to the law to see that justice is done, and remove the incentive to engage in high-profile crimes. (more…)

Walk into any pharmacy in Australia and you are confronted with a bewildering array of boxes and bottles – medicines by the thousands. A pharmacy exists to dispense these medicines, often on behalf of doctors, and provide expert advice on their use and effects. We trust that our pharmacists are well trained and have an interest in our medical well-being.

Pharmacists are also retail stores, however, and the more they sell, the more money they make for their owners. A moment’s reflection on this fact raises an unavoidable conflict of interest. We put our trust in the pharmacist to give us good advice, and in the Government to make sure that what they are selling us is legitimate. Unfortunately, where there’s money to be made, that trust isn’t always well placed. (more…)

If interest rates are to be considered a political football, the 2007 Federal election was the Grand Final. They have becomes such a fixture of economic discussion that’s it’s hard to imagine we’ll ever move past it, but I’m hoping this was the last time they will feature so prominently in an election debate. So let’s put the issue to bed.

The Coalition were guilty of misleading the public on nearly all aspects of the way role interest rates play in our economy. In 2004 they made as much hay as they could out of this, and paid a price for it. Why couldn’t they resist the temptation? Well, we all know that Australia is awash in a sea of debt. The numbers certainly attest to the fact that Aussies were sensitive to interest rates in their political leanings. (more…)

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics latest report indicates that we are to be one of the countries worst affected by global warming with a decrease in agricultural production on the order of 17%. This figure pales in to comparison to India’s 25%, truly a scary number when you consider how many mouths that 25% is feeding. We hardly needed any more reminding, but the visions of our planet’s broiling future keep on coming. (more…)